barehandcustoms

Very nice.... I love leather with personality and you nailed it.

As long the item is in the same shape that I sent it then I always give full refunds even if I have to cover the shipping. It's just not worth the time of going back and worth with someone over specifics or combating false reviews of your product. Sometimes you have to eat a few dollars and move on. I used to get bitter about it when people got upset over things clearly in the description. Now a days I just offer full refunds if they aren't completely happy with a product. The last thing I want to do is sell someone a product they are not happy with. Even if they are being overly picky or didn't read the description. Just issue a refund a move on. Custom or personalized items are a whole different story though..... Just know those types of customers are very rare so don't be discouraged.

Great job, that is a lot of leather

At the end of the day....I don't feel anybody else can offer you the product exposure and ease of collection that Ebay/Paypal is currently offering small start ups. When it comes to Ecommerce in general someone is always going to take a % of your sales. It all comes down to what they are offering you in return.

... Until one day the spousal unit came across it ( we were dating at the time ) ... and threw it away while I was out .. Saying "It had WORMS growing in it .. You're disgusting". Funny how that works huh

Loving the strap Great piece

Ive heard of peple using a sander and then a heat gun to smooth their boards back out. I have never done it personally. May give it a try when its time to flip this one over.

This is the Roberts Fatso Utility knife I was referring to in the original post. http://www.homedepot.ca/product/utility-knife-big-fatso/938040 I just love that donward angle razor blade and the fat round handle.

When I first started I went through 4 of those nice $20 *self healing* craft cutting mats with all the measurements and everything on it. I still have them but they are so cut up and warped that I can't use them because they scratch up my leather. Granted I was pushing the limits of what they were built to handle. I don't think I ever actually used the board measurements for anything. I briefly used a industrial hydroma mat that was loaned to me and was very impressed but had newbie sticker shock. Luckily my neighbor works on antique cars professionally and has a really nice shop. He had a few industrial grade hydroma boards and let me use one for a few days to try it out. I don't borrow tools but he kept offering so I finally took him up on it. The hydroma mat was just superb in everyway and would probably last forever. It was an industrial mat that was built like a tank and there was nothing fancy about it. The idea of spending $95 dollars for a 18x24 1/2' thick hydroma mat just seemed crazy at the time. Now I realize I could have bought the mat and came out ahead in the long run. So finally one day I just went to the store and bought one of those huge white poly cutting boards. It was a regular old cutting board and only cost me 8 dollars. So I figured I would use it for awhile and then throw it out. I drilled holes in the corners and screwed it to my table. This made for a flat and very stable cutting surface. I have been using that same board for cutting and punching out holes for almost 2 months now. Even the hole punching doesn't seem to really scar it up. I might have to flip it over in a few months though. Keep in mind I work on that mat almost every other day for several hours. I am still surprised how well it is standing up. So Questions: What is your preferred material for cutting and punching holes? Do you use different boards for each task? *cut on poly and punch holes on rubber* What are your thoughts on Hydroma Mats and are they worth the money in the long run?

You mean everyone on this forum isn't from Texas? Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the replies everyone

Over the last year I have rarely worked with the same leather from the same company. I have always tried new companies and new kinds of leather to get a feel for what was out there. I have found some I really liked and others that are so bad it is just sitting on my shop floor collecting dust. Lately I have been using 8 to 11oz Hermann Oak that is drum dyed and I just love the stuff. I won't turn this into a Hermann Oak praise thread but I just can't get over how much better it is than everything else I've worked with. It really got me questioning whether its worth the time and mess associated with dying everything myself. Plus my bench is covered by this ever growing abstract art piece I call "Spilled Fieblings". So a few questions... Do you prefer to use drum dyed leather? Do you feel it is worth the extra cost? What do you consider the draw backs of using drum dyed leather versus just doing it yourself?

I am currently going through a roll on that and have been pretty impressed. I am used to heavy waxed thread so this stuff felt like it was going to break at first. I was worried it may not be tough enough for the pouches I use this thread on. I sewed up a piece of leather and gave it several hard yanks. The leather started to rip before the thread did. My only dislike is that it doesn't come with enough wax on it. The thread wants to loosen and back out until you get several holes ahead of it. This is easily fixed by just waxing it before sewing though. With that said I still prefer tiger thread but this is an excellent alternative.

So tempted to just buy a good one now..... I get the itch to make some knives every few months but I doubt I'll make a round knife.

East Texas in a town called White Oak

Most of the professional leather makers I know have a round head knife that they are just head over heels for but I have always used a Roberts Big Fatso Carpet Knife. I love the angled down razor blade and large handle for grip. I just throw a new razor blade in every so often and it glides right through leather like butter. I have come close to buying a round head knife several times just because thats what everyone else is using but I don't understand the benefits that justify the price. What are the benefits of using a round blade over a regular razor utility knife? Are the benefits of a nice round knife worth the extra cost and time spent keeping it sharp?

Just wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. I started doing leather work early last year. I wanted a bushcraft style sheath for my Becker BK2. That knife has gone with me everywhere over the years and I had a very specific design in mind. I found several I really liked but the prices were just out of my price range. I stumbled upon a video of Ian Atkinson making a leather sheath and hours later found myself still watching his videos. Watching his tutorials and reading forums made me realize I could just make my own sheath. I enjoyed making that sheath so much that I ended up making them for every knife I owned. A few months later I was out of stuff to make for myself and family members. Eventually people started offering me cash to make them customized holsters and sheaths. Now here I am over a year later making sheaths, journals and misc things for people all over the world. What started off as a one off project has turned into a small business adventure and most likely a life long hobby.

That granite you linked from Amazon is going to crack the first time you leave any kind of void under it. Dont waste your money on it. Go grab you a piece of huge granite or marble from one of the dozen stores probably in your area. Just ask to look at their remnant pile. People use those remnants for all kinds of stuff and they are used to people asking about it. I had one younger guy offer to cut me a *sample* piece for free but I didn't want to impose and found what I needed out in their pile.