gary

I currently have a plague of rabbits. Good because it means I have a supply of free dog food and I could possibly have a source of hair-on skins. Anyone got a recipe/method for tanning rabbit skins with hair on? Got to be simple 'cos I am. Gary

Dirtclod, makes me feel better to know I'm not just a bit paranoid. I've found the custom oredering helps as you have to have a dialogue with the customer and, if they're trying to rip you off, they generally haven't got the patience to send e-mails back and forth answering questions - they just want enough information to get their hands on your money. But, back to the original thread, sort of, I've always admired (in a jealous kind of way) those companies that put their huge logos on items and the customer pays well over the odds for the item and then walks around as an advertisement for the company and actually pays for the privilege. The advertising exec who thought of that was having a really good day. Gary

Just had a thought and checked the top designer's e-mail. Doesn't want accessory samples made up, just wants images. Am I paranoid or rightly suspicious? Gary

Interesting all round. I've just had a request for a matching diary cover, a portfolio cover and a wallet. The customer says he can get all these from high-end shops in London but wants handmade and unique. The kind of customer I like. In contrast, I've also had two speculative e-mails from a top-end designer wanting 'samples'. No names so no pack-drill but this is a designer-label fashion house who wanted, initially, samples of braided dresses which is out of my league and then, when I told them so, they wanted examples of leather accessories. No specifics, no outlines, no guidance at all and most obvious - no designs to work to. Now, I can see that a small producer could spend quite some working out some nice accessories and making up samples. The top designer then basically gets all that work to display with no design input and, after slapping their designer label on it, hikes the price up by putting a few zeroes at the end and the small guy gets zip. And I can't see the big guy putting my label on his display. Perhaps the designer doesn't want to give away his designs in a cut-throat industry but I see no protection for the small guy who could invest a lot of effort, resources and time to provide free design input to a mega-bucks fashion house. I've also just repaired a 'leather' belt for a relative who had bought a Calvin Klein or similar (I forgive him - the relative, not Calvin Klein or whoever it was). Shiny plastic, poorly finished, machine stitched, probably cost three times what I'd charge and lasted nearly two weeks before needing a repair. And the consumer goes back for more of the same. Maybe I should change my middle names to Calvin Klein Christian Dior Gucci Prada etc so my maker's stamp could be all things to all men. On the positive side, given the size zero models we have, I wouldn't use much leather making a dress or three. On the negative side, I'd have to use at least 1 square foot of leather for the maker's stamp. Gary

Simon, Good questions and it has really made me think about why I do what I do. I was taught some basic rules about strap making when I did my bridlework and saddlery courses and these have evolved over the years to come up with my own workable guesstimates. It does save time as I don't have to re-invent the wheel every time I make a belt or strap and I at least have a starting place. I'll try and answer as fully as possible with a rationale for each point. Bearing in mind that a lot of leatherwork is art rather than science. Strap width and hole spacing - Generally, the narrower a strap or belt the more refined the adjustment required therefore closer adjustment holes. Also, the narrower a strap, generally, the thinner the leather. If the holes are too close together you end up with a perforation rather than a line of adjustment holes, it depends on the use as well. Spacing examples, at either end of the spectrum, would be a 7/8" wide watch strap where I would put the holes much closer together than 7/8" versus a police officer's duty belt that is 2.1/4" wide and may well carry a lot of weight what with radio, baton, handcuffs, torch, etc., where I would not want to space adjustment holes to 2.1/4" apart and would go for 1" or thereabouts as a bobby wears fewer layers in summer than he/she does in winter. Hole shape - Generally, the narrower and lighter the strap or belt, the finer the tong on the buckle; wider belts usually have larger buckles with larger tongs. Tongs are generally circular in section. As the leather is bent through the buckle and the tong is inserted there is a little deformation of the leather but this not unsightly and, if it is, round holes in a thin belt become oval after a bit of use. A wide belt, usually of heavier weight leather with a heavier buckle, deform more as they pass through the buckle and are easier to buckle and lie flatter if an oval hole is made. Also, at smaller sizes, the width:length ratio of oval buckles is less visually pronounced. First hole from billet end - If I'm making a strap I like to have a good idea of where to put the first fixed keeper and by making it 3x the strap width from billet end to first hole you end up with enough strap to put through the keeper and for the strap not to keep falling out. Also, there is not enough excess billet to flap around in an embarassing manner. Other variables when deciding on keeper placement also include leather weight, stress when it's being fastened, frequency of fastening, weight of keeper. Where the keeper is closer to the buckle it tends to need to be of a heavier leather to take the strain of having a thick billet pulled through. It also needs to be stitched in more securely. If it's further away from the buckle you can usually get away with a lighter weight leather. Shaping of the billet point is usually confined to the distance back from the end of the billet that is equal to the width of the strap (apart from, as an example, a spear point billet end). There are also other variables such as customer requirements. If I'm making some belts or straps for stock with no particular person in mind, my rules of thumb work for me. I think that's about it apart from one more point and that is the pleasant proportions achieved by the various elements that are seen when the belt or strap is complete. The rules above tend to produce a functional item that is also pleasing to the eye. Simon, if you want more info I'll happily send you my more detailed worksheets. I think I must have bored all you good folks but this has been a good mental exercise for me. And now to something much less cerebral involving a shovel and a couple of horses. Gary

