BarryKing

Kathy is doing it almost Sheridan correct. 1. oil to brownness desired 2. Neat lac or Bee Natural RTC (I now use this because neat lac is pretty harmful) 2 coats of the RTC 3. Paste antique, apply heavily w sheepskin a. wipe off excess w paper towel 1st b. let remaining antique, left in background, haze over(about 3-5 minutes) c. buff off the rest with sheepskin or the fake stuff 4. Lightly Tan Kote over the top. If streaking occurs, wipe off streaks immediately with clean sheepskin. Then Tan Kote again. The Tan Kote over the antique tends to seal it better and keeps it from coming off when you touch it. You may use any color of antique for the highlights you desire. In Sheridan style we typically use either light brown, mahogany, or sheridan brown(which is the previous 2 mixed 1/2 and 1/2). If you decide not to use a sealer in step 2, the antique will stain your leather. This is not a bad way of doing it, just depends on the look you are trying to achieve. I believe antique finish was meant to be used this way. Gives an aged look. Using it in the Sheridan fashion gives better highlights.

Never tried that. Have a friend that makes concrete counter tops, it sounds like a good idea if a guy gets it smooth and polished nicely. I would like to know how it works if someone tries it, it should work great.

Um, still working on the web site(taking pictures the last few days). I am trying to get it up in the next couple of weeks, maybe even before the Sheridan Show. You may have seen Montana Leather's web site, they picture some of my things. I am not sure if Bob worked for Chuck(that may have been before I knew both of them), But I do know the internals of the knives are the same. Bob uses a different steel than Chuck for the blades.

This IS the place to get the granite stones. Just get a grade B surface plate(that is the corrrect term). They are cheap from here and just as good as anywhere else. The thicker the better. I used to have a 2" thick one, moved to a 3", even better. The outside dimension also determines the thickness you may get. I also have a 24 X 36 X 4" thick, man you don't get any vibration out of this. Takes at least 4 men to move it though(490 lbs). Some say granite is not the right stone to use because it is harder than steel and will mess your tools up. But, if you hit any tool into any stone it will mess it up, no matter the substance. Enco also has the granite plates on sale right now. I believe they can UPS up to the 12X18X2" thick, then it gets trucked after that. Thats where its going to cost you.

I might have a conflict of interest here, BUT, I'll let you all know Bob's and Chucks knives have exactly the same bearings. They were designed by the same engineer, so I was told. The blades ARE different though.

Try using Ronsonol lighter fluid on the stone. I have been using it for about 15 years. Tends to leave the grain on the stone open and will cut better(the steel). You'll need to wipe it off a little more often and keep adding fluid, but it works great. Sounds like you need reduce the angle. I sharpen at about 5 degrees, very flat. This will ruduce the sharp hump you get from the steeper angle, tends to glide through the leather better. Also, strop the heck out of it as soon as the burr falls of when sharpening on the stone. Use a white chrome rouge, green rouge, or others are available. White tends to stick better to a piece of leather because it has more grease in it. you may also use valve grinding compound, available at NAPA or Carquest stores, get a fine grit(500 or 600). I use a ceramic stone from Spyderco, but the stone you are using is fine. Don't worry about using the fine stone(white), use the medium then strop the knife. You should be able to get a lot of use out of the knife, if it is a good one, just by stropping it. I also use UHMW for a cutting board. This is usually the stuff you find for kitchen cutting boards. Pretty easy on the edge. Good luck.