Oldtoolsniper

This has been an interesting thread. Where does one find information on dating these tools?

By the way that's the test for any finish you are not sure of. Orange shellac is notorious for going bad it's really bug poo and that's why most users of it keep it in flake form until use and test it on glass or tin prior to use on the final project. Alcohol draws moisture from the air that's why in our region where it gets extremely cold it's used to dry brake lines in the winter. It's also why ethanol is an engine repair mans dream come true for keeping busy repairing engines. Most engines fail when you add water to the fuel.

Most solvent based products are not harmed by freezing temprautres as they will not freeze. I have 80 year old cans of varnish I still use on wood. I buy it whenever I can find it. I store it in a shed that has no heat so when it's -20 here in Iowa it's -18 or so in that shed, my lacquer and varnish are fine after many freeze thaw cycles. Water based turns to cottage cheese when it looks cold out. I see you are in Michigan. Here in Iowa the humidity has been incredible the last week or so, to the point my laundry won't dry on the line. It does the same for finish. It has to evaporate in order to dry. Leather will also take on the humidity so you have to contend with that too. I would not toss it just yet. Take some and place it on a piece of glass and see if it will dry. The glass has no moisture in in to effect the drying of the lacquer.

Those are sharp looking. How did you do the pattern on the belt? I really like that.

I just wax the blades with any good car wax. I do the same on all of my woodworking tools. I live in a humid area in the summer. I myself avoid any wax with silicone since it interferes with wood finish. A can will last years and years unles you really use it on a car.

That is very nice. I like the design of that one. What ply thread and color is that?

Lekoza is a memeber here and sells this stuff. I bought a bottle to use on chrome tanned leather and its rubber like. It sticks even to the Horween and looks and feels like rubber to me. There is a YouTube video on the stuff and he sells on EBay. Pretty sure there is a web site for lekoza leather. I don't care for it because it looks very un leather like to me. More like rubber paint. I did a small notebook cover in it that I carry everyday and it holds up good, I just don't care for the look of it so I didn't even try to pursue making it look better or neater. I'm not saying it's not good stuff I just don't care for the look. I obviously have ordered from the site and had good service and the products were as advertised. http://lekoza.com/ This is from the eBay ad. Giardini edge paints are the ideal acrylic paints for the edges of your leather products. These paints have been designed to provide the highest performance with respect to adhesion, coverage, camber, and strength. Containing less than 1% VOC; it is the most eco-friendly leather edge paint product line on the market today. Can be mixed with water up to 10% by volume to achieve a thinner consistency. Produced by Giardini Group of Italy, in collaboration with Stahl. Do not allow to freeze

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=57584&hl=

EBAY just type in double pin vise. Rawcustom another member here gave me the idea. Just hacksaw the tube in half and the rest is pretty simple if you have the tools. I was skeptical about. $3 vice holing up but have been pleasantly surprised. I also have a few starrett ones I've used as well. Nice thing about making them yourself is the fit thing. They fit your hand because they were made to fit.

Here is my pony and a couple of awls I made.

I am, I am!

I really do work with wood. In this case it's some cedar logs I milled for a free form edge picnic table. I built the jig to mill the wood and went to work. I also do the fine woodworking but sometimes it's fun to go rustic. Right now slab tables are all the rage. I heat my house with wood so I can make a lot of slabs.

If you have a smart phone hobby lobby has an app then you always have the coupon. I refer to those sorts of learning experiences as "Fancy Firewood"

Bull, I use future floor finish cut 50/50 with water between layers. Saying this will open up a can of worms but I use it on lures too. Here is the deal with me, 23 years as a Marine and one thing we can do is shine boots. For twenty-two and some change years I have used the floor finish on my boots to get that shine. You really have to spit shine them in Boot Camp so that's why I'm missing a few months. I really can't think of a better test than what I did to them by wearing them every day. To much and they crack not enough and water will saturate them in no time. I'm the type that has no illusions that leather will last forever but I've had boots that I've replaced the soles on three and four times before the leather gave out. Is it a perfect finish no, but in my opinion no finish will survive everything. The trade off is being able to repair the finish. Polyurethane compared to shellac one can be repaired while the other cannot. One remains flexible and one does not. One is impervious to just about everything and one is not. Choosing the finish based on expected use is what I use for a guide. I don't really care what the can says, I care about what the finish actually does. I was a gunsmith in the Marine Corps and I worked everyday in a secure environment I wore a black tankers shoulder holster almost every day for over twenty years and I still use it every fall on the trap line. It looks like hell but has survived since it was issued to me in used condition in 1982. Same finish Fiebing's black dye and future floor finish. Funny thing is I never even heard of USMC black dye made by Fiebing's until I started leatherworking. I never saw it for sale on a base either, just the plain old black. It's all I ever used. It works for me. On the wood. I've not used the trans tint but now I'm gonna get some. Ive used a lot of the alcohol-based aniline dyes and the water based too. I have some gel that is so old it's become liquid like water and it still dyes whatever it gets on. It's even been frozen a few times. That may be why it turned to liquid but who cares, it still works. I also pick up walnuts in my yard and make alcohol stain from the hulls. Water works but then you have to fight mold. Test everything on scrap. Test everything on scrap, and you should test everything on scrap!

