JoeSnuffie

tiggertlee, are you talking about the Tandy braided thread? I have 3 colors of the tandy braided thread and they all lay flat and have much less wax than the stranded stuff. It doesn't cake up in the eye of the needle at all. It also has that 'stiffness' to it that jackd942 mentioned. I don't know how it compares to Tiger thread but I really like it. This is a picture of the Tandy braided thread.

For the Hermann Oak I just apply a coat of Kiwi Leather Lotion and rub it in one direction with the grain. I suppose it's like a thick carnauba cream and I usually thin it anyway. When it dries it isn't tacky or waxy and it doesn't crack. That helps to sort of 'slick' down the back but you can see in the picture that the Herman Oak doesn't really need much help. The strap to the top right of the belt shows the flesh side from the same strap the belt came from. If I cut the belt myself I make sure I choose a piece with a nice flesh side. There are sometimes some imperfections on the back and when there is, I run it across my belt sander until it's all even and pretty. Then I use the leather lotion again and slick it down by rubbing really good in the direction the grain wants to lay. If the flesh side of the leather is nasty and fuzzy, it can still sometimes be fixed by sanding but not always. Decent leather is the key to a decent flesh side. You don't have to buy really expensive leather because you can choose the best parts for belts. The undyed strap in the picture isn't from expensive leather but I picked the best parts to cut my straps and you can see that the flesh side is very nice and tight with no fuzz. There are plenty of things that I make where scars and blemishes in the leather can be hidden. When you make smaller items you can usually cut around the bad spots. For example, when I make wallets, the majority of the leather is hidden behind another piece, so if there are blemishes, I make sure to cut so that it's hidden. I just have to make sure the shell and card slots on the front of the stack are perfect and that's easy to do when you only need one 9x5 and two 4.5x2.5 pieces without a blemish

I charge $35 - $45 for a basic belt. The people who buy form me aren't usually looking for something that's purely practical, they're looking for something that was made just for them. A recent belt I made was for a really thin woman who wasn't happy with what she could find in the kid's section at the stores, so she wanted an adult looking belt, without stamps, hearts, flowers, sparkles, etc. that you get with a kid's belt. I also get customers wanting a belt that they know is made from premium full grain leather, not the bonded, reconstituted or whatever else you get in a department store for a low price. My wife has belts she bought at the department stores that are stamped "genuine leather" and I swear it's a brand name and has nothing to do with the material because most have fallen apart and it does not look like leather to me. I don't do a lot of belts so I usually buy 1 or 2 at a time and it costs me about $15 average for a strap but it's worth it. They are typically flawless, dyed to perfection with a beautiful back. This makes my work easy. This is the last belt I made. Hermann Oak Latigo Grade A.

Great job. How large are the knives? They look like maybe 12" blades. I'm just trying to get an idea of the size.

I buff each time I put dye, oil, wax, finish, etc. into the leather. I use the pro oil dyes a lot and I wait until the surface is dry then buff it with squares I've cut from old tshirts. I buff at least until almost no dye comes off and I keep going until it's all evenly shiny. Now for belts, I don't usually dye the back if it's black or another really dark color. But honestly, most of the belts I make are a simple more 'dressy' style and I just buy nice drum dyed straps, edge dress, crease, add holes and a buckle. I don't charge a whole lot for them but they don't take much time, either. I end up making about $20 profit for less than an hour's work. Not bad for a hobby I think.

I've been looking for this thread and it's nice to see someone starting to carry it. FoamerAce, the reason I like the style is because it's braided. Since using the Tandy braided thread, I have no desire to use the stranded thread at all, except for when I am needing really thin thread. It is easier to pull through a diamond shaped hole and lays down in a much more attractive way when saddle stitching. It's also a lot easier to thread in a smaller needle because it can be pinched flat. I have 250 meters of a Chinese version in .8mm on the way now and if it's nice I'll be ordering a lot more colors. This is a shot of the Tandy thread and it looks like about 1mm when compared to some .8mm that I have.

These are my steps 1. Dye with a piece of sponge that puts on a lot of dye and moves it all around for a nice and even coat. 2. Buff until barely any color comes off. I use 4"x4" pieces of old tshirts to buff. 3. If I used spirit dye and I don't mind the leather sometimes darkening I use Neetsfoot oil 4. When it soaks in and 'dries' on the surface, I buff again 5. Apply Kiwi Leather Lotion, let it soak in, dry, then buff. I have gotten some unique effects by mixing dye with olive oil. You can get very controlled streaking, swirls, etc.

It smells like vinegar for sure but I doubt it's dangerous unless it's in concentrated fumes. It contains acid and I suppose that could irritate your eyes and lungs in an enclosed area with no ventilation.

Search eBay for "brass shackle". http://www.ebay.com/itm/LARGE-BRASS-SHACKLE-JOINT-CONNECT-Key-Chain-Hook-Leather-Craft-Japan-Quality-EDC-/221374432499?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338af1c4f3

I didn't use ink, I used Fiebing's black spirit dye and the brown and tan dyes over that. I've got no idea how ink would react with the dyes or how durable it might be so I just tried dye. I imagine it will hold up as well as any other normally dyed leather.

