Thor

Kevin, what may be acceptable to me or anybody else may not be acceptable to you and if I would be you, I would go by my own judgement. This being said, minor scratches are pretty common if leather is being handled by various persons and shipped throughout the continent. Unless it states in the description that the leather may have some cuts this is something I wouldn't accept at all. Depending on the price and my project I may not even accept scratches caused by shipping or handling.

Pictures would help

Nice job chief. On the guitar strap, is that a Hi-Liter or did you wax it?

Thanks for your input Chris. I know the full Monty. Have one here and it's an okay pad, but not my preferred choice of pad. With some of the wool pads it's the same as with any other pad. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Most of the bad ones will use needle felt which isn't what I'd be putting on anything that is sensitive. I know exactly what you mean by that. I had used a closed-cell/memory foam pad on an Arab-Cross for years as he was such a horse that was too sensitive for the cheaper grade wool felt and I was happy with it. The only thing I never liked about it was the heat that built up under it. Back then with 24 horses one doesn't have custom fitted saddles for all of them. I'm at the point where I'll be making a first prototype and test it on my own horse for while. The wool I found is top notch and feels excellent on bare skin. You can rub it for quite a while before heat builds up and even then it's just slightly warm and not hot. The design I chose will make it more self-contouring, rather than me contouring it for them. Further what I found out with some testing there's a direction within the wool felt that will determine the placement on the horse. By saying that the cutouts should be moved forward by 2 to 3 inches, are you referring to the stirrup cutouts?

Whatever it looks like, hope you made it to the new specs or it might be too big to qualify as a carry-on. http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-06-09-02.aspx The overall size has once more been reduced. However, it's up to the airline whether they follow IATA's suggestion or not. To review the appropriate specs this link http://carryonguy.com/airline-baggage-rules/ is a good start.

Simon, since your German is pretty good here are two companies in Germany http://www.strehl-wuppertal.de/ and http://www.stanzformenbau.at/produkte/stanzform-bandstahlschnitt/. If looking for "Bandstahl" and the related search terms you'll find numerous of them companies in Germany and closer to your area as well.

Great project Leo, did you contact Tourism Alberta already. That be something they would refer to their members for sure. That would be a huge retailer market for you. If you need some info on how to approach them go to your local visitor info and ask them who your local rep is. You would have to go through your regional manager and he/she would be able to give you the contact details for the right person.

If you want to stay with European leather I'd suggest to look for Spanish veg tan, preferably out of the Barcelona tannery. Hard to beat their quality.

LOL, okay you're right I was referring to them lines below the snaps. Anyhow I didn't say they didn't use a plate, I just doubted the marks are of a plate. With the whole thing being dinged a bit I'm still not sure, but both of the methods I referred to would use plates as well so you're probably right.

I doubt those imprints are of a plate. I they would be, they would be below the writing and not somewhere in between. That's probably just a mistake when setting the snaps. There are two ways of doing this, or how I would do it. First one is pretty pricey as you would need a lettering press and the desired letters. You can find them on ebay in this category http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Letterpresses-/108885/i.html. Second option would be to contact studio-n on here and have him make a poly stamp with his laser if he's able to.

I like that a lot! What kind of snake is this? Just curious.

Narrow this search down or modify as you like https://www.google.de/search?newwindow=1&client=ubuntu&espv=2&biw=1269&bih=868&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=sword+and+shield+heraldic&oq=sword+and+shield+heraldic&gs_l=img.3...113759.116672.0.117160.9.9.0.0.0.0.90.632.9.9.0.ckpsrh...0...1.1.64.img..5.4.322.xPpw3xVEhVw

The almost identical bag can be found here http://buffalojackson.com/mens-leather-toiletry-kit-bag.html or here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GP30EHK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GP30EHK&linkCode=as2&tag=carryology0d-20&linkId=TLVZ37TK43462I2Q Maybe the pictures and the dimensions provided there will help. The pockets themselves are really easy. Just stitched on the inside and on the corners, flipped over and stitched to the inside layer. The leathers around the zippers are for reinforcement purposes. The second bag is slightly different from your original picture which is from Amazon as well http://www.amazon-associate.com/Vetelli-Premium-Hanging-Toiletry-Bag/dp/B00SDDKAEM Dimensions are 21" x 12" unfolded.

Renia is a German brand which is used a lot by shoemakers. For some funny reason it is not as popular here like kövulfix which comes from up north. Anyway wood glues do work for me well. I'm using Ponal. Like most wood glues they aren't meant for bending and will stiffen the item a bit. Environment is a killer for most any wood glue. Read the manufacturer's directions. For instance, Ponal will loose some of it's bonding properties at low temperatures and all if frozen or too old. As for thinners you should see what the base is, some have to be thinned with water and others with the brand's own thinner. I never keep wood glue longer than a year. Also wood glue should not be set to dry or get tacky before putting the pieces together. If you do, the pieces will come apart. Renia offers a range of glues and they have been to Sheridan this year as well as coming to San Antonio this October http://www.renia.com/englisch/start.html so their products should be available in Texas as well. Here's an overview on a UK page of their products http://www.algeos.com/html/products/adhesives/renia.html

Nice job! If I may make a recommendation for your passport covers. I made one for myself, pretty much the same design as yours. On the airport I found out that it would have been a good idea to leave the upper side on the the left side open for other documents such as rental agreements, vouchers, boarding passes etc.

