UKRay

That all makes perfect sense, Jonathan, I'd forgotten about the strict trading laws imposed by the guilds. So what on earth did they do with their scrap leather? lol Medieval people had a whole lot of ideas and rules that can be very difficult for a 21st century person to understand unless they are explained, Can you imagine living in a world where innovation is frowned upon and innovators are actively prevented from developing new ideas? You are quite right about the shoemaker and cobbler. The shoemaker literally makes shoes and the cobbler repairs them. My presentation is about the huge role leather played in medieval life. I want to talk about the number of trades it generated and the diversity of products, I need to look at the ways the leather industry was driven - military, industry, agriculture, leisure etc. Finally, I need to give a demonstration of leathercraft using copies of medieval tools. It is a lot of work to prepare all the information, develop visual aids / 'show and tell' boards and gather samples of leather and artifacts but I'm really enjoying the research process. Ray

Something I've done to my Delrin stamps may be useful if you have a large stamp. Rather than turning the end down to a smaller diameter like Stelmackr (great idea but I don't have the lathe skills), I have simply put a dome on the striking end so that all the impact hits the centre of the dome. It seems to help stop double impressions and because the pressure is evenly applied it generally gives a cleaner look to the finished stamp. Ray

You make a fascinating point, Kwelna. The military have patently driven the leather industry, one way or another, since the very first 'organised' war. Only in recent years, with the advent of cheap synthetic materials, have we seen a drop off in military interest. When all the oil is gone, I suspect they will come looking for leatherworkers again. My copy of Leather in Life, Art and Industry arrived this morning and I'm delighted with it. So much information and interesting leathery stuff. I'd suggest any leatherworker should put it on their wish list. Okay, it is a tad dated, but the pictures are incredible and the information is still as relevant today as it was when the book was written back in the 1940s. Excellent lead guys - thanks again. Ray

Leather in Life, Art and Industry has just been ordered from Amazon... thanks guys. Excellent links, Clair - cheers! I've been doing a bit more thinking and it seems to me that the main changes in medieval leatherwork would have happened in centers of commerce or where the rich and famous gathered. I say this because, as many of us are aware, it is hard to be creative in a vacuum. You need stimulation to bring out the best work. Merchants travelling around Europe, emissaries from the various royal courts and those rich enough to travel would make purchases in the most fashionable cities and parade their leathery purchases in their home countries. The 'fashionistas' didn't tend to frequent the rural areas so their impact would almost certainly have been felt by the town and city based leatherworkers. Designs first seen (and purchased) in Amsterdam, Rome, Paris or Madrid would quickly be commonplace in London and thus would influence the local leatherworkers We have the same sort of thing going on here on this forum. Seeing top quality work inspires us to develop new ideas and try to improve on existing designs. Would medieval leatherworkers have been any different? Ray

The Dictionary of Leather Working Tools was one of my first stops, Mijo. It is very helpful but I was hoping for some general opinions about the development of the individual leather trades from craftsmen rather than academics. IMHO, social history isn't as cut and dried as many people seem to think. It is open to interpretation and who better to interpret leatherworking than the folks on this forum? I have attached a PDF document that made me think, hopefully others will find it interesting too. It is a bit on the big side so give it time to download. Ray AY17-16-Leather and leatherworking.pdf

I make waterproof straps for all kinds of purposes and find that a total immersion in neatsfoot oil works very well as a waterproofing agent. The trick is to leave it submerged in the oil until the leather is absolutely saturated. The downside is that the leather always feels greasy to the touch afterwards. For survival kit that may not be a problem - I wouldn't use it for belts or anything that will touch absorbent fabric as the oil will almost certainly 'wick' out. and could spoil the fabric. I have straps that are thirty years old that were treated in this way. They have not rotted and still seem water resistant (and feel slightly greasy!). Heating beeswax is also a winner for me as I use it to dip seal leather bottles. I use a commercial deep fat fryer to melt the wax - it has a thermostat so the temperature can be controlled easily. I find three submersions necessary to get a good seal. It is possible to re-waterproof old beeswaxed leather bottles by re-dipping them. Never tried dipping knife sheaths but I'm keen to give it a go. Ray

