BillB

Pip, I will be working on the PDA case this weekend. Bob, I sent you a message on permission, let me know if it will do.

I have worked with three types of dye base: Oil, Alcohol and Water. I use Fiebing's Leather Dye (Alcohol Base) and Fiebing's Professional Oil Dye (Oil Base). Tandy's Eco Fl-Flo Hi-Lite. Each is used for different purposes. Penetrating Oil or Alcohol dyes are good for leather products that are going to get a lot of use and potential scaring into the surface. I will dip the leather into the dye and allow it to soak in so that it penetrates all the away to the core. On these products, the finish is usually a natural oil finish as well. While Oil will help replace the natural oils in the leather, the alcohol base tends to dry the leather out. On the other hand the alcohol dyes have a wider choice of colors. Water Base, I use on projects that will have lighter wear, e.g. a purse, handbag, portfolio, and I will usually be applying a finish over the the dye areas to seal them in such as Satin Shene or Super Shene. The Shene products actually seal the surface and care should be taken since the leather could actually rote from the inside out since it can no longer breath. There are also a number of Paints that I will use, e.g. the Cova Paints. These actually lie on the surface of the leather just like paint does, but does give a different type of finished surface. So, if I am doing a replica of a military medal and I want the smooth surface affect, I will use the Cova Paint. There is another thread in the forum that discusses coloring or not coloring leather. I believe it is up to the artist and crafts person to make that decision and if there is a customer involved, then they should be consulted as well. I usually wait until I have finished my carving and I do a pre-assembly of the final product before I decide if I want to color it or not. I have also been looking examples where the main subject carved was not colored, but the back ground was. This provided an interesting affect. I hope this helps some.

I thought I would share with you the Rabbit Totem I drew to use on my wife's purse. It is done in the Northwest style of totems.

Tim, Welcome to the forum. Unlike the roman forum we seldom throw folks to the lions 8-) At one time or another everyone one of us were just starting. What I saw in the pictures looked very good. Hope to see more in the future.

I apologize for the sixe of the files on the original post. Here is a set at a higher compression ratio.

This was my latest project for a friend of mine. He has this real nice dark wood desk that he wanted a desk protector for. This was the final product. Since he was not concerned about writing on the surface there were lots of options for the backing material. I did leave the inner edge of the top and sides loose so that a heavy paper could be inserted for a writing support surface. The carvings are Native American Totems. The top and sides are from 5-6 oz leather. The back is suede buckskin. The top and sides are butted together and hand stitched. The suede was machine stitched to the sides and top (my first machine stitching project) on an Artisan TORO 3000 using a Schmetz NM:180 Size: 24 794 D needle and Linhanyl #277 thread top and bottom.

Here are my latest two projects. The Bi-Fold was done as a donation item to the camp for their silent auction. The Desk Protector was done for a friend. The Desk Protector was my first attempt to use my Artisan 3000 on a project. The final file is the Rabbit Totem that I drew and will be putting on my wife's PDA case.Rabbit totem file did not appear to make it so I am trying again.

As promised, here are some pictures of the tools that my uncle sent me. I did check with the Office of Legal Council and they ruled that there were no limitations on my use of the Soldier Handicrafts Manual from the Department of War from WWII. The file "4 types Old Tools" shows all the tools and what impression they make. On the lower right are three brass tools. Two are hexagonal and one is square. Above them are 7 tools that look like they were made from steel rod. Look at the design for the finger grips. On some, they look like they are also the grips used by a high impact forge. On the bottom left are what look like 7 steel rod based tools. They have a checkered board grip design cut into them in the lower version and on the upper version the checkered board is raised. On the top are 3 tools that look like they were made from aircraft metal rods. They don't feel right, might be due to lower weight if they are made from aluminum. The top two are approaching what became the standard from the Craftool Company and later Tandy. The files "Anvil 1" and "Anvil 2" are pictures of a tool that was featured in the WWII manual for riveting and putting on snaps. I do have close ups of the working heads of the tools and will post them if anyone is interested.

When dealing with dyes and finishes, I have found it helpful to make a test palette using scrap leather of the same quality used in tooling. Here are the palettes that I have made to use as a reference.

My Uncle sent me his tools that he still had. He started doing leather during WWII. I have not looked at all of his tools but did find the following: TM28-325, War Department Technical Manual, Soldier Handicrafts, War Department, June 1945 Section #6 is all on Leathercraft. Although they show a number of tools, they are all very similar to the ones we use today except for the one used for setting snaps and grommets. The tools that I have gone through have either have no nomenclature on them or are from the Craftool Company. I will look through them again this weekend and take pictures of some of the tools as well as the cover of the manual. Since I still work for DoD, I will check with the Lawyers to see if I can get a letter allowing me to scan in the manual and provide it to this forum.

DaveL A deglazer is a highly concentrated solvent that will disperses surface oils and most other surface contaminates down into the leather and will allow the dye and finishes to adhere to the leather surface better. It usually uses a base liquid that will evaporate quickly. I have a can of it from Tandy. Fiebing's also sells a deglazer. Use in a well ventilated room and make sure you replenish the oils in the leather with your final finish unless you want stiff leather. Fiebing's also sells a Dye Prep. Fiebing's web page is www.fiebing.com.

Skipj, Hope Barra was able to help you out. The artisan web site does have a section where you can down load PDF versions of all the manuals.

