UKRay

That is such a fine piece of work, Kathy. I was afraid the colours would detract from the carving but it made everything work even better. Congratulations! Ray

I must say that the answers I got to my questions have surprised me. How can insecurity be an issue in this multi-faceted and multi-talented leatherworking community? Okay, I rarely post pictures of my stuff on the board because I don't feel it 'jumps high enough' when compared to the other stuff I see; but I failed to see that most everyone else is concerned about their products too. Thanks guys, I feel a lot better! As this thread developed I had had a few ideas myself about ways to improve the look and 'purchase factor' of my work. Having listened to everyone else I'm rather less worried about the quality of the workmanship as I concentrate a lot of effort on making stuff as well as I can and already try to pick up on all the things that have been mentioned. In fact I already spend far too much time looking for problems! One thing I have identified as a problem is rivets. I currently use hammered tubular rivets and wonder if there is a better looking solution. Tubular rivets always look cheap to me and tend to rust or discolour at the first opportunity. I'd prefer to use a machine to set rivets but don't know what is available - or affordable. I'm also unsure how a machine would cope with rivets that need to be set in difficult places. Aside from the 'build quality' I am quite concerned that the first view a customer has of my work leaves a good impression so I have recently invested in a big pack of plain white tissue paper to wrap individual items in before they are shipped. I don't care what the thing is, somehow tissue paper seems to add value - anyone got thoughts on that? I have already gone down the route of buying in nice cloth bags for my larger leather items. They also add some perceived value. I'm now toying with the idea of paper or leather 'tags' and have just purchased a couple of shield shaped cutters from eBay to see how shaped tags look with my maker's stamp on them. Does anyone else do this? I have mentioned in the past that I always include a set of care instructions with my leather bags and can say with some authority that these have definitely bought me in more business. They simply carry my name, email address, website and phone number along with some basic care hints. I wrap them around a jar of Skidmore's cream and a yellow duster and hold it all together with a rubber band - it ought to be a leather thong really I guess... Anyone else got any ideas? Red tissue? Blue Tissue? Ribbons - I don't care as long as it works!

What Badger said... I couldn't have put it better myself!

This is a thread I've been meaning to start for a while as I'm only too well aware of my own shortcomings when it comes to finishing things to a really high standard. Don't get me wrong, I make and sell a fair bit of stuff but sometimes I feel that with a little more 'finesse' - or whatever it takes - I could have made something 'special' but instead it only turned out okay. This is not about design (or maybe it is?) - I think this is all about finishing and presenting work in the best way possible. You know the sort of thing I mean: attention to detail, all the loose threads clipped off, burnished edges and the buckles given a final polish. I know that the saddle makers and western leather guys are particularly good at this sort of thing - and so is Tina, her work always has something really special about it. Does anyone have a check list? Help me here folks... Imagine you are going to buy a finished piece of leatherwork: What sort of things do you look for? What do you think goes to make up a well finished and beautifully presented piece of leather work? What do you think is the most important thing to get right?

IMHO, a plough gauge would be the best tool for the job. Having used a plough for years, I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Glad to see 'Biggles' is earning his keep, Karl. Just let me know if you ever want to bring him back... R

Jan - Welcome to the forum. just post as many pictures as you can and everyone will be happy with you! If there is something you don't understand about leatherwork then someone here will help you with it - guaranteed! Enjoy your visits and post often. BTW - nobody can have too many tools... Ray

Spence - what is a bite tug? what is a muncher? Ray

This has to be one of the best jobs you have shown us so far, Josh. I'm so impressed with those meanders as I personally find them very hard to use efectively. In fact the whole project looks pretty fine. Congratulations fella!

I just took it at face value - whatever the motives, the messages hit home.

For the benefit of the ignorant (like me) what are we supposed to be looking at, Skip?

Given that it is so obviously aimed at an American audience, you might wonder what a cynical Englishman might think of such a video and I confess I struggled to put my thoughts into words. IMHO, the messages translate worldwide. I watched it three times and saw something new and heard something new every time. I could find nothing to criticize. Nothing to stop me wanting to see it again and again. I just wish we had more inspirational videos like this to breath a little life and fire back into the UK. God knows we need it.

Now that is a very nice gift, cousin. The lacing detail on that thing is amazing! Ray

I make all my 'master' patterns from vinyl flooring samples. The stores give away or throw out the old sample books when the new stock comes in. It is good and thick and virtually indestructibile as well as being free! If you 'must' have a big pattern then get a big chunk of scrap flooring and cut it out of that. Easy! It is also good for making up trial versions of a project as, with a little care, it can be cut, punched, laced, stitched and rivetted just like leather but at zero cost.

Nice job, Josh - cuffs are an often under-rated challenge. Making a good looking set is harder than it looks as they embody almost all the elements of classic leather working in a single job - designing, burnishing, tooling and carving, staining and finishing - but the thing to remember is that the new owner is in a great position to shove them under the noses of everyone they meet so your work is displayed in close-up to the maximum nuber of people. IMHO it pays to take a few extra minutes on the finishing of a pair of cuffs so they really reflect the quality of your workmanship.

Mark, I tend to reach for a Dixon number 2 or 3 as I like to round my edges nicely and mostly work with 3.5 to 4mm thick leather. I don't like the Tandy edgers as IMHO they feel cheap and flimsy in the hand and, also IMHO, although they sharpen well enough they don't hold an edge as well as the Dixons. Ray

Great idea, Badger, but a fraction too late 'cos I just swooshed water all over the workroom again! The dog bowl is now the casing water bowl but what am I going to use for big sweeping curves now? Doh!

My workroom is littered with stuff I use for patterns - old bean and tomato cans, a couple of wooden coat hangers (great for bag flaps) and even an 8" dog bowl - just use whatever works for you. It doesn't have to come with a label saying 'tool' or 'pattern' LOL

It sounds like you might be trying to use thread that is too big for the needle - have you tried going down a thread size or two? Ray

I played a tenor horn (very badly) when I was a kid - I'd bet my neighbour is praying that doesn't come back to me... (I was truly dreadful!) LOL

MIke - the drill bits I'm thinking of have a spike in the middle to keep them centered - is that what you mean? Do you grind off the spike or what? Sorry, but I'm just not keeping up here! LOL

I was watching that great music video that RDB kindly linked us up to and wondered how many people on this forum are musicians. I've got no particular reason for asking other than sheer inquisitiveness. If you feel inclined then find a minute to tell the folks if you are a musician, what you play and maybe a bit about your music. I'm possibly the world's worst guitar player but I do play every day for half an hour just to irritate my neighbour... occasionally I play harmonica if he has done something really bad to wind me up. I used to sing too but the noise upset me and the dog came close to leaving home. What do you do? edit (as usual) due to my inability to spell - plus my inability to ignore it like a sensible person would...

Great job Steve.

Amazing work...

Rayban - Green compound huh - it figgers! Thanks for the kind words. Gtwister - Those are some very lovely bits of wood... At this point I have to 'fess up and show you the rather disreputable pair of strops that live on my own bench... I can't justify a new one until I wear these out! Tom - you made me blush... LOL RDB - I thought I'd just share a 'pile of things' moment with you... Nobody else understands... LOL Josh - love the shape on that strop and the case... well! Thanks for the info, Holly. I use the red stuff myself as you can tell but I also use aluminium oxide (yes that is how we spell it over here!) and beeswax although not in that order! The design of the strop is quite important to me as I have to feel I can hold it securely. Anyone got any tips on design?