I have been asked to demonstrate leatherworking at some shows this coming year and have a pressing need to create a presentation about the social history of leatherworking. Okay so far, but when I started looking at the origins of the various leather oriented trades (belt maker, harness maker, saddler, boot maker etc) I realised it may not be as simple as I first thought. I believe that early and very basic leatherworking would have been done by 'end users' who may have bartered their surplus products for other commodities. A man who makes himself a functional but ugly pair of boots may make another pair for his neighbour in exchange for a pile of logs. A guy who wants a harness for his oxen would make something that worked but it would not be asthetically pleasing. His neighbour may not care what the harness looks like as long as he can use it to pull logs home from the forest so he is prepared to do a deal. The problem arises when the seller wants real money for his products. The average peasant almost certainly doesn't have any spare money so the seller is forced to find a 'wealthy' buyer. The buyer obviously wants the very best his coins can buy so this immediately creates a competitive retail situation. The maker now has to offer the buyer top quality products/services or risk losing the sale. This situation, by necessity, leads to improved product quality and a higher level of craftsmanship. Constant competition simply lifts the 'bar' even higher. Suddenly the general artisan maker needs to be a specialist. This brings a range of problems for the craftsman as choice is made available to the buyer. How does the maker fund his inventory? Is this really the start of specialist makers? My thoughts started out with the most obvious trade - shoemaker. The shoemaker who can make really good shoes will always sell them. He may also make bags and pouches from his scraps - the techniques and skills are fundamentally the same, cutting, stitching and finishing. I felt it was unlikely that the high class shoemaker would also make saddlery or harness. Not because he couldn't do the job, but because the cost of stocking the differing materials would have prevented him from doing both. The medieval saddlers and harness makers may have had clients who were military folk (which would explain why they had money for expensive horse trappings). Perhaps they concentrated on horse equipment, fighting gear and armour strapping. However, the scabbard maker (which we know existed as a trade) may have made sword belts or baldrics - but did he work with a sword maker - maybe he was originally a sword maker? Do you know? Who made leather bottles? Who made leather clothing? What other leather trades were there I'm fascinated to know what other people think about the origins of leatherworking and how the various trades came about. I am not saying any of my suppositions are correct, just offering them as a subject for conversation. Anyone got any thoughts on his? Ray

Welcome to the forum, Realbark. Hope to see some of your work on here very soon. It is always good to see another Brit! Ray

The oiled oak display stands maybe heavy, Randi-Lee, but I've tried a lot of different options and IMHO nothing looks quite so nice with a good range of leather goods on it! I have just spent all day loading the van for a show this coming weekend and leave at 4am tomorrow with a five hour drive to look forward to. The good part is that I'm reaching a whole new audience every weekend and (hopefully) picking up new website customers every time I give out a business card. Summer shows are hard work but the camaraderie among the various traders is great. I can't imagine getting stuck on a showground as there would always be a team of folk ready to lend a hand. I suspect that the friendships are why I keep doing it 'cos the money I make isn't always the best! A rainy day can cut takings dramatically but as long as I cover the diesel for the van I'm safe. I can't afford to bill my time - but then again, I think I'd do it for free as I enjoy the shows so much. Sitting round a fire at night with your fellow traders takes a lot of beating. Wish me luck! Ray

I have used a three inch disk but got best results with smaller. I mainly use it for 1.5" x 1" oval stamps for logos Ray

I have a 2 ton arbor press similar to the Harbor Freight one you are discussing and find it very adequate for my needs providing I use an extension bar and crank it down nice and hard. The down side is that the press needs to be VERY firmly anchored to the bench... yup, I turned mine over lol! Ray

