JDRamsey

Happy Viking, You're welcome. I like the work you have on your site and thought thatthat pattern would be a nice addition to your product offering. I donot, however, have a site of my own. I was hooked on leather toolingin 2006 when wanting to make a sporran of my own. In March, I starteda small business (very small) and have been doing leather work on apart time basis. My work was liked by the right folks, and at thistime we are in the middle of an order for 50 day sporrans for a localpipe band (my wife, Brenda, got involved so we could make betterprogress). I'm happy that they are not in a rush to get them all atonce. Here are a few more URLs. You may have these, or maybe not. https://www.siegelofca.com/default.asp http://www.barrykingtools.com/index.htm http://www.ramsskullpress.com/ http://www.nmia.com/~rqpltd/ This one is Raymond's Quiet Press, a medieval hardware smithy. Pretty interesting. http://www.leathercordusa.com/ http://www.leathercraftersjournal.com/index.html This is a sampling of some of the sites I have bookmarked in my favorites. I have nothing to gain by promoting any of these businesses. Hope one or more of them will be of use to you. Take care. Jim

Thank you, Kevin. I have been told by leather guild members that I should start entering the work in competition. The judges would be brutally frank, and I might pick up some methods for improvement from them. Also, it is easier to find flaws by examining the actual item than it is by just reviewing the picture. Jim

Ok, Johanna. You said to contribute, post, and share when I spoke with you at the IFLG show in Indy, so here goes. I was very happy to meet you at the show and enjoyed your seminar. Please don't forget to send a copy of the hand-outs for that seminar when you get time. Thanks for your encouragement, support, and advise. Here are a couple of items for constructive criticism from anyone. Thanks. Jim Ramsey

Hi, I also enjoy tooling Celtic art. I've been practicing since 2006, and have recently started a business in leather craft called Epona Leather Works, but have not been bold enough to quit my day job like you have done. The primary product has been sporrans. I just sent you a note in your web site about a copy of a "free" Tandy Celtic cross tooling pattern that I have saved on my PC. I'd be happy to send a copy to you. I don't see how to attach it here. Ahh, here it is - how to attach, I mean. I hope you can use this pattern. I'm located in Indiana, USA. Jim Ramsey

Lost my first response - sorta new to this. I've got a lot of fond childhood memories of the oil field in Southern Illinois. My folks are gone now, but I'm proud of having been raised by a good, honest, hard working, and loving family. People can call a group what they wish, but it's what is in the heart that counts, not the prestiege of position, wealth and physical things that are corrupted. I don't know if I lost the first response or not, but will see when I add the reply. I tried to attache a piece of my work. If it doesn't show up, I'll post it again.

Of course I am oilfield trash, and proud of it. Dad was an oil field pumper in Southern Illinois until the fields went dry. I grew up around roust-abouts, pulling machines, spudders, oil derricks, pump jacks, Fairbanks engines, water floods, gas torch lights, oil tanks, heaters, and probably have crude still running through my veins. Grandfather on Mother's side was a mule-skinnin' oil driller until he fell over dead of a heart attack at about my current age. He ended up in Moran, Texas. I have a lot of relation in Albany & Abilene, although I am a Hoosier (nick name for someone in Indiana) import. By the way, nice image of the seat. Good job.

Butch, I have noticed several people recommending a round knife, or head knife. These are the absolute best cutting tools to use to provide accurate cuts of leather. However, you must respect them. These are serious tools that can cut the person using one just as quickly as they cut the leather. I recommend Al Stohlman's book "Leatherworking Tools - How to use them and How to Sharpen Them". That may not be the exact title, but it is close enough. Go to a Tandy Leather Factory. You can pick up a copy there. It is well worth it. Pages 4 through 14 go into great detail on how to safely use the round knife and how to sharpen it. I have both the round knife and head knife and love them. When you procure one, respect it. They bite.