bikermutt07

Welcome aboard, Peter.

Tandy did make some stainless. I found them very difficult to set and they were really pricey. Plated brass is probably better than plated pot metal. I got frustrated with never having matching hardware. I would have this part in black chrome and that part in antique brass, etc, etc, etc... So, I just decided to start doing everything I can in solid brass. It can antique over time. Just my thoughts. Sorry, no pictures as of right now. I just started the process of switching over.

Those look good.

Nice job.

@fredk has forgotten more about leather than I will ever know. I think I was thinking about a snap post protruding thru the cap or socket when I said 1mm (which may also be wrong?). Sorry for the misinformation. Thanks for the comment about the right fitting hole. I usually make them snug, but hadn't given much thought as to why they needed to be snug.

I bought the Barry King setters in line 20 and 24 from maker supply. Pairing those with solid brass from buckle guy seems the way to go. I haven't had them long so I can't say much about the system. But, the setters and snaps made for a fine looking snap.

Right on. It seems they have had a continuing clearance rack the whole te I have been visiting my local store. Usually, what comes out at the beginning of the year is what you see on clearance in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Every year. But, hopefully that will change as well. Things should start moving off the shelves at a more steady Pace with better pricing.

Well, I would say with what you are showing here, I would think you are ready to start making some offerings. Heck, I haven't made 10 wallets and I been at this for awhile. But, I tend to jump around a bit. And take lots of breaks. What is important is for you to continue to strive at getting better. I think caring about improving as you move forward will carry you very far. These are nice looking little wallets.

You have to keep the shaft about 1mm protruding out of the leather. Cutting the post down has been difficult for me in the past. Now I just hold them in my needle nose pliers and grind them down with my Dremel. If the post is too long the caps will drift when you set them. The only way I have taken them apart is carefully prying up the corner and using snips to cut the cap in half. Usually, you can rub out any rough spots with a modeling spoon. Or regular spoon. I have moved on to buckle guy rivets and setters. They are a nice step forward in my hardware game.

My gal was cool enough to say, hey, we're about to do away with memberships, (yours is expired) so I'm giving you gold pricing for now. Cool team at my local store.

If you are referring to decorative nails like on the Florsheim v cleat shoes, then yes they could easily scratch hardwood.

You may want to email Lisa Sorrell. She has an inlay overlay book that may cover exotics to a point. Then again, a trip down under to visit Brian may be the best investment one could ever make in leathercraft.

I heard from my local manager a little while back that this was coming. She said, starting in Canada first then Monday in the states, all gold and elite memberships were gone and retail pricing would be lower than elite pricing. Military would still receive another 10% off of that. The part mentioned above about closing retail stores sounds like something corporate would pull. My local manager claimed that the new CEO had been shopping Weaver and Springfield (as well as others) and wanted to become more competitive. The pricing sounds like it would be good for beginners, but they were already blindly overpaying. And, seasoned shoppers weren't spending money there due to pricing and quality. So, I would think fixing one would help, but unless they fix both, they will continue to decline. Just my thoughts.

You're off to a great start.

Nice, thanks for sharing, Sioux.

Nice, thanks for sharing, Sioux.

I did buy his boot video (even though I haven't made a pair yet) and I have to say the segment on skiving section alone is worth the price of the video.

That is cool. Can we maybe see a picture of that trace trimmer?

How is the adjustment on that Bluegrass edger. Is it easy to change sizes or is it saving you time because you leave it set up for one width mostly? I have just been curious about these.....

Where are you located? I have been looking at these machines for awhile now. And, the prices are kind of all over the place. If you want to make or repair shoes they are invaluable. But, not many people want to do that so it is totally a niche market. I have also seen them sitting on eBay not moving for all kinds of prices. But, they are hard to move and expensive to ship. You will need to find someone local who really needs one to get anything out of it. There is one guy on eBay that has 10 different machines and best I can tell he has come all the way down to 2 grand for all of it, and it still won't sell. Because, you have to go to the Carolinas and load it yourself. I have often wondered why knife makers aren't jumping on these machines? Just my thoughts, good luck.

I never thought I would be able to properly skive, until I bought the one from Lisa Sorrell. It along with her video and some sharpening have really helped my game. https://sorrellnotionsandfindings.com/product/skiving-knives/

I didn't think it was possible, Brian, but you just got a little more Ausome in my book.

These are pretty much the same places I have found. I also found this guy... https://laughingcrowe.com/ And Tim Skyrme's Bespoke Shoemaking is pretty great. If you buy it from Tim's website it comes autographed.

The world of shoes and boots really is hard to get into without some teaching being involved. There is just so so much to it, and not a lot of cordwainers/boot makers around. I have been researching and gathering tools and tidbits of resources for over two years off and on. I still haven't made a pair yet. But, I know some of that is my endless fruitless pursuit of perfection. They say the pursuit of perfection is paralysis. I suffer from this a lot.

That doesn't look any worse than my first few projects. Welcome aboard. What part of Arkansas are you in? I'm down in the Shreveport, LA. area.