Sheilajeanne

Klara, I couldn't get comfortable using the knife, and if I do that to the handle, I will likely ruin it for anyone else. Thought about it, and decided nope, not going there.

Klara, wait until you get into doing it properly - tooling the leather, skiving and burnishing the edges, and lining the flesh side! That takes time, a LOT of time, especially if you are hand sewing the lining! And yes, if you read the account of how the two-person stitching was done, it definitely must have been a saddle stitch. The guy teaching them was a master harness maker - what else would it have been?

Rannoch, it wasn't the stitching that made the boat waterproof so much as it was the lanolin the hides were dressed with. I looked it up, out of curiosity: http://www.leathersmithe.com/the-brendan-voyage-select.html The boat was made from 57 oak-tanned ox hides, tanned using traditional methods that take nearly a year to complete! The thread they used was hand-spun flax, treated with black wax. Hides were overlapped by an inch or more, and double stitched for strength. One of Ireland's top harness makers oversaw the stitching, and taught them how to do both the traditional saddle stitch and a back stitch. He was a hard taskmaster, and would ruthlessly rip out someone's whole day's work if it wasn't up to his standards. Because of the size of the hides, the saddle stitch required 2 people, one working inside the hull of the boat and the other outside! Strongly recommend the above link - it's not a long read, and it's FASCINATING!

Klara, fortunately craft knives aren't expensive! I blew big bucks on a good quality round knife, only to find it's not the right tool for me! It also doesn't fit my hand. ARgh. If anyone wants one, feel free to PM me!

Fred, that's a great idea! The main problem with Stohlman is a lot of the stamps he used are no longer available. However, most of us who have been doing this awhile know how to find substitutes, and could update his patterns.

Ooooh, going to put this on my birthday wish list!

Yes, Hidepounder did some amazing stuff. He hasn't been around in quite awhile, though. This is a 12 year old post!

You're welcome!

Yes, that's one of it's main uses! It should be diluted 50/50 with water first. Make sure any dye is completely dry first, or you may get streaking.

I've had this happen with my saddle. I had it professionally done, but it believe it was just a matter of undoing the stitching to the left of the pocket so you can get to the leather's underneath side. These saddles are made so you can open them up and adjust the amount of stuffing to help it fit the horse better. So, restitch the pocket from the inside, sew the saddle back up, and you're good to go!

Okay, I also posted this on the Canadian Leatherworker FB page, and one of the posters there decided it needed to be made into a stamp! Way to go, Darryl! Good job!

You're right, sbrownn, that's the upper thread. The lower thread is black

Wow! That's a very ambitious project for a first-timer! I'm in awe!

I know the person that originally wrote this can't be a leathercrafter, because there's no mention of 'blood'!

Found this on FB today...