I'm starting work on a customer's nautical themed wallet and bracelet and this is what I've come up with so far. Hobby Lobby has had a nice sale on rubber stamps. They seems to work great with Fiebing's black spirit dye. I use a small piece of sponge and put a thin layer of the dye on a plastic sheet and let the stamp soak a couple seconds. Then I put the stamp on the leather and press down a few seconds. It seems to work very well. The map is on 1.75oz goat and the stamp large enough to more than cover one side of a wallet. The bottom shows the results of the dye stamp and a couple charms I might work into the wallet or bracelet. The top is a quick dye test to make sure there is no bleeding or streaking. I let the stamp dry overnight and dyed this morning. the left side is Fiebings Pro Oil Chocolate and the right is Fiebing's spirit Tan. There was no streaking or bleeding on either side. FYI, there is a definite difference in the feel of the two sides. The side done in Oil Dye is a little stiffer but still soft and the side done with the spirit dye is very stiff.

Great stuff. Thank you for sharing.

Love the video. Thank you for sharing your experience and talent!

I don't have any horses but as long as the back is smooth, and the sharp bits are bent under and not touching the horse, I don't think the horse will mind. I wear cuffs I've made with flattened rivet backs and I don't feel them. My concern would be corrosion because it's exposed to the horse's sweat. Unless you use stainless, I would expect a lot of rust and shortened life without a lining to cover them.

A little YouTube will help.

I don't use a stitching pony and I haven't had issues with saddle stitching. You just have to keep track of which side is top and bottom and be sure to thread the hole in the same order and give the threads a tug in the right direction (top thread tugs up and bottom thread tugs down). I once made a stitching pony and found that it just got in the way for the smaller items I'm doing. If it were a belt or any stretch more than 6 inches I bet it would be useful to me.

I'm not seeing any pictures, just some tags that look like where a picture should show. Maybe try uploading them to the gallery.

Well this is just fantastic! Thanks for sharing.

I use contact cement on the rolled edges unless I'm adding a cloth liner. In that case I stitch as well. I use contact cement from the hardware store and NOT rubber cement. I also dilute the contact cement about 33% with acetone to make it easier to apply with accuracy to leather. Follow the directions on the contact cement and it will not come loose once it cures. It can be pulled apart but the leather will tear, not the glue.

The 1mm skives just fine so you can roll the enges over no problem. The .5mm is goat and it comes pretty thin. Also, you're correct about it being a book binding leather. I like it because the grain is much more like cow than the pig skin, though it does have a more pronounced grain than cow.

I wish my first 3 or 4 wallets turned out like this. A tip for the stitching around the edges: I carefully measure and mark the lines for the stitching on the outside and inside of the shell where it folds over. I measure so that there is a tiny gap between the liner and shell at the edge when folded over. This makes sure the lines will be perfectly straight and not stretched when I stitch. I then use my stitching chisel to make holes on the stitch line that will be on the outside then I flip the leather over and make the holes that will be on the inside. this makes sure the saddle stitch offset is proper. An important note - When I mark the stitch line I place a mark at the beginning and end and then use a straight edge to mark the line.if I find that the leather edge isn't straight after I mark the line I can cut it straight again. When I stitch, I make sure the side I'm stitching is glued in place with contact cement and use an awl to poke through the liner.

1mm is good for what I call a 'substantial' wallet feel but not quite as hefty as a biker wallet. With the right leather, it can be soft and luxurious. I'm using 1mm calf skin and it oils and waxes to a very soft and flexible texture. The thicker wallet in the pics I shared is made from this. It's not any thicker than my last store bought wallet that was made from .5mm leather because it is a simpler design with fewer pockets and no cloth lining. My personal preference, however, is the thinner goat leather. You'll need to practice a lot. I have a stack of failures that my boys are just thrilled to use and show off to their friends. As you practice, take careful notes on what works and what doesn't. I have stitched things together and then unstitched, adjust and repeated many times. I take a lot of pictures of the pieces under a clear ruled grid for reference. I also started using a free CAD application called LibreCAD to save my successful patterns which is much better than the paper patterns I've drawn.

Glad it was useful. I thought about using the forks or spoons but with 3 kids, we seem to lose a lot more of them so when we buy more silverware we have way too many knives. Also, at least with our knives, the blades are pretty thick at the base and give a much thicker tool end than the forks or spoons would.

I use thick leather on top of a plastic cutting board on top of granite. The leather lets it go all the way through and the plastic keeps the tips sharp. When I do a sheath I punch one layer at a time. Any miner imperfections in the lineup of the pieces can be fixed with sanding. I also keep the prongs waxed pretty well to make them easier to pull out. Don't rock it or the prongs will bend, I use a plastic bone folder to put pressure on the leather and pull straight out.

My 2.5 oz comes in at about 1mm and the 1.75oz is coming in between .66 - .75mm depending on where I measure. Because it's goat it has a much tighter flesh side and just seems a lot thinner than it really is when compared to cow. I wish the US would adopt the metric system and make my measuring a lot easier. And thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it.