Small is beautiful, Cheryl! I frequently wish I'd kept my business smaller, but then I probably wouldn't have so many great toys to play with lol. Like the pic of your stand, Jon. I envy anyone who hasn't got to display a huge range of small items. I resorted to display baskets but I'm pondering if it would be easier to use nicely made wooden boxes with lots of dividers that fit snugly inside plastic crates for transport. Whatever I do will never be right for long... I thought about using a pale coloured table cloth but as I tend to set up in the middle of muddy fields, I'd forever be washing and ironing the cloths - hence the brown Celtic ones that will do three or four shows between washes (at a push!). Ray

Thanks for the kind words, Albert. You are quite right, there is a lot of time tied up in my inventory - and money too. Much more than I had first imagined. My last stocktake horrified me! I completely agree with you that business cards are a great way to spread the word. I order them 2000 at a time and give away as many as I can cram into passing pockets. I also give away free postcards with pictures of my dragon carvings on them along with my website address. It works for me... LOL I forgot to mention the importance of a card/cash machine at shows. People don't carry real money like they used to so impulse buys are usually paid for with a credit/debit card. I sell almost all my larger pieces (bags, quivers, etc) to people who want to use a card. Ray

Before I start, I just want to say that these are simply random observations loosely associated with sales and marketing of leathergoods. If they work for you then whoopee. If they don't, then please move on. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to do anything, just sharing a few thoughts that may be helpful. I'd personally welcome suggestions and ideas so please pitch in. I've just returned from my first show of the season and, although I did okay with show sales, I believe the real benefits of show trading will come over the next few months as orders trickle in. IMHO, this drip feed of work is what makes the difference between doing okay and doing well. I'm convinced that the effort I make to present my work to a wider audience is worthwhile and, if you aren't doing it already, I'd strongly suggest you give it a try. I started out with a folding Eezee up style tent but, this year, invested in a 16ft x 16ft canvas marquee (see pictures of my set-up at Glastonbury Medieval Fair 2012). It gives me loads of space to display my inventory but best of all I have room to live in the tent at shows so I can afford to do longer events. Setting up and trading for three or five days is much easier (and more profitable) than setting up and trading for one. Getting 'out there' and talking to people is not easy for some folk. I'm one of the lucky ones and enjoy most of the banter (although I freely confess I have problems when it comes to unruly kids). I still haven't found a good way of telling kids to 'go away and trouble someone else'. I always come across as a grumpy old man - which, I guess, is exactly what I am... hmmmmm. Anyone got any ideas? Transport to shows has been an issue for me over the past few years. I had what we call here in the UK, an estate car. It simply wasn't big enough so last year I purchased a VW Transporter van. What a difference. Suddenly everything fitted in. Unfortunately, suddenly it didn't fit any more... what happened? Quite simply, the inventory was bigger, the display stands to put it all on got bigger, the tent got bigger and I'm back where I started. If I'm not careful I'll be turning up in a sixteen wheeler before too long. The investment I'm most proud of is a set of solid oak display stands that were custom made to show specific items. One is a five foot long belt rack, I have another that holds masks and pouches and two shelving units that stand on my folding tables. These things didn't happen by accident. It took hours of agonizing to decide how each piece would fit together (and come apart to fit in the van). I would urge you to take some time over presentation. A good display will make your work look more valuable and command a higher dollar. It is a weird thing, but table cloths are something of a problem for me. I can't decide if plain white is better than coloured. I currently use some Celtic design cloths but they will need replacing soon and I want to get something that really enhances my display. Suggestions welcomed. Anyone got any other thoughts on selling at shows? Suggestions, tips, shortcuts? I'd like to hear them! Ray

I use acetone to transfer complex designs from a laser print onto leather. Experiment with this idea to find the best way for you, but essentially: 1) print your design onto paper using a laser printer 2) lay the paper print (face down) in the correct position on your leather 3) using appropriate safety procedures wipe the back of the printed sheet with acetone - see: http://www.dow.com/productsafety/finder/acetone.htm 4) peel the sheet away from the leather to leave a reverse copy of the design on the leather. 5) rinse the acetone residue from your leather with water 6) leave the leather to dry naturally - or until you feel it is okay to carve/tool/whatever. Hope this helps, Ray

