BigMatt

That is a good looking baseball.

I assume that you are using a flat bladed swivel knife. They also have angled blades for these knives. I like to use them on tight curves that would be impossible with the flat blades.

If the leather is sold here in the United States, you can rest assured that the hunting is done per quotas and ethical population management. The United States goes overboard to protect animals everywhere - even if it is against the best judgement of the officials in the countries where they were taken.

I saw your belt on Reddit and recognized it here. I am the guy who commented on your keeper. Good work!

I LIKE IT!!!

I have been researching this topic and have found an affordable, yet possibly temporary solution. Radio Shack is filing for bankruptcy and they have digitally temperature controlled soldering irons for $89. Today I bought mine for around $50. It is settable for down to around 350 degrees and I think it goes up to 800. This should be the right temp range for this work. I will try it when I get home, and I will probably end up making some tips for it if I can't find any locally. Now to find the definitive answer on what edge paint to use....

I am looking at getting into making belts and selling them at gun shows and a farmers market I am a part of (we grow sweet corn too). I make lined belts from 2 pieces of 8-9. I glue and stitch, and burnish the edges with beeswax. What is the best way to finish the edges of a belt that will stay flexible and won't get rough after a while. The beeswax looks good when I am done, but after a while, it gets a little rough - especially where it goes through the buckle. I have read hidepounder's burnishing article, and it looks good, but I am still worried about durability. Thanks for the input.

I want to make a few gun belts, but I am worried about the dye wearing through. Most of the things I make don't wear like a belt and aren't used as harshly as a belt might be. I am using Fiebings spirit based leather dyes and I have noticed they don't soak in as much as I would like. What kind of dye can I use that would soak in and keep the color after getting scratched or worn? Thanks for your help.

From what I understand, a chisel that is 7 SPI gives 6 stitches per inch.

I am still trying to get the hang of the swivel knife. I am scared to cut through the leather. I need better tools for the fur on the squirrel. I am just trying to make do with what I have though. The oak leaf was my first attempt and I took the most time with it. Finally, if I glue two 4-5 oz pieces of leather together, will it tool like one thicker piece? I have a lot of 4-5 oz and I can't bring myself to buy the thicker stuff until I have gone through it all. Let me know what you guys think...

Yeah, they measure them differently than most places I have seen. Tandy measures the width of the prong in mm and most other places give the distance between the points in mm. The one I got that said 2mm is about 6 SPI. The 3mm I got from leathercrafttools is about 8 SPI. The 4mm from leathercrafttools is about 6 SPI.

Waxed nylon from Maine Thread as was stated before.

Thanks for the compliments. Boy are my wrists and neck tired! I have finished the portfolio and gone on to make a few wallets. My next project is a double-gusset briefcase. I dyed the leather yesterday and will be cutting and fitting this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures of the finished portfolio:

Thanks, that is hand stitched. I have burnished the edges with water, but I am looking for something to make them slicker and last longer. The leather is some veg-tan out of the scrap pile at my supplier. They said it was something Italian, but they were selling it cheap because it had a blemish in the hide. I chose it because it is pretty smooth inside. The main problem I had with it was getting the bottom of the gussets stitched evenly. They look pretty crummy, but I guess that comes with practice.

Well, on my way from wallets to briefcases, I thought the logical middle ground was a portfolio. My wife needed one, so I thought I would oblige. I made some mistakes along the way and am still dreading fixing the last one. I didn't have the latch planned out when I stitched it and my wife decided she wanted a strap with a buckle. I will have to crane my wrist inside the pocket to stitch the lower portion on. I would have done one strap all the way around, but that would have been murder. Anyway, here are some pictures...

What type of leather is that?

Thanks all. I am going to Tandy today, so I will look at the edge paint. I will also look at the veg-tanned stuff.

I finally got my first two projects done. I am pretty happy with the stitching, but the edges need to be finished. I can't really finish these edges because the leather is so floppy, so I just trimmed them as clean as possible. Let me know what you think!