Chief Filipino

I tried tracing out the parts and dying them as a whole and that seemed to work fairly well but I think I'll follow your lead and never use sheep for a wallet again. I do like the suppleness but it was too much of a pain to use for wallets.

Nice, I didn't think of that! Thank you! I will definitely try this out. I don't really have much room/plates/weights to put on my pieces. Thank you! This is 1.5-2.5 oz sheep skin that I got to try on the inner pieces to try to take out some of the thickness. I normally work with 2-3oz at the smallest but thought I'd give the thinner stuff a shot. I may stick with it and try all these suggestions, at least until I'm out of leather then maybe go back to the 2-3 or maybe just get 1-2 in cow (if I can find it). Thank you!

I'll experiment and see what I get! Thank you! The glass idea sounds good but I think I'll have to wait until I have an actual shop space/room instead of my teeny space I have at the moment.

Would NFO before dying help prevent this? Sounds like it's worth a try! I used some Fiebings Pro Dye (which I'm assuming is there newest recipe for oil dye) on another wallet and it got some waviness/slight curling, but not like this. Concrete curls?!?

Hello Everyone, So I bought some Eco-Flo Range Tan Leather Dye from Tandy to try out. I am working on a long wallet and the exterior piece is 2-3oz veg tan and the interior pieces are 1-2oz sheep veg tan. I put two coats of the leather dye on (not drying in between) all the pieces and let them dry. A few hours later I get this curling happening. I also think that I have some shrinkage that happened because my exterior/interior pieces, which should be pretty much the exact same size, are about 1/8" size difference. So what is happening? I did not wet the pieces down before hand, which I thought later that maybe that would help it all dry at about the same rate. Is it the Eco-Fo? Or is it the leather itself? Is there a big difference in behaviors between sheep veg and cow veg?| What did I do wrong? Thank you for the help!

So for friction fit holsters it's more about the stitch line and the molding correct? About how far should the stitch be? My thoughts being if it is too close to the trigger it will end up tearing the leather? Thank you and I actually am working on the belt for him as I read this hahaha! Will do thank you!

Thank you! I've played with decorative stitching before but not like this one and I am very pleased that it came out so well. I will ask him to practice with it and give me feedback and if I need to redo it I will.

Thank you! Ahh man... I forgot that little tab on the side is the release... it's been so long since I've handled a gun haha. The reason why I brought the leather up higher is because I was worried about getting enough friction to make sure that it will stay in securely as it is friction fit. Do you have any tips for finding the optimal balance of leather amount for friction fit for holsters and sheaths? I've done similar things with my sheaths as well because I've made one before that exposed more handle but then I lost some grip. Thank you very much!

Thank you for the info and the offer. I think that I will use up the thread that I have and as I get near to the end I'll try out these two options. Getting a small spool of Ritza isn't expensive so thank you for your offer but I'll pick up one sometime in the near future.

This is a holster I made for my uncle for his Kel Tec PF9 Holster. I am not an avid marksman/sportsman so I am a little worried about how well it will draw out and sit on his belt, but I will definitely get feed back on it for sure and make it better if need be. The copper rivets were a good challenge for me to think through because I didn't want to other end to be rubbing against the pistol, so I used two 3/4 oz pieces and put them together. I really had to think through the process repeatedly to make sure I was doing it right. I'm pretty happy with it but worried that it will not draw out as well as I hope. I know this is Show Off but I'm always looking to improve so if you see something let me know please! What I've seen/considered: 1. Stitching on the inside may get worn/frayed/fall apart over time and I'm not sure how to get around that 2. Stitching too close to edge 3. Maybe the piece around the trigger guard is too wide? I have a huge hand and it was kind of hard for me to draw it out nicely, but this is for a 2 inch belt which I wasn't wearing so there was some slop Anyways, here it is

I've only used Tandy because it's quicker/easier/cheaper for me to get so I know nothing of Ritza. I'm at the point in my crafting that I'm ready to branch out and try some new stuff to find what I like better. What is the knock off brand?

