Tugadude

A good wife makes the man in my opinion. Sounds like you hit the jackpot. Also, I love the stories behind the knife. That's what I look for when it comes to keepsakes, some emotional connection. That knife will never be dull!

Thank you for your efforts Danne!

Also, decide whether you want it to have alternating colors, or whether you want it uniform. I like the ones that alternate personally, but that might not be your taste. This is one person's technique. Again, personal taste and all, but I love the accent colors and the metal rings. The sky is the limit I guess. Find your own look! https://thompsonsknives.com/bark3.html

I could be wrong but I believe the charm of leatherwork for many of us is the fact you don't need computers or even any machines at all to turn out beautiful, functional product. It is what drew me to leatherwork. Being able to take a skin and some hand tools and some thread and create something wonderful is almost magical when you think about it. When I hand a project over to someone not familiar with leatherwork, they nearly always remark they had no idea that people could do this by themselves. They remark on the stitching, how it appears so perfect and are puzzled you can achieve that without a machine. I agree with fredk, and will go further and say much of my enjoyment is in smelling the tanned leather, brushing it, feeling the smoothness, the suppleness before even touching it with a blade. It is part of the process, the experience for me. I rarely find any major defects in the leather I use. Maybe I'm lucky. The most I find is cosmetic and easy to work around. The tool the OP is working on is I'm sure going to be helpful for somebody. Probably not most of us here. I suggest you reach out to the mass producers. Hope you speak Chinese, as that's where much of the cheap product originates from.

Merry Christmas to all. Wind chill is -30 F at the moment. BRRRRRR!!!!! I hope everyone remains safe and warm for the holidays and that you spend some quality time with family and friends.

Maybe it wasn't the composition of the maker's mark, but rather her inability to separate you, someone she knows and loves from a faceless company. I think it looks just fine! P.S. And hopefully she doesn't look at you as a Fossil!

Not believing anything is "good enough" is the mark of a perfectionist. I like perfectionists because their work can serve as a model, something to strive towards. And your work certainly is that. In my case, as a hobbyist, I have a difficulty in finding the time to sit and create. I just finally took steps towards carving out a dedicated area in my home where I can devote time to leatherwork. That's the benefit of all of the kids vacating the premises. Finally! Please, please continue to show your work. Every project is interesting whether it is the quality or the colors or the sorts of materials used. I have learned from your work. I hope that brings you some satisfaction. Thank you! Ray

You say you've used laminated pieces, but how were they laminated? If I took two pieces of 10 oz. veg tan that had unfinished flesh sides and glued them together with a quality contact adhesive I would defy anyone to tear them apart without literally destroying the leather. If you laminate by gluing a finished back to a smooth outer layer of leather with a so-so glue, then maybe you might be able to separate them. Even you indicated that others have tried laminated leather with mixed results... "I have considered most options including laminated pieces but believe it or not that's already being tried by many others with mixed degrees of success. " Also, is there a reason it HAS to be leather? Surely there is another material out there that might substitute, and maybe even do a better job?

I wonder if it would help for you to tell us what you intend to make with the 20 oz. leather? There might be other options depending on what your project is. As far as who you might contact, I'd try Springfield Leather Company and ask them.

Reminds me of some Tandy locations with the large tables in the middle of the showroom. By the way, I noticed in the advertising that the Customer Service Manager's name is Mae Miller. Folks who do business with them and who have noticed a decline in satisfaction should contact her. That's the only way they know about the issues sometimes. Don't look at it as complaining, but giving them priceless feedback.

A woman who worked at OTB used to come visit here from time to time. Perhaps she will make an appearance and let us know what she is able to. Honestly it may be too early to tell what is going to happen over time. Another thing that sometimes happens is the companies are run "business as usual" for a time and then all heck breaks loose.

There is a big difference between a company such as Weaver purchasing OTB and a private equity firm doing so. So as it turns out, Weaver Leather was originally bought by this equity firm and they have now added OTB to their portfolio. In my experience, this is only one step in a longer journey and both Weaver and OTB are likely to be sold again within the next 5 to 7 years. The real question it seems to me is how are the companies going to be operated, separately, as was the case before the purchase, or are they going to be folded into one entity. I've seen both outcomes.

Consolidation is running rampant throughout the business world and has been for some time. I am in the construction industry and there have been so many mergers and acquisitions in the last decade my head is spinning. And it is happening not only at the manufacturing level, but the distributor level and even all the way down to the contractor level. I've seen some very good small companies become bigger, mediocre ones. Hope that doesn't happen in all instances.

Yes, loop as many times as you desire, pass the thread to the opposite side inside of the leather and then do the same number of loops on that side. Finish by tucking both loose ends in-between the leather. The glue should keep them anchored in place. There really isn't much stress being put on these stitches. So they will likely remain taut.

We've had this question come up a number of times. Seems to me the thread loops around one side, then is passed in-between the two layers of leather and then loops around the other side and then is tucked in-between the leather to finish. That results in no thread ends anywhere in sight. The "original end" of the thread is also tucked in-between the layers of leather to hide and secure it.

I just realized I had forgotten to compliment the OP on the look of the desk. I'd be proud to sit at it myself! Very nice indeed.

