YinTx

@JayEhl, That is fantastic looking! I see a lot of little details on yours that came out a lot better than mine. Perhaps I'll have to practice again. But they have put up even more free classes on other stuff too so who knows if I'll get to it for a second round? YinTx

Really looks like that curved back edge is keeping you from properly beveling to the bottom of the cut, and causing you to step all over the letter. Used decent sets of Craftool stamps can be had pretty readily on Ebay, etc., maybe even where you are at. Most don't really like the cheap sets, since the shaft can often be bent with bare hands. If you are brave enough, you could take a file and some sandpaper to the tool to alter the profile, might tell you if that is really the issue. YinTx

Serge Volken (sp?) suggests using a large horse hair brush. Check out his youtube videos, I think he demonstrates how to do this as well. Seemed pretty effective and produced a nice result. 11:30 mark I think. YinTx

I think it is fantastic, and you definitely have still got the touch! Welcome back from your hiatus. YinTx

Indeed. I suspect there is enough info just in the tooling world of leather that I'll never learn let alone see it all! Here is my progress for today. Still debating how I want to color/antique it etc. YinTx

That design rocks! YinTx

@JayEhl, put a photo here! Lets see how it's going! YinTx

Appreciate it! Stay safe out there in West Texas. If you are ever in the DFW area, look up Elktracks Studio, I've had the luxury of attending a one day class that he taught, time and $ very well spent. Pretty much the extent of my instruction, the rest is pretty much self taught. YinTx

Jim Linnell drew up the pattern, and it does seem to closely resemble the Porter style carving. Thanks for the compliment! YinTx

Really cool! Surprised that they didn't use round holes for the stitching, so that it didn't show through the front on the original ball. YinTx

So here is the results from a couple of days effort. I tried to do it justice, but clearly not up to the master level of Mr. Linnell! I sometimes have more difficulty doing the larger patterns than the tiny patterns, perhaps because I have done more of the tiny stuff. Good for me to learn new stuff! Curious to see if anyone else has been trying his pattern and following his instruction? If so, feel free to post your progress here! I'd love to see it. YinTx

+1, agreed, nice clean project! YinTx

The one on the right. not quite black, but pretty dark leather. Tooled, no antique. Is this kinda what you are thinking of? YinTx

They are all three good, but the volume that has a section on knife sheaths is Volume One. The Art of Hand Sewing Leather is also quite good, but I didn't see anything in there specific to knife sheaths. If you haven't sewn before and plan to on this, definitely review it. YinTx

@Dwight, I considered doing that, but the customer wanted a different look than the prototype, so I went ahead and did version 4. He says it's a keeper, but hasn't been able to acquire it yet due to the stay at home orders here. Here's the look - and it works pretty well. YinTx

Looks top notch and really functional to boot! Well done. YinTx

I hope you all are aware of the free classes that Jim Linnell is putting on. They are in several individual parts, and on Tandy's Facebook page. He is going into a lot of detail about tooling and assembling a notepad cover with a pocket and pen holder. There are some episodes that the audio is no good, but still worth watching him work up close. He goes into detail about decorative cuts, understanding why he does the things he does, how to get good depth in your carving, etc. It is oriented to the very beginner leather worker, but I found a lot to garner from it. I am using it to let the young one learn as well. Here is the first piece I have tooled from his pattern, which is an internal pocket - on some pretty rough leather. Yes, I know it has errors, but hey, this is for learning! I'm off to touch one of them up... YinTx

Also Al Stohlman's "Art of making leather cases" will be of use. YinTx

It is really nice though. Let us know how it does in the rest of the world! YinTx

Thank you so much for sharing your techniques with us. I have not seen anyone tool like that, nor have I seen coloring like that. I have been enjoying watching all of your videos! Nicely done! YinTx

They came out really nice! Excellent use of free time, btw. YinTx

2016, 2671, and 2051 sold. YinTx

Take a look at some of these: I have others as well. Let me know what type of leaf pattern you are looking for and what the application is: wallet, belt, etc. YinTx

I might, let me know if you are still interested and I'll take a look through what I have... YinTx