I can see em now, Thanks!

JLS, Same tool and we achieve something completely different. This is really where I wanted this thread to go. There are way more ways to use the same tool than can be imagined by one person. It's kind of like unrolling a side of leather, what I see it becoming is not what the next person sees. The airbrush is the same way, everyone uses it differently. Its just another aspect of this hobby to me that adds to the enjoyment of the hobby. Now here is another difference you are running a business and I have a hobby and give the stuff I make away to friends.

In the UK, removing patina can drastically reduce the value of old stuff - so I need to get the right balance between this being my working tool and it being a piece of our shared history.[/i][/size] Here is my personal take on "patina" it's usually rust. Rust to me adds no value to a tool. Antique dealers like to say it adds value but I can guarantee you that the "patina" free tool will almost always sell for more money at an auction and if given the choice between the two most folks will pick up the "patina" free version of the tool. It's marketing and its effective but which of the two knives that I showed would you buy? The rose knife complete with "patina" or the Rose knife after removing the "valuable patina"? Find a run of the mill knife and go through the steps in this thread, it will really help you in the long run and if it's just a common user knife then you won't be afraid to booger it up learning. That's how I did my first one. It turned out so well I use it all the time. It's an Osborne and it requires constant honing to keep an edge but it looks nice and feels good in my hand. I cut the handle down so I push it with my palm, it's modified, "patina" free and useful so it's collector value is destroyed according to dealers. Once you do one you will see all kinds of them selling on eBay for not a lot of money. I have around twenty or so different ones and they all are going to be "patina" or rust free when I'm done with them. I've been surprised by a couple I have, one has no name and holds an edge forever as well as being extremely thin and another is a Shapleigh brand that really is a smooth, edge holding cutter as well. I don't buy osbornes anymore unless they are selling for under $15.00 because most of them don't hold an edge worth snot. I really don't care for working tools that require me to work on them all the time to keep them working. Decide weather you have a tool that you are going to use or one you are going to collect. From that perspective then decide how to proceed to get the end result you are looking for. If you have something that is truly rare then I would sell it to a collector of those things or donate it to a museum so others may enjoy it.

JLS that's impressive and I stand corrected apparently you can airbrush with dye and it doesn't spread. Have not been able to get crisp line like the with dye on anything. Paint yes, dye no.

Pictures we can look at without having to download an app would be nice.

