Tugadude

Is there a brand name on that?

First, good on you for wanting to help. I'm sure it is much appreciated. I'll bet there's a forum contributor that lives in your general area that might be willing to come and help with an inventory. Tools can be quite costly and there are also machines there, and they have good value. After you see what is there, you can proceed a number of ways. You could do one or any combination of the following: 1. Decide on what you want for the whole shebang and list it here and see if anyone is interested. 2. Sell the tools in groups. You might want to sell the machines individually and then group the tools together in ways that make sense, for example, group all of the oblong punches together and then all of the round punches together, etc. There seem to be a ton of stamping tools. Those might be sold as an entire group, or divided up into groups such as basic tools, more intricate tools and specialty tools (like flags, animals, etc.) 3. List each item individually. This last one is difficult when there are so many. To encourage folks to buy more than one item you might consider quantity discounts. For example, $8.00 for a stamping tool but buy 3 or more and pay $7.00 each. That might motivate people to buy more. It isn't going to be profitable for yourself or anyone else to buy onesies, twosies. especially if shipping is involved. Hopefully somebody local with a big heart will offer to come look! Good luck.

Danne, that is honestly one of the coolest watch straps I've ever seen and frankly, the best quality I've seen bar none. As far as a target audience, I could see Harley Davidson fans going crazy over it. It has been said here that you set the bar high and that's accurate. Gives us all something to shoot for. I know you did another thread on that strap, but I don't think you gave specifics on how you laminated the orange and black. Could you show us your approach to that please? I know I'd like to do something like that in the future.

I honestly don't remember exactly when I began. Maybe a sign of getting old! But around age 50 +/-

If the company is "actively recruiting small USA business owners", I wonder if it would be possible to get a line of communication going through someone else here? See if they get the same treatment. I understand your reluctance to name the company and I respect that. It could be a misunderstanding, the person may be in the hospital with Covid-19 for all we know. But if they are freely interacting with others and avoiding you, that should be fairly easy to determine. Just some thoughts. I hope it turns out OK. That would be a tough lesson learned otherwise.

There have been a few members here on the forum that seemed to do these regularly. Perhaps you can search for threads in which they posted pictures. Some were remarkable from what I remember. I'm probably the last person you want commenting on tooling, because I rarely use the technique and when I do, I limit it to the use of stamping tools, not carving. But it doesn't seem to me that you are getting enough "relief" in your carving. The number 1 and the ribbon should stand proud of the leather. As it is, everything is pretty flat. Here's just one thread I found. I simply searched for "shield".

My process depends on the thickness of leather I'm dying. With thinner stuff, if I can, I dip-dye it. The dye goes all the way through readily. I then lay it on a clean piece of cardboard and I rub the surface gently, blotting it really, to remove any excess and then I let it dry. If it is overly stiff, I will use either Carnauba Cream or Neatsfoot Oil to soften it. I like the results I get. On thicker stuff I apply dye in two directions. I go "east to west" on the first pass and then "north to south" on the second. I then will usually add a bit more and do it in a circular fashion. That eliminates any chance of streaking. It may sound like a lengthy process, but I'm usually dying fairly small pieces at a time, maybe 2 feet square or so. I apply the dye with a rag. I've heard some say they get good results from an applicator, but I've never tried it. I have rarely dyed the backside on thick leather.

One of the reasons I love this forum is threads like this. First, I learned some history, thanks to fredk. Then I have read people's comments and viewed examples of some similar products. Then more history and finally, inspiration. I have some thoughts now on creating a similar "box" for myself to organize some of my tools for times when I might want to "go mobile". So thanks to everyone for the education and the inspiration!

Very cool. That doctor's bag has a saw that is similar to ones from around the American Civil War era.

I know I have seen something similar that was made for artists. The front flap would serve as a clean, flat surface for drawing or painting and the side flaps held pencils, brushes, etc. There were storage areas in the main part of the case too, for larger items. Tried to find it again, but no luck. I did find a doctors bag that is similar. Wouldn't take much to change this one to allow the sides to "wing out" rather than stay in place or hinge down. Or this one...craftsman tool bag.