Have sent you a pm with more detail but my guesstimate for a belt using a half (heel bar) or whole (centre bar) buckle: Given it has five adjustment holes (with the centre hole being the belt size). Length of strap = waist size + 4" (for turn at chape) + 5 x width of belt (then minus the length of the buckle tong). Hole spacing: Belts/straps up to 3/8" wide = 1/2" hole spacing (round holes) Belts/straps over 3/8" and up to 1" wide = belt width = hole spacing (round holes) Belts over 1" wide (oval holes) 1 1/8" hole spacing Holes are placed: One at belt size, two more towards the chape spaced at intervals appropriate to the belt width (see above) and two more towards the billet again spaced at intervals appropriate to the belt. Then the billet end from the final hole to the tip is 3 x belt width (max of 3"). All these details can be massaged to make the belt look appropriate. Trophy buckles have slightly different measurements. Also, belt size, waist size and trouser (pants) waist size are all different and you need to allow for the vanity factor for some customers. There, that should have confused you. Gary

Just read this post. Bagpipes - the bag's made from sheepskin (okay, they do nice goretex ones now that you don't need to 'season') but the purists still like the original leather ones as they can muck about with treacle and stuff to keep them airtight. And the valve on the blowpipe was leather (platic and rubber now but I still use a leather one - just something else you can use offcuts for). All the different sorts of sporrans with various dead animals on the front (badger, deer, otter, seal, horsehair and so on - until CITES made some of that difficult). Just a few random thoughts. Gary

Not a clue, I'm afraid. Gary

Try looking at these previous posts. They were a quick search under 'pricking iron' but I'm certain there are others somewhere in the forums. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20743&st=0&p=133851&hl=+pricking%20+iron&fromsearch=1entry133851 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20614&st=0&p=133144&hl=+pricking%20+iron&fromsearch=1entry133144 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25773&st=0&p=162423&hl=+pricking%20+iron&fromsearch=1entry162423 I occasionally tap an iron a bit too hard and it will go through some leathers but they're just for marking the stitch locations. Gary

Ditto. I have never been refused help when appealing for assistance on this forum. Even some who may regard their patterns as their stock-in-trade have assisted me tremendously and for all those who have helped I am most sincerely grateful. One could not ask for a better group to be around and I have found the open-ness and generosity refreshing and it has challenged some of my rather cynical ideas about human nature. And no post on this subject can be complete withoout acknowledging those who have made and are continue to make LW possible. Gary

I carried a 9mm Browning in one for a while though my issued holster had no strap at the top of the spring steel mouth. The only problem I found was returning the weapon - you had to put the muzzle in first and make sure it was firmly in place before pivoting the remainder of the weapon through the spring steel gap. If you were in a hurry and shoved the weapon in from nearer the top it would push the slide part way back and chamber a round or it would cause a misfeed and jam when you did draw it. A slightly weaker spring with the retaining strap would probably have cured that problem. Gary

I see three options: 1. Line the sheath. 2. Put a lining just covering the stud - glued and stitched. 3. Mount the stud on a separate piece of leather which you then stitch onto the outside of the sheath. 2. and 3. also give a chance to show off your stitching. Gary

