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Sheilajeanne

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Everything posted by Sheilajeanne

  1. Sheilajeanne
    Can you show us a picture? I'm not really understanding what you're saying. Generally, when i do letters, they are beveled all the way around.
  2. Sheilajeanne
    LOL! Brings back fond memories of school days, where we were expected to protect our textbooks with covers, and brown paper bags were the go-to material! Yeah, I'm an old fart....
  3. Sheilajeanne
    Craftool is the Tandy brand. The brownish block is a whetstone for sharpening the swivel knife. These six tools are the basic tools needed to start leathercraft as a hobby: a backgrounder (104) beveler (198) camouflage stamp (433) seeder (the small round stamp) veiner (the narrow crescent shaped tool) and pear shader. The tool numbers keep changing, so I can't match the last three up with a stamp number.
  4. Sheilajeanne
    I don't know how, but I got that bassackwards! I use the mallet in my left hand and the stamp in my right!
  5. Sheilajeanne
    So glad to hear it! Looking forward to seeing your new work! As for your question, I am a lefty, and use the mallet in my right hand and the stamp in my left. I use the swivel knife in my left hand, of course. But the other way around for the stamps would also make sense for me, as placing the stamps correctly requires a fair bit of dexterity. So, basically, it's whatever YOU feel comfortable with.
  6. Sheilajeanne
    Alpha, that's definitely something I could use myself! :D
  7. Sheilajeanne
    That's because I had trouble finding the right picture! I've found it and posted it now. And yeah, I fully understand what you said about not telling your other half!! I've spent a ridiculous amount of money on this hobby! The hammer that comes with that kit is a piece of junk. I used it as kindling in my woodstove, and replaced it with the one you see in the above photo. That and the stamp with the defect on its face were the only things in the kit that I can complain about. The kit came with 8 weeks of free lessons, and by the time the 8 weeks was up, I was completely hooked on leatherworking.
  8. Sheilajeanne
    Raksha, that is exactly the same kit I started out with a couple of years ago. I am still using the tools it contained, though I have added just a few more stamps to my collection... One of the pear shaders had a small defect on its face, and Tandy replaced it with no questions asked! Yeah, just a few more stamps....
  9. Sheilajeanne
    That does look somewhat better. But I agree about needing a better knife blade. Something looks odd with those swivel knife cuts. Compare them with the ones above by ABHandmade, and you will see the difference.
  10. Sheilajeanne
    Needless to say, I don't think you will ever use this dye again. I've heard nothing but horrible things about it on this board!
  11. Sheilajeanne
    I needed a specific weight of leather for a project, and the young guy at Tandy's who was helping me pulled out a leather thickness gauge, and made sure I got what I was looking for! NO EXCUSE for not being able to give a customer that information!! And a gauge can be a lot simpler and a lot cheaper than the one shown above! https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/leather-thickness-gauge C.D., that green alligator print looks really cool! Can't wait to see the finished briefcase!
  12. Sheilajeanne
    1) Make sure your knife is properly sharpened and stropped. A dull knife will stick in the leather 2) The moisture content of the leather could be part of the problem - the knife will stick if the leather is too dry 3) When beveling, the beveler has to go with the edge right in the line you've cut with the swivel knife. You should tilt it a bit so the whole tool face doesn't touch your leather and leave a mark 4) Suggest you check on line for basic leather carving videos that can help show you proper technique. Nothing beats actually seeing someone else do it. This one will give you a good start: 5) It takes quite a bit of practice to learn how to control the swivel knife. Get a few pieces of scrap leather, and use them to practice on. Don't give up - anything worth doing takes time to master!
  13. Sheilajeanne
    But of course! Verry nice work! (Had to roll the 'r' to imitate a Scot's accent... )
  14. Sheilajeanne
    Since schutzhund is a sport I enjoy and take part in, I should probably concentrate on that as my niche. Most people who do dog collars do the fancy ones for small dogs, and that is not something that interests me. Still trying to find my niche, though. I really enjoy the creative aspect of leather carving, and that's not something you can do with collars, leashes and harnesses!
