Hedge

Now that is slick, Tom! You did some really fine lacing on that. If you make another one, I think the handle would be more substantial if you braided it over a rawhide core. This one doesn't look like it would bear the weight. Just an observation.

C = 3.14159 x dia. (but you already have the measurements you need. 24" and 17 1/2"...right? )

Your pattern will be a trapezoid. The long side will be equal to the circumfrence of the large hole and the short side equal to the circumfrence of the small hole. The distance between will be the length of the tube. Your cut seam will be made by drawing a line connecting the ends of these lines on each side. ('suppose that's a clear as mud )

Beautiful work Shirley! That's one to be proud of. I can see the attention to detail you put into the lacing and tooling. Ya done good!

Thanks, Bob. Unfortunately, there are some gaps, but that's due to some stretch in the string as I was snugging it. Don't know if an interweave would have helped in this case. It's my own mallet, so I let it slide.

Hedge, i bought the pro lace to do things around the house with and don't care about the edge look of the lace, but normally i don't use it on stuff I send out, so this one was a real boo-boo. i usually use superior or roo lace which doesn't break as much and has a much more even color throughout. Yup, the Pro was for practice, Superior for finish work or even better, 'roo. That's practically all I use now and cut my own. Sure is sweet leather to work with. One of the best things about 'roo is that you can re-use the same piece if you aren't satisfied with the result.

I picked up that trick watching a saddle maker finish off a notebook cover. Sure gave the leather a nice look.

Know what you mean. As long as the customer is happy, that's what counts. Yeah, I've had my problems with the pro lace. When I had access to a Tandy, I could go through the stock and find the good stuff.

Here's something I tried for my own knife. Granted, it took a little planning and work, but it gave me the clean look I wanted and holds the knife horizontally. You could also get a good result by using a narrower strip of leather at a slight angle.

Welcome aboard drol99! I'm a recent member, myself. Nice people here and VERY talented. I'm sure you'll learn whatever you need, here.

Nice job Tazzman! I'd have thrown in and extra $30 myself. If yoiu don't mind a suggestion (and it's only personal preference) I think I would have beveled the lacing to smooth it out and minimize the edge show.

From what I can make out (me eyes are gettin' old) you've got some nice work there, Mark. I know what you mean about coloring it. I always cringe when I start adding coloring agents to some tooling. I just know it'll be ruined! I have a suggestion, though. The detail you've put into this piece needs to be shown off. Without some highligts, it just doesn't show off like it deserves to. If you still have a piece of the hide that was cut from, do a little tooling on it to experiment. Then, apply some antiqueing paste, let it set for a bit and rub off, letting it fill in where you want some definition. When it's dry, rub in some saddler's oil. I think you'll find that your work will really stand out then.

Welcome, Jerkeejoe. I'm no expert on sheaths. I've made a few case and sheaths and can only share what I've learned. If I understand you correctly, you want more definition in the outline. The problem is going to be the thickness of the leather. The thicker it is, the less definition you'll get. You'll get fine defition with 2oz leather, but it isn't going to make a good sheath. One idea might be to give it the appearance of following the lines of the knife by tooling the sheath to simulate the look of the knife. Is the sheath in the pic one you made? It looks good to me. Has a clean look. The only suggestion I'd have is that you'll probably need a lanyard on the knife. Doesn't look like there's enough room to get enough purchase on it to withdraw the blade.

Love those slick forks and big horns. Your tooling is supurb...nice and deep and well defined. It'll last a long long time.

Great. Looks like the design is set. Thanks, Spider Thanks, Warren.Myriam really worked hard at screen captures to find every angle and detail she could. Just wish I couldfind the border tool that matches the original.

Thanks, Warren! Just had a look at your money belt/cartridge belt. Sweet! I really like the combination colors you chose and the way you used the antique to highlight it. Gives it that worn look I like. I see you like clipped corner buckles, too.

Thanks for the link. That was a lot of work but sure useful!

Thanks again, Mark. Sure thing. Might even be able to sell a couple. Gotta feed my horses somehow.

Thanks, Bob. 450 Marlin, eh? Ouch! I download my .45-70 so I can shoot it more than once in a day! :D

Great idea, zman. Thanks!

Here's another piece I did. It's a proto-type I made just to see how it would go together. The leather is a bit flanky but it worked for the purpose. Myriam got some shots of the belt from the movie, so we could see how it was actually constructed. The ones we saw for sale on the web weren't made like the original. I think we've got it figured out. But, if you see where we missed something, let me know. There's no stitiching and the fold over for the buckle is done with billit style lacing. The cartridge loops are woven through slots in the belt and snugged with latigo lace in the back. I don't have a .45-110 like Quigley so I scaled this for my .45-70. Gary

Excellent work! That belt looks like it has the heft and stability a carry belt should have. I've never tried burnishing the edges of drum stuffed leather so, I don't know if this will work. I use my dye as a softener and burnish while the dye is still wet. Works well on plain veg tanned. Gary

Thanks, Ken! This sure looks like the place to be. Good one Spider!Thanks,Gary

CollinsMS, Thanks for the compliment! Yup, that's what I was going for. As much as I admire shiny new stuff, there's just something about leather that looks like it's been used a bit. (now, I have to get some wear on my 'ol .44 to match the leather!) It would be an honor to have my rig posted on your site. Go for it and thanks! Gary

This will be awesome! I share your trepidation about dying it. I've been in similar situations. You can practice on another piece but each chunk of leather is different and you can't count on it responding the way you want. Sure hope it turns out the way you want. Gary