Others may have a better answer for your questions, until then I hope this helps. Re 1. Finishes may differ by manufacturer not so much by the seller. Yes, you can have different finishes looking finishes even though both are stating they are antique brass or whatever. This hasn't really happened to me, but there are some minor differences on the market. If you're buying stainless steel and it has no finish other than a clear coat it should always be the same. Re 2. The buckles you are referring to with the 2 bars are not as you think of them. The strap will be attached to the first bar. The one without the prong. Since the stress will always be on the fold and the bar it goes around it will not make a physical difference, whether a buckle has one or two bars. The quality of the material used makes the difference. If you take a close look at cargo straps you'll see that they go around a single solid bar, but the fold over is a lot longer and well sewn. Re 3. If you are using eyelets, use the appropriate eyelet setting tool. Everything else is just messing around. Don't know if you can buy Prym stuff in the States or not, but they have a setting pliers with all kinds of inserts for just these kind of jobs. Looks like this: Re 4. This picture may answer your question https://straitcity.com/images/leather_eyelet_belt_brown_NC4031.jpeg However the prong will have to be well s-shaped or the eyelet will always be tilted.

When I was wearing them on duty I had to use what was given to me, but it always ticked me that easy access was an issue, as this was a fully enclosed/covered case. There are safety snaps that would prevent others from grabbing the cuffs, which are used a lot on LEO holsters. One question would be whether it will be for a single handcuff or 2 and if plastic "cuffs" will be carried with it as well... Comfort definitely is an issue. So the metal towards the body should be fully covered. User's preferences should be asked. Some like to wear it centered, some on the side or partially on the back. Wearing it centered allows access with either hand and may be of an advantage. This would mean the cuffs should be positioned vertical. The other two would call for a slanted case. Then there are preferences towards pull or drop, which would mean a safety snap would have to be used for sure. Check back with the departments rules and guidelines. They may have some restrictions. However, I believe you should contact immiketoo on here, he's still serving and wears them daily.

Eco-Flo Blockout Resist Finish

Since customs isn't an issue within Europe it should be there within no more than 4 business days. They aren't giving you a time frame on their page, but they use DHL, which is pretty good.

How good is your German? https://www.thal-versand.de/shop/index.php?cPath=33_62_137

I guess I should explain what I mean by multiple layers. I'm thinking of various layers within that one pad. I know 5Star uses a single layer with 90% or greater wool felt. Considered to be F11 (American Industry Rating) or better. Some pads have like a 1/4" "therapeutic" pad followed by a 3/4" or less lower grade wool or whatever layer, stitched and glued together as a single pad. I totally agree with both of you that, if the saddle fits not much of a thick pad is required and that more than one pad will just contribute to the issue and worsen but don't improve the situation. My current finding is that 1/2" seems to be the thinnest and 1 1/2" the thickest pads while 1" should be more than sufficient. What I'm currently thinking of is a 2 layer pad. Bottom layer being a 98% pure wool felt with about 10 mm thickness with a density of 0,20 g/cm² and another layer of 10 to 15 mm thickness and a density of 0,44 g/cm². So the outer layer towards the saddle would be considerably strong and the layer on the horse would be soft. What I believe to achieve by this is fast removing of sweat and therefore resulting in adequate cooling plus less breakdown of the pad itself since most of the forces of saddle movement etc. will be absorbed in the outer and stronger layer. My layers would only be glued on the edges and about 2 inches in as I don't want to create a vapor barrier. I was also thinking of a stronger pad for cutting and roping and a thinner, 1/2" pad for reiners and such. My other considerations are towards muscles, vertebrates (including withers) and air flow. I'm also thinking of T14 issues in some horses and very long saddles, but that's a different story. So that's part of the thought process to this point. Bob, do you find your 1" shearling breaking down a lot or is this fairly good? I'm taking you're using bark tanned shearling. I'm only having 3/4" available to me here.

The options are almost as multiple as ways to make a saddle. There are commercial programs offering a watermark placement on the picture. Basically they're just placing another layer with transparent background above the picture. Then there are digital watermarks which will not be visible but readable by certain programs. Basically they're adding code to your image. Some of it is so fancy that you can trace it throughout the web. Whatever your need may be I'm sure one of the results here will help you. https://www.google.de/search?q=image+watermark+software&oq=image+water&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l3.9059j0j4&client=tablet-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&espv=1&ie=UTF-8

I'm currently working on a "new" design for a western saddle pad and am looking for some more input. New is very relatively speaking as there isn't all too much that would be new, but rather addressed differently for the comfort of the horse. What are you guys using for your custom pads? Like, how thick are your pads, materials used, do you prefer shaped ones or rectangular ones, do you have any special considerations in regards of venting, vertebra, withers, shoulders, lumbar area etc. Do you use different or multiple layers? And so on... Just throw everything at me here please as I'm collecting all the information at this stage.

Differences at a glance right on Juki's website http://www.juki.co.jp/industrial_e/products_e/leather_e/cylinder_e/ls1341_13427_1342.html Main difference is the speed and vertical movement.

This is one of the coolest things I've seen on here thus far.