King's X

Really beautiful. She will love it. Send her our Happy Mother's Day salutation..... Enjoy

This is what happen to my market bag that I reported problems when finishing it. Same issue. I happen to visit Hidecrafters and talked with George Hurst. He told me that it was probably the tanning process. His best guessimate was that they washed it with too much acid and bleach. He didn't see the leather, but it came out pretty bad. Luckily, you got to see issues of front. I didn't know better and went ahead and craved it knowing that it was very hard to carve. I took the remainder back and got a credit. I now purchase HO and I just received my first hide. It looks and feels much better. Cut a small piece and sample a flower or leaves and finish it to see how it will come out. I don't believe you will like it. Good luck.

DITTO here. May god bless you and keep you all safe in the cradle of his arms! Thanks, TK

You can call them and ask that they email you the tools list for the Ellis Barnes tools. Here is a flyer they sent me recently.

Rawhide My understanding, but I haven't tried, is that W&C will charge for a split down. Now, I just ordered and received HO from Stevenson-Paxton for 6-7oz and they did not charge me. It is their B grade, but it is hella better than Tandy leather. I hope this answered your question.

I see a business starting here..............whinewhine!!

Rawhide: Thanks for the thread. First, it was our pleasure to finally meet Marlon the "man!" You've helped me since joining this site and it was great to put a face to the legend. No, really it was such a good time. One thing I learned about Mr. G is that he is one of the original "pimps!" (inside joke) Anyways, we had so much fun with Mr. G and the rest of the group. This was not my first time getting an opportunity to discuss leather and tooling with Mr. G in great detail. The last time we met, he offered to invite us to his residence to see some items that have never made it out of the inner leather circle and some that were very recognizable to many. Some leather art we saw was absolutely amazing!! Trust me, some things we saw, I never thought could be made from leather (yea, I know small mind). It was funny, when we walked down the hallway to his office, he ask all leather workers to put their hands in their pocket before he revealed his favor collection. Like an idiot, I did, and then Mr. G opened the hallway closet. Like Rawhide said, there were many tools that we all share and many more that never made it to production. Even though Mr. G was not concerned for what he was sharing as a retired cop, I wouldn't want to give exact details. You can tell that Mr. G is very admired and it showed from all of the gifts he has received from people located literally around the world to include some in state hotels. Mr & Ms. G were the best hosts to open their home to strangers and then share some life experiences with us. To them it was probably another day, but to the three of us, we were in aw. Interesting enough, Scissormedic and I focused a discussion on Mr. G's work area, which was nothing more than two desks in a very small room. Much like most of us use everyday. The other thing was how free he was open to share any secret or short cut he knows about leather working. Rawhide and I were the lucky ones of the group. We each received a signed leather project from Mr. G. I received the tooled eagle and Rawhide received the Bass we did on Sunday. Mr. G also agreed to come to Austin to teach similiar classes. Danny, ScissorMedic and I are going to have a meeting to plan some classes here in Austin and San Antonio since our guild has members in SA. If you are interesting, keep a watch out here, I will post it. We are looking at a cost of $50 to $100 for each class. I appreciate the opportunity to share another memorable experience with a master leather craftsman like Mr. G. Kudos also goes out to Mr. Ron at Hide Crafters for opening the store on his day off to allow us to finish our projects. By the way Ron, if you read this..................Where the damn catalog! Haha Rawhide, again, it was our pleasure meeting you. I haven't forgotten the copy of Mr. G's Airbrushing video. And, if you decide to come to Austin for training, you have a place to stay with us, bring your son and he will have a couple of kids to play with here. Okay, enough, thanks again Great frame work on your eagle, but the frontal photograph doesn't do it the justice it deserves.

Thanks

Pictures guys, pictures. If anyone has a picture (up close) please post it. ScissorMedic and I were discussing possibilities of how to do it easy. Maybe all of our heads can come up with a way. Appreciate you.

Hidecrafters carries the C.S. Osborne and another model. I am attending a class there this weekend and saw them. I am sure that Kevin over at Springfield Leather has them as well. Note: Rawhide, get to bed you have a long day tomorrow.

Welcome to the forum from an ex-Fresno native. Sit back, relax and enjoy what you see, but don't forget to share your work.

I received his tools recently but got a chance to speak with him. Scissormedic and I were planning a trip this summer to visit his shop. I know that he and his wife had the business up for sale and Lonnie had just got out of the hospital. Man, what a blow.

I just placed an order for #2 HO (6-7oz) from Stevenson-Paxton in California for $99 a side. I believe we got a break since four + side were order4ed at $89/side. Good luck

it is a 6" rod that your stamp is cut on. I have one of those you need a ram foot to use. I replaced mine with two from Ms. Brenda. Good luck

Welcome to the Forum.

Dude It came out nice, I hope she liked it.

Greetings from an ex-Fresno Native. Welcome to the forum. Sit back and enjoy!

John Barton True.........True!

