JDRamsey

This is some excellent detail, Storm. Nice work. Except for the suit, it resembles something out of "Planet of the Apes" movies. You're right about word of mouth advertising. I'm still working on an order of 50 tooled sporrans for a local pipe band due to word of mouth advertising. Do your best and it does work well. Maybe too well. Jim

A few pictures of past effort. Jim

I like the tooling. Nice job. I'm a different generation & had no clue that slipknot is a band. At least that is what I read into the posts. To me, this emblem resembles a Celtic style image of a stork in a way. Just a bit more interweave, and presto, there it is! Jim

Nice tooling. If it is a Christmas present, I bet he will love it.

Wyvern, There is a gusset. It is 1 inch wide plus the 1/4 inch each side for seams. That width goes from center bottom each direction for about 4 inches, where it tapers off to 0 plus the 1/2 inch for both seams. One of the improvements will be to end at 1/2 inch plus the 1/2 inch for both seams to allow for space to get a hand into the bag more easily, and I may increase the width of the entire gusset by another 1/4 inch. Note that with fur, it runs in one direction, requiring the gusset to be split in half at bottom middle and cut so that the fur runs downhill from the top of each side. You know how kitties don't like their fur rubbed the wrong way. A one piece gusset would just plain look wrong here too. the bag is 8 inches wide by 9 inches tall. The cantle at the top is about a 6 1/2 inch diameter arc by about one inch wide. One can put a sort of shield shape piece of veg tan in the half circumference of the cantle arc for the full width on the front and do some tooling on it, I suppose. With this insert, the fur would not be ruffled at the top by the closure cord loop, which doesn't look really nice on the prototype, and more resistance would be provided to help keep the bag closed better. The fox is fairly fragile, so it was glued onto 4/5 oz suede, a bit heavy. I'm considering pigskin liner for the next one, and have an inner suede bag. The seams would be hidden to the user this way. Better finish. The back is 6/7 oz vegtan with 4/5 oz suede glued on. Waaay too heavy. It was a chore to get it turned right side out after the stitching. That will go to 3 to 4 oz vegtan or chrome tan without a liner since there will be an inner bag. The cantle is two pieces for the front & two pieces for the back of 7/8 oz vegtan that sandwich the body of the sporran. At the top, there is a mexican round braid to finish it off. One of the ideas my wife gave me is to have a closure strap over the top from the back that has a concho topped snap that snaps together at the top middle of the front of the cantle. More decorative and efficient. That is a good idea & I'm trying it. Within the arc of the cantle on the back is a round piece that is riveted and sewn onto the back allowing for a horizontal sleeve for the sporran belt to go through. Allow enough space for the width and thickness of the belt, or you will be unhappy with the result. I hope this is enough of a description for you to do one of your own, if you want. I may have left something out, so feel free to ask any more questions. Thanks for your input & I'm open for thoughts on my intended improvements. Jim

Thank you. It is the prototype. I hope to make the next one better. There is a pending order for presentation sporran similar to it that will have some tooling added. Once completed, I'll try to get a pic posted.

Beaver's not right, Storm??? Well, it is sort of just *brown*. But, it is cheap! I like your description, "American made from mostly some Scottish parts". I also have tried haggis, like steel cut oats, am the Indiana Commissioner of Clan Ramsay Association, enjoy and attend Scottish Highland games, and am the chairman of the Highland Clans committee for the Columbus Scottish Festival just down state. Taking up the tossing of a caber at my age could cause some serious damage, so I've passed on that opportunity. Somehow, I don't think the 60+ year old bod would take well to flipping a 125 pound telephone pole. Thank you for the complement on the work. Still yet, I always strive to improve on a product. Perfectionism is a type of curse, I think. Jim Ok. Thanks for the input. My "English" wife says that the knot is too large.

This is a very nice restoration. I think it looks really nice. Where on the motorised bicycle does this box attach? Is it for tools, or just possibles?

The attached pic is the first fur sporran I've made. I don't really like the knot closure at the top, and will either change it out for some other closure method, or just make it smaller. The knot is an Ashley 880 out of 1/4 inch dyed vegtan. Like most things, this item has been a learning experience, and there are several adjustments that will be made. It is red fox, lined with 4/5 oz suede. The Cantle is of 7/8 oz leather, since the metal items are hard to come by. Now, have at it. I'm open for *constructive* criticism. Through ideas and suggestions, I'm hoping to improve on this item and the design. As for the moniker of the picture, that is what was defaulted to when the pic was uploaded from the camera. Sort of a silly oversight on my part. That title really belongs to pictures of many Christmas trees we found in a wine cellar at Madison, IN. Just a worthless bit of trivia. Thanks for any critique and/or suggestions you may have. Jim