billybopp

Love that color!

It aint a REAL project until ya bleed on it a lil.

I don't know about plane blades, but I had an old set of wood chisels that I re-purposed by re-profiling the blade, and they are the best end-skivers I have - I'm able to get the scary sharp and they work great. The only complaint is that the handles are a bit heavy - I may eventually just cut them off and keep just the blade part. I suspect that a plane blade might work just as well - but I would suggest doing some work to change the angle from a plane's standard 25degrees to something considerably shallower - It may take some elbow-grease, but will probably be well worthwhile. Bill

Check out Bob Park's pinned post here on LWN, .Be sure to read (and even download) the PDF in the initial post It's as good a tutorial on edge finishing veg tanned that you'll find. There are a lot of variations, but the principals are there. A lot of it depends on personal preference and the look that you are going for. It doesn't take much water to do the initial burnish, just a lightly damp sponge works nicely. Sometimes, on small pieces, I'll just lick my finger and slick with a little spit (don't tell anybody, but I know there are others that do that too)! Dying edges can be a little tricky, and again depends on what you are looking for. Edges can soak up a lot of dye, get really dark, and even bleed to the front of your leather if you aren't careful! The loose fibers can really soak it up, so a bit of burnish first helps compress the fibers and slows down dye absorption. I use a Q-tip to dye edges, and pinch it between my fingers to wind the cotton tight (helps to prevent fuzzies leaving dye where you don't want it)! I also squeeze out most of the dye on the edge of the container before putting it to the leather. It's best to go sparingly - you can always add more if needed but can't really remove it if you go too heavily. If you do woodwork, it's not too different from staining/finishing end grain. An exact color match is pretty hard to get, but for me that's OK since I like the edges a little darker. Personally, I don't like gum tragacanth, as it will discolor your leather if you get a bit past the edge, but a lot of folks use it and get great results - and it's what Al Stohlman suggests in his writings. As with so many things in leatherwork, there are many ways to get to a good result - sometimes exactly the same, sometimes a bit different - all depending on what YOU like! Beeswax leaves a duller finish, paraffin shinier and other things leave a glass like edge (one such is Tokonole). It all depends on what you want for the final look. Edge finishing chrome tan and edge coat paints(on chrome OR veg tan) are an entirely different subject, and you'll find plenty of info and opinions on that on here as well. Bill

Where you buy, in part, depends on what you are looking for .. If you want vegetable tanned leather, there are two tanneries left in the US and both make great leather - and you can buy from them directly - both offer tooling leather, saddle skirting, bridle leather, etc. Hermann Oak is considered by many to be the best, but there is a minimum order which is a bit much for most hobbyists. Wickett & Craig is the other veg tannery and they also sell to the public with no minimum quantity. Bill

Dyes usually go with no problems. You might want to filter resolene a bit since it can get gloppy in a hurry, and don't let it sit around for long. Bill

That's awesome! Bill

Is that brass just a sort of clip that holds pieces in place? Bill

I realize this bag is for cartridges, where the gun powder is contained in brass cartridges, but some folks out there still mess around with muzzle loading guns (muskets and such) and hence carry gunpowder to load them. Anything that might create a spark could potentially be disastrous - steel/iron can spark, brass won't. Since modern gear evolved out of that older style of shooting accessories, it's probably one of the reasons that brass is still preferred - for practical reasons in the past, and historic reasons now. Bill

It's a great looking bag, and I think the buckles are fine. They aren't overly shiny, which might look a bit out of place. Brass would really look great to give it a little more traditional look, and if it were for anything black powder related would be a must. Bill

It's not uncommon to see these old round knives not-so-round anymore, and it is due to sharpening. That Rose is not at all bad - I've seen some that are practically triangular. This one has plenty of meat and many many years of sharpening and life left in it, particularly if you're a hobbyist - it'll likely outlive your grandkids with a little care. Sharpening a curve like these aint easy to get the hang of, but it certainly can be done.. I have a Gomph that's shaped much like this Rose, and it works great! I'm told that once sharpened, a Rose will hold its edge like no other. Bruce Johnson once posted a quote on here: "A Rose knife is harder than a whore's heart and sharper than a wife's tongue". Enjoy! Bill

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