I'll give it a look! Thanks!

Thank you Fire88! I didn't even know they made a #1 beveler, I'll have to pick one up. On paper the template has 1/8" on either side of the card so I think that it is the thread. I bought some thinner thread from Tandy. I wanted to try tiger thread but it's rather expensive for a small timer like me. I'm thinking I'll pick up a small spool and try it out to see if I like it. I think I need to invest in some better diamond chisels, or maybe even try pricking irons and using an awl. I don't use my awl as much because I hate how it pushes the second layer away from the first.... maybe I need to sharpen my awl? Do you sharpen awls? .... hmmmm I need to learn more about awls! hahahaha

Very nice work! The best is the doggy top hat! I wonder if you would be able to find some leather from Argentina. A lot of the leather I buy here in the US from Tandy Leather comes from Argentina and maybe other South American country/countries.

Thanks, it's not my first wallet over all just my first biker wallet. I've mastered the technique of not being very good with a wool dauber! Hahahahaha! I agree with you that I am not the biggest fan of solid/even dye jobs. I like my pieces to have multiple areas that draw the eye, almost like abstract art. I do try to make it fairly even, but honestly it just comes out that way because I run the dauber until it runs out, load it up with more and try to start where it is fairly even in tone. Doesn't really work if I'm going for an even tone, but honestly I like the look of uneveness.

Hello All, This is came from a template provided by Tboyce. I downloaded the revised version of the biker wallet, went to FedEx office to get it printed. I had them put it on 24 in X 36 in paper though there was quite a bit of excess paper at the bottom. I don't know what paper sizes they have though so maybe that's the only size to print on. I really like the template! The only issue I really ran into was in the card slots. The cards are really hard to push in and pull out, but I really think this is an issue with the waxed polyester thread I'm using from Tandy Leather. It might be a little to thick in diameter and a little too waxed. I've had a similar experience with other wallets I've made. So I would suggest to go with a non waxed or perhaps a thinner diameter thread. I've been wanting to try a new thread but haven't found a good cheaper price tag. I want to try Ritza Tiger thread but that's pretty pricey for me, so if anyone has a suggestion to try out I'd love to hear it! Also, I always have trouble with beveling thinner weight leathers. Does anyone have a tip or trick to do get a nice clean bevel? I've tried holding it down with a ruler but it still seems to push the leather at times. Yes I probably need to sharpen it better and I'm trying but I still haven't quite figured out sharpening anything well enough. Yes I know this is the show off section but I am always open to critiques to help me improve my skills, so if you see something feel free to say it, please! Anyways here is my version of this wallet:

Hello All, This is a now a pretty old thread but I wanted to post this here for anyone else who comes across this (like I did a few years later). I downloaded the revised version of the biker wallet, went to FedEx office to get it printed. I had them put it on 24 in X 36 in paper though there was quite a bit of excess paper at the bottom. I don't know what paper sizes they have though so maybe that's the only size to print on. I really like the template! The only issue I really ran into was in the card slots. The cards are really hard to push in and pull out, but I really think this is an issue with the waxed polyester thread I'm using from Tandy Leather. It might be a little to thick in diameter and a little too waxed. I've had a similar experience with other wallets I've made. So I would suggest to go with a non waxed or perhaps a thinner diameter thread. I've been wanting to try a new thread but haven't found a good cheaper price tag. I want to try Ritza Tiger thread but that's pretty pricey for me, so if anyone has a suggestion to try out I'd love to hear it! Oh, the other issue I had was beveling the thin leather, which is why it came out spotty (but that's an issue with the crafter not the template). The inner assembly is from 1.5-2.5 oz vegtan sheep skin, the exterior is 3-4oz veg tan cow. Line twenty snap, waxed thread from tandy and a six inch zipper from JoAnn fabric. Anyways here is my version of this wallet: indidana, mwsbmatt, Griffin Works the dimensions are about 7.5 inch square with the thumb break adding about 2.57 inches. The template itself was easier for me to take to a place to print out on 24 inch X 36 inch paper. I got two copies for about $7.00 USD. There was a bit of excess paper on the bottom but it's easier and faster for me to pay them to print it and I just cut off the excess than to spend the time trying to print from home. I don't know enough about messing with computers to be able to do that. Hope that helps. You did ask about two years ago so you probably figured it out already.

