TwinOaks

Hi Shorts, I don't think the existing dye will affect the vinegaroon at all. The vinegaroon reaction takes place inside the leather, as the chemicals react with the tannins. If anything, you might have to soak it through from the flesh side a little bit. Here's a curious thought: When I used it on a holster, I noticed the finish was much more water resistant- like the vin. had pushed some of the tallows to the surface of the leather. I wonder if that same occurance will push some of the black dye out of the leather. Something to note: On some leather I got from Beeza, which is almost white compared to some of the Tandy leather I got, the Vin. made the leather a really pretty blue. Not quite Navy, but close. It would appear that some tanneries use slightly different mixes, yes?

Hi Hilly, I left a piece of test scrap on the porch a week or so ago, and it's significantly darker. There's a little swath of it that didn't get sun, and the difference is even more pronounced than what your pic shows. I don't hesitate to think you can achieve at least 5 shades darker. Of course, this will depend on the leather itself, and how much tannins is got at the tannery, but you knew that. I do really like the effect though, it just looks better than an applied tan.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker! Since you're in California already, it just makes sense for you to check out Siegel (https://www.siegelofca.com/Default.asp). There's a thread on who uses what to cut with, and it's worth reviewing. My personal preference is for a head knife or a round knife. I got by with a utility blade for a while, then after reading a few posts, got a head knife. My next thought was, "Now why didn't I have one of these before?!?!?" Really makes cutting thick stuff easy. Scissors are a good idea too, as well as a small but wickedly sharp trim knife (read as "curved exacto blade"). As for what brand....there's a lot of choices, and most of them are pretty good. Osborn and Al Stohlman brand are pretty commonly found, but there's more choices than just those two. If you're interested, Tandy has an Al Stohlman head knife on sale right now for right at $30 USD. Check out their site, as there's a lot going on with their 1/2 off sale for June. Actually, even if you're not interested, the sale is still going on. Metaphysics....you know.

Nice work leathercat! You really got the touch for this.

I'm sure there's a few to choose from, but I've found that the turkshead is a pretty easy one to make a slide with. http://www.kingsmerecrafts.com/page71.html Here's a link to a 'how to'.

I think Rob has this one pretty well figured out, but I'd like to add in my two cents worth. First, I don't think the drawstrings are leather, unless they're made out of lace in the x/32 range (that's itty bitty) Next, it looks like it has a 4 strand round braid, running through a sliding ring knot, into a pineapple/turkshead. From there it becomes an 8 strand braid all the way to the next PA/TH knot where the strands are separated back to the original 4 strand and looped, then splice into themselves. So, now that you're confused, here's a link to Myriam's site, where she does a tutorial on a braiding (4 strand). I hope this helps, and it's chock full of pics which really helped me figure it out.

Pip, I'm leaning toward's Troy's take on this. She saw the bracelets for 5 (oh where's that 'pound' sign on this American keyboard?) and may have thought of them as "cheap"- like maybe something rolled out of an embosser. I see that at the flea market here. A nice rack of belts, uniformly tooled...with wheel marks on the flesh side where it was rolled through. Not interested, as anyone can crank a handle. On the other hand, at another vendor, I heard the familiar 'whap, tap, tap, tap, whap!' of someone tooling their belts. The guy tooling his belts had a few people watching him work and his belts were nearly 3 times what the rolled out belts cost. People like 'hand made' things, and the lady you've mentioned liked what she saw. So, make a note to yourself: Get more bracelets ready ( about 80% complete) and 'finish' them while you're at your booth, so people can watch you working. Then, stick a higher price tag on it. If they don't think it's worth that much, let them haggle the price down. The other REALLY IMPORTANT POINT: By placing a higher price on the one bracelet, you told her what YOU thought that single piece was worth. And that is probably what drove her to make the purchase- YOU said "this piece is worth more than the others I have for sale". That says a lot to potential customers. It's also why custom saddle makers get upwards of $2000 (sometimes much more) for their work, when the customer can easily go buy a 'stock' saddle for less than $500. Don't sell yourself or your work short. The market you compete in is what really determines your price- too inexpensive and it'll be seen as cheap. Too pricey and it won't sell. Just right and you make money. Keep at it, and be proud of your work. Mike

Oh, I know you're gonna just HATE this suggestion....but here it is: See if you can find a model with a 'bobtailed' grip. There, now I've done it, and your hubby can blame me for the required new aquisition. LOL The EMP is a good way to go, as you significantly reduce the OAL of the pistol, but I just don't like the idea of dropping to 9mm. (personal preference and bias only) Have you considered checking out the ParaOrdinance LDA models? It's a pretty good trade off as far as I see, giving up the SA trigger for a more carry friendly package. Since it's DAO, there's no hammer spur/ring, and the GS isn't as extended (on some models). The Para CCW gives .45ACP in a designed for carry package that is about Commander size (4.25 inch barrel), while the CCO drops to the OACP. Not trying to sell a pistol, here, just reminding you of the options . I think there's not much to do to that holster to make it tuckable- maybe just add a cut down each wing, and you should be fine. I've got to get the kids ready for grandma's, but I'll be back later today and post the pics I PM'd you about. Have a great day, Mike

Ken, maybe you should limit your activity on this one. It's obvious that you're under surveillance, and bringing more attention to this subject might bring on another crash as the governments' hackers look into our family here. They're of course looking for conspirators, but that much interest in our forum could overload the new server. I'd suggest making a Faraday net to compliment the foil cap- wear it as a cape, and it should effectively mask your bioelectrical signal long enough for you to evade your shadows long enough to sign on anonymously and check for updates.

scimitar.

