YinTx

Very sharp. I like the use of the stamps you chose! I am sure you'll hear about how you should be showing some blade from the knife aficionados around here... YinTx

Just my take on the lowly Dopp Kit. After I made it, found out they sell for like $30 on Etsy, Made in USA no less. Not likely to compete with that! Horween leather body, Hermann Oak tooling on the rest. Hand stitched with Juane Fil Au Chinois. Half of the tooling pattern I drew myself, the other half is adapted from some Don Gonzales sketches. This was some thick leather, thought I would never get it turned back right side out. Would probably make it from thinner leather if I did another in the future, although I must say I like the heft and form that resulted, just not the corners, even though I skived them! YinTx

Black Cawfee.... Yintx Nice work, too!

nice clean work. Any photos of the other side? YinTx

I made a slip on handle cover for my cast iron out of suede. No glue, just stitched it, happened to use linen thread. Seems to work fine, but I don't leave it on there, just slip it on to move it around, then slip it off again. YinTx

Alexis, I think the OP made the holster, so he's being modest in his response to you. His work was great, and the customer called him out on it. Jeff, I once sat through a pricing exercise by a... ahem.. Harvard professor, first time I'd ever heard one of them folks in person. The company I was with at the time had brought him in to help us build a pricing scheme in a tight market. The one thing that stuck with me was his question to us, "What is a fair price?" and after a bit of banter around the room, he clarified "Fair to whom?" Followed up with "an item is worth what someone will pay for it." A lot of math followed, our corporate profits shot up, the company was sold, and I had to move on to greener pastures. If your customer base says that your quality matches another price bracket, then you can consider moving into that price bracket, if you so desired. Congrats on such positive customer feedback, it means your work is top notch, and they see it. As leatherworkers, it is easier for us to notice your work is high quality, for the general populace to notice is awesome. And yeah, you don't always get what you pay for! Good to know your customers do, tho! YinTx

I have some Hermann Oak milled veg tan in 5-6 oz, nice feel to it, seems thick, soft and strong, and I suspect it would work well. I think the kidskins are mostly chrome tanned, and may not hold up under that kind of stress. Not sure, but suspect the milled veg would probably get a nice patina to it and wear in very comfortably. YinTx

I just finished re-profiling a ~100 year old German awl blade on a sharpening stone to get a much smaller hole, and couldn't be happier. I think it will become my new favorite awl. Highly recommend trying it if you have awls on hand you aren't using and you need a different size/shape. YinTx

I'd say you nailed it! What kind of antique did you use? YinTx

So that's where your machine went, Ross.... YinTx

That is really sharp! Any pics of the inside? YinTx

Welcome to the forum. Look forward to seeing your work! YinTx

Must be time to build that outdoor forge you've always wanted, then. Perhaps a shop to keep it safe in. Must have it to save money so you can make a maul, right? YinTx

This is really cool to see. Thanks for sharing the process! YinTx

That is awesome! Have you tried it? YinTx

Sealant is the keyword for me. I look at it this way: if the acrylic seals out small molecules like water, it is sealing out larger molecules like beeswax also. I can put drops of water on the acrylic sealed leather, it just sits on top. I suspect the large molecules of NFO/Beeswax mixture is sitting on top as well. When I put water on leather treated with NFO/Beeswax, it still soaks in pretty fast. Tells me I still have room to put the acrylic on top if I need it and it will set into the leather as needed. NFO/Beeswax and other conditioners are just that, conditioners, not sealers. At least this is my view and experience. Again, the joy of leather work is you do what works best for you, on the types of leather projects you make! YinTx

I've done this, it seems to work ok. But the conditioner has to basically soak all into the leather, and not be sitting on top, so for example laying a heavy layer of beeswax and expecting an acrylic finisher to adhere on top of that is kinda silly. I have wondered about putting a conditioner on top of acrylic: how does it help the leather? Is it able to get through the acrylic and into the leather? Or does it just tone down the plastic-y look of the acrylic? I also like the clear-lac finish, but it is pretty harsh stuff, so lots of ventilation, and in my experience it will streak antique like no tomorrow if you don't spray it on. I need an "all the above" button to vote. Just depends on what I am making and how I want it to look. YinTx

Are you using a gel antique or paste antique? Two different beasties. I have had luck using 50/50 Tankote to lift some of the antique and set it, sometimes I'll do two rounds of it to make myself happy with the results. You can apply resolene on top of the Tan Kote for a final seal, I use Angelus Acrylic finish. Sometimes I'll not use antique. YinTx

I was just wondering why they were cutting a perfectly good piece of leather in half like that. YinTx

I can see what you mean about the blue/grey blend. And I understand about the practice practice practice bit! I can see that I have a lot of that to do so I can do trees well. YinTx

Those are cool! Would love to see the impressions they make. Any issues with iron oxide on the leather over time? YinTx

I have been looking for this post for some time. Wanted to add some simple items I use regularly. First, a moving company moved my stuff some time ago, and wrapped everything in this brown paper to keep it from breaking/scratching. I now have piles of it, flattened and folded, that I draw from every time I glue or dye something. Keeps the tables clean! Then, most all laundry soaps nowadays come with a plastic measuring cup as a lid. When the soap is done, I clean the lid and use it for mixing dyes, 50/50 TanKote, holding alcohol for cleaning, etc. Also have accumulated a pile of these lid/cups, and use them regularly. When a sponge is too raggedy for doing dishes, cut it up into squares and use it for dye. Same for worn out T-shirts, etc. Great for buffing. Scrap bits of thicker veg tan leather make great glue spreaders. Those heavy metal binder clips work great to hold things together while you sew, or to keep something together while the glue dries. Use them over and over and over... YinTx

Yep, chap seems happy alright. Brave job, I must say! YinTx

Rule number 2: Refer to Rule #1. Best of luck. I'd have opted for rule #1 myself. Look forward to the photos, tho! YinTx

There are so many things on this website, it's a wonder things ever get seen. Your Facebook will show a better market response than a site full of busy leatherworkers! There's a catch 22! Have to sell stuff to justify the sewing machine... need the sewing machine to sell stuff... YinTx