To me it would depend on the specific customer or opportunity. I don't know about charging a prospective customer, but one thing you could do is ask that the samples be returned. I'm not sure what they will be doing to them, but it is likely they might just open the package, look at them, buckle them and put them back. Who knows? Regarding your situation, if they want three colors, how about just sending one belt with accessories and two sample pieces of the other leather? They should be able to envision the products in the other choices I would think. Also, as was suggested above, some leather manufacturers and/or distributors will provide free samples, but probably not enough to get several belts out of. For that you might try Springfield Leather Co., which sells some of their leathers by the foot. At least you might get away without buying a whole side. I'm a hobbyist, but I'm also in sales, have been for over 30 years. The old adage about people not appreciating things that are given free is pretty accurate. There was a manufacturer that charged for contractor training. Their competitors all bragged about the fact that they offered free training. Funny, but the company that charged was always booked. I guess folks felt they were going to get their money's worth. Something to think about.

You'll get different opinions on this. My bottom line is this, if what you are doing is working, don't change anything! But if it isn't, then experiment until you find something that works for you. I've been in the construction chemicals business for more than 30 years, and in that time I've seen all sorts of different techniques that contractors use in order to get the best result. And sometimes they seemingly conflict with what others are doing. But it works FOR THEM. And that's all they are worried about, right? I don't pre-wet my leather with anything before dying. I'm of the belief that if you want the dye to penetrate deeply into the leather, then it is best for the leather to be dry and thirsty. The leather absorbs the dye like a sponge when it is dry. If the leather is already "wet", then you can only get so much dye into the product. It ceases to be sucked down into the leather if the leather is already wet. That's my thinking on the subject. Others will say they they always pre-wet their leather and get great results. And that's great! I don't and I also get great results. Still others use air brushes and some dip-dye. Use whatever method works for you. And you'll only find out by trying for yourself.

I second that!

If you look closely at what KS Blade refers to as their pricking iron, it does have a slight radius to the teeth. I can see how they might sit down in a groove that way. Otherwise, you just have to look down at an angle and straddle the line. Doable, but certainly not easy.

In the end, quality is the result of both tool and operator. At least most of the time. The average pro golfer could walk into any department store and buy the cheapest set of clubs and still beat most any amateur. Lee Trevino made a living off of hustling members at a golf course. He showed up with a single, old, rusty club and would proceed to beat the dickens out of them. KS Blade makes both diamond-shaped chisels and pricking irons that are more of a straight, rectangular tooth. Each will penetrate leather, so the pricking irons can be also be used as stitching chisels as well as for marking holes. They have a very slight taper to them. They make round ones too, for what it's worth. The "double line" irons are interesting!

That photo was just an example I found on the 'net. It looks as though that person used a cord of some sort that was quite thick, maybe 2.0mm? Edit: Here is where I got the picture: https://www.designsponge.com/2012/10/diy-project-leather-cup-jacket.html The instructions say to stitch from one end, then when you get to the opposite end, go ahead and stitch back alongside the first pass, doubling the thread. I think it looks nice.

I will post up some photos by tomorrow. I use more of a flat stitch method. Hard to describe, but looks like this...

Very nice! Would like to see how you sewed them too. I made one similar to the top one. In mine I put Fleur de Lis inside every other square to represent St. Louis.

While it doesn't exactly relate to the handmade discussion, I had an interesting discussion last week concerning "genuine leather". Seems the term is highly misunderstood. All in the group thought that it meant that the product was top quality leather. The lesson I learned is to not assume people know what you are talking about. Educate them.

You might find some helpful information in this thread...

Thanks for this generous gift. I've made a number of tapered watch straps sans template and I know how difficult it is. Almost impossible to get the tapers just right. This will help big-time! So thanks!

I was at Springfield Leather Co. recently and they had some thick leather that looked to be perfect for soles. They also bought out some stock from a boot/shoe company awhile back and I've seen them selling pre-cut leather soles. You might phone them and ask. Don't just go to their website, call them. They are friendly folks.

The funny thing about wallets to me is just when I think I've seen every possible configuration, a new one suddenly appears. And that's the case here. When I saw the picture with the stitching line on the fold I was puzzled, but then I saw why it was there and I thought it was a pretty cool idea. Very creative and nicely executed.

Exquisite, like all of the work you display here. I made a similar one for an old Seiko Automatic I have had since the early 80s. Yes, it is still running! I first saw this style in a Rolex advertisement. I immediately liked it. I find this is a good way to make a watch appear larger than it really is. When I changed to this style of strap, the watch just seemed bigger due to the surrounding leather. I think more people should experiment with bund-style straps. There are so many ways you can express that particular style. Thanks for sharing your work!

Funny, but so true.