Sheilajeanne

Okay, gotcha! You obviously put a lot of thought into this!

Okay what am I looking at when I see the inside of the pad? Is that the flesh side of the leather that's so very white? I think it would look better if you dyed it to more or less match the rest of the inside. Also, the pad clip should be centered and on the other side of the pad, so any paper you clip to it doesn't block access to the card holder. I have several commercially made padfolios and the pad is ALWAYS on the right side, and so is the clip if there is one. Also, having it on the right will prevent the rivets from the clip eventually marring your lovely carving and stamping!

I don't see any problems with it. Why wouldn't you sell it for full price? I'm assuming that white mark on the far right side is something to do with your signature, and not a wonky stitch!

Actually, it WAS flexible when in the package at room temperature. It felt kind of like really stiff Jello. It only got sticky when heated. We'd wash it off our tools with water, and I remember it was kind of gummy in its dry state, not brittle.

Oh dear...and here I've been planning to scan hundreds of old family pictures onto my computer, and throw out the originals, to free up storage space! It would also make the pictures more readily available as they aren't in albums!

When I spent a summer working in a factory, we used hot glue made from horse's hooves for gluing the covers on cardboard binders. It came in a package of a solid gelatin type substance. We'd unwrap it and put it in the glue machine where it would melt into a liquid. It looked sort of like the gel left in the casserole after cooking chicken. Okay, we were TOLD it was from horses' hooves, but as there was nothing on the package to say what was in it, it might have been some other animal byproduct.

Floppies?

Me too, BD! Could only dream of doing something like that! Very fine work!

Yes, that would be neat, but I do think it would damage the strength of the pad. So, probably NOT such a great idea, especially given the heavy use the pad will take! I just took a look back at the original pattern, and it has silver conchos in the corners. The leather has been tooled with a background stamp, maybe A 104. It almost makes the corners look like they are an inlay of cork!

I think it looks very nice so far. But there's something I'm still trying to figure out: did you remove the leather from the corners of the design, or is it just that the leather is so pale, it's hard to tell it's there? If so, neat little creative 'take' on the design! What are you planning to put where the corners are?

Thank you all! I think change purses are one item that can be made up fairly quickly, and sell well. I saw leather belts made in China on sale for $10 in Canadian Tire, so I am not planning to go into making belts to sell anytime soon, unless someone asks for a custom order! Probably will keep the one hand-tooled belt I've done so far for myself.

Where can I get hinged metal frames that snap together at the top, the type that are used in ladies' change purses?

Yeah, if you can arrange your piece so there is a stitch line over the edge of the split, I imagine that would help keep it in place. I'd be careful when burnishing though - too much pressure might cause the split to open up again.

I'm planning to do that one too sometime in the near future! https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1954/2012-catalog-186-cover-bonus-pattern

I was just looking at that page! :D

Yes, see the link I posted above! Piece of history, and it looks to be in good shape. Maybe my offer won't be good enough! Their Bowie knives are much sought-after collectors items!

Anyone here know that brand? Edit: never mind - found it! Good stuff, a real piece of history! His business was taken over by Osborne Leather upon his death::... http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Engish-and-Huber-knives-The-Sheffield-Works-B076_Stapleton.pdf

Grayeagle, what does it say on the blade - need to know the brand name!

I'll take the head knife. Give me a few minutes to get an idea what it's worth, then I will PM you an offer.

My thoughts would be the patchiness might have been due to the leather not being completely dry. Parts of it were likely dryer than others, thus the patchiness. Anyway, glad you rescued it! Um, what is it, exactly??

Thanks, battlemunky! Mike is younger than I thought, then!

Mike, 4th pic from the top, guy with the grey hair in a ponytail and the cigarette in his hand. Is that you? Because this guy is almost a twin for my leather craft mentor, Bill, who worked and taught classes at Tandy for so many years! As you may remember, he passed away suddenly in September.

I used it for the first time recently, and it went on much more nicely and evenly than Resolene. I still haven't used it as a resist, just a top coat, but I sure hope it does a better job than Resolene, which totally ruined a dog collar I was doing recently, and also caused the antique on another project to get all streaky! It has a very shiny finish that looks like it would wear really well. Edit: I didn't bother diluting it.

Thanks! I just found out the urine isn't actually IN the leather. It was just the saddle was stored in the same room as the rats were kept (in cages.) They used the rats for the sport of barn hunting: seeing how fast a dog can sniff out rats that are hidden in a barn, under hay bales, etc!

Asking for a friend, who has just acquired a saddle that reeks of rat pee: anyone know how to get rid of the smell?