Gene, I'm not an expert. Here is what I did. Went to the local craft store, Hobby Lobby in my case and bought an Iwata neon for my first one with the 40% off coupon. Before I bought it I looked at what they had to support the iwata line. Hoses, couplers, water traps, needles, etc. my reasoning on this was simple, I could drive there and have the parts the same day. My choice on brands was decided based on what I could source locally. They now carry a pretty extensive line of paasche airbrush equipment as well. I use both. Here's the deal with leather dyeing, it spreads when you apply it just like wood only more. You can't really paint a picture with dye like you do with paint. My point here is really all that brush needs to do is atomize your dye and squirt it on the leather. They will all do that and do it easy and well. Fill the reservoir with dye right from the bottle and pull the trigger, it really is that simple. The mixing of colors to get other colors is the same as using a rag, brush, sheeps wool, paper towel, dipping or dauber, it's done prior to the application regardless of how you apply it. All of those things with the exception of your air brush mostly go in the trash after you use them. Your airbrush does not. Denatured alcohol is $12 something a gallon here and that's a lot and I mean a lot of airbrush cleaning, dye reducing, thinner for leather airbrushing. You are not trying to airbrush 1/16" crisp lines on a t-shirt with paint so don't get wrapped up in how fine of a line you can paint with it. The dye will spread and your line will be shading or a highlight not a line. Your compressor is more than enough. Most any compressor will work, it does not need to say airbrush on it. You can run an airbrush on a regular compressor, you can't run a nailer on an airbrush compressor they are only for airbrushing. Don't use those disposable cans they are expensive and you don't need them since you have a compressor. Make sure you have a moisture trap. Not a real big deal with dye but you need it for about everything hooked to a compressor so make sure you have one. I run mine from a regular hose laying on the floor by my spray area, I use an old ironing board to spray on since they adjust up and down and store flat plus they sell covers for them most anywhere. I just spray on top of newspaper. In most cases your using about a thimbles full of dye so you need to figure out your own safety plan for that. The fittings to go from regular hose to airbrush hose are In the plumbing department or compressor area of your hardware store. You'll need reducers to go down to the 1/4 " hose for your brush. Mine are all set up to use a standard run of the mill quick release fitting so I can use brad nailers, roofing guns etc on the same hose. I have an air regulator that attaches to the end of the hose so I can adjust pressure at the ironing board spray area. No running down to the basement to adjust the air pressure. I use the same set up for pinners and nailers, they save a lot of walking. I use my airbrush a lot in woodworking too. Creating a shadow line on a raised panel door is simple. If you do it over a top coat of finish and screw up just wipe it off. You can then add the top coat over the shadow line and not smear it like a brush or rag does. Paining fishing lures is easy. Paint then seal with top coat or finish. Apply the next layer and if it's not right wipe it off, when you get it right apply top coat, apply the next layer and if it's not right wipe it off and the previous work is still as it was because the top coat kept them separate. Works on full sized furniture too. My advice is get what you can get locally to start out and then advance to the mail order stuff. You will then know what you want and need. Get a double action and then you won't know the difference because that is what you will learn on, it's really simple. Want to practice cheap just use food color and water on some sort of absorbent paper. (Leather is absorbent ) so it's like leather. Your not fighting runs on an absorbent material like a hard gloss one, and that's one more reason it's so easy. Food color will color leather too. I see you understand the difference between stain and dye so that won't be much of an issue for you, they both will work but the results are diffent. I only use dye on leather, not because stain doesn't work but because I don't care for the look stain imparts on the leather.

The beauty of screwing up is that in most cases that mistake never repeats itself, you invent new ones. This being the first one of these holsters for me has made it a true learning experience. For instance I used 8/9 for the holster and the stiffener from the shoulder leather from hell. I can barely bend them around to meet, no big deal I built a 16 ton press so I won. This is the last of the low priced leather I bought to learn with and it really shows. It was dumb to buy leather that was already a problem before I started. If you are going to build something other than dog Chew toys it just doesn't make sense to save $20.00 over all and fight the leather for each and every project.

Well I'm already learning. Let's see. I almost didn't stitch the stiffener in place before I glued the two sides together, I applied the glue and realized the mistake before I stuck both sides together. I didn't burnish the the top part of the stiffener just below the thumb break and of course that will be a little tricky now since it's glued on. So far just the little dummy things.

Dang it, mine are RH.

Each piece of leather is different and will take each type of finish differently. The finish type does not matter, each piece of leather will take whatever you are trying to do to it differently. Wood is the same way. A piece of leather from Mexico will be different from your good ole USA Herman Oak. Test on scraps of that leather. Super fine steel wool will dissolve the fastest when making your vig juice. Beware some steel wool is oil coated and takes forever to dissolve so I rinse mine in an oil removing solvent. Gasoline works but it's probably illegal to use in that fashion. I strain mine after brewing thru a paint straining cone from the paint section of your hardware store and store it in the vinegar jug it came from originally. Choose your vinegar wisely and you will have a nice jug to store your vig juice in. The lid is important. Leather is a protein or something like that. It rots, mildews, falls apart, gets hard, gets gooey and does whatever it's going to do. It was once a cow walking around somewhere. Plastic will last longer but I find the plastic shoes, belts, holsters and wallets to be less appealing than what was once a grass eating, turd spewing hamburger. Whatever you use on the leather will effect the leather. PH strips are dirt cheap, buy some and test the wet leather on the non showing side to see what the PH level is. The PH strip will tell you if the PH level is neutral in your leather. Your eyeball can't tell you that. I tan furs and that ends up being a type of leather. It must be neutral when I'm done and those PH strips tell me the PH level in a split second. They leave color on what they touch so test on a non showing side. They are available at most places that sell swimming pool chemicals and gardening supplies. Store the PH strips out of the light or they turn odd colors. You can test your water with them too, that's why they are in the swimming pool section.

JLS Thanks for posting that. I don't own a real 1911 but I do own a colt type 1911 rings blue gun from training. I'm building a holster for it based on the pattern you provided at your site. I'm sure I can give it away when I'm done but then I may have to go buy a gun to fit the holster. I'm doing it to learn how to do an avenger style holster. Thanks again for the pattern and the instructions.