bikermutt07

Sounds about right. I told a kid at work that I play with leather and he said "Cool, so you make like belts and saddles and stuff?" LOLOL My wife keeps telling me to make stuff with zippers. I'm terrified at the thought.

Great job guys.

Yay!!!! I am waiting patiently for the clicker knife. I promised not to harass him. Hehe

I'm not sure.... You have a model number?

Those are all valid points, Plink. When I see some items that have long paid for r&d something in my brain just can't bring me to pay what retail will still demand. I call it my "ar syndrome". The technology has been paid for for 50+ years and I can't imagine a stock ar should retail for more than 400.00. But yet people are still shelling out 700.00 daily for them. And I still don't own one. Maybe I'm just a cheap skate when it comes to somethings.

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but..... My problem is the price range they are in. With no motor or table I can't see them being worth much more than 6 or 700.00. I just don't see it (and I know the market will bear what the market will bear).

This is my little process. Sand an bevel edges. If it has fuzzies I burn those. I use dye for the edges. Even if my dye color is diluted I use full strength on the edge. I apply it with a small firm angled paint brush. I put the piece against the edge of my work bench and use my bottom two fingers along the edge of my desk for a guide. The leather will suck up the dye. If it presents more fuzzies lightly sand it and let it set for a few minutes. Then singe the fuzzies again the dye will dry quickly. Apply a second coat of dye. Then I went it with a little glycerine soap and rub the bar lightly into the edge. Let it set for a few minutes. Then I finish the edge with a light application of tokonole applied with the same brush. Let it set for about 5 minutes. Then rub it. It will shine up pretty nice like that.

And then there is this..... http://www.thecuttingboardfactory.com

Bite'em. I have never had any issues with fingernails and leather.

Looking good so far.

I have since been wanting to get the crimson's as well. I watched Nigel's review of them right after placing my wuta order. I will try the more defined line, thanks.

I recently got the same set. I am having a problem tracking my divider line though. Seems the slight rounding of the tips allows it to walk a bit. Am I just being to picky or should I be doing something different? I was really looking forward to getting them, but alas, on my current wallet project I reverted back to my trusty colink 15 dollar chisels.

You use granite, quartz, or glass when you make skiving cuts. Think, thinning down the edges to reduce bulk. Your outside edge rides on the "glass surface" to help establish and maintain the angle. Marble is not probably used by anyone, it is too soft. The other items are mostly just for simply cutting leather and fall into a preference\available category. I have a hard rubber belted mat I have been using as well as a craft store cutting mat. I am hoping to upgrade soon to some form of real cutting board material. My headknife is extremely sharp and digs into both of my present surfaces.

Most do run both the reducer and servo. I don't own a machine yet, but have done a lot of reading.

That is nice. You showing off a lot of techniques. Great job.

Yeah he is great. I think I remember him saying if I didn't feel like it was perfect (for some forgotten time period) I could feel free to return it. I emailed him after a week and said "they'll pry it out of my cold dead hands".

You won't be disappointed. I too have big hands and short stubby fingers. Gloves are a nightmare for me. That French model fits perfect in my hand though. My only complaint at all (and it's not really a complaint) is that it will dig into my cutting surface a little. Man, that thing is sharp. Champagne problems.

http://www.knipknives.com/leather.php Terry makes an excellent knife. You may have to wait, but is worth it. I own his French model and love it. He makes a petite version that isn't listed on his site. He can actually make whatever you want and his prices are very reasonable. Super nice gentleman and I can't say enough good things about him. If you call him he will be very informative and helpful.

In the beginning it is best to start with small repeatable items. Bracelets, key chains, and the like. Here is why. If you jump around to one off projects in the beginning, (like I did) you will miss steps or get the order of steps out of whack. I suggest bracelets to everyone, not because I like bracelets, but because you get the best yield of leather to learning ratio. With one single shoulder you can have a months worth of learning fun. You can learn to use the tools and learn all the steps. Cutting, dying, edging, burnishing, antique, tooling, finishing, hardware, conchos, laminating, pretty much everything. And you can do 20 (or more) at a time. Mess up?, chunk the 50 cents worth of leather in the bin and keep moving forward. I can't tell you how many projects didn't reach being finished because I made a misstep along the way. Another tip is use patience. The slower you go the better it will be. Lots of steps require 24 hours between them. This is a good time to work on another project. There is nothing in leather that looks fabulous without time and care being spent. There are people here that can pump out beautiful work in a hurry, but they have equipment and more importantly the knowledge that comes with decades of experience. I have been at it almost three years. But I have had very little time at the bench. So, I still count myself a newbie. I am hoping that I will have more time as my boy gets older. Anyway, good luck. And I hope this helps. You will be making bags in no time, I'm sure.

Terry at knipknife makes a nice clicker style knife.

Yeah, I thought I was doing good until I came here.

Abbey's has them I believe. But I'm not sure where you're located. I have also had good dealings with Rocky Mountain Leather Supply.

Keep up the good work. If you spend awhile with scrap, videos, and some thread you can up your stitching game in an afternoon. It does look pretty good. I like the color.

I've had success with water. But recently someone told me to put it on full strength, thin dauber coat. Don't saturate the leather. Then walk away for 24 hours. The color should be pretty close to the bottle (it always varies). Buff then decide if you want it darker. Remember that when you add neatsfoot oil after dying it will darken somewhat more. I think I will dilute my purple next time. It was perfect after dying, but when I added neatsfoot oil it went too dark.

Be proud she appreciated your art, and showed it. There will always be people who won't.