billybopp

If you want to know about using sandpaper to sharpen, google "Scary Sharp Method" and / or check out this video from Paul Sellers. Paul is a woodworker and sharpening chisels, but it's pretty much the same. If you're comfy with freehand sharpening, go for it! If not, you may want to get a swivel knife sharpening jig such as this one from Tandy. There are other jigs out there as well. There are several types of roue / honing compound out there, and they aren't totally consistent between makers, BUT, generally black/brown are coarsest, white/green moderately fine - and either works fine for swivel knives, and red/blue are very fine. White or green are the most common, but you can probably get by with red as well. I mostly use white since it has one advantage: If you accidentally leave a little bit on the blade, it's closest in color to veg tanned leather and blends in a bit! Bill

Completely off topic, but a fun fact: Land Rovers were so prevalent amongst explorers that it's estimated that for over 50% of the worlds population, the first automobile that they saw was a Land Rover. Bill

How well do these pots keep glue over longer periods of time? As a hobbyist, I don't use glue all that quickly - would it evaporate and get thick before I get through it? Or would it be better to just keep in the can for that situation? Bill

How do you secure the 4th side while you sew the top/bottom? A box jig or pony works for the first 3 with a little planning, but that 4th ...

I can't say for certain, but suspect that it is probably for setting eyelets. That was a very common operation in any shoe making or repair. We often see setters something like these on eBay as antiques. People don't have shoes repaired much anymore, so there are few cobblers left and their tools have been junked or float around as antiques for sale. If the die happens to be of a size that's usable to you it'll probably be a great little tool to have, but if not it'll be difficult to find dies for 'em I'd bet. You MIGHT try to see if you can retrofit dies from another press if you have the tools and inclination to try it - and if that proves reasonably easy you're in like Flynn! Bill

Hmm. We used to accuse my HS principal of polishing his bald head. Now I know why! Bill

Not sure if they have what you're looking for, but you might try Bunkhouse Tools. They have 200+ embossing roll designs with 1" keyed center which will fit the old Tandy embosser, and presumably the newer one as well. Prices are pretty reasonable too. Bill

The outer piece of a wallet is intentionally made longer so that it will fold around the bulk of the inner pieces. There are a few ways to sew the outer shell and inner parts together: 1. Sew down both outside edges top to bottom then in toward the center, only as far as the pockets go and use NO stitch holes for both inside and outside for the fold section, and end your stitch line there. This is probably the most practical solution, but some people don't like the way it looks where the stitch line is interrupted on the outside. 2. If you want that stitch line to continue on the outside for appearance, go ahead and punch holes all along the outer piece sides and bottom. Sew down one side and across the bottom to the point where the pockets end for that side. Now, at the last hole for the pocket part before where the fold is located, bring your needles through the outside part only - you'll have to work the needles between the two pieces, but its only a few stitches - then bring the needles back through to both parts where the second pockets begin and continue around the rest of the way. If the inside holes are already punched, or if you just feel it looks incomplete you can put a separate short stitch line there. It's not as complicated as it sounds - just hard to put in words! A quick video or some pictures would make it very clear but alas I don't have those readily available. I have a wallet on my project list, but there are a couple of big projects ahead of it - I'll try to take some pictures when the time comes. I might even make a video and post it - If I don't receive too much flak for posting something on youtube. Hope that helps! Bill

Obviously butcher paper and packing paper is saved for dying leather on. And twine for holding leather rolled up. DUH!

Excellent!! That is NOT an easy project! Sewing box corners is a beast all its own, and you didn't tread lightly there - you used a high contrast thread. Kudos. Bill

I'd think you want to let the intended use determine the paper. For a journal, you want relatively smooth paper and more pages, so I'd go with printer paper. Heavier is probably easier to work with, so maybe 20lb paper or so. If it's to be a sketchbook, less pages needed but with a little texture, so I'd go with paper from an artist sketchpad - OR if you want REALLY nice, hand-laid paper. Just my thoughts Bill

I love the idea of putting a handle on the blade to help sharpen and I'm afraid I will have to steal that idea. Those Osborne blades come dull as can be. I'm terribly tempted to buy one of Terry Knipschield's draw gauge blades since I've heard such good things about his other blades. These draw gauges are really great for thicker leather, over about 6oz. Thinner leathers seem to do better with the wooden strap cutters. My draw gauge is a brass and rosewood Sauerbier, which by the markings (H.O.S) was made around the time of the Civil War (1855-1870). I think I got a pretty decent deal on it at around $60, but had to add a blade at about $10. Functionally it's probably about the same as a new one, but dang it's cool to use it and wonder about its history. Did somebody use it to cut reins or saddle parts for a Civil War, or WWI cavalry soldier? I guess I'll never know. CJArtist - Keep looking! They occasionally sell for reasonable prices! There are currently a couple more Civil War era Sauerbiers on ebay, but IMHO they're too high for their condition. Check Bruce Johnson's website for some history on the markings to help identify 'em. Bill

When you find out just what material they suggest using, let us know! It could be helpful for future reference.

