YinTx

Mike, I have a few airbrushes, I tried the Iwata that I have, but I wasn't very good. Like the rest of this leatherworking craft, it is a skill I need to spend some time developing, so I hope to get there when I have an opportunity. I think I may have unreasonable expectations regarding the outcomes from antiquing. But I hope not, I hope it is just simply I don't have the technique down yet. The backgrounding tool was just a regular A104 Craft tool stamp. YinTx

That came out really nice. I like the black background as well, makes for a professional looking advertising image. How difficult was it to learn and accomplish? Using a Mac or PC? YinTx

Wow, came home today to all these great comments! Thank you all for that! It is encouraging. The tools were just a proof of concept, and I think they worked ok, so I'll clean them up some, maybe rework the contour a little bit, and give it another go on another practice piece. Alpha, I too have a ton of screwdrivers, they never die, I don't sell them, never threw one away.... So these finally got repurposed. JD162, I sold a checkbook wallet for $125.. is that big bucks? I'm never sure what to charge for my work... try to get my $$ out of it in terms of leather, thread, dye, etc., but this craft is not a speedy one, so I never really get the $/hour out of it. Bring prices up too much, no one is willing to spend on it... leave it too low, don't make enough to make it worth while. Figure one day I'll determine the fine balance! Bob, I can't take credit for the pattern, it was from the Lone Star Leathercrafter's Pattern Pack, and a drawing of corner designs by George Hurst. But I can take credit for carving and tooling it! Which reminds me, I forgot to stamp initials in there... gotta do that! NOW, if I could only figure out how to correctly apply resist and antique without ruining my pieces, I'd be in good shape. About 75% of the items I have tried to antique I have ruined and tossed into the bin. I think I've followed every suggestion I could find on this forum, manufacturer's directions, Youtube hints, even got to attend a class on antiquing at the IFOLG show. Tried them here, fail. So frustrating. The only way I've been able to get an even color is just mix antique with Tan Kote, smear it on with no resist, and wipe it off. Which gives no variations or contrasts. I'm tired of wrecking my tooling, and don't want to repeat the same results on this piece. Resists I have used are: Neat lac, Tan Kote, Resolene, Angelus Acrylic finisher, and Eco Flow Professional Matte finish. I've tried em thick, thin, two coats, one coat, painted on... all to no avail. Anyone have a foolproof method they care to share? YinTx

This is my third oak leaf effort, this time I decided to make a couple of petal lifters from some freebie screwdrivers using an old 25 cent file I bought at a yard sale. Lesson from Ed LaBarre on making oak leaves applied, tell me what you all think! Still wet in the photo, but excited the tools seemed to do their job... Also, used my new Robert Beard basket weave stamp, I think it does pretty good... YinTx

Still available, feel free to make an offer before I Ebay it! YinTx

Looks cool, but I have a question. How does the fat part of the sword pass through the narrow part of the scabbard? YinTx

That is absolutely awesome. Art without a doubt, functional to a T. The wait was well worth it. I look forward to the day when I can do that. YinTx

Hopefully they aren't looking at your construction methods and making a pattern off of the new box so it can be made and sold cheaper... Those boxes turned out awesome, your ingenuity shines through in your fabrication! YinTx

Makes you want to repost them on ebay, saying these custom items were returned by buyer so and so that had requested his initials on them AFTER they were approved, fabricated, and shipped. Make it full price, non returnable, buy it now only option so it stays on a good long time and anyone searching a buyer's name it will pop up. That's pretty low of the buyer to do that to a craftsman - not all craftspeople can afford that expensive of a lesson, especially when the sale of one item goes into the leather purchase for the next item. YinTx

Neat! Can we see the inside and the backside? YinTx

I used some Hermann Oak vegetable tanned leather on a watch strap - treated it with lots of wax.. resolene... it still turned really dark brown from the oils in the skin and a few forgetful dunks in the dishwater.... Not sure what I should be using instead, so looking forward to hearing the answer on this one... YinTx

