Sheilajeanne

Yes, that was a good movie! Okay you stamped the letters WTF on the mask, but this doesn't show on the finished mask. Did you do that just for fun? Cool mask - should do well in the raffle!

I had some very bad, hairy leather from Tandy that was to be the straps on a tote bag. Sanding and burnishing didn't do much of anything, so I applied gum trag followed by atom wax. That smoothed things out, but the leather became very stiff. I really didn't want to put neatsfoot oil on it in case it would rub off on someone's clothing, but finally put a light coating on it, and it did help. Would be most happy to hear other people's solutions!

Toxo, one thing I'm not clear on is what sort of fry you've hatched out. Are they fish, or amphibians? Years ago, when I was raising tadpoles, and wasn't sure what to feed them, my nature encyclopedia (Comstock's) said to give them some tulip leaves, but first, I had to peel the membrane off the leaves so they could easily get to the pulp. That worked really well.

Please keep us posted! I used to teach at an outdoor ed. school, so this is right up my alley! Loved giving inner city kids dip nets, and letting them poke around in the pond to see what they could find...one of them found a Eastern painted turtle that had had 3 of its 4 legs bitten off by a raccoon. I took it home, nursed it back to health, and kept it as a pet for many years. Called him Stumpy. Edit: I remember those Sea Monkey ads!

Yes, that is very similar! And I can tell from the feel of the leather that it's definitely high quality, so could be Horween.

Okay, here are the photos. First one show flesh and grain sides, next one shows tanner's stamp.

Could be, but wouldn't Nubuck have a definite nap to it? I did read the Wikipedia description of Nubuck, and yes, the leather did darken temporarily when I applied water. The colour is similar to the nubuck shoe shown on the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubuck#:~:text=Nubuck (pronounced %2Fˈnjuː,may be white or coloured. As for latigo leathers, the ones I've seen are very shiny on the grain side, due to the waxes and oils used to repel moisture. This leather isn't. Will get some pics up ASAP.

Lovely work! I'm very impressed! I tried Celtic knotwork before, and I SUCKED at it! I've never seen a strap going between the ears like that before though! What's the purpose of that?

I don't think this leather is chrome tanned. In my rather limited experience with leathers other than veg tanned, I would think chrome tanned would feel like a leather couch. This is much finer than that, like I said, it feels like suede, but without the nap. Will post a picture soon. Oh, and the flesh side looks natural to me, not like a split. But again, could be wrong...

Fred, you'd use 6 oz. leather to LINE a belt? That's pretty thick!

Hoping this is a better place for my question - no one was paying any attention to it in Leatherwork Conversation! I had a wonderful gift given to me yesterday - a very large half hide, measuring 45" at its widest point, and more than 8 ft. long along the spine! But I'm stumped as to what sort of leather it is! The color is very close to veg tan, and I don't see evidence it's been dyed, though it's a bit darker than the veg tan I'm used to seeing. The grain side is smooth and soft, and feels almost like suede, but doesn't have a nap. It also won't stamp or tool, so I KNOW it's not veg-tan. The piece I cut off to play around with is about 6 oz. and it seems to have a pretty uniform thickness throughout the hide Lots of things I'm going to be able to do with this!! The only markings on the flesh side are a number, 215, with what looks to be a W stamped in front of it. The arms of the W are very thick, and it looks almost like 2 inverted pyramids side by side. Anyone know what tannery that might represent? If it would be helpful, I can post a picture.

I had a wonderful gift given to me yesterday - a very large half hide, measuring 45" at its widest point, and more than 8 ft. long along the spine! But I'm stumped as to what sort of leather it is! The color is very close to veg tan, and I don't see evidence it's been dyed, though it's a bit darker than the veg tan I'm used to seeing. The grain side is smooth and soft, and feels almost like suede, but doesn't have a nap. It also won't stamp or tool, so I KNOW it's not veg-tan. The piece I cut off to play around with is about 6 oz. and it seems to have a pretty uniform thickness throughout the hide Lots of things I'm going to be able to do with this!! The only markings on the flesh side are a number, 215, with what looks to be a W stamped in front of it. The arms of the W are very thick, and it looks almost like 2 inverted pyramids side by side. Anyone know what tannery that might represent? If it would be helpful, I can post a picture.

