rickdroid

That is a very, very nice piece of leather. You consistently do amazing work. rick

Really nice, professional work. I am very envious. rick

The PM should be almost instant. Anyhow mine said that I want the second divider shown and the complete set if creases Please send me your PayPal info Thanks Rick Richardson

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Not sure how this might work for you since each dash would have to be individually struck but thought the link might be useful. Good luck rick https://www.pjtooljewelry.com/new/dot-dash-stamp-pack.html

Who says it is a flaw? It is a unique characteristic of an item that is handmade, not produced in some sweat shop with 10,000 other look alike items. rick

I use the dia-sharp bench stones and am very happy with them. I have got 6" x 2" double sided in coarse/x-coarse- (325 mesh/45 micron) -- (220 mesh/60 micron) 6" x 2" double sided in fine/x-fine (600 mesh/25 micron) -- (1200 mesh/9 micron) and 8" x 3" single sided xx-coarse (120 mesh/120 micron) and 8" x 3" single sided in xx-fine (8000 mesh /3 micron). I've had these for about 3 years and they have held up very well. The xx-coarse makes reworking an edge fairly fast, and the xx-fine will put a pretty high polish on a tool. The coarse and fine fill in and give me a good selection for any tool i have. This combination of grits and sizes works well for me, YMMV. I sometimes wonder though, that 8000 mesh is so fine that I could have just used a flat piece of steel and gotten similar results. ;-) rick

That is all beautiful, professional work. Makes me envious. rick

I've got a pair or those and occasionally need to user them but they really slow me down. The Tacky Finger allows me to work at a pace closer to people who don't have arthritis. Saves me a lot of time and a fair amount of pain. I just thought that some others might find the information helpful.

I have arthritis and hand sewing can get painful at times. The problem is having to grip the needle hard enough to be able to pull the needle through several layers of leather or, sewing some really tough leather. I have been using nitrile gloves (the same ones I use for dying leather) to give me some extra grip on the needle. Problem is they make your hands sweaty and are pretty uncomfortable for a long sewing session. A few days ago i came across a container of 'fingertip moistener', trade name "Tacky Finger" that is normally used by people who have to handle lots of paperwork. 'Tacky Finger' is used instead of having to continually wet your fingers when sorting through reams of paperwork. I used to use the stuff and remembered that it did make my fingers feel tacky so i thought that i would try it to see if it was of any help - and it worked very well. It makes my fingers tacky enough to be able to grip the needles without feeling like i have to squeeze them in half. The grip is pretty close to what i got with the nitrile gloves but didn't cause any problems handling the thread. Thought this tip might be of use to some of you.

Additionally you can get help with google search simply by going to google.com and typing in "help" or "search help". Information on searching a site in depth is there if you care to read it. rick

Really nice. Makes me very envious. rick

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My gears seem to be rusty. ;-) rick

You might check out S&D Trading Company in Lubbock. Decent stock and the owner always seems eager to please his customers. I have never had a problem with them but I always pick out what I want and take it with me when i leave. They are located at 4310 34th st. 806-795-6062. From experience i do know that he always tries to beat Tandys prices. rick

Here is a source that might be suitable https://hardwareelf.com/catalog/zippers/2_way-zippers.aspx#f=&p=1&s= Good Luck rick

Here is another tool that you can use to bend up a hammer loop. I have used one for years and what you are needing would not be difficult do make. http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=32012&cat=1,43456,43407 Consider making a small loop with this fixture at the end of the wire to give a place for a rivet. Should be very easy to form. hope this may be of some help rick

OK, virgin here when it comes to making holsters so someone please educate me. What is a 50/50 pancake holster? This term is used often here but I am not able to find an explanation of what it is. While I think that I know what is being discussed it would sure be nice to really understand. Why is it a crappy design?

What is the name of the hardware (the post with the ring) you used? I want to order some but am not sure what item to search for. Thanks rick

Not saying that you are wrong, but you most probably are getting a wire edge and knocking it off before you realize it. With practice you can feel the wire edge - use you fingernail and feel the edge of the blade. Be sure to try both sides of the blade, remember that edge moves from one side of the blade to the other side. It will be opposite to the side of the blade that is in contact with the stone. A good way to tell if there is a wire edge is to try to shave slivers from a sheet of paper. When you have removed the wire edge you will be able to shave tiny slivers from the paper with ease, the blade on a sharp well polished blade will easily cut through a sheet of paper without any kind of a sawing motion,. If a wire edge still exists on the blade then the slivers will be ragged and it will seem like the blade is wandering as you try to shave the sliver from the paper. If you have the edge removed you can push the blade through the paper without using a sawing motion. If the edge hasnt been removed you probably will have to resort to a sawing motion to cut a sliver off of the paper. Of course this is based on my experience and your may differ. Hope this helps a little. rick

Belts are really nice, good work. rick

What does the word stifking mean? I am unfamiliar with that one. Thanks rick

That is a whole lot better than anything that I did when i was a beginner. Keep at it, experience will fix everything that I could point out. rick

Where did you find black rings? rick