Very nice! Did you make the knife as well?

Nice! To answer your questions, which gave me a lot of food for thought, I think that I want a mix of both. There are times where I do what I want to do and feel perfection is whatever comes out, and there are times where I want it to be almost machine perfect but made by hand. I think this comes from me vacillating between wanting to just make what I want (my own art) and wanting my stuff to sell so that perhaps one day I could do this as a full time job. I lean more towards making art, but then I look at my stockpile of things I've made and think of all the money I've invested and haven't gotten back. Then again, I haven't been hustling as much to sell it. I haven't gone out and gotten a booth to try to sell my work in over a year, mostly relying on my Etsy store... anyways, I'll figure it out one of these days. It is never too late to learn something new! As you said your father's best work came from his heart. I don't really know you personally, but it kind of seems like you are letting your head get in the way of your heart. There are times where I try to go into a meditative state and just focus on my breathing or nothing at all and just create. Maybe something like that could work for you, maybe abstract painting could help you get out of your head and into your heart. Of course if you're trying to sell works, those often tend to be the most difficult pieces to sell, at least in my experience. Thank you! As the saying goes, "I am my own worst critic." I have to remind myself of that and just let go of trying to gain perfection.

Thank you! Thank you! There's still so much to learn, I'm definitely hustling to do my best on pretty much everything (sometimes I skip steps or get lazy when I make things just for myself). Thank you! I'd love to see some of your father's work. Thank you for the tips! I always struggle with tooling because I will often stray outside of the lines. I haven't tried smoothing them out with the spoon... didn't even think of that. As for the beader blade, I haven't even heard of this! I was going for parallel but my swivel knife skills aren't there yet so that blade is a must now! Thank you again! Next pay check I think I'll pick me up a couple blades. Are they hard to sharpen?

I made this a few months ago but haven't been very active on this forum (something I look to remedy). I had Rich Greenwood, a local bladesmith, custom make me a karambit for my gigantic hands. I then made the sheath for it, going for a friction fit. I feel like the tooling is my personal best (I know there isn't much tooling) but I don't do a lot of tooling so my growth is slow. I am a big guy with ham-sammich hands so the handle/knife is big. To many it may be a weird looking knife but I love it and Rich did an excellent job meeting my specs. While the tooling came out well, I ran into an issue when putting the knife back in the sheath. The shape/design and thickness made it very difficult to get a smooth re-sheathing. I still have to fiddle with it when trying to return it, but it draws fairly smooth. I think that I will make another sheath for it someday, perhaps using a combination of wood and leather. I know this is the show off section and people feel a little uncomfortable adding critiques, but I have improved so much because of your input. If you see something you would like to add your two cents on feel free! I appreciate it!

I've been a busy bee creating my own little world for the past year. I just realized I haven't updated my albums in a long time and I've created so much! I am having some problems uploading all the images but I will be adding what I can to my albums.

It's been a long time since I've shown anything here. In the past 6 months... wow it really has been that long... I made some deerskin bags and I really like how they came out. I know it's not the place for critiques but if anyone feels the need to point something out please feel free. OH and I was out hiking awhile back and came across the left over lunch of a mountain lion! I took the left over deer bones home and processed them. I then used them to make the "ring" and "strap ring" for the white satchel. Hope the link to the gallery works.

I really like the idea you used for the pen holders!

how does angelus matte finisher compare to resolene in regards to water resistance?