The detail in that second piece is astounding! What are the overall dimensions? What tools did you use to do such fine, delicate work?

If your string hits your bracer, you're technique is all wrong. I haven't had a string hit my arm since I was a beginner archer, though I still wear a bracer just in case! In other words, no need to worry about the string damaging the bracer.

Thank you, Tom!

May I suggest this thread be moved to Leatherwork Conversation? The Off Topic forum is for just that - discussions other than leatherwork, and posts here don't show up in the 'recent posts' column. I think this is a discussion that needs a broader audience. Tandy has its faults, but I got my start with them, and had an awesome teacher. Their free lessons that go with the purchase of a beginner's kit are a very valuable resource for people starting out in this craft. And I have found I can get decent leather there, but I live close enough to a store to be able to shop in person. I like that they have expanded their line to include Angelus paints, which previously were hard to find in Canada. Getting stuff shipped from the States if you live north of the border is often prohibitively expensive. I will keep supporting Tandy until they give me enough reasons not to. Some of the staff members aren't very knowledgeable, but there always seems to be at least on person in the store who can answer any questions I have. If they can't I come here instead...

I'd call it a tool holder or tool rack with drawers. It's beautiful!

Hm, yeah, that's a thought...

Handstitched, no, I REALLY need to keep the feet elevated to prevent the swelling. Massage just isn't enough to do the trick, though walking would definitely help, and I'm doing more of that now that my breathing is slowly improving and I don't have to lug an oxygen tank along! (I do have a vibrating foot bath for foot massage and maybe should use it more often, but it's more for sore feet than swollen feet.) No one ever told me chemo would do that to my breathing! After many many tests, my lungs look fine, my heart is fine (after a procedure to plug a small hole I've had since birth) but the breathing ain't! Hmm...not sure the surface area would be big enough. And a rectangular stool would provide better support than a round one. Might be worth having a look at them, though!

Yes, I really need to have my feet at about the same level as my hips for it to do any good.

Okay, have spent the last hour doing research, and there's an unbelievable variety of solutions out there, with prices ranging from $10 for a bamboo footstool for playing the classical guitar, to a $600 gaming chair footstool! The first solution I looked at, a regular office chair with an attached foot rest that folded underneath didn't work, because the height of the foot rest can't be adjusted, and I really need to be able to do that. I now think the best solutions will be something like this: https://www.amazon.com/WalterDrake-Miles-Kimball-Adjustable-Footstool/dp/B004H0F3SI or this (which I maybe even could build myself!) https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/477733472958203178/ I also like this animal footstool, which has the advantage that you could easily turn it to make it easier to get your feet out from under the desk! Besides, it's CUTE!! https://www.wayfair.ca/furniture/pdp/isabelle-max-baird-animal-shape-ottoman-c002850636.html?piid=960273670 But no, not $94 bucks worth of cute...I'd build my own. Some cloth, or maybe leather, some plywood and foam, and 4 small screw-in legs, or maybe casters, and a set of stick on googly eyes!

Due to ongoing health issues, I am getting a lot of swelling in my feet and ankles, which puts me at the risk of a blood clot. I know there's a lot of older leatherworkers out there who probably have similar issues. Is there any sort of a task chair I can buy that has an elevated footrest? My Lazyboy recliner is fine for watching T.V., but just doesn't do the trick for leather work!

Mike, no doubt you're right. I used to have a Husqvarna lawnmower that converted into a snowblower for winter! I called it 'the orange beast', and let it go when I sold the kennel. The new owners have put it through all sorts of abuse, even using it to tow a toolshed from one side of the property to the other, and it's still going strong!

Ensitmike, in Canada, Viking was the brand name for Eaton's electrical appliances! I have an old Viking radio my parents bought from Eaton's during the 1950's. Like Sear's they'd buy from the manufacturer, then rebrand the appliance with their name.

Yes, it's a wonderful historic treasure! And we ALL make misteaks!