YinTx

I've had a piece of their import leather behave in similar manners to the Tandy leathers. Also, I've never had Tan-Kote alter the colors of my leather project...ymmv of course, but it does seem unusual. YinTx

Heheheheh great story, great bag. What did you use as the liner? YinTx

Not necessarily the size of the forks in the pricking iron. Here is a 2.7mm stitch, using a very affordable Ebay stitching iron and Fil Au Chinois 532 thread. Very small teeth, small holes. You'll note you can't hit them too hard, or you'll open up the hole too much. These just mark the leather. You can also see on the top of the photo a 3.38mm stitch, same thread, different style iron. Both on 2 layers of 1-2 oz Hermann Oak leather. YinTx

Hah, lets see it! Both your original and the new! YinTx

Nice! Blue on black is a favorite combo of mine... YinTx

I'm no holster expert, but I think you gotta move those stitch lines in closer to the gun so that it does not get loose over time and allow the gun to wobble around in the holster. As far as dye and finish are concerned, you really need to experiment. A lot. On different leathers, with different combinations, different strengths (yes, you can and should experiment with diluted finishes: tankote, resolene, etc can be thinned with water, other finishes require different thinners). Cheap leathers sometimes have coatings and fillers that inhibit penetration and adhesion of dyes and finishes. Adding leather conditioners before or after finishes affects things. You kind of have to find the one combination that you like, and you may find you like different ones for different things: you may want to do something different on a wallet than you would on a holster or a belt or a notebook cover. YinTx

I have seen his video on "Art, Craft and Farmer Market Basics." Pretty good info there. YinTx

Indeed! Quite certainly overpriced for this particular show. I think your assessment is pretty accurate. I will probably put some on Ebay also, just to test the waters there. This is some of what I got schooled on by my neighbor vendor. This is a really small show, so I'm trying to hone my bit some before trying a large show. The table is cheap, the lessons valuable. Bikermutt, there appear to be hundreds of videos there to scroll through, any one in particular I should be viewing? YinTx

Did not sell a single tooled wallet, but did sell a hat, a caiman skin, and a key holster, so that was good. Paid for the table and my time. Learned a lot this time around from a holster maker, so that was worth it! YinTx

I'm not complaining, I sold some stuff to other vendors like some leather I wasn't using, and delivered a key remote holder someone ordered in the past, so I have some $$ in the pocket. But I do hope today is better. YinTx

When I worked in another industry, there were some suppliers/contractors that acted the same way. They didn't get business from me - without the attitude, they would have. However, I understand that they get tired of spending hours understanding issues and putting together parts lists and quotes only to have the customer take that info to buy cheap products elsewhere. @RockyAussie my view is very similar to yours, my post was perhaps filled with too much sarcasm. The situation irks me. The "throwaway" society that has been forced upon customers is a worldwide travesty from the exploitation of human labor all the way to waste of resources and pollution of the environment both in the manufacturing process and disposal of the final product, in my humble opinion. Fake peeling leather couches are a fine example. How many tons of steel and polyester and plastic have made it to land fills because the surface coating only lasts 6 months? How much energy and oil were expended to mine and refine the raw materials to construct that couch? Auto makers design for 10 year life. Engineers are taught how to do that in college. The design differences between 10 and 50 years is sometimes miniscule. They are also taught infinite life design, you can imagine how rarely that gets used. But I risk hijacking the thread, so I'll cool my jets and get some breakfast. And coffee. YinTx

I think you answered the question. Called Planned Obsolescence. If they can't fix it, and you can't fix it, you have to buy a new one from them, and they make a lot more $$$!! Many companies do this, to the detriment of our environment and resources. But it is their way of adapting and competing. Imagine if you were still repairing that 60 year old clicker press (or... car), instead of buying a new one because the control board burned out. How are they ever going to make money selling new ones? anyhow, I'll turn my rant off now, and step off of the box. Find some one hanging on to the past with an electronics repair business, they may be able to help. Maybe not. YinTx

Yes, you are correct. Everyone here looks at it and says "Ooooh that's nice" and keep on walkin. Many thanks! If you try, you will, and thank you! Appreciate it! YinTx

That is a whole lot of tooling! Looks fantastic. Need more photos, and up close, so we can admire it more! YinTx

Many thanks! Hopefully folks like them well enough to buy them! YinTx

Wish me luck. Some templates, some my own design, tried some new coloring techniques etc. YinTx

Stitching is nicely done! imagine that is quite a functional bag... how much does it weigh? YinTx

Glad you liked it. Couldn't decide which to send, so you got both. Third one I did got ruled out. For the bear I was going for a gritty, rough look, with a lot of texture. For the ram, I tried for simple, minimal tool marks, flowing lines. I hemmed and hawed a bit on using a shader for the petals/leaves/sticker burrs, whatever you like to call them, and opted not to. Wreckerative cuts were probably a bit timid and could be much bolder. Open to suggestions on both, both were new techniques for me. Thank you. Just the shape of a clicker die I had, and I thought it would make a unique coaster - not square, not round. Thanks! YinTx

Yes, I did mean to reference 532 thread. Looks like the thread you are using is pretty thick, and it looks like maybe you are using the Tandy stitching irons, and maybe your tension is too much (pulling the thread too tight). Nothing wrong with all that if you are looking for the chunky stitch style, but if you are looking for the elegant slanted style, you have to change it all up. YinTx

Thanks. I used 3.38mm pricking irons, and an old old awl that I have re-profiled. Thread size and tension make some differences too: try a 532 and see if you get more slant. YinTx

You nailed that barbed wire and the ribbon. The colors on the ribbon pad are awesome! YinTx

Thank you! After all this time, I think I'm beginning to get the knack for hand stitching. I'm kinda hoping for some cool photos of the model with her bling as well. Thanks much, Bob! Thank you, after all the different efforts, I'm glad one finally came out well! YinTx

Thank you. I suspect if it is like some of the other Hermann Oak leather tooling I've done, it will darken even more. Time will tell! I did post the final result of the finished collar in a separate thread. YinTx

Hmm. well, that isn't my issue. Wish it were so simple! YinTx

What dies did you have in there? I'm having some issues with mine deforming caps also...tho not to the extent you are. Curious what the end result is and what the issue was. Thanks, YinTx