W Montgomery

How did the project go? The Leatherworking Handbook (Valerie Michael) contains a lot of useful information and is worth having around the workshop.

Thanks for the insight Fedd. I'll try the trick with the saddle soap. Cheers

Welcome to the forum Brad. There is a whole wealth of information on here. Yeah, keep that knife sharp, it's important and it gives you a lot more control. A good investment for me was a filigree blade for more intricate carving, handy if you tend to work on smaller projects. Keep up the good work.

Does anybody know of any good suppliers in London or the surrounding area? I'm mainly looking for a supply of dyes, finishes, adhesives and maybe some tools. I've been looking in a few hardware shops and shoe repair places (hoping to get some resolene), but the only relevant thing I've found so far is Neatsfoot oil. I've heard about JT Batchelors in Islington which I understand is a very comprehensive supplier, but I'm wondering if there are any others. Thanks

Thanks for the heads-up.

Hello people, I had a slight problem regarding a couple of dyes and wondered if anybody else has experienced a similar thing. Once when I applied a coat of Fiebing's Oxblood dye to a piece of leather, it came out with a strange metallic green patch on it. The leather I used was an economy piece.... but even with decent leather I've never had great results from the oxblood. I also had a similar experience with Tandy's Dark Brown Gel Antique coming out completely grey, without any hint of brown in it. Again this was an economy piece of leather I was using for practice. That level of discolouration hasn't happened since, but it has made me curious. It looked like a chemical reaction, certainly the oxblood. Anyway, I'd be interested to hear if anybody else has seen this or know's the reasons why. Cheers

Thanks for the welcome. Mark, I just had a quick look at your site. Very impressive work. I've always found inspiration in british wildlife. I'll have a longer look through once I finish work. Cheers.

Hello. I've had an account here for about a month, but it's taken until now to introduce myself. Over the last six months or so I've often sourced information and advice from this forum, it's been extremely useful, so thanks to all those who take the time to share their knowledge and resources. I've been working with leather for around eight months, but have only been able to get any regular hours in over the last two. Now I've set myself up self-employed and I've started to sell my work. I'm still experimenting with different approaches towards leather work and seem to learn something new with every project. Any ideas on how to improve my work would always be appreciated, and I hope to be able to offer help for others. I'm just putting together a gallery on my profile. Anyway, thanks in advance. Billy. London, UK.