Black usually covers most problems, or a darker version of the color used.

I don't know if this will make a difference, but I did not see it mentioned. Did you deglaze the strap before applying the dye? As we handle the leather we transfer our natural oils from our hands onto the leather, this can stop the dye from penetrating all the way. If you applied the finish with out removing any excess dye, any blotching caused by this affect would have been hidden except as areas that would look wetter than the other sections.

Rusty, Welcome to the Forum. Nicely done on the Last Supper.

Welcome to the Forum Gail. Nice looking saddle. Look forward to seeing more of your work.

Another device is the Plastic Transfer Pipet from Premiere. I have a box of 500 3 ml non sterile No. PTP-01

I guess I never noticed the use of two names for the same stitch until recently. I have the Al Stohlmans Book as well as F. O. Baird's Leather Secrets (1976 revised Edition) (uses cordovan) as well as How to Lace (22nd Edition) (uses cordovan) and Braiding and Lacing for Fun (1962) (uses Loop). I wonder if it was a regional thing and depending on which region of the country it was Loop or Cordovan. I guess I never noticed since I keep the How to Lace book on may work table for reference. Interesting..... I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks or at least new names. 8-)

Alex, Good questions. When I started carving leather in 1970, most of the books covered figure carving or Western Floral Designs. I did holsters, belts, quivers, brief cases, 3-legged camp stools, handbags, purses, wallets. I also do wood working. Anything from antique furniture restoration (billiards table, hoosier cabinet, clock cases) to wood turning. In the late 90's I was helping a master wood carver finish a Totem Pole on Rainy Lake at Camp Kooch-i-ching and I began to look at Native American Art (bead patterns, totem poles, Shield patterns, etc.) and how that would transfer to leather. I had spent 18 years living summers on that island and at that camp since my parents worked there, but never ever looked at it as an art form until much later in life. You can find examples of my work in the Show Off section. I also take Military insignia and medals and transfer their design to leather for special projects (retirement/going away present). I guess that is why I consider myself a craftsman rather than an artist. When my wife wanted a totem of a rabbit on her PDA case I realized that I had not seen one in any of the literature or current art/poles that followed the traditional totem art form of the northwest. I am currently drawing one myself. I have finished one design and I am letting it sit for a while and I will come back to it to see if I am still happy with the results, otherwise I will begin attempt #2. Eventually the design will be transfered to the leather PDA case and tooled. I might, just might consider that art. So the answers are: Question #1 is: craftsman - I really want people to know that the final product was hand crafted and not machined pressed; Question #2 is: my life experiences and my love/belief in the Red Road.

One thing I did not see mentioned is the fact that the hole size (slit or round and I have used both) and the spacing is dependent on the width of the lacing being used. As for corners, I prefer to only use two consecutive stitches in a hole and will expand the number of holes I use to make the turn depending on the sharpness of the curve, that way there is a gradual decrease in spacing going into the curve and then a gradual increase in spacing coming out of the curve. I try to achieve symmetry across the corner. There are time when dealing with the long graceful curve of a handbag cover that I will throw in an extra stitch one either side to keep the slant of the stitch consistent I am also curious as to when did the Cordovan stitch (single, double, triple, quadruple) become the Loop Stitch?

I have found that making color palettes using scrap leather of the quality and tanning that I normally tool an invaluable tool to understand the results of the dye. Here are the palettes that I have at my bench for reference: File 1 is a palette I made back in the 70s. I have kept it as a reference and to see the affects as the leather darkens with age. File 2 is a current palette of the Oil and Alcohol base dyes (Tandy & Fierbing's) File 3 is from the new Tandy Eco Flow Highlighters File 4 is of finishes that I use or preservatives in the case of Lexol (Non Darkening Blend) The two books I have for reference are: Coloring Leather by Al Stohlman (Stock No. 61942-00) published by Tandy The Main Technique of Coloring Leather by Peter Main, published in 2006 by The Australian Leather Craftsman Publications (available from his web site at www.petermain.com) Both books have good. Peter's explains the techniques of going from a light shade with spirit dye to a darker shade with the same dye. Both have very good comparison charts of dye colors and thinned and straight, over coloring (one color over the other and then reversing the combination actually yields slight changes), and finish affects. Don't be afraid to experiment. I look forward to seeing some of your work. We all want to help and grow this art form.

You are correct on the water based dyes. I always go over my water based work with either satin finish or gloss finish to lock in the water base. I use two to three coats with the first two being put on by brush and the final being rubbed on. This usually does the job. When I use the oil or alcohol based dyes, I don't need a final sealer unless I want to make sure the dye does not rub off on the users clothes, then I will seal them as well. Nothing like having black dye rub off on white clothing.

PIP, TKS. Have you been to the following web sites: users.imag.net/~sry.jkramer/nativetotems dev.stoningtongallery.com

Welcome to the Forum JOSEP. I am looking forward to see some of you handy work.

SkipJ, The easiest way to think of it is: Feed Dogs work from the bottom to move the material; Walking Foot works from the top to move the material' Needle Feed will move the material once it has penetrated all the way through. Feed Dogs and Walking Feet can be either smooth or have teeth in them. If you are doing leather work and do not want to mare the surface you want the smooth surface. Teeth are used for moving fabrics, webbing, etc. Needle Feed is used to move multiple layers and keep the layers aligned.