fredk

a. thanks for those pictures. I like how you look after the details, as on the sheath in the last photo with the double twist to the hanging thong b. afair the pieces were mostly from La Trinidad Valencera. There were some survivors of this ship and the local legends are that these men bartered their goods for food and safe passage. What I saw included a Missal book cover, a few cases for instruments, long gone, and a few other scraps of leather. Allowing for the 400 years, the leather was quite thin. I reckon it would have originally been about 2 to 3mm thick, about the same as you used. I saw these things in 1988, long before I took up leatherwork, at a special Spanish Armada Anniversary event. Whilst everyone else was looking at the Girona jewels, and the guns, I'm looking at wee scraps of leather! c. I think you are correct on that, that the design was just pressed into the leather with a tool, but certainly a 'back grounder' stamp type tool was used as well. d. ach, they're no so bad. At least your steel is better than the samples tested in that book. And you've not gone for the 'fantasy' medieval look on your knives. That really makes me ........

Those are mighty beautiful - an understatement. That is sure one amount of work there. The photography of them is excellent too, highlighting and showing off the stamping very well indeed. I have that book and your scabbards/sheaths really bring the archaeologists drawings (and remains pieces) to life One question: can I please see some of the seams on the back, just to see how you tackled them. As an aside: I was able to see and handle some leather work from a Spanish Armada ship and found that the stamping was very shallow, even for allowing 400 years of age

That is very nice indeedy.

I think its all very nice indeedy. When I see that stamping my mind is drawn to 'stone-age' - Fred Flintstone

To cover the raw back of the snap rivet. Either for decorative reason or to prevent the raw base cutting either material or person They can also be used on the base of the rivet post part of single head ready-rivets

A 'creaser' puts a pressed in groove near the edge of your item. It doesn't cut the leather as a groover does, it just presses it into the leather. You can get creasers with different sizes, the distance from the edge, from 0.5mm to about 3.5mm. The pressed in groove is both decorative and can add a bit of stiffness to the leather along the edge. You can get hot creasers like this one, or ones that need heat with a blow-lamp, and you can get cold ones which just needs a bit of muscle to press the groove

Thanks. I doubt I'll ever buy but one should never say never

I have 1.2 to 1.6mm veg tan which would be as flexible as these bags show. As they are commercially made I'd suggest that the maker got pre-dyed leather from the tannery, which also has a top lacquer finish applied. If it was me doing them with new leather I'd use my regular dye, then a coat of that dye diluted in some resolene, followed by an acrylic sealer such as 'Pledge Premium Finish' (check name) which is an acrylic varnish and not a polish.

Main body of bag; any thickness from 1mm to 1.6mm. Veg tanned. Pre-dyed is useful and handy, otherwise, dyed by maker. Straps, flat, maybe 2mm to 2.4mm, two thickness of main body leather to colour match if pre-dyed leather used

Unfortunately not available in N.I. New hard hats* are cheaper than that replacement head band. Broken band on the hard hat? just replace with a new hat. * a fully approved, high quality hard hat for £1.99 or about $2.25

BTW, one problem with head-band magnifiers; every one I've come across uses a plastic strap and plastic buckle type thing. And every one of those has broken after minimal use. I'm in a several plastic model making groups and I've discovered that everyone who has one of these has either discarded it or had to replace it with another due to the strap or buckle arrangement breaking. Even my own is set aside for a broken strap and buckle. I intend making a padded leather strap with velcro fastening.

I'm no expert on electronics, but I find that LEDs work on voltage rather than on milliamperage, thus two x 1.5V alkaline AA batteries give about 36 hours working light whereas two rechargeable batteries which are 1.2V only give about 3 hours light. At about the 30 hour mark the alkaline batteries are at about 1.25V each. Some head-band lights use two or three AAA batteries On the 'Hug' Light. Each light unit has a switch. Each has two bulbs. You can have each light, on 'wide' (low), on 'spot' (medium) or high (both bulbs on together). It takes two AAA batteries so I expect only a few hours use on 'high' Combine the two. A hug light and a head-band magnifier. You can get head-band magnifiers for as little as £5. It depends on where you go. Go to a shop catering for plastic modellers and they'll charge you £35 for the exact same unit you can buy in a shop for knitters/sewers for £10. I got my first unit in a fishing tackle shop for £8, same unit in the local plastic modelling shop was £45

This be true. In my working life I paid about 10% of everything I earned into the 'National Insurance'. The more you get paid the more you pay. But it means I can go to doctor or dentist for treatment and not worry about bills, or to the chemist (pharmacy) for prescribed drugs at no cost now to me cos I've paid up front years ago. Back on topic; I have a couple of the head-band magnifiers with lights. Whilst the magnifiers are a grand job, the lights are next to useless. They're bright enough but I can never get them to illuminate just what I'm working on. I keep reverting back to different powers of reading glasses and a big angle-poise lamp with a daylight colour 20W (= to about 150W old fashioned) LED bulb. Another light I just got in and I've yet to try is a new invention. Its called a 'hug' light. Bright LED lamps on the ends of a flexible thingy, which you can wrap around the back of your neck or somewhere and angle the lights on your work example; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-LED-Hug-Light-Adjustable-Head-Neck-Book-Reading-Night-Lamp-Torch-Handfree/264468227616?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=564149022967&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I'm colourblind so I like a lot of good light on what I'm doing so I can actually see what I'm supposed to be doing. eg only under very bright light can I see dark brown or blue thread on dark brown or black leather.

meh, I can beat that. I worked on a Post Office counter a long time ago for a few years. I had a guy who didn't like to pay his annual car road tax so in protest he paid his and wifeys dues in 10p coins Twice a year, once for each car, he paid the car road tax. At that time the tax was about £125 per car. Ten 10p to the £1. Of 8 counter workers I got nominated as the one to accept the payment. No biggie. Just kept-a-countin. Every time he told me to hurry up I 'lost count' and had to start again . He soon larnt to keep shtum. Actually, in the UK its an offence to pay a bill in more coins than necessary unless the receiver allows it. In the UK there is a limit to how many coins in a payment are 'legal' tender, but everyone ignores it. Money be money, roight?