You may be interested to know that the first wrist watches were actually pocket watches, smaller ones, to which they soldered brackets so that a strap could be attached. So you were simply wearing a pocket watch on your wrist. It is also a fact apparently that women were the first to really popularize wearing watches on their wrists. It didn't become fashionable for men until WWI, and it wasn't because of fashion, but being able to quickly and conveniently checking the time. I'd love to see you getting the old pocket watch or watches running again. Probably not a big deal, just a basic service probably is all that is required. Thanks for sharing your story. I won't debate the relative safety of the world except to say that last time I checked nobody has a monopoly on thieves. They are everywhere and the less we attract them, the better we are for it. That's all I am trying to say.

There's a guy on youtube whose channel is called wristwatch revival. He takes timepieces just like you father's and puts them back into running order. He is amazing. I have no doubt that he or someone like him could get that wonderful piece ticking again. I watch his videos just to see him work. It is amazing, not unlike watching a really talented leatherworker in fact!

As a "watch guy" I give this a big thumbs up! Anything which allows for watches of that sort to be used is awesome in my book. Nice job.

I am by all means no expert, but personally I wouldn't write directly on that surface at all. I still would use a separate pad, blotter or whatever you call it. Having said that, the pebbled texture I'm seeing is problematic. "smoothing it out" may mean many things, but to me, unless you sand the whole surface, the only way to remove those features would be to use a glass slicker on them. But that is going to change the appearance of the whole top. I am interested in what the real experts here think. But again, I'd never write directly on that surface, but that's just me. I'd be afraid of leaving impressions on the surface which would be unsightly. A separate leather pad could be restored and/or replaced as needed.

Now, more than ever, it pays to pick your spots and to be very discerning as to when it is appropriate to wear a valuable watch. And I'd go further and say the same about any precious jewelry, period. Displaying such things in public used to be safe, but unfortunately they now can make you a target. That's perhaps another reason to have a pouch you can slip your watch into when you find yourself in a situation which you feel warrants.

I am a watch enthusiast, but an enthusiast on a budget. The beauty of many of my hobbies is I can participate without breaking the bank. I am also very fond of bicycles and have restored many older bikes, some of which have been sold to fund my hobby. In fact, that's pretty much the deal I have with my lovely and patient wife. I've figured a way to make the collecting of bicycles self-sustaining and not a drain on our funds. I wish I could say the same about watches, but what I do is pick my spots and nearly always wait until a watch I want is on sale. I don't own any really expensive watches nor do I feel the need to do so. What I do have are ones that "speak" to me in a variety of ways and I enjoy them all. I have beater watches and yes, dress watches that don't come out until I am attending a wedding or other formal occasion. As far as watches as an accessory to your dress style, that is something I've know about and pursued since way back in my college days. I can remember many times when someone has stopped me an either complimented a watch of mine or commented on how it goes so well with my wardrobe. Men typically don't have the same opportunity as women to "accessorize". That isn't always the case, but in general I think it is true. So some men take advantage of the opportunity watches provide. Still others might wear a pinky ring with their family crest, or their initials. And some men don't care to wear any jewelry at all. Speaking of that, some view watches as merely tools, like GrampaJoel indicated he does. And there's nothing wrong with that and there are some exceptional tool watches available for not a lot of money. And to speak to another comment in this thread, no, a $10K watch isn't necessarily going to be any more accurate than a Walmart Timex. In fact, the Timex is guaranteed to be more accurate as automatic and mechanical watches, no matter how well made can ever compete with the accuracy of quartz. But the reason to own an automatic isn't for accuracy's sake. It is because they are wonderful, amazing and even sometimes beautiful machines, machines which fit on your wrist and can do so many other things than just tell you the time. I have my phone for that. My watches serve other functions. One of them reminds me of my great uncle who was killed in WWII. It is a pilot's watch and he served in the Army's 8th Air Force in Europe, flying dozens of missions in a B-24 Liberator. His plane was shot down over water and the entire crew of 10 perished in the icy sea. When I wear it, I think of Norman and the sacrifice he made. That's just one example. There are other watches that are special to me for other reasons. I'm not trying to talk anyone here into becoming a watch collector. What I do hope is you maybe begin to appreciate the fact that not all "watch people" are snobs who lord it over others that they can afford to wear a Rolex. Heck, Rolex is cheap compared to many brands out there such as Jaeger LeCoulture, Patek Philippe and others. For those who might be interested in seeing some really nice, value watches that don't set you back a lot of dough I recommend checking out Long Island Watch. The owner, Marc, is a good guy and his Islander brand of watches are amazing values. He carries other brands also, none of which approach the kind of money you have to fork over for a Rolex. Anyways, I just wanted to share some perspective from someone who loves leather and leatherwork and who also appreciates nice timepieces. I hope it was helpful.

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention Chuck. I'm sure it will provide some help to many members here.

Klara's tool roll has a nice feature that some might not have even noticed, I know because I didn't upon first glance. The flap has a zipper and that allows for the storage of watch tools and also for additional straps. Many like to change straps on their watches and now this allows you to store them safely within a protective pouch. Very nice touch!

The pads take the place of the wrist and that's the best way to carry them because it prevents them from jostling around. Also becoming popular among the watch aficionados is a pocket-style case. That way you may carry multiple watches on your person without resorting to wearing one on each wrist ala Gen. Schwarzkopf. I suppose there's also times when you need to remove your watch for some reason. Perhaps when doing something "messy" or potentially injurious to the watch and need a safe way to store it.