Most of us avoid neetsfoot compound and go with pure neetsfoot oil. It will darken the leather a bit. Put it on somewhat sparingly.

I've made a few guitar straps with a deer hide lining, which is nice and soft with just a little give to it. It gives just a little bit of padding. If you were to find some deer tanned cow that's thicker than deer it would likely give even more padding. Again, not quite as soft as a padded strap, but still a bit softer than veg tanned leather. Mine have been made with the deer hide rough side out to help prevent the strap from sliding around - but you could do it grain side out to give just a bit more "slide". Also, I haven't seen anybody else do it, but I put in a pick pocket on the back side as well - picks are right there when you need 'em. Bill

If you put more than a little neetsfoot oil on the inside it will get on the camera. I've experimented with oiling from the backside on mug straps and have had oil transfer onto the glass after - it would do the same to a camera and its MUCH more expensive lens glass! I'd try going with 2-3 light coats from the outside with a day or so at least between .. and a lot of careful observation to stop at the very first sign that it is soaking through. Bill

I don't know about clicker dies, but - I think I remember reading that HDPE plastic is the material to use - and it's the same material used in plastic cutting boards - Maybe somebody that knows more about clickers can jump in and let us know if this is in fact the right material. Try these (they all have various sizes and thicknesses - and other types of plastic sheet material as well): U.S. Plastic W.W. Grainger McMaster Carr I've been looking at these for the day I finally build a workbench for cutting leather - Hopefully. Hope that helps Bill

A woman that doesn't NEED shoes? You got yourself the definition of a keeper right there!

I only have a home sewing machine and haven't yet jumped into the world of big machines, but as I think about it, it stands to reason that different threads might have different tensioning needs. Sewing machines rely on friction for tensioning, and different threads would likely have different coefficients of friction leading to different results. To some extent top tension and bobbin tension using the same thread would somewhat offset that problem - but if you look at it - the bobbin has a tiny amount or surface area making thread contact in relation to the much larger surface area of the top tensioners, which would likely make them uneven. I suspect that you might find similar but likely smaller differences between manufacturers of the same type of thread - Perhaps they use different bonding agents and processes or have slight differences between thread size. I could be wrong, but maybe one of the real experts can shed more light! Bill

I do the same thing since I find it very hard to exactly center pricking irons on a line. Stitching chisels are a little easier since they have points, but not quite the same thing. I've been contemplating putting two lines, spaced to the width of the pricking iron and make a heavy-ish line to see how that would look - turn it into a feature! Bill

Those look really awesome, and I bet they're darned comfy too! I'd love to have a go at making shoes one of these days. Do you have any suggestions for learning resources? Bill

If your stamp is metal, heat it and then try it - ideally with an arbor press to apply alot of pressure. That's about all I got. Bill

I think the one I have is hard maple, but not sure. It was given to me a long time ago. Bill

I have a wood maul, and gave it a try but found that stamping tools tend to eventually cause it to chip. They fare better when used on woodwork with chisels where there is considerably more striking surface and usually wood or plastic to strike against. Bill

Yeah ... that's often how it starts. LOL. By the time you've got the tools and materials you need, count in the "waste" material that you use in the learning process and everything else, you often find that you've spent more than you would have to just buy something to begin with. BUT, then you wouldn't have had the joy of learning a new skill nor the pride that you take when somebody says "that looks great" and you get to say "THANKS, I made it myself". You can't put a value on that! I can't give any specific advice on pricing, but don't sell yourself short. That's some beautiful work, and if it only took 4 hours to tool you've got some skills. Also, I'd suggest that you keep in mind all the other sneaky little costs involved. It could take another 4 hours of work to produce a plain belt with no tooling at all, once you take into account the time to track down and buy materials - leather, dyes, hardware, thread, tools, paper towels, etc, cut the leather to size, dye it, finish the edges and do all the other things just to make a belt - particularly if you aren't geared up for semi-mass production. If you're doing this as a hobby for beer money that's plenty to keep in mind to help you think about pricing and profit. As NVLeatherWorx suggested, as a business there are other considerations. And there are a number of threads on this site about that subject. While I haven't done leatherwork as a business, I have run other businesses from home - and there are a number of other things that you can think about. To name a few, tools, workbench, educational material, and other capital investments, If you have a shop, rent and such are pretty obvious. Working from home, if you have a dedicated workspace you could include that percentage or your home value as an expense( and you can deduct that on income taxes too), heating, cooling and lighting (also deductable), water and soap that you use to clean up (small but there), Bigger expenses could include health, business, and a portion of homeowners insurance. All that in addition to the above materials costs! There are others, but this will give you some food for thought! Bill