This is an interesting thread. Though I am not a expert in the Laser process, I have started to dive into it with Ms. Brenda at LaserGiftCreations.com (she is member here). She actually got started with leather coaster and then into laser engraved leather maker stamps. Now, she is getting into other trouble with me. She just completed a portfolio where I did like Bruce and stamped/engraved the thing and then gave it to her to laser the logo for my friend. We were both a little nervous, but she seemed to take it in stride and has gone beyond her comfort zone to get into other areas involving her machine. She wants to know the limitations and I plan on taking her there. We have talked about other areas that we are looking at. Just a couple of days, she delivered a checkbook cover, roper's wallet and billfold. My friends wanted a go kart racer on the cover along with their racing company's name. I did tool it and it came out okay, but Ms. Brenda blew me out of the water with the laser. I presented both projects to the customer and she easily chose the laser for the detail. So, Ms. Brenda did the laser work and I will complete the tooling and lacing along with the insides before they are delivered. I am also working on some finish work with the laser and I hope you don't mind if I share. Maybe I can save you some heartache and $$. One thing about Ms. Brenda is she works with you and doesn't charge you for everything especially if it is somewhere she hasn't been. I don't know what a "Brick & Mortar" place would do? Probably charge you. Going rate for laser work is a minimum of $1 per laser minute. Some i've checked go upwards of $2 per laser minute. Plus, you have to worry about design time and preparation, but the laser operator should be able to give you the estimated laser time when the design has been prepared. Some things to consider when using a laser that I have learned: 1. The 'vector' or depth has a lot to do with your design and longevity. 2. Continuous bending anywhere near the laser site may distort the design. 3. Nothing is forever. The tooling will definately last longer, but the laser will look nicer. unless you Peter Main or Al Stohlman. 4. Make sure you find out what the laser operator does once the product has been burnt. Ms. Brenda will either use Lexol or wash with water (very important). 5. Sealing the design will create a barrier to imagine lost, but will not concrete it forever (see below). 6. I am sure I missed about 100 more things, but the operator should be able to give you this information plus more if you just ask. What I have learned from using various processes: antique gel & Dye: Working well if you are careful. using a heavy hand to "rub" in the product will bring out some of 'burned' leather to the surface and graffiti will occur (smear marks in the direction of your rubbing). Neat-lac (Spray & manual application) Spraying the product over the leather laser design appears to be the easy and simplistic idea that you will come up with, but some issues lerk. The 'spraying' only covers the 'top coat' of the leather and does not go deep into the 'vector' areas of the burnt areas. continuous bending of the project anywhere near the laser design will create 'crease' lines and may bubble up. I also tried a project with repeated applications and all I seemed to do was build one layer on top of another. Still didn't solve my problem even though I thought I did. Manual application was another idea that I thought was going to be great after hearing so much about Neat-Lac on leatherworker.net. I thought I could massage the NL into all of the 'vector' areas to get good penetration and protection. Wrong! As I massaged the NL on the design, I quickly noticed that the 'burnt' leather or 'ashes' were coming up and next I saw was swirl marks in the direction of my application. Super Sheen Spraying the SS did the same thing as spraying the NL. It didn't get into all of the cuts deep enough to offer good protection. See above. Manual application appeared to do much better. I used a dauber this time and lightly spread the SS over the entire project area. It has been drying for 9 hours so far. I am waiting another 8 hours before I proceed. I can report back later if you want. One thing to note was that there were no swirl marks that I could see. I did bend it in two opposite directions and got what I call very small cracking like response, but all in all it still looks good. Bee Natural No spraying application was conducted. I did do it manually with a dauber and besides the marks that it left from the direction of application, it came out well. I have put on one application and it has been drying for the past 8 hours. I have bent it in two directions approximately 5 times and still no crease line. Results: Take the imformation above for what it is and conduct your own testing. For me it appears that I will be using 'Bee Natural' to seal a finish on my wallets when I complete them. I don't do this for a business but for my family and friends, so you need to conduct your business. I have to admit that my stuff has to come out almost perfect before I give it away, which is what I do for my family. All I ask up front is money to replace the leather so someone else can benefit from my projects. I consider the tooling to be practice! Disclaimer: I am nowhere near an expert on chemicals, their reactions, any products, leather or stamping and carving. I do this as a hobby and without the advice and help from Ms. Brenda, this testing would not have happened. Side note: Whomever you go with, kill to birds with one stone. Order a set of 8 coasters with your favorite picture of your family, dog, horse, girlfriend or girlfriends, boyfriends, etc. With those coasters do your own testing and after you ruin then or create a Michael Angelo, you can always placed them in your shop area or living room. For those of you in a "get even" mood, put a pick of an ex or mother in law on there and think about it everytime you put something wet or cold, it will place a smile on your face and a pleasant vision in your mind... Best of luck

Deglazer from Tandy's should do it. I takes off Neat Lac.

Harvey: There is vol I and II, but I never really found a way to order it. I have two books in Japanese on their tooling and carving, but I can't read it either. The pictures are interesting. As for ordering the tools, mr. Kevin is right. It is darn expensive unless you've got an in like he does. You can also try Lefty's in Japan, you can find his site at the Lonestart Leather Guild webpage. He happens to be a member. Craft Japan are tools much like Craftools, but I believe they are a step up. I have some craft Japan tools and I get much better impressions and their equal Crafttools. Now, they are not Barry King or Ellis Barnes tools, but much better than crafttools. During a visit with George, I believe he mentioned something about working with Craft Japan, but didn't get too much into the details. I will be attending Hurst's class this next weekend and I will ask about those tools and post later. Good luck.

Run a search (top right hand corner) under "tool rack." Someone just posted an awesome tool rack made out of a 4x4 & 2x4.

Thanks for the information. I finally got all of the soap out of my hair....lol I think I got it!

Okay, thanks, but I have suds in my hair, so I need to ask this question faster. LOL I get mixed up in the initial angle or does this not matter? But wait, it has to matter or you will end up with a bent arrow, right? How do you know what distance to place the rear feet at? I got everything up to the point, but lost after that. I appreciate all of the help.

Welcome to the forum. I am not from Scotland, but I love Braveheart? Sit back and enjoy.