  15. Sheilajeanne
    I have zero interest in guns, having never owned one, if you don't count the cap pistols I had as a kid! (Dating myself here, I know...) So far I've made dog collars, leashes, coasters, wallets, belts, and bags. Planning to make a purse next and an eyeglass case. Oh, and my cellphone case didn't turn out as well as I liked, so a new one is in the works. When I get more confident, I may try wet-moulding some cases. I would also like to do a water bottle holder for hiking, and maybe try a 'bum bag'. The one I use when I am walking my dogs has several features I'd like to improve on! Also in the works is a dog harness for protection training, similar to this one:
  16. Sheilajeanne
    Although you need more practice with your stitching, and need to learn how to make nice finished edges, your carving and tooling are amazing for a beginner! There's a sticky thread on edge finishing here:
  17. Sheilajeanne
    Glad to know that! I'm sure the goat doesn't care... I am a bit surprised you didn't put a D-ring in the collar. I guess you just loop a tie rope through the collar when tethering him in the trailer?
  18. Sheilajeanne
    Blemish? If you can find a blemish on that collar, your eyes are better than mine, and the last time I had them checked, they were 20/20! I AM kind of wondering why you punched so many holes in it. If this were a young, growing goat, I'd understand, but the neck of a mature billy isn't going to get any smaller!
  19. Sheilajeanne
    Okay, someone has to give this the response it deserves... [slaps immiketoo]
  20. Sheilajeanne
    As a lefty, this is one of my favourite plays on words: The left in Canada (meaning the political left!) is more gauche than sinister. BTW, as someone who is seriously hearing impaired, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT play background music in videos!! And if there is some way you can include accurate closed captioning, that's a wonderful benefit as well. Many of the closed captioning videos I've seen are a total joke.
  21. Sheilajeanne
    Stole this from the Canadian Leathercrafter's FB page...sorry, too funny not to share!
  22. Sheilajeanne
    Yes, training a dog not to pull is done mostly with treats. I don't even bother with a leash at first, because I do the initial training indoors. But once you move outside, a leash is necessary for safety. For a full grown large dog that's a determined puller, I use a prong, then, like you, transition to a regular collar or choke chain once the dog has learned not to pull. Harnesses are MEANT for pulling...that's why huskies wear them when they are working! All that B.S. about a flat collar, choke chain or prong damaging the neck? How about a dog in a harness pulling its owner out into traffic, or towards another dog, and starting a dog fight? Believe me, I've seen it happen! TEACH YOUR DOG NOT TO PULL, then it won't matter what it's wearing! Like you said, show leads are like shoelaces - if the dog pulls, the lead is going to break!
  23. Sheilajeanne
    I can send you a PM about that. I do some pretty advanced obedience! :D
  24. Sheilajeanne
    Large dog collars need to be pretty thick. Also, I would use bridle leather or latigo, as these have a harder temper, are designed to resist the elements, and are less likely to stretch. Oh, and you can also teach your dog NOT to pull. That helps, too! :D Edit: just realized you want to tool the collar, which makes my suggestions invalid. Darn! So, my revised suggestion would be to use a heavier weight of veg tan, then treat it with any of the numerous products available for making veg-tan resistant to the elements. Ask 5 people, you will likely get 5 different answers. Being a former horse person, I would clean the collar with a sponge that has one of those mildly abrasive nylon scrub pads on the back, then apply saddle soap. I find my dog's coat is oily enough that I've never had to use Neatsfoot oil to soften the leather. I have a plain leather collar, about 7 oz., which has been used on multiple dogs since 1984, and has held up just fine. The stitching is starting to fray, though, and will likely need replacing soon.
  25. Sheilajeanne
    Looks like you're going to need some Oil of Olay....
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