slipangle

Old thread, I know. But just want to say I think that is superb. I really get the six foot turkey reference. Been having a lot of wild turkeys in the neighborhood and yard this year. For some reason, as Fall approached, I noticed some of them running. Not sure why but haven't seen that in years past. What struck me as they leaned forward and ran was how much they resembled a Velociraptor. Anyway, your tooling is sculptural art.

The ball head itself is standard stuff. From the ball upwards, however, that shaft and the fitting attached to it, with hinge, is a custom piece. The outfit making those swivel mount stitching ponies likely had it made specifically for this purpose, their design.

Now that there's some oil in the leather at the edges, it could bleed. The tool you use to apply the dye makes a big difference. A standard wool dauber isn't it. Even a Q tip can be tricky. Anything that is fairly firm and lays flat, and only contacts the very tip of the edge will help keep the dye from creeping down past the edge onto the front or back. I use a 1/4 inch square piece of hard felt, in the form of a "stick". Kept fairly dry and not sopping with dye.

I'll add 2 cents if I may, Chris. If it's the video I'm thinking of, he may have only used a Sharpie as the initial darkening agent for the edges. Then sanded, then applied a more suitable product. Sharpie alone won't last, in my view, and the black ink in Sharpies tends to go blueish over time. You could certainly try it over the oil but in my opinion the application of Mink oil is a no-no. Mink oil softens and degrades leather. What you don't want on a sheath or a holster, in my view. Since you've already oiled, I would obtain a bottle of Fiebing's black leather dye, the alcohol or oil dye, and go over it with that. Followed by wax and burnishing.

Just wanted to say Chris, I just visited your site. Your furniture is amazing. Outstanding. I only dabble in leatherwork and saddle stitching, but also have trouble with the stitches laying down in that consistent "diagonal slash" look. Especially on the back side. lots of people here are top notch at it. Just takes lots of practice and a consistent movement and technique with the needle placement and thread management as you go back and forth. Your sheath looks excellent to me. I remember the old Buck knife well.

That might be another good option, Matt. I used to have a fairly elaborate jig/fixture...Delta as I remember, that was designed for sharpening drills, and it might've worked well for something like this. A cutter grinding fixture in a machine shop might be just the ticket. I've seen videos of guys adapting a Dremel mounted to the compound of a metal lathe to be used as a tool post grinder as well. A clever alternative to a very expensive Dumore tool post grinder or similar.

Realizing this thread is old and that, hopefully, you've purchased a new blade, but if you wanted to keep the old blade as a spare and get it fixed up, I would try to find a service in your area that sharpens carbide tools, like saw blades, router bits, etc. They may have the fixture necessary, or could rig one up, to hold this blade, and rotate it, against the rapidly spinning grinding wheel. My second choice would be a well outfitted machine shop. One that has a surface grinding machine. It's likely this blade was made on a surface grinder and if there are nicks in the edge, the primary bevel needs to be re-ground and then a secondary bevel ground onto it to sharpen it. With an ultra fine stone, polished, etc. Could or would a machine shop do this? Unknown. But it's worth checking out, I think, given the price of replacement blades. The only way I would try to do this at home would be to rotate the blade slowly, held somehow in the headstock of a metal lathe, which I have, and ground using a tool post mounted grinder, which I don't.

I'm also fascinated by his blades. Diamond shaped blade but sharpened to a chisel point. I'll definitely have to try that.

Don't log in here much but wanted to comment on those Jerome David awl hafts. Just beautiful. As someone who has dabbled in awl making, and wood and metal work in general, I'd love to see how he constructs these. Just for my own curiosity. Here are a few I made a couple of years ago, and sold some of them here. Haven't made one in some time. Utilizing the Starrett pin vise and the nickel silver collar I turn makes these considerably heavier than Titanium, I would think. Awl hafts

Hello, Terribly sorry about the delay. As a matter of fact, I do still have number 3. If you are interested. Thanks...Scott

Hi Sceaden, You are next in line on this wanted list so thought I'd run this one by you first. Thing is, this one is quite small and probably more suited to things like wallets and such. I will be making some larger ones though. But this is the last piece of my really good lignum vitae. Even better than the LV than I made the four burnishers in my for sale thread. Though that is nice stuff too, this yellowish green stuff is just a cut above, IMO. I only had a small chunk of this left, hence the small size. Anyway, no obligation of course. If you can use this one, let me know. If not, I can show it to the next person who inquired. This one is 3/4 diameter, about 7/8 long overall, and the grooves are 3/16, 1/8 and 1/16, approximately. End button is 3/16 diameter. Shank is 1/8 diameter and 11/16 long. $37 shipped if interested. Thank you for you patience. Scott

Huh? Are you saying that only Tandy can sell these books? How about re-sellers who purchase them from Tandy wholesale, then re-sell them.You know, like every book store buys books from the publisher to re-sell. The Amazon listing does say that Tandy is the publisher. Paperback: 132 pages Publisher: Tandy Leather Co. (January 1, 1983) Language: English ISBN-10: 1892214938 ISBN-13: 978-1892214935 Anyway, there may be something here I'm unaware of. And probably uninterested in.

