billybopp

The whole arthritis thing really sucks. I got hit with RA about 10 years ago and it's been an exercise in learning limits ever since. I've found that hand stitching in the right amount is actually helpful. You just have to go do something else for awhile when your hands start hurting too much and then come back to it after a few minutes. That's not always easy to do, but in the end you get on with it faster that way than by trying to work through the pain. Bill

Springfield Leather has several types and shades of purple lace available. The kangaroo lace looks especially nice, at least in their pictures as does their royal purple suede. I'd imagine that you could also dip dye natural or possibly white lace if you need to get the color just right. http://springfieldleather.com/33953/Lace%2CKang%2CClass%2C3-32%2225y%2CPurpl/ Hope that helps Bill

A couple of thoughts just occurred to me. Depending on how you use your phone, you might want to poke a hold for the headphone jack so that you can listen while it's in the case. For that matter, a little add on headphone case for when you're not using them might be cool! Also, a hole lined up with the speaker might be helpful for hearing ring/notifications, etc unless you always use vibrate mode. Bill

Looks good! I like the way you handled the snap using a simple leather round. It looks simple and elegant. Bill

Looks good! Should be a lot of fun. Bill

Really nice! It's been a lot of fun watching this project come together. Bill

This might help: About 4 messages down ... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=55977&hl=%2Bthread+%2Bsize+%2Bchart#entry359041 Also: http://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html I'm pretty sure I saw a more complete thread size chart somewhere recently, but darned if I can remember where it was. Hope that helps anyway! Bill

Dang! Tracking cattle by GPS! What's the world coming to. When I was a kid, I managed to find where every damned cow in the herd had been if I was out hiking in my best new Nikes. Seriously tho, you might consider plastic buckles, and possibly nylon webbing. Both dirt cheap and sturdy. http://www.countrybrookdesign.com/webbing-and-hardware/buckles/plastic/buckles-plastic-duraflex-1-1-2-inch.html http://www.countrybrookdesign.com/webbing-and-hardware/polypropylene-webbing-polypro/1-5-inch-heavy/polypro-webbing-1-1-2-inch-heavy-black.html A bit over $50 for the whole lot. And possibly cheaper elsewhere. Otherwise, http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=1866&CatalogId=001&CatalogDetailId=10&NSM=Y @$0.70 apiece. Hope that helps! Bill

That's pretty darn cool. Especially right side up! Bill

This one looks pretty awesome. Can't wait to see what you do with a better pattern, Raven! Bill

Looks great Chief! ... And reminds me that I need to go look at your braiding vids again. Bill

Is there any chance you could shoot and post some video of this bad-boy in operation? It really looks fascinating. Bill

Thanks Bob! I'm going to have to give that a try now. Bill

Looks good Raven. How is the inside finished??

There's only one way to find out if it will work well and hold an edge ..... Stainless kitchen cutlery tends to be more in demand for home use .. and for people that don't take care of their knives. Most kitchen pros that I know prefer to use carbon steel knives, and they take care of them. Bill

Satchel is a pretty broad term. Can you be more specific?

Have you tried Fiebings cordovan dye?

That's really cool! ... It's kinda like Steve Irwin's revenge.

Looks great! She'll love it.

I had the same experience with Tandy. Not knowing any better at the time, I tried using the awl as it was ... Totally frustrating. It didn't take long to figure out that something was wrong! It then took a LOT of work to make the damned thing usable. And I still didn't like the way it worked. So ... I bought three different sizes of Seiwa awls from goodsjapan, and they arrived in a reasonably sharp state. http://www.goodsjapan.jp/category/awls/catId=4252437 A little extra sharpening and stropping made them quite good. The blades are a little shorter than some and straight sided, but they will easily go through over 1/2 inch of leather. If you do order from goodsjapan, just be prepared for a potentially long wait with the free shipping option. Paid shipping is much faster and worthwhile if you're in a hurry. There are other sources for awl blades and awls that are said to be good and ready to use upon arrival. Barry King has some. Sheridan Leather sells Douglas blades that are supposed to be good as well. Hope that helps Bill

Nice work, Raven! Is that the pattern that was giving you fits a while back?

Looks good!!

I do hope you're not down long enough to watch all that, Claire! But nonetheless, enjoy!! Bill

Agreed, Claire ... Ian and Nigel both have done fantastic youtube videos ... Both have been extremely helpful to me. Arthur Porter has some excellent videos about making bags, choosing sewing machines and such. http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDallas1953/videos Chief, who is on here frequently, has some helpful videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/Chief31794/videos Bruce Cheaney does a variety of topics. http://www.youtube.com/user/cheaneysaddles/videos Springfield Leather Company has a number of good videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/SpringfieldLeatherCo/videos And, of course, Tandy has some good videos too. They try a little too hard to sell you their products, but the techniques and practices are pretty much sound. http://www.youtube.com/user/TandyLeatherFactory/videos I have watched many, if not most of the videos from all of the above, and found most helpful to at least some degree. Billl

Really nice! I particularly love the fact that your horse is shoed. Bill