Here is someone making a belt with an almost identical look. You can see the pattern he cut into the leather, and the method he uses to bevel it. YinTx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L8DigdkDsM

Looks like a variation on the box stitch to me. One has a 45 degree beveled angle, the other has an overlap, and the third that I am aware of is a 45 degree bevel with an additional layer wrapped around the corner for reinforcement. I imagine there are other methods as well. YinTx

Now that rocks! Awesome creativity, and well executed. YinTx

Don't let the videos fool you. Stitchin ain't easy. And to get a really pretty stitch with an awl requires a lot of practice. And a lot of different blades to figure out what size and style goes with which pricking iron, and which one you like the best. From that perspective, unless you absolutely know you will be stitching a lot by hand, consider a very inexpensive awl to start with. If you like it, then you have something to base your more expensive purchase off of. If you start off with a $100+ awl and blade combo, only to find stitching isn't for you, you are going to be out some $$ and have to make a sale to get some back. I have a Tandy awl blade, and still use it on occasion. I also have an Osborne handle that won't hold a blade to save it's life, so it never gets used. My favorite blade is a Rasche, probably 70+ years old. The one I use the most, I broke, which was a Vergez Blanchard. I miss it, but I have too many awls now to justify buying another! Of course, you could be one of those gifted enough to make great stitches from the get go... in which case, by all means, get the nice one right away! YinTx

Is it too late to sign up? I saw registration had to be done by 9/28... YinTx

Sounds a bit like a dagger. Perhaps study dagger and sword scabbard designs... YinTx

This, ladies and gentlemen, would be The Understatement of the Year. That is some serious work there. How long did all that take? YinTx

I tend to use a lot of 25/3 and 532. 18/3 is a fairly thick thread for my work. I've used 35/3 for wallets before, as well as 332 - which to me was too thick for a wallet. I like thick thread so it stands out, but generally I have not found a good stitching iron to make a nice stitch pattern for such thick thread. Here is what I have taken from other sources on thread thicknesses: Fil au Chinois 832=0.43mm 632=0.51mm 532=0.57mm - standard for LV and Hermes 432=0.63mm 332=0.77mm Cambell Satin thread 832=0.43mm 632=0.51mm 532=0.57mm = 432=0.62mm = 18/3 332=0.69mm = 18/4 232 = .76mm = 18/5 If you are accustomed to 18/3, then it would seem that 432 would be a size you would be familiar with. If you are doing watch straps, my opinion is that 532 or 632 would do well. I have seen folks making watch straps with 1mm Tiger thread, so it just depends on the look you are going for. Hope this helps, YinTx

I use it a lot, and have sold small lengths of the thread I use. It is high quality in my opinion. The linen threads I use in order of my preference are: Fil au Chinois, Campbell's Satin Laid Linen, Barbour linen, Osbourne Linen. Shipping to the States from France is a bit much, but their threads are nice. Might be a bit more affordable to London. I have used others, including Ramey, Maine Thread Co. Linen, etc., but these are my go to threads. YinTx

Quick question: what did you use to attach the three ring binder section to the leather? Looks like a rapid rivet on yours, not sure. Solid rivets don't seem to work right because you can't set the burr without damaging the binder. I've been looking for chicago screws, but they are generally too large diameter to do the job. I was concerned the rapid rivet would not take the stress over time. So I'm in a bit of a bind(er), pun intended. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated! YinTx

Really? What kind of leather is that then? I was presuming a chrome tan of sorts... It came out well. Is the drawing your own art? YinTx

Neat horse! Did you use pyrography for it? I bet you are right, she's gonna love it. YinTx

And your holster looks pretty nice too, forgot to mention while I was commenting on dye! Any issues on retention long term? I had been wondering about how pancakes fare for revolvers... they seem to have less for the holster to "grip" onto than the semi autos... YinTx

I did this project with Angelus dye, as you can see despite my efforts, still blotchy. I think it is more the leather than the dye...or possibly just me... or me and the leather... but I don't think I'd pin it on the dye at this point... YinTx