YinTx

Or just take a pointed stylus and push it where you want the dot. YinTx

That looks pretty thick to be using for a wallet! A simple item to make would be a valet tray. With that many sheets of that size, you could easily make some satchels/briefcases, especially if you kept the design simple. Several good Youtube videos out there of how to construct one. Just some ideas. That is an awesome gift, that much leather can be pretty pricey! YinTx

Do a little search on this site, you will see a lot off reviews on stitching chisels. That style results in a bit of a chunky stitch and big hole, in my opinion. YinTx

Ceramic Pros: Should already be sharp. Should always stay sharp. You will have to strop. I found I had to sharpen and polish mine, so this pro went away. Ceramic Cons: Brittle. Easy to chip or crack, once this happens, usually useless. Mine has a crack, I can still use it though one side works better than the other for sure. Metal Pros: Easy to sharpen, easy to polish. You can change the angle of the grind if you desire. You will have to strop. Metal Cons: You will have to sharpen most common brand blades when you receive it. The more expensive, high end brands will come already sharp, so this con goes away. You may have to sharpen it again in your lifetime. Usually stropping does the trick tho. I have a small collection of swivel knives, and it is small compared to other's collections. Everything I can do with an expensive blade I can do with my cheapest blade. You could not have convinced me of this before I had my collection, because I was sure a great blade would change my world. Yes, an expensive tool is wonderful to use. Unless you just gotta have it tho, probably not worth the orders of magnitude price difference. I still regularly pick up my old lower end Tandy swivel because I like the angle of the grind, and I managed to get a very good polish on the blade and it cuts very well. Even Jim Linnell, who has an impressive array of vintage, collectible, and high end swivels always seems to pick up his Tandy Ergo swivel to teach his classes. As an aside, Robert Beard will sharpen your blade for you for free for life (_his_ lifetime, not yours or the tool's!) He has just done this for a blade that I picked up second hand that had a bad regrind on it. I have not put it to use yet, I am still hoping that it will change my world, so my assertion that no one can convince me that a cheap blade will do the trick even if it is true, still holds. YinTx

JH Leather does a couple of different methods, here is one. Yintx

For a first project, you are off to the races! Looking fantastic. Resolene should work for you, and on a painted surface probably best to spray on lightly. Most dilute 50/50 with water with good results. YinTx

Looks like it'll do the trick nicely! Nice stitching, too btw. YinTx

I always love seeing your work. Your use of colors is always outstanding, along with all of the skill and craftsmanship that goes into your work. Another knocked out of the park! YinTx

True, and thanks for sharing here as well. Has me thinking about those bobbins with odd thread on them sitting for long stretches at a time... YinTx

Adhesive usually helps prevent separation when you slick the edges. Not much else going to keep leather stuck together as far as I know. YinTx

You make it look so simple! Looks really good. YinTx

One option is to go direct to Wickett and Craig leather, get some bridle leather bellies. Really low price (like, $7-10 a piece), no worries if you mess up some, not bad leather. Has a sheen that you are looking for, will burnish on the edges like you mention, you can get several thicknesses to address what you are making (ask them to split it for you). Prices are much lower direct from the tanner, and you can buy one at a time if you like. When you find a color and finish you like, you can buy a side from their overstock section often at very low prices (like $150-175 per side). Just an option. Prices probably going to change, and I have nothing to do with W&C other than I like their leather for some of my projects! YinTx

Nicely executed! Is that Chevre Chagrin? Definitely a dose of red there! YinTx

Just wow! YinTx

Maybe the runny one was warm? I've not had one that thin. Old ones tend to get almost like clay, so maybe it is just fresh! I think you will find if you smear some on a scrap piece of leather, they will give you different results. If you really feel the need to dilute, you can buy the neutral antique and mix it in. YinTx

yes, I probably started at 600 grit and worked all the way to 2000 grit before polishing with rouge. It's been a while since I did it, but I was really happy with the outcome. Use a high quality 3m paper if you can. YinTx

heh, my dad, in his 80's, has some, but I don't claim to have any... again, cool pony, have you gotten to try it out yet? YinTx

I looked at my ceramic blade under a 10x loop, and could see grind marks from the factory. I "sharpened" it (ie, removed the grind marks and got a nice polish on it) and now no drag.. at. all. Strop once in a while if I feel like it, but with white rouge on a piece of cardstock, not leather. I think I used a Cerax stone to hone, but don't remember. Possible I used some sand paper because I didn't want to damage the stone. But they will take a shine like glass if you work them. Unfortunately, mine has an old crack, so I can only use the one side, which means I usually pick up a metal blade as a favorite. YinTx

Great work, especially considering you don't do wood work! You'll get some use out of that for sure. (but where did those metal coffee cans come from....) YinTx

A really big thread in a small hole. Also, possible that you occasionally reverse a needle as you are going, easy to do. If a hole size is a bit different when you use your awl, or your angle is slightly off, will make 2 stitches look funky too. Just some guesses. Cool use of a background texture stamp, by the way! YinTx

Thanks. I like tooling in particular, no style specifically. I've been trying to study several styles, and perhaps I'll come up with my own variation. I'm not sure Don's is exactly Sheridan, but it definitely has some elements of it. I think too much at once is a bit much also, so seeing all these items together is a bit much probably. Taken individually, I like them. But to get better, I gotta practice... Thanks! I have come to appreciate DG's patterns as well, although I will probably do some modifications for my own preferences. I think that is a key to leather work, learn and adopt and alter. YinTx

Yep, apparently the contract between ebay and paypal ended, and ebay is using managed payment, which allows them to hold your $$ for like 21 days, and charge you fees immediately after you make a sale. Ebay keeps the fees instead of sharing with paypal. It's a money grab for sure, and if they keep all the sellers, will increase the stock price. If they lose sellers because the little guy does not want to provide a bank account # for them to plunder, or believes that a SSN is not to be shared nilly willy, or does not have a business tax ID , then they will lose stock price. I imagine that will dictate how they progress. YinTx

That is definitely unique! Rather cool, too. What do you plan to do with it? YinTx

Nonsense, I take all kinds of support and critical suggestions! Thanks for both! He does a lot of great stuff right. So I finally broke down and spent some money on his patterns as a way of thanks and support and to of course help myself! Thank you truly! YinTx

Bit sneaky but it's actually Ostrich. Not sure if it is cheaper than croc, but they both have a really prehistoric look to them that appeals to me. I probably could have spent some more time on the edges of it, etc, maybe next time! YinTx