billybopp

some people have more dollars than sense. - Bill

90% isopropyl works fine for me. The amount to dilute depends on the end-color you are looking for, so kind of impossible to say just how much. I'd start with 50/50 and go from there trying out on scraps of the same leather you will be dying. - Bill

Once you find your own personal style of tooling - or even if you like tooling, it can be worth upgrading tools. The nice thing about having a collection of lesser tools, too, is that the ones that don't fit your style STILL get occasional use, and you'll have them for those rare times! As for swivel knives, as long as the body fits your hand and operates smoothly, they're pretty much all fine. The blade is the part that makes a difference, and as long as that gets sharp and doesn't need excessive sharpening that's good to go too. -Bill

Tandy tools went from being good to bottom of the barrel for many years. Now, in the face of some of the crap coming at us out of China, they're not looking so bad again, particularly for the price. Tandy's pro line are good for the price. Many of the regular Tandy craftools are perfectly serviceable and great to learn with. Some are fine to continue with! The quality of some tools is more critical than others. For example basketweave and geometric tools need to be aligned just right, so better quality tools are a must for those. others need to make very crisp impressions, so quality is more important there. Bevelers, and some others aren't so critical and less expensive tools work well from the get-go. Additionally, the tools you choose will depend on your personal tooling style. But you can't really know YOUR style until you've done some work. My suggestion is to start with inexpensive tools until you know which ones you use all the time, and then slowly replace those with better. The exception being those above geometrics, etc. where inexpensive tools will just lead to frustration. - Bill

Well.... The dye will wear off with time. Fingernail beds and cuticles are difficult, but about the best dye remover that I've found is Dye-Gone II if you can find it. - Bill

They can be used heated or cool. Usually cool works fine, but some leathers are a little more stubborn than others and require some heat. Here is a picture of some of my single and double creasers along with a strap example of how they're used. Most are CS Osborne, one unbranded, I also have some Gomph and others. -Bill

That is an edge creaser. I have several of them in various sizes, and love 'em! It is used to place a decorative line a certain distance in from the edge of a piece of leather, mostly straps and such. The longer leg runs along the edge, and the shorter one makes the crease. It's a neat, attractive look. That said, tho, you don't necessarily have to use it for what it was meant. If the round fits over your edge, it may well do what you want! -Bill

Not sure what you have there, but tokonole is nothing like the tragacanth that I have used. The gum tragacanth that I have used works OK for a little while, but eventually the edges wear and fibers come loose. That does not happen for me when I use tokonole, it makes a nice tight gloss edge that stays that way. - Bill

I'm rather fond of Tokonole for burnished edges. It leaves a nice very slick durable edge. - Bill

I have no idea of when it might have been made, but I love the horse legs! -Bill

I agree that's the result of mass communication. Here in the US, regional accents are still there, but they're MUCH toned down from what they used to be. There was a time when some regions accents were darn near unintelligible to others, and I remember meeting older folks when I was a kid that I used to have to ask them to repeat a couple of times to make out what they were saying. Not so much now, tho. - Bill

Try LeatherWranglers ... https://leatherwranglers.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fsplitterblade-osborne86&page=3 - Bill

I have experimented a bit, and found that sometimes if you dye edges with no burnish the dye can easily saturate and bleed to the front/back. It just absorbs too much too quickly and leaves a stain along the edge. A quick burnish with just a little water and maybe a little saddle soap can help that over-saturation problem. Once the dye has dried, then do a full on burnish with whatever burnishing compounds you like. I like tokonol, or beeswax myself, but you wouldn't want to use either before dying since that may not allow the dye to penetrate at all. To make things more interesting, different leathers absorb dyes differently, so about the only thing you can do to be sure you'll get the result you want it to try it on some scrap. - Bill

I have a book on brain tanning that I bought 40 some years ago, but never got to try it! If you look around, there are some vids on youtube about brain tanning as well - and some use eggs, etc in addition to or in place of brain. It is a labor intensive process, and for the most part deer or elk skins are chrome tanned now. The result is very similar from what I can tell. - Bill

I rounded off and sharpened the tip of a small, cheap flat-head screwdriver to experiment with. It worked well, but I also eventually bought one of the ones that you strike, and that is what I mostly use now. The old one does still come in handy at time, tho. There's no reason why you couldn't modify a modelling spoon so work as a lifter. -Bill

I bet that'll work a charm for sewing belts and straps, @Doc Reaper! I should make something like that. -Bill

It's the machine version of this ... https://www.ebay.com/itm/WUTA-Leather-Edge-Beveler-Creaser-Steel-Blade-Ebony-Marking-Vintage-Leather-Tool/152356872544?hash=item23792d6160:m:mLD7OatC3EWEGnyoLCbDTCg

I've never had mold on my leather, but my understanding is that it is a pain to get rid of, so something to be avoided. - Bill

There are a number of threads on LWN about making natural dyes that you might find helpful. I don't remember them mentioning oil based dye, but many are water-based. In any case, some of these might give you a starting point! https://leatherworker.net/forum/search/?&q="natural dye"&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy I think I remember the following thread being particularly interesting.

Congratulations! Bill

I tend to prefer doing long runs in a single go when I can, particularly with darker thread (light colors just get too dirty on long runs). You just have to be careful about tangling and keep an eye out for any knots that do accidentally form and take care of them before trying to pass them through the leather where they will just tighten. - Bill

My saddle soap bar went missing for awhile, and I found a tiny glycerin soap in the bathroom closet. It worked just fine, even if it smelled a little flowery. - Bill

Wonder if it had a squirrel cage fan? -Bill

Ben Franklin is quoted as saying: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Bill

It may well not be Tandy that is blocking access... It could be your country. That has been known to happen! - Bill