rickdroid

Could you provide a picture?

Excellent work and I really like the choice of leather. Can I ask why is there a pull string closure? Seems sort of out of place on that kind or bag?

Since I posted the original message about the South Korean irons I'll defend their quality. If you wish to compare them to Blanchard here you go. The quality is quite a bit better than my Blanchard's, especially notice the finish where the teeth start. The Blanchard's look like someone was in a hurry to start the weekend and didn't have time to finish the polishing. In fact it looks like they didn't even make an attempt at polishing. The cost between the irons shown was about $20.00. $20.00 for a 10 + 2 tooth vs. a 5 + 2 tooth. The Blanchards were the most expensive. Bad mouth them if you wish but they are a much better quality and price than Blanchard's. My money will go to S. Korea for pricking irons and not France. rick

You can go to Weaver Leather Supply http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=8724&CatalogId=001&CatalogDetailId=51&NSM=Y or contact Daniel Offerman @ flyby99@gmail.com for this model I have one of Daniels horses and am very pleased with it. Hope this helps. rick

Thanks very much for the offer. I dont make many holsters, my skills are not up to that task yet. I have the Bersa blue gun because that particular model is my carry gun. I pocket carry so no holster needed there. I did make a holster for my pickup to have a place to park the gun when I go into a place that is posted to prevent carrying inside their facilities. I am going to try a new holster for my pickup to go under the dash if I can figure out how to mount it. Thanks again, my blue gun models, Bersa and a Baretta FS9 model are both available in case someone needs to borrow them. Good Luck rick

Don't know if you are familiar with this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=66077 but I think it is a good idea and I happen to have a Bersa sub compact 9 blue gun that you are welcome to borrow. If you would like to use it PM me with your mailing address and Ill do my best to get in the post tomorrow. Just get it back in a couple of weeks cause i will need it then. rick

Im not sure if this link will help achieve exactly the color you are after but it does contain some good information on your subject. rick http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=66220

Welcome, this is a good place with lots of really nice people who can answer nearly any question about leather. If you are in Austin, and interested, we have a leather workers guild that meets once a month.

An awl will still be needed. These are pricking irons not chisels, but you are right about them being sharp. They mark the leather with a light tap, no need for multiple hits to get a good mark.

I received a new set of pricking irons from South Korea yesterday and wanted to let people see them. I paid $186, shipping included for a 10 tooth and a 2 tooth, 3mm spacing, (7spi) pair. https://www.etsy.com/listing/246492734/3mm42mm-leather-stitching-prong-chisel?ref=shop_home_active_23 I do believe that the people who made these were proud of their work. The irons were packed in a foam box with cutouts for each piece, additionally the lid had matching foam inserts to cushion the items. The box was wrapped in bubble wrap and then placed inside a bubble pack envelope. As I said, I believe the manufacturer is proud of his work. Shipping took 10 days. The irons seem first rate. The entire iron is polished including each tooth. I used them on a couple of small pieces and they mark the leather clean and spacing is even between each tooth. The next time I buy pricking irons I will be ordering from these people. rick I hope I loaded the picture correctly. The preview post view doesn't size the way I had wanted/

That is beautiful. Bet your mom really likes it.

Let us know if that other thread helps any.

That sure does help. I was wondering if there was a method to your madness ;-) rick

Dwight Hope Im not hijacking this thread is there a specific reason to use two equal thicknesses as opposed to using a heavier weight on the exterior and a lighter weight on the interior?

PM sent rick

PM sent. rick

That looks like a real fossil, good work.

We are the Borg Leatherworkers, You will be assimilated, Resistance is futile rick

Glad to see a another Austin member on here. Welcome. rick

I get mine from Tandy. Be aware that they will erase from only some leather types so always test if you need to remove the marks. rick

That is very beautiful work. Love the tooling and the hardware is great. rick

Check youtube for Nigel Armitage. He has a video on making a leather box that should cover your questions. rick

That guy was Daniel Offerman. I got one of his stitching horses and am pleased with it. There are a couple of modifications that I am going to suggest to him but it is a very well made item. He has a video on youtube if anyone wants to see his work. rick

I sharpen every tool i have that is used for cutting or edging or skiving. Much like your example of using a dull knife in a slaughter house, using dull tools working with leather is dangerous and produces lousey results. How sharp do i want them, as sharp as I can get them. For me, the sharper the tool the better results i get and the least effort i have to put in to get those results. As far as the process, i use a stone only initially, after that i maintain the tools on a strop. The only time i would again use a stone would be if i ding the edge and need to rework it. It sounds like you have your head knife well sharpened, and that is one of the harder tools to get a really good edge on. To me the hardest tools to sharpen are edgers. Taking the burr off of the inside of the v is more time consuming than any other tool i work on. Skivers are probably the easiest. Hope this helps. rick

May I ask what you are punching hols for that require a 10mm diameter hole? I looked at my tandy heavy duty hole punch and the largest punch is 6,3mm. I was going to suggest that punch but obviously it is too small. rick