akhawkeye

Hi Mike - just saw this. Do you still have the drive? If it died because of a head crash, you can try putting it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, then throwing it back in your laptop and see if it'll boot. Then just grab what you can untill it gets hot again and crashes. Then repeat. You do have to be careful of condensation, though. Otherwise, there are data recovery specialists out there that will actually take the drive apart and rebuild it. This is spendy, though. As far as wiping the drive, it's much easier to do via software if the drive spins up. If not, well... you could try a really really big magnet... but then you'll never really be sure if it erased it completely or not... There are other things you can try to get the data back, but these involve a pci adapter, a desktop, and some forensic utilities (software). But again, this is only if the drive spins up. It all depends on how the drive died. Sorry this isn't a definitive answer, but maybe it'll work for ya... good luck! Colin

Thanks for the tips! Have you ever tried bear oil? I can get my hands on some bear fat pretty soon here, so was thinking of rendering some down. Should I be concerned about it going rancid on (or in) the leather? I've heard that melting some beeswax into it would help. Any thoughts? I would love to use 2 oz veg tanned leather, but I don't have any, and I think my wife would kill me if I came home with another receipt from tandy... lol Thanks again, Colin

Hi all: I would like to make a cow's knee for my muzzleloader, and I have an old leather coat I was going to use. What type of finish would you all recommend to waterproof this thin leather? I don't want to use my veg tanned leather for this because I would like to be able to compact it down fairly well in order to fit it into my shooting bag. -Colin

Hello all - I just thought I'd introduce myself. my name is Colin Cornwall and I live up here in the frozen north (Alaska). I started out with saddlery when I was a child (13-15) as an apprentice to a good craftsman, but I then let it slide as work and being a teenager took over. Now, many years later, I have started back into leatherwork, making quivers and archery related items. Of course, this is just the beginning... I am looking forward to this site! Cheers, Colin