YinTx

There are many out there, but here is one: https://www.springfieldleather.com/Cloth-Faille-Black-Yd @RockyAussie had a link here somewhere I think to another type. YinTx

I tried that once. Waited days for it to get back to right. Ever since, I've not really seen the sense in it. Only time I ever see a need to let something case in a bag overnight is if the piece has some hard spots in it and I want to make sure the moisture is very even. But even then I will only put enough moisture to do the job, which a very wet sponge or a misting bottle will do just fine. Sometimes I use casing solution, sometimes just water. Always the quality of the leather has a direct impact on the amount of consistent burnish I can achieve. And yes, some of my older Tandy leather can get a good burnish. Almost always can get great burnish from Hermann Oak. YinTx

Wow, nice wallet and it took a beating! The linen thread gave out in those stress points. How many years of use did it get? It did clean up nicely tho. To answer your questions, for sure I'd let it dry out some more, then a simple light wipe with a carnuba or beeswax finish would probably reduce or eliminate stickiness and reduce future dirt from sticking. May also facilitate future cleaning. If you put too much, then you may find the reverse to be true. YinTx

Impeccable work! YinTx

Nicely done! YinTx

@Rhale, Message incoming. YinTx

The one I showed is probably from the 60's or 70's, no idea how old the blade is. Could be newer or older. But the design looks similar to the one you have. That one is a recent acquisition, so I hope to sharpen it up and use it. But I don't know the correct profile for the edge. I'm guessing just a simple V wedge profile, but it could be a convex bevel? Anyhow, I have several swivel's I'd sell, but the Beard is not one of them. YinTx

If it is like the one in the photo, yes. If it is already smooth, maybe you don't need to work it over? Awesome, then it is going to cut just fine and no one will have any clue whether you cut with a $15 knife or a $250 knife. Just strop every once in a while when you are cutting to get the leather buildup off the blade, and you are off to the races. Get different sized blades when you are ready to experiment. When you have it all dialed in and you are ready for a big $$$$ tool, you'll know what you want. Or you may decide meh, money better spent elsewhere! If you make knives, you may even decide to make your own! They are pretty straightforward, I'd think. YinTx

If I may make another recommendation on your basic swivel knife: Take the top off (it just pulls straight up if it looks like the one in the photo) and polish the nib that the yoke rides on. ( The pointy bit in my photo) Make sure it is shiny too, this is what lets the knife swivel smoothly. I used various grits of sand paper, then jeweler's rouge. Add a drop of oil into the barrel under the yoke, and reinsert the nib. You will find it swivels very smoothly now compared to before. A rough swivel tends to make life more difficult when carving! Here's what the blade looks like. Kinda difficult to photograph, but fairly mirror polished: These are some the knifes that were neglected in favor of the cheapo above. The ones on the right are Craftool Pro, and the Craftool Ergo version. Knife in the middle is the Robert Beard. If anyone knows who the makers are for the ones on the left, I'd be interested to know! They do appear to have Tandy's Ruby blades in them. YinTx

Awesome, I'll keep my eyes open for them. As far as modernized, I'm thinking things other than oak leaves, acorns, flowers and vines. If I knew what that was I'd have already drawn it and tooled it! I have seen koi templates, skulls, feathers, etc but even that is a bit dated. YinTx

I like that you have started selling the acrylic templates. Also, I like the Carve-rite templates, but with some modernized motifs. Always looking for Made in USA hardware, solid stuff not cast zinc or brass with cheap nickel plate - I've been embarrassed using that on customer's belts, etc already. I also like that you have braved the storm and come on LW.net to resolve customer issues, get feedback, and be present. That is not a product, but it is a service that is hard to find from other vendors and worth a lot in my humble opinion. YinTx

