PaganBear

I have been playing with this myself recently... double boiler 100%, either pot in pot or I have seen old metal coffee pot in stockpot. the mix I used was beeswax & neatfoot oil at like a 60:40 mix. I have liked the results so far.

pretty cool work.. very creative and kinda a cool punk looking thing. Where did you get the idea for it, I have never seen anything like it.

Both look nice Yan. Are they to be worn under a closed or bar grill helm?

So much of my work is "I saw it in a magazine and said 'hell I can do that...'". Matter of fact I have a bottle holder on my bike from exactly that statement. The wonder of our art is that someone can say "hell I can do that" from your work, but it wont ever be the same and that is your selling point. granted this is coming from someone whose biggest customers are his friends. - B

I'll see if I can get some scans or something from my copy. I dont know of any way to see the content. it is a worthwhile book though. Shoes & pattens is a great book with lots of historical documentation also.

Bob, Thanks, the information helped me better understand. How do you handle it if you have an exceptionally large design that is taking WAY long or youre working with some of that wont stay wet leather... is it ok to re-wet before the leather fully dries out or is there a better method? I have never tried casing the leather, I will definitely have to do that now.

catching up on long missed posts.... I know the tutorial is in the works... I'd love another's take on it and await with bated breath

Daggrim, those look fantastic. I hope my first pair comes out HALF that good. Another resource for those looking for patterns and whatnot. A book was published by the SCA on turnshoes not long ago with all kinds of information including how to make your own patterns. I gain no benefit from anyone purchasing the book, but I own it and have found it very informative, even though I havent tackled the project yet myself here is a link to the websiteSCA Marketplace - Compleat Anachronist CA 0140 if you have any trouble finding it the SKU number is CA 0140 title is "the basic craft of turnshoes"

also only mildly off topic, but I remember a very nice explanation of this type of stitch (was it called a tunnel stitch) in one of the bags & cases books from Tandy. In the book it shows the stitching on the grain side (looking like Ray's pics) rather than flesh side like Celt's pic **runs to shop** Stohlman books: The Art of Making Leather Cases Vol 1 with a much better description of the process in The Art of Hand Sewing Leather pg 30

so another question on that.... is there a benefit? Not that im doing it right cause one is always learning, but I generally have no problem with it drying out between work sessions cause then I re-wet it and I know exactly how much re-wetting i did. Yes I am one of those folks who has no idea how to tell moisture content. I first learned simply by color and feel temperature and I still fumble my way with that method.

Hi Yan, I'm a medievalist myself, so I expect it will be interesting to share thoughts and ideas with you. I have seen people from around the globe on this forum so I wouldnt worry about language differences. I'm also sure anyone would be happy to explain any regional lingo they happen to use. Are you French, French Canadian, or some other breed of french speaker? I look forward to hearing and seeing more from you.

I must be a bad or ignorant biker cause I have no clue on that one.... I see FTW and thing geek lingo "For The Win"

very nicely done. was it a replica of the original? and do the stitches serve a purpose or just decorative (hard to tell from the pictures)

Awesome info Twin... gave me some new ideas as well

Thanks guys..... exactly the kind of info I was looking for

This whole question - answer/question - answer/question thing is entertaining... I'm in the process of my first sheath, so I can feel for ya. I'm actually going to go post some pics of the in progress now.... at any rate, much respect for the not half-assed. When looking at having all the "necessary" tools, you have to ask yourself what your goal is. If you want to do any kind of tooling, you'll likely need some more tools. dying and finishing might not be more tools, but it is more supplies. the most basic tools that I would say is some form of Razor knife, an awl, some thread and a handful of needles. The amount of leather depends on how big the knife is as well as how you're constructing it (like Twin explained). As a possible vendor suggestion, the most prevalent around (they're everywhere) is Tandy (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/). Tandy is also good cause all of the managers I've met have been very intelligent and knowledgable about the work. They can be a great resource. Tandy sells what is called single shoulders which should be enough to make a sheath for any LEGAL knife around as well as have some left over for practice, or screw-ups fixes. Remembering that Josh suggested 9/10 oz. thickness. The list of things that would make life easier, but ya don't need is just about everything else in the world Hope this helps, - Bear

Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions. Sorry for not thanking earlier, but I kind of fell off the face of the earth. Hopefully I'll be better able to pay some time to the forum and learning part of my leatherwork and not just the "same old thing" kind of work that I was busy with - Bear

I was hoping someone could help me out. I have some projects that I'm brainstorming that I would like to add piping to. I think it will give my work a much nicer finish look. The problem is, I know the basic concept of piping and I remember reading somewhere (I thought here) about how to do piping and that there is a material like wire or string or something that you put on the inside of the piping to help it maintain shape and strength. Unfortunately I cant remember where I read that and I cant seem to find anything on the subject in the forums. If someone could point me in the right looking direction or give me some keywords or tips, that would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance, - Bear

BUMPING.. cause I'm re-new and thats what new does Mike, excellently written tutorial. This is something im interested in trying out and I have found a few books and other articles on it. is there any way to get the pictures rehosted or uploaded? Thanks, - Bear

Just clarifying Billy..... monument makers you mean gravestone makers and carvers right? I've heard others say about using headstones..... I think I would REALLY want to clean the heck out of one of those.... Dont want that nasty death energy going into my work.... yeah im a weird superstitious one.

Thanks for the advice Ricky. Hopefully I can upload these pictures correctly. These pictures are of my friends boots that I am cleaning and reconditioning for him. This is obviously the sole by the heel. You can see how it has two layers and then the heel. Examining the inside of the boot, I can feel that the leather uppers are stitched to whatever the thin top sole piece is. This is the toe area, the separation of the two soles is one of the things that my friend has me reconditioning for him. Since it was coming apart, I peeked. Difficult to get a picture of it, but I can see the stitching from the leather through to the first sole layer. All in all, these boots seem to be very well done yet simple construction. I like them a lot and if I could figure out where to get the sole material, I think I could reproduce these. - Corey

Hey all, I'm embarking on an endeavor to learn a bit of shoe and boot making, mainly for personal use. I can find plenty of information on patterning and construction of uppers. By examining some other's work I'm getting a good idea of the construction as well. I'm hitting a roadblock though where I can only seem to find limited, if any, information on soles and how to attach soles of types other than leather/sole bend. The best tool I've had to learn about soles from is a pair of custom boots that a friend has. I can see that it is a 3 part sole with the top most layer being the insole, an outer sole layer of a different material, and a heel section of the same material as the insole. Through research I have found that the original maker used high density crepe rubber for the sole. I dont know if this would be the inner sole and heel or the outer sole. I also cant find any suppliers of this material. Any suggestions about where to find a supplier for this, OR any better suggestions for soles, OR any info in general that anyone might think helpful in this project would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance and I hope to no longer lurk and get a little bit more active in the forums. - Corey Orlando, FL

So I figured I would post this question here to quit beating myself up trying to figure it out. I make alot of ring belts for the SCA. Can anyone offer any recommendations about how to maximize the length out of a single side while still not wasting too much square footage. Is there an angle to cut it at? I havent always bout the largest side I could find... but the most ive been able to manage is usually 50"-55".. I'd like to get 60"-72" or longer Thanks for any help everyone can offer - Corey / PB

Commision: 2 pairs of arm guards, 1 combat legal & 1 decorative A folder from the Tandy kit, for a Druid friend of mine and finished Any input or opinions greatly welcomed. I know that I have alot of room for improvement in these pieces -PB

So I finally got a bunch of my pictures hosted while im still working on my website... figured I would post some here for commentary and whatnot First up: Being in the SCA, these are some belt favors I made for my wife and a close friend. The arm is my symbol. Next up: I was teaching a class on making simple belt pouches and decided I wanted one with no modern hardware at all. Following this is my latest pouch endeavor. Im not extremely happy with the sides because it crushes in and doesnt maintain the nice rectangular shape. My goal was to have a semi-rigid pouch, didnt reach that one. Will post some more pics to this thread later - PB