You should also delete everything else too (yahoo related), as otherwise it's just wasted memory. Plus, not getting all of it might run you into problems with something trying to start and not being able to find the rest of itself- presto, instant error messages. If you're not worried about memory, you could also just disable it. Either way, you should restart the computer when all the changes have been made.

Good looking belt! You're really improving with the contours of the leaves. Keep 'em coming.

Glad to hear that you're okay, Kate.

Hilly, I run XP on my laptop and ME on my desktop, and found my google toolbar in the add/remove on both machines there. You might try running a search to find where it's hidden itself. Do make sure that you're operatating as the 'administrator', and not just one of the users, as you have limited options if you're just logged in as a profile (on the computer, not online)

Hey Shorts, The holster looks great! I completely understand your consternation with 'shape'. Not long ago I made up an OWB for my wife, and we found that moving a little more around the hips to about 4:30 or 5:00 position helped with the problem of drawing into the ribs.

When I did mine, the smell wasn't all that bad to start with. When I later heated the leather to harden it, almost all the smell left. It may be that the concentration of vinegar is different betwixt our mixes. Let the mix sit a week or two more and check it on a scrap. It appears that the longer this sits, the more likely the acid is reduced, and the smell probably will go away with it. If the leather does have the vinegaroon smell, just let it sit out a while and the smell should dissapate. If not, well I'm sure you've gotten used to having dyes on your hands and clothes, so what's a little smell to get used to, right?

Hi Doktor, Welcome to LW.net! As far as any holster pattern you want to do, regardless of size, you can do it on your computer. If you can get the image, you can resize it however you like, and if it's RH holster....just flip/mirror the image. Almost any graphics/photo program has this ability, and if you don't have one of the high dollar programs, don't worry, there's lots of free ones that will do it. For the holster design, have you considered something like a horizontal sunglass case that's attached via belt clip? Maybe a PDA/cell case? Not that you should use one of these per se, but what a concealment job that would be! Worn openly and it looks like a pair of sunglasses on your belt. Of course, you'd attach with a loop, instead of a clip.

"The hard one was I had an odd number of stitch holes on one side, and an even number on the other. " You mean they're supposed to match up?

Well, I won't correct you on 'dyes rubbing off', but I will tell you that the vinegaroon mix doesn't rub off at all- dry or wet. The reason for this is that there is a chemical reaction with the tannins in the leather. I believe the reaction is between the tannins and ferric acetate, the product of feeding iron/steel to acetic acid. As previously noted, my solution has settled to a nice Ph, and shows no reaction with alkaline solutions. This means ( and somebody else talked to an actual chemist about this) that a cold water bath is all that's needed to 'neutralize' any remaining acids and thereby protect the leather. It's cheap, and it works. It will also lightly etch glass, if it sits in it for several days, and permanently stain clothing. But, then, if you work with oil dyes, you already wear the mark(s) of leatherworking, right?

stitching holes to hold down all 4 sides of the belt loop.

Ah, someone has beaten me to the slither.... I researched this a bit because of a rather large 'problem' snake at my wife's stable.(the horse training facility kind....get your minds outta the gutter) You've done the first steps, and now you'll need to get something like 'rep-tan' (Tandy). There are quite a few products on the market, and really, I suggest googling the subject for the one best suited to your needs. You'll also need to descale it, and once the hide is tanned, condition it. Due to the very thin nature of it, some folks recommend overlaying the snakeskin on something a little more substantial- 2-3 oz cow, pigskin, goat....you get the picture. This is to help prevent tearing of the snakeskin when used on something that might see abrasion, stretching, and what not. If you were just going to make a wall hanging out of it, you could effectively tan it with antifreeze (but that's probably not good for a hatband).

Looks very nice! You know, depending on how well you stretch them, you can even get a note pad cover out 'em. Oh....wait...you meant just a picture...nevermind.

Ian, why do you perceive that last link to be so difficult? And thanks for the link, it works well. I suspect before long one of the Mods (KATE!?!?!?!??) will check out the code and pronounce it fit for saving.

And you missed the obvious answer... Ship them to your leather pounding friends!

As far as the Tandy pieces go, I think that would qualify as 'raw materials'. To use their EXACT pattern for a template, with no alterations at all might be pushing the envelope a bit. But, if you change it a little, like putting a snap closure on it instead of velcro, well I think it's altered enough- if you're using your design. Or maybe you stitch it instead of riveting it- still, you changed it. You definitely need to read the legalities of it, perhaps talk to an attourney that specalizes in copyright laws. After all, I'm not a lawyer, and there's lots going on these days that doesn't jive with my ideas of "The way things should be". Mike