Ferg, 3mm is about 1/8" (okay, just a smidge more than 1/8" - we Brits so love the metric system) so the pricking iron you have is about an 8 (8 stitches per inch). Yes, as the number of stitches per inch on the iron increases, the width decreases. For each size (I use an 8, a 10 and a 12) I also have an awl that fits. Hope that's of some use. Gary

Ferg, Hope I can answer some of your points. Sizes are usually expressed as stitches per inch. Since we're now meant to be metric, one inch converts roughly to 2.5cm. The length of the teeth is pretty immaterial so long as the leather is marked enough to show where the stitch should go and you can get the awl through; they are not meant to pierce the leather. Most pricking irons come in 1/2", 1" and 1 1/2" sizes. Usual stitch spacing is 6 stitches per inch (spi) for repairs, 8 spi for day to day bridlework and 12 spi for fine work. Some are described as 'left' and 'right' but a standard iron has teeth set ////////. The opposite set with teeth \\\\\ is called a portmanteau pricker and is used where two stitch lines butt together such as on the corner of a portmanteau. It makes for a better looking finish. There are also curved irons used for some items made by saddlers - some old-style belts and such. You can get irons made for custom work and I presume you'd need a mortgage for one of them. I've tried cheap irons and they're not worth it - the teeth were set at irregular intervals and angles. Go for mid-range stuff - they are machined to high tolerances so will cost a bit for a good one. It does make stitching a bit easier - even black on black. Hope this helps. Gary

Ray, All of the above plus my recipe (from 27 years in black boots and then brown shoes). I was never a drill pig so my boots and shoes didn't have to reach the same standards but I did train officer recruits for a couple of years so had to be scrutinised carefully at times. Break in the boots - I used to wear them as my day to day working boots for about a month before making them my 'best' pair. With some types of boot you actually seem to break-in your feet as the boots hardly flex. If you got any big chunks taken out of the leather from clambering over tanks or kicking things, you could fill those in with a mixture of melted beeswax and melted kids crayons' to get the right colour. You probably couldn't do that now as wax crayons probably don't contain wax 'cos it's a health and safety risk or some such. The Army used to (cleverly) issue grained leather boots and you had to get rid of the grain to make the leather smooth before bulling them - heated teaspoon bowl and use polish as a 'lubricant'. Spoon not too hot. Apply a thin coat of pure beeswax as a base coat. Build up layers of polish (always Kiwi and, when it came out, Kiwi Parade Gloss as it has a higher percentage of beeswax (I think)). Keep bulling as Barra et al indicated. The best cloth, I found, was a very fine jeweller's polishing cloth but a high quality yellow duster did just as well. Once you'd got the high gloss finish we 'water-bulled' which meant holding the boot under a running cold tap and gently bulling under running water with cotton wool. This got rid of the final smears. If you're bulling something flexible like a Sam Browne belt you should flex the leather every now and then (small flakes will come off) otherwise you will have a beautifully shiny belt that cracks and splits as you try and put it on. To keep the boots shiny for particular parades you have to walk around like a penguin, on your heels, to reduce the flex in the leather. If you're bulling brown shoes, put a coat of black polish on once every 6 or so coats of brown and it gives a deeper shine. I did the same with black boots, using an occasional coat of brown and that seemed to improve things. We used similar techniques for horse tack but had to be careful not to get the polish layers too thick. Even 'best boots' had to be stripped back to the leather every couple of years and the whole process restarted. We also, for some arcane reason that was never explained, had to scrape the black paint off the lacing eyelets back to the original brass so that we could (had to) polish the brass eyelets as well. And iron the bootlaces flat. And polish (bull) the part of the sole between the heel and the main sole. And I believe some units made their soldiers polish any studs (13 studs per boot) in the base of the boots. I believe bulling was invented during the British colonial period as a method of occupying troops to stop them going to the local town and getting drunk, annoying the local population, getting beaten-up and collecting a venereal disease of their choice. 'Cheats' involved varnish or black gloss paint (put them somewhere dust-free to dry - long story but funny) or floor polishes such as 'Seal' or 'Klear'. All the cheats or patent leather were just not cricket, old chap. When we were boy soldiers, we had to spend an hour in the barrack room every Saturday evening, in absolute silence, straddling our bed with nothing but boots, duster, tins of polish (and a small tin of water for those who didn't like spitting) while the Duty Sergeant walked up and down to make sure we had as miserable a time as possible. Ah, nostalgia ain't what it used to be. Gary