This is kind of odd, if you'll forgive me. The printed and bound copies of these Stohlman books are already copyrighted by Tandy, even the ones available on Amazon. So "legality" isn't an issue. Unless you think someone is bootlegging the books. Which I seriously doubt. As for down loading a file, personally, I really like having the books themselves. You can lay them open on the bench, enjoy the great illustrations and even read them while sitting or laying around, like any book. I like paper books though. Just doesn't seem the same viewing them on a computer screen. 2 cents.

If it were me, I'd start with these books. They are fantastic, IMO. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Leather-Cases-Vol/dp/1892214938

Grabbed his big score and took a powder? Man, what a deal. Very generous of you, Mr Edmunds.

Nice guitar, Larry, I'm just curious, as a woodworker with the obvious skills you have, how did the five attempts at a burnisher fail? Like I say, just curious. Thx.

What do you suppose is in Fiebings degalzer? I've often wondered. I bought some but was thinking it was probably something I already had on hand.

It's very close. Check out pics of the spotted sea trout, or weakfish. Some of which have oversized lower jaws. Plus, he's excited. very nice work, Stewart. Very atmospheric.

Thank you, Grumpyold, for chiming back in. I want you to know I appreciate it. You're absolutely right that anybody can make a burnisher, of course. Heck, I used to burnish my edges with an old , well worn cobbler's tool. Still do sometimes. And it works. As you can tell, I just wanted to try to make some "fancy" ones. To tell the truth, I had pretty much decided not to make these Dremel burnishers last year after I sold two larger drill press versions. First because I figured that for what I'd have to charge for them, I almost felt guilty. Like I said, I think they're kind of expensive too. And second, I kind of thought this was sort of a mundane use for such rare wood. And then it hit me. I'd better make something out of these small pieces, while I can. One of my moderate fears from time to time is that I'll croak and all this wood will still be sitting here...for my wife to deal with. Perish the thought. So, burnishers it is, for now. And a few awl handles. So, thank you all for the kind words, and enthusiasm for these tools. And....my wife thanks you too. :>

Nah, It won't. Thanks Matt.

I'm hesitant to further engage as you seem to be real upset for some reason, but I'll only add that I am a leather worker too. But I'm not that good at it so I haven't as yet posted any of the things I've made in the show off section. Matter of fact I just made my first holster. But it didn't come out that well so I wouldn't show it off. Maybe I will the next one. I'm not that proud of my leather work, so far. But I think I can make a pretty fair tool. I started out making my first awl haft for my own use. And my first burnisher. Then figured that maybe some fellow members on this forum might be interested in owning a hand made tool, so posted some here. And sell one or two now and again. If you think this is some business venture with which I'm flooding the forum only for my own gain, guess again. I'll bet I average about five bucks an hour on my awl hafts. Probably less. I put a lot into them. And ain't doing it for the money. As a retired person, it adds a little pocket money so I can buy a side now and again, or something else. Im not sure why you have such an axe to grind on this. I'm doing my best to maintain a civil tongue. But your ranting , though your every right I guess, is getting old. And annoying. All these burnishers are sold, so I'll move on.

Well, ...better check your facts. There is a whole sub section of this site called "marketplace" , devoted to selling all manner of things. Open to all members. Currently, it has over 11,000 posts. Folks selling anything from books to leather goods, services, machines and hand tools. The terms of use of the marketplace are clear. Read them . I have. This is my first for sale post this year. Its quite clear you don't think my tools listed here are worth what I'm asking for them. Point taken. I notice it doesn't say "contributing member" below your user name either. So it couldnt very well be your dime, could it?

This is another cool idea, Sanch. One I contemplated myself. Wanted to make a set much like the Crimson Hides irons, after looking at the pictures of them. Then I actually looked at what was involved. I have a small milling machine but still, the complex cuts and grinds are beyond my capabilities. So I just bought a set. Very nice tools. making some out of a saw blade is a novel idea. But, what is the kerf, or thickness of that saw blade? Are you planning on adding handle scales, much like a knife? That would look cool.

Thanks for the lesson, grumpy old. And all of the ...reality. This thread is about something else entirely. Perhaps you'd care to start your own, complete with instructions. It would be appreciated.

Well, I'll be the first to admit that these aint cheap. And not for everyone, to be sure. I would be curious what wood you used, grumpyold. And what you used for the shank, etc. I could certainly whip up a burnisher quickly, with a piece of hardwood and a piece of cold rolled steel rod, and I'm pretty sure it would work OK. But that was not my only aim here. You think these are expensive, you should check out my awl hafts! :>