I have managed to acquire a lot of swivel knives over time, including one Robert Beard. Which I've heard is great, but mine needs a sharpening because it won't cut a thing. So it hasn't been used. And I have several cheap ol Tandy swivel knives that get regular use. They have been sharpened properly, and are stropped to a mirror shine. They cut fantastic. I sold one for $25 recently. If you were willing to put in the time to sharpen and strop yourself you can find them easily for $10 or less. They work great. If you don't believe me, see Jim Linnell. He is a master carver, has over 100 swivel knives, and his go to is a Tandy knife. Lengths are adjustable so you see what you like. If you decide to upgrade later, you are only out $10-$25. Some of which you could recoup if you decided to sell it. If you are not carving on a regular basis, it doesn't make sense to me to drop $100's on a knife. I get the desire to have a really nice knife, that is how I ended up with the Beard. If I find a Henley or Chuck Smith I like, I may get it. But then I just carved 43 coasters and ornaments using the $10 knife. I mean if ya have $$ to burn, go for the fancy one, but just something to ponder. YinTx

Yes, pretty cool. A tooled machine no less! YinTx

FYI, when I want very little of the antique to stick, I use Pro Resist. Usually applied deliberately with a fine paint brush to the areas I want to have no color added by the antique. It is a very strong resist. TanKote on the other hand, is not as strong a resist, and it allows a lot of the color of the antique to pass through. In some cases, no resist is the way to go. The best way is to experiment on scrap bits, so you don't ruin the piece you have just spent hours and hours working on. I still tend to do a sample or 4 using the same piece of leather my project is made from, and with different resists and antiques (gel, paste, liquid, whatever I think might do the trick to get the look I am after on the piece I have), since every hide and even different sections of the same hide will react differently each time. And different techniques with the same products will give different results too. IE apply Tankote in 2 coats. Dilute the Tankote, use a paper towel to wipe the antique, use sheepswool to wipe antique, etc. You just have to really play around a lot until you like what you get. YinTx

Fantastic work. If I could get something like that done in a month of Sundays, I'd be happy. I usually spend a year of Sundays just cogitating on it! YinTx

Am confused: OP listed for $1200? YinTx

Appreciate it @JayEhl! Don't know why I was always doing them the difficult way before... YinTx

Looks like you are going to make a lot of folks happy! Cool gift ideas. YinTx

Thank you all! Usually happy with other folks tooling! I always see the flaws in my own. I have done better than this in the past for sure tho. From 5 feet, looks pretty good! Best advice I can give is get after it! Takes a while to get it down, and I've wrecked a lot of leather to get something presentable... Thanks, especially considering it was about 3 oz leather. Two tone I did with red and black dyes, then resist, then my own concoction of antique, followed by top sealers. Had to dig in my thread and found some Amy Roke 632 in about the right color, glad you noticed the match! Thank you. I was happy with the color scheme especially since it was a bit experimental for me. Tooling wasn't my best tho. Thanks kiwi! Now to see if there are any interested buyers in the world... YinTx

@immiketoo had a review of some affordable quality swivel knives available on that side of the pond. Search this site and you'll probably find it. He had good comments for them. I seem to have acquired way too many vintage swivel knives, going to have to part with a few. Even the older simple craftool swivel knives cut very nicely when properly sharpened and stropped to a mirror shine, and swivel well when refined. I use them instead of the craftool pro knives I have on occasion without complaint. YinTx

Those are pretty neat! YinTx

A bit daring with the colors, but I think I like that portion. Not entirely happy with the tooling, but it's done! YinTx

I agree with everything mentioned, but kinda get hung up on the concept of making a "SO EASY" Hermes Birkin. To get the skillset necessary to craft an Hermes quality bag takes years, and is far from easy. I think it is a bit hard to cater to both crowds. All that said, I have seen some making Hermes style bags and making it look easy. They have the tools, patterns and the skills - yet still the final result isn't quite Hermes. And I think if any beginner attacked the project, they would be so frustrated with the end result and the cost of the materials and tools that they might never do any other leather project again. Not sure I have a solution, but I like the direction. YinTx

Well, that is interesting, and now we know the replacement for the eliminated Pro line of tooling tools. But, I think I'd just as soon order directly from Barry King and save 10%. Plus, better selection. I'm curious how it'll work out in the long run. YinTx

Still not passing the sniff test. It was ok when they bought the kit, and were perhaps just "dating" but now since it comes to light they are married, it is somehow different? Same number of people, only difference is marital status. Not right at all. YinTx