I've been thinking along similar lines recently and have had a couple of thoughts (yet to be put into action). One was braiding two parts together - though this may leave a lump that may be difficult to get through belt loops on trousers. The second was using a shaped 'patch' stitched over the join and making the patch (or patches) a highlight of the belt by using a contrasting leather and/or stitch colour. Maybe even try some stamping on the patch to make it look more intentional. Gary

I've used bridle leather a lot and I have made some moulded items but nothing as intricate as a holster. It moulds fine but needs to be soaked and cased for longer and I don't know how it would cope with the fine detail I've seen in some of the magnificent examples of holsters I've seen on this forum. Be careful of the change in colour once it has dried as it can be quite different to the original - usually a fair bit lighter. Gary

I've been told it's because of the precision required in making them. I have tried some cheaper ones but the teeth are quite often at slightly different angles and the spacing is irregular. So I went back to expensive ones. Gary

I use a lot of bridle leather and use a powder dye mixed to the strength needed for the job - usually very strong for bridle. It does 'shag out' eventually as already stated. As it's a powder you can also add other stuff (like gum trag) as you're mixing it to give it the characteristics you want, after a bit of trial and error. It works out a treat and all my burnishing is done by hand. Gary

Ray, This is an edited version of this post as I just re-read my original in 'preview post' and it was a rambling, off the point, sack of whatever. My experience says that you may need to produce the card that suits your potential customer pool. We run a small family B&B as well as me doing some leatherwork. We've had 2 lots of cards produced. The B&B card is colourful, loads of information, printed on both sides and on plain white card. Had 1,000 made and we throw them around like confetti. For the leatherwork business the cards are on a parchment style paper, two colours only, discreet logo and with sufficient information for people to get in touch. I hand these out usually face to face after a quick 'elevator pitch'. Perhaps you need two types - a 'bespoke' card for personal distribution with a cheaper one for places like shows where people have seen the quality of your work and just want to know how to get in touch. Something like Vistaprint would be fine for the latter option. We use a local print shop and they are a lot easier to use than an internet company. They provide us with photos, the right type of paper, our choice of font and so on at no extra cost. Okay, they aren't free but they are reasonable and reprints are easy to get and changes are easy to make. Just my tuppence. Gary

Russell, Have PM'd ref the plans. The chart of harness styles is attached (PowerPoint). It covers Seitel, Siwah and tracking styles. I cobbled it together from various sources and my head. Gary Dogs harness diagrams only.ppt Dogs harness diagrams only.ppt

Russell, I have a pattern for a Seitel (cart) harness for a Bernese Mountain Dog if that's of any use. I also have a chart of different harness designs - no patterns with that I'm afraid. Let me know if you want either/both. Gary

If it's of any use, try http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/product_listing.cfm?type=search_list&range_id=0&cat_id=BUCK0001&sub_cat_id=SAM0001 I made an SB belt years ago when I was serving in Germany. I copied my issue belt and strap and adjusted sizes to fit. I also made the shoulder strap on a curve so it fitted correctly. I re-used all the brass from the original (my unit had a handy mechanics' workshop). Our issued SBs had to be buckled each time so I had to make a clip out of a brass picture hook (about 2" wide and 4" long) which I cut to size and then shaped and drilled. I rivetted my clip to the chape end. I didn't know about any hardware suppliers then. The curve on the shoulder strap was a matter of trial and error and I made a template from which I cut the leather for that. I would send pictures but I passed it on to my successor when I retired as it was very well 'bulled' and much better than his. I later on also made a sword frog for it but that got handed on as well. Hope that helps. Gary

Thanks for that, Doc. I've checked all the AS books I've got with no luck. I'll give Tandy UK a shout next week and see what they say. Gary

I've been asked to make a shoulder bag to hold about 100, 12 bore cartridges. Though I've made a couple in the past, they have been to a simple design. This customer wants a standard design bag (shoulder strap, lid hinged with wooden dowel, bag front welted at sides and base) similar to the one in the photo. Any help appreciated. Gary