verus22

I know maybe 4 or 5 letters in code...so as long as someone only uses those to communicate with me, I'm ok! 73

Police freq's are one of the things I miss...could pick up TPD on my mobile 2m..was great entertainment...until they switched to a trunking system. Now it's just the local repeaters every now and again. I'm still trying to get my Dad back on..he still has a valid Advanced ticket.

Lived in Phoenix maybe 10-12 years ago. I went and got my Extra ticket so I can listen on the 2 meter bands down here...barely ever get on!! :D

Agreed! Great callsign btw! 73, AE7TX

What a great article!!! My philosophy exactly!!!

Thank you!

I agree with DavidL, it is more of a 'professional' course. I have all 4 published manuals, and they go into great detail on all aspects of leatherwork. I liken it to a written appreticeship in pro-leatherwork. The author has very good credentials (did my homework!), and the manuals are layed out like a college course would be taught. If you're an aspiring professional, especially in the 'English' style, I would recommend these manuals. Having said that, you still have to put in the time to read and understand the manuals..and they are very, very thorough (some people would find it on the dry side). Hope this helps! (Side note: I've contacted the author on the status of the remaining manuals to be written, and because of his health, they will not be published. The first four manuals are still avaliable, however.)

I'm excited about 'clean' styles! Great bag btw!! Really love the color!!

I also did the flashlight case and pliers case from that Roma shoulder (previous posts). I was really tempted to buy two of them at the time, but at the moment I'm just working on my technique more than anything, so I didn't need that much leather. I have a belt blank sitting on my workbench that I think will need to become a raised belt in the near future! Just need to split it lengthwise (I don't have a splitter at the moment), so it might be a bit before I'm able to get around to it...but it will be photographed and posted when complete.

I have all of the above books. I love the Leather Case manuals by Al Stohlman (all 3), and the Leatherconnection manuals (I have all 4) go into all the little nitty-gritty details (that I love!), but can be hard to follow at times (videos would have been great, but a good imagination helps!). They are VERY detailed. I only have one of the Japanese books so far, but despite the language barrier, the pictures make it easy to follow, especially if you have prior knowledge of the basics. Valerie Michael's book is also a great reference! Also, Al Stohlman's "Art of Hand Sewing Leather" is another great book! Videos: anything by Nigel Armitage (Armitage Leather), Ian Akinson (Leodis Leather), Tandy Leather, Springfield Leather, all on youtube, really great tutorials!!! I don't carve or stamp, so I can't help you there, sorry! Hope this helps!

I currently do my photography with a softbox at about a 45 degree angle, light coming in from the top right (think artificial sun). My backdrop is a natural colored canvas cloth (bought a yard of it for edgework). The best advice I can give, is to find pictures that appeal to you, and ask 'how did they set it up'? What angle is the light coming from? Are they using more than one light source? Is the light hard or soft? (the light in your sample pics is hard...well defined shadows with crisp edges indicates hard lighting). Here's a great website with a LOT of tutorials: http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/category/tutorials/photography-tutorials/ You don't have to have a pro/semi-pro setup to get great pictures (I used to use a point-and-shoot camera for everything...learned product photography that way, but now I use mostly the top end of the semi-pro dslr range). However, it does help once you have the basics down, especially composition. Hope this helps!

I have both the Craft-sha and Seiwa. (Thanks Nigel for the great videos!!!) Both are great, but the Seiwa is built better in my opinion. I have rather large hands, and the Seiwa has a wider handle which makes using it for long periods much more comfortable for me. Hope this helps!

The two outside pieces are 1 1/2 in. wide, the inner piece (same leather) is 7/8 in. wide. (All three are around 3 mil thick, each) I'm using a 'roma shoulder' I picked up at Tandy during their open house (got it half price). I'm playing around with ideas to get the 'look' I like, and plan on using bridle and harness in the future (all bridle, or all harness).

Hello to all, My name is Mike, and I've been studying leatherwork for about the past 9-10 years now (in theory only), but just a few months ago finally got the opportunity to get my hands dirty and do some work (just didn't have the money until recently). I'm aspiring to become a professional, and the style I prefer is more of a traditional English type, but with a bit of western influence. I don't do any carving, however, mainly because the last time I tried it was at least 25 years ago, and I'm not too great at it! I keep my work simple...within my skillset, but I am always refining to create a better finished product. I like to do all my work by hand, no machines...although at times it'd be nice to have something to help things along a bit quicker! I'm really enjoying the forum, learning so much from everyone, and enjoying the great leatherwork on here!

Giving a raised belt a go to see how it would come out (this is just a 3 inch test strip). Now I just need to plan out a full-size belt. (Edited to make the picture a bit smaller...easier to view)

Fantastic work!!

Here's a video on the subject I stumbled across a couple weeks back. Hope it helps!

Looks good! Very clean lines, nice and straight. And I feel your pain with the lighting!!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! Stu, the retention is great. It's a wet-molded holster, so the fit is perfect. Also, the tab on the bottom runs up into the inside of the holster about an inch or so (sewed to the back side), which helps tighten it up even more when you put the flashlight in it. I've tried shaking the flashlight out, but it won't budge. However, it comes out like a dream when you want it to!

Very nice work!

Simple belt holster for a small flashlight (4.5 in. x 1 in)

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments!! I use a japanese stitching iron (like a pricking iron, but designed to go all the way through the leather), and occasionally need to use the diamond awl.

Beautiful work! Really nice lacing!