YinTx

I'm just going to be quiet now until I get enough sleep to speak intelligently. YinTx

Very cool. Thanks for sharing the process pics. YinTx

Don't see braided holsters very often anymore it seems. Those came out pretty good! YinTx

Thats pretty cool! YinTx

Fantastic work, colors are spot on! YinTx

Just understanding how a splitter works would suggest that it should be flat on one side and beveled on the other (single bevel blade). Unless you have two rollers guiding the leather into the blade. I would think you would have a difficult time getting a thin split with a double convex blade. Good luck with the info search, and let us know what you find out! YinTx

Lots of questions there, Tom has great suggestions. We all seem to do things our own ways, and a bit differently. Here's my take: Pro dye still dries out my leather to some extent. Always add neatsfoot oil (NOT the compound) after a dye job, also it makes the colors more lustrous imho. I usually cut before I dye. If you have a large project, you could dye a whole side if you have a large horsehair brush to help keep it all even. Sometimes I dye the flesh side, sometimes I don't. It is difficult to get even, to say the least. Airbrushes help there some say. I usually punch holes, and mark stitch holes after everything is dyed and glued up. This alleviates the situation you had of dye going through holes. After dye, as mentioned, oil it, then consider Aussie, or dubbin made with oil and wax as Tom mentioned. You can apply Tan Kote, straight or diluted 50/50 with water, I find this gives a nice semi gloss finish. You can even apply both, but make sure to wait sufficient time between applications, like a day or two, to allow oils and waxes to fully penetrate, and acrylic finishes to dry thoroughly. Which order is up for debate and your own experience. Water resistance can be obtained by applying an acrylic finisher like resolene, or a laquer based finish like neat-lac. Wax finishes help but don't seem to be as effective in my experience. Hope all this helps. YinTx

This doesn't make sense. Why would we want to charge a higher price? This would cause our sales to go down. This is the reason countries place a tariff on goods: so that other countries have a harder time selling there, and cause the consumer to buy local. In other words, it isn't the company charging more, but the country the item is being sold in adding fees and tariffs/taxes. In order for the company to make the same margin, they end price is higher. This is what folks in the US are upset about: other countries charging high taxes/tariffs on goods from here, while we have not always done so on goods imported to here. We have been swamped with low cost subsidized goods (how else can I buy an item for $0.01 with free shipping from China on Ebay?) driving local business out of business - I can't even ship an item across the city in an envelope for less than $0.48. Now when we place tariffs on imported goods, the world gets upset. Go figure. I think in a decent free market, take out all the gov't manipulations etc, it would all settle into a happy medium. But, sadly, everyone wants the upper hand and do what they will to get there. YinTx

Check with Bruce Johnson, https://brucejohnsonleather.com. Should be a nice piece when you get it cleaned up! YinTx

Do you find the direct light into your eyes to be blinding? I am always trying to direct the light from the source to my work, and block it from my eyes. Always a challenge. Is there a way to do this effectively with this set up? YinTx

classic. YinTx

I agree, it turned out great! But I must say, you violated rule #1 - must show blade, as I was aptly informed when I posted the sheath I made. YinTx

If ya don't have a belt, where ya gonna put your sheath for the knife and other tools? YinTx

Depending on the stitching clam you are looking for, Abbey England has some of the European style clams that aren't outrageously priced. Some have conjured their own out of clamps and boards from Harbor Freight for pretty cheap, not a bad route if you aren't sure hand stitching is what you are going to be doing. YinTx

I like the thought, but it could be a bit much for instance to make 11 wallet backs. Selling at $100 each for tooled wallets, you are talking sending out $1100 worth of product for free. Taking 3-4 hours each to make, is an entire work week of labor. (I get it some may be faster, but most of us are not) Both of these ideas I like. Thanks for food for thought. @Rossr, your gig for now, what direction would you like to take and when shall we start? I suspect the first go round may only have a few participants, but more and more as time goes on and others see what is happening! YinTx

I like keep it simple to start. Some things to consider: book mark, wallet back, hat topper, hat patch, coaster, key case, field notes cover, etc. Start small and get bigger over time? YinTx

I think I saw this on Ebay a while back. YinTx

That's the first I've heard of this. Source? YinTx

I referred to those as glove snaps, which I don't use very often. Mostly I think line 20 snaps, and an occasional line 24. If I get my hands on some proper pull the dots, I'll let you know how it goes. If you want, I can drop a few samples in an envelope for you of the snaps I have, and you can make your own judgement on those without having to buy large quantities. Have any photos? I've preferred the silver color, but don't like the fact they are plated. Would like to find solid stainless, but I think it might be a pipe dream. YinTx

LMAO. I saw that cap and just assumed it was a grease cap, was trying to figure out what the heck it was greasing since there aren't any moving bits anywhere near it. I just took it off, and sadly, empty space staring back at me. Thanks for that tho! I have tried at least half a dozen different suppliers of what I am assuming are different manufacturer's of snaps, and have struggled with all of them. I had posted a question on this recently, and most folks suggested using a press to help with my issues of bending posts and flattening caps, and snaps that won't close and won't hold, as well as trying to gently tap the tools while swiveling about the axis. I thought I'd give the press a try. I think one of the few brands I haven't tried is pull the dot and CS Osborne's snaps. Getting tired of buying bags of 100+ and being unhappy with the results. Any suggestions on good snaps? YinTx

This can raise my hackles. But it seems to be a successful business model, and sells lots of stuff for lower prices. I am trying to not participate in this market niche if I can manage it. I don't mind selling lower priced items, but not with shoddy workmanship. I think if I ever did do an apprenticeship, it would be to learn the things "they don't teach you in books." So an established individual that understands the business side, the tool side, the machine side, the construction side, supply/demand, materials sourcing, market, marketing, etc would be what I would be seeking to learn. YinTx

Thank you for that reply, it is what I was worried about. I want to get a decent snap setter, but it looks like really you need two for any kind of efficient production work so you aren't constantly removing and replacing the die/anvils for top/bottom snaps. Tandy's is $130, and seems a bit jicky with the bolt to hold in the dies, which you have to buy separately. Any recommendations on what would be a good route to go without breaking the bank just to set snaps? I'm tired of wrecking them with the hammer method. YinTx

Indeed. And for a while there the model was kinda disappearing, because the craft of leatherworkers dwindled for a long time, and many of those still in it didn't want to share their skills or knowledge. I think there was an interview with Bill Gomer at Elk Tracks Studio where he mentioned an older leather worker that was mad at him for trying to learn the skills by watching and using his tools. It would be good to see it coming back. the books weren't free... just sayin... YinTx

I have an old Pony snap setter, at least that is what I think it is - looks just like the one in the photo (not mine). My question is, has anyone used one of these, and does anyone know where to get the dies and anvils that go with it to set snaps or grommets? Seems a bit different to me, as the bottom "anvil" section is on a spring and moves down when you pull the lever down. Doesn't seem like it would impart much force on a snap or rivet. I've never seen one of these in use, so I am quite curious. I'd like to put it to work, but I don't have any parts for it, etc. Thanks in advance for help and advice! YinTx