YinTx

I have the exact same model, and have been reasonably happy with it. Let us know how it does after you have polished and sharpened it up, I'd like to know if the issues I struggle with are operator errors, or something I need to alter on the tool! YinTx

I can see it now. Looks great the way you did it. YinTx

Those edges, tho! Nice! Fantastic color too! Stitching looks pretty spot on also. thanks for sharing! YinTx

I like the texture on the leather. Also, how does that closure work? Seems like everything would be too stiff to pull the "tongue" out of the loop? or maybe the loop pulls out to allow the tongue to be freed? Well made, regardless! YinTx

FYI, I've tried it with straight TanKote, no luck. Got all smeary and streaky and knarly and such. Your best bet is to tool a bunch of scrap pieces and try a dozen different ways until one of them or none of them work for you. There are those who refuse to antique, and some days I am one of them. YinTx

Astute, to be sure. I missed that part. I've had decent luck with 2 coats 50/50 TanKote then the gel antique from Tandy. I only have one bottle of the Mahogany. Also seemed to do ok with the Pro Resist, but I had to be very careful not to let the pro resist get where I wanted the antique to be, which is a challenge on basketweave. This is what I did on the basket weave section of the rifle sling I made, if I recall correctly. The rest was 50/50 TanKote, so you can see the difference in penetration. No TanKote, and the leather turns almost black with that antique. YinTx

Really neat, thanks for sharing! Did you do the tiny tooling on the strap you were wearing? For the brief moment it flashed across the video, it looked good! I have been doing some tiny tooling, but haven't been too happy with it yet. Would love to see someone doing tiny tooling to maybe see what I could change up to improve mine. YinTx

I am confused: I thought the OP was using Fiebing's paste antique? I never had any luck with the Resolene approach either. Tried Bee RTC, it was better but still I wasn't happy. In fact I have probably tried more than a dozen different combinations of resists, number of coats, reduced resists, different brands/types of antiques, highlighters, etc. In fact yesterday for the first time I tried Fiebing's highlighter, over TanKote with so so results. Sad thing is I've done so many different versions I don't remember which one looked the best! I have however had some luck applying Tan Kote 50/50 water with two coats (wait like 4 hours between coats) and do the antique the next day. I think this was Chief's technique. Still, I manage to screw that up on occasion as well. Tried the Fiebing's Pro Resist a few month's ago, it was like 100% resist, the antique all wiped off, like I hadn't even used any. No penetration at all, but also no antique in the tooled impressions or cut marks. YinTx

Oh, ok. I thought maybe a coffin or something, and I was a bit confused... YinTx

Good to hear, thanks, I'll relax a bit... YinTx

Well done, and cool color combination. Any reasoning behind the overall shape? YinTx

Have you had any issues with it? I had read in a previous thread that you shouldn't store in cardboard because the chemicals in the cardboard binders would leach into your veggie tan and wreak havoc... so I have been all paranoid because I have some of my leathers stored in cardboard boxes and been wondering if I really really need to get them outta there...? YinTx

Thank you, not sure I entirely agree, I seem to have sneezed a half dozen times while doing the scroll, and I couldn't fit a pear shader or any of the modeling spoons I had into the flower, fates it appears yours did not suffer. Having tried, I can comfortably say yours came out pretty well! YinTx

That. Makes it all worthwhile. Awesome for you! And awesome set as well. That is a ton of stamping! and a ton of sewing. I bet your hands were so tired it wasn't hard for that archer to pry it away, even if you did attempt to resist! YinTx

Uhmm... okay. So I drew this up tonight, and tapped it out. Not the best thing I've ever tooled, but the only thing I've ever sketched free hand for tooling. So there's that. Also, now I know why I don't practice flowers on keychains: waaaay too small! Not really practice! Entirely different beastie. I keep getting more and more respect for those capable of tooling Sheridan on tiny stuff like swivel knife sheaths! Quarter for scale. I'll get it dried and antiqued over the next week or so, we'll see how it looks when its done. YinTx

Now why did it never occur to me to practice floral on keychains?? Nice! YinTx

Sometimes, you have to tool it on a larger piece of leather and cut it out of that when you are finished. This gives you a place to set the weight without getting in the way of your work. Also, not sure, but possible you have placed the beveler 90 degrees off when using it, resulting in the "chatter" marks. Thickest part of the stamp should be facing your carved line, thinnest part pointing away. Pretty impressive taking on such a detailed object as a first piece, I rather like it! YinTx

That is some tiny intricate work. Nicely done! YinTx

dooooood.... that's awesome!!! YinTx

If you have a photo, it will help us help you a lot. How heavy/light are you applying the resolene? YinTx

Looks like normal heavy veg tan to me. Would tool very well, I suspect, except for the belly pieces, they will be a bit stretchy. Take one and spray it with water, it should soak it up and become flexible. Then you could tool/stamp it as you wish. After, add dye, neatsfoot oil, aussie conditioner, whatever you like, should be good! YinTx

Depending on the type of antique used, I can get a much higher level of resist with the RTC. RTC is more expensive. Highest level of resist comes from Fiebing's Pro Resist, and Clear Lac. All depends on the final look you are after, I think. Also, which one works best for you. I've had to experiment around with a lot of different resists until I found a way I am somewhat comfortable with. Still experimenting, actually. YinTx

What tool are you using for beveling your swivel knife cuts? I'm thinking that may be an issue for starters... YinTx

I guess I can scratch South Dakota off of the list of possible retirement locations... Here it is just too hot.. too wet.. too hot and too wet, or too hot, wet and windy from a hurricane. It snowed a couple inches this winter, everyone freaked out. I woke up late and never saw it. YinTx

Ok, I'm confused. One person has problems at 60%, another stores stuff at 60% humidity. I would think mold would be an issue at that range? What other problems do you get? I was quick casing, and put just one spray too much and had to wait nearly 2 days for the leather to come back running refrigerated air (which helps dry the air) here on the coast. YinTx