MADMAX22

Thanks for the info on the PH for the variouse items. Was wondering how you get the PH of the leather with the PH strips. Thanks.

Ive been meaning to try the soap thing out myself. Learning everything I know from here or self tryouts its a learning experience to say the least. I use water (with a few drops of dawn, same as my casing solution) to get my initial look and shape then throw on some bees wax and take to it with the canvas and they turn out pretty nice but not allways perfect per say. Looks like it is time to invest in some more stuff.

Is that your knife Marlin. That thing looks like it would be very useful. For the OP I would agree with the others. Also with the head/round knives there tends to be a learning curve. At first they can be a bit intimidating and unwieldy but after a couple hours youll be loving them. Plus as with anything they only work well when they are sharp.

Looks great, those fish scales are very nice and even. As far as the black there was a post that I think Pete posted about using bick4's and black dye and he didnt get any ruboff, there were a few steps involved. How long that will last though is another story. Its an ongoing battle it seems.

I like it alot. Great setup.

IMHO I would go with like the 2-3oz range. Once layered if you go with 3 layers it will be just around or just under 1/4". I would get a good straight knife. Something like a good razorblade would work nicely, maybe box cutter type. You wont really need a swivel knife if your not doing any decorative cuts.

Hey Jordan Im gonna be making a pair of flipflops for the GF and was wondering how these sandals of yours are holding up. I was going to go with a three layer design that Ive been thinking of for a bit now.

Thats really cool how you did the lacing on the dark green (black?) one. Really gives it a neat look

I dont know about for holsters but I like to take mine after I dye it and use some tan kote and right after I apply it while its still wet I take my slicker/bone folder and run over it to smooth it out. Makes a very slick appearance once its dried. I know that some people order there leather with the flesh side having been sanded and pasted or something like that. I cant remember who does it.

You can get variouse colored leathers usually chrome tanned. Just about any color you want really. Im really not sure what would be the best for your application, hopefully someone else will chime in shortly. Good luck.

Dont need a name but must say thats pretty good.

Welcome to leatherworking. Not sure without looking at it in person but those look relatively simple (not easy but simple). If the letters are recessed they are more then likely stamped and then painted. As far as the other parts it looks like they are cut and layered basically, use a different color leather underneath and cut holes in the top layer so you can see the other layers. Those look machine stitched and that would be the easiest way but you could very well do them by hand. As far as finding leather there are several suppliers. Tandy is a decent retail store, Springfeild leather (Kevin post here regularly) is great, waterhouse leathers, seigel of california, alot of these places will have plenty of types to choose from. There was someone on the forum here who has made those and I dont recall who it is. Someone with a little more experience may be able to help out. Maybe do a search around and it may turn up. I think they made a few of these for the guys on there squad or whatever you all call it.

I didnt realize that. Do the oil dyes hold up longer then the spirit dyes do? Have not been doing this long enough to get a good grip on what last and what doesnt.

The first thing I recieved when I put in my business application (wasnt even finalized yet) were junk mail for cards, scanners, registers, shipping supplies,..... everything you could think of. Luckily it was a instant barrage and slacked off but it was still annoying.

Sounds good. Cant commit till I see some pics but am very interested. Good luck.

Way cool man, love the style.

Get your self one of these http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/home/de...ture=Product_10 Also check out his picks in this thread. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4416

Did you oil it again? Thats the big issue with this stuff is that depending on the leather it varies how well it takes. I have had some stuff that works like a charm, and other stuff no matter what I do and it is bluish.

I like to tool, dye, oil with neatsfoot. Then I generally use leather balm with atom wax. After thats all done I get a good coat of sno-seal. I really like sno-sea, it works very well. You gotta reaplly it occasionally but it keeps the water out. Aussie wax works as well but I think sno-seal works a little better and last a tad longer. Bees natural is suppose to work real good also but havnt tried that yet.

Thanks for the info Kate.

Well dont know how to edit the first post, wanted to change the title to windsheild bag finished but oh well. Anyways got her done, fingers are sore lol. I need a sewing machine. The mounting portion is a piece of aluminum that was cut bent and drilled to follow the contour of the windshield. I covered it with leather and included to strap guides I guess you could call them. This allowed the bag to retain the standard fork mounting setup but be attached to the windshield. The strap is a little long but allows for diversity in set up so he can mount it somewhere else if he decides to. Most of the black is vinegaroon. Had to touch up the black for the edges and where I tooled becuase there the vinee couldnt soak thru all the way. The inside lining came out a nice grey color so I chose to leave it as is. Made for a nice contrast between the dark black of the outside and the inside. Looks good in person. Enjoy. Was playing with camera so got alot of pics lol,

Not sure but I have been using denatured alcohol that I got at lowes with my feibings dyes (the non oil dyes) and I mixed some with the angelus dyes and it worked well from what I can tell. I dont know if anything works better then denatured alcohol but Ill give anything else a shot its just this stuff is cheap.

I have a small batch that I mixed oil and antique up in. Its what I primarily use. Not sure if its the correct way to do it but I get good results. The key is experiment. See if you like how it works out. I found I could control the antique a little easier when it was mixed with oil. On the dyes I tried with my feibings dye and it did not mix with the neats foot oil.

I would go to Joanns or similer to look for the bees wax, you can get a good sized brick for that price (about 5 times as much wax). Shop around the other leather supply places for some better deals.

Yeah that is very nicely done.