Spinner, aside from the moral stuff which we all understand, It seems to me that the guy may have unwittingly created a demand for a good product and a marketing opportunity for you. From what you say, his products aren't as good as yours so t'would seem likely that having purchased a poor quality item from him folks will be wanting the 'original' item. Just work out where he is selling and pitch your products there too. Word of mouth is a far better advertising medium than any other, but a well placed advert can't do any harm. It is worth remembering that most people won't think to buy a burnishing tool like yours until they see an advert - then they want the best they can get. Good luck fella, Ray

Hi Natalie, Many thanks for your kind offer. My original stamp is just on 10mm across the points - maybe .5 of a mm more but I'm not convinced they were all precisely the same. 10mm would be great but +or- 1mm would work too. Ray

Thanks, Sixer that was most kind of you. That is definitely the stamp I want but as this listing is for a new tool I have a feeling that it could be one of the 'bendy' ones I hate so much. I'm looking for an old one that stays straight when you whomp it - or a good copy made by a reputable maker. Ray

I use vinyl flooring. Tough as old boots and cut and handles much like leather so you can also use it to make prototypes without spoiling good leather. Ray

Since starting leatherworking back in the 1970s, I've used all kinds of weird and wonderful embossing tools but I keep going back to those old Craftool stamps I purchased right at the beginning. I'm in no doubt that the early stamps are infinitely better than those made by Craftools nowadays - but what I really want is to find a modern maker who can replace a couple of my wore out old favorites. Initially I'm after a C453 tool can anyone point me in the right direction? Or maybe sell me or swap an 'older' 1970s or thereabouts C453? Any help or suggestions gratefully received! Ray

It might pay to choose a name based on available web domains. You may want to choose one that will come up in a Google search for your products or services. Ray

Great ideas, leather people. Like the wet formed leaves a lot... hmmm! Nice one, Natalie. So a mulga is either a tree or a snake... I can see some potential for confusion here - "...watch out for that bloody great mulga, mate!" "What the forty foot high one in front of the truck?" "Nah, the big fella under your boot... " "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" I could never live in Australia - i'm waaaay too scared of snakes (or should that be mulgas?) lol! Bats for my belfry are definitely on my wish list, Crystal. I wonder how they would look wet formed? Hope your job is going well, Jonathan. Just remember that you are welcome back here anytime; especially when I have a stack of masks to make lol! You did some superb mask work last year - hope you are making lots more in Germany but it sounds like getting enough sleep is a bigger priority. Not sure how I'd do the anime stuff - can anyone suggest anything suitable? I just made a big batch of small stitched pouches, they sell all year round. I'm going to cut out some sugar mouse pink ones tomorrow to see how they go. Maybe baby blue as well... I have no shame. You hang on to that old tent, Holly. The older ones seem much stronger than the new ones. I understand you can get new covers for 'em. The frames seem almost indestructible but my zips were starting to give out. I've made a stack of bracelets this year, tooled, magic braid and all kinds of plain ones. They always sell so well - shame they are so tedious to make - bit like keyfobs really. I just cut out 500 of the things ready for stamped initials. I never want to see another one! lol Keep the suggestions coming guys. We can all benefit from good ideas - especially new ones. BTW, the rats sell pretty well but they won't make me rich. Now little leather catnip mice might be a good idea for next season as long as I can find time to source the catnip and devise a mouse pattern! Ray

I wish they were all like that show, Terry. That one was was in the warm at King's Manor, York. The rest of the year I'm out in the open in a tent! Lol. I guess that 3ft of wet snow, horizontal freezing rain and high winds aren't regular 'natural hazards' where you are? Mind you, I'll pass on the snakes and crocs... lol Wassa Mulga? Ray