alpha2

I think he meant "cupped", as opposed to curved. I have the bone folder also, pointed at one end and curved at the other, but the metal one in the video is cupped so as to fold the flap over while running along the edge. I wonder if it was home made. You could sort of do the same with the bone folder and your fingers. I thought the perforated stiffener paper was unique. You can tell when he tears it off that it was only attached at a few points along the length.

I haven't had a problem with edge coat drying out. I burnish with the wood burnisher and water most of the time, then rub some beeswax on the edges and burnish again. I just acquired a lathe motor and am in the process of making some burnishing wheels, so we'll see if that speeds up the process a bit. It is not absolutely needed, though.

Very nice! And I agree, it's got a vintage look to it. I like the lacing, I have to stop talking about it and just do a holster in lace.

When I say natural, I mean no dye, no edge coat. Just bevel, burnish, sand lightly, burnish again. A bottle will last quite a long time, unless you're doing serious production. You don't use that much at a time, and you will split it up between whatever colors you have.

I've never used gum trag. If I'm doing a black belt or collar, I'll use black, if it's a tan to brown item, I'll use brown. A contrasting darker edge looks good some items. Natural is a great color itself sometimes for a lighter item.

My edge kote looks fine. If you don't smooth the edge first, and if you don't lightly sand or buff the edge kote with a piece of canvas or similar, it might look amateur, but done correctly, it looks just fine. You should be able to get great edges with your dye and gum trag, also. It may take more than one attempt at it, but a very light sanding between applications should help. It doesn't hurt to put some beeswax on it either.

Interesting, I'll have to try that soon. Thanks.

search for "ranger style buckle".

So you're actually just skimming the top of the leather with the dye, correct?

Not a big deal, but you do have to cut every stitch. Each one is a knot. That's the beauty of the saddle stitch. Unless, of course, you have to undo them!

Same question as above. Lucky dog! Lucky dog!

Amazing relief. I think the size can be determined by the maker's mark, assuming it's a common size.

Your prototypes blow my finished product right out of the water. Dang!

It's kind of silly that when people ask if English is my native language, I have to say "no, 'murican". Still, better than trying to understand a Scot. Eh?

Brill, I don't know why I couldn't figure that out. I guess it was the context. Used to love the show "Brilliant!" Didn't stay long enough for me. Bob Fleming was my wife's favorite bit. She's weird that way. I'll get me coat. Another bit we needed some input on was "are you married?" Our friend straightened us out on that one as well. Started using it all the time for a while. We'd laugh, but nobody knew what we were on about. Inside joke around these parts! Jeff

Thanks for the tip on the lolly sticks. I've been looking for something to use for stitching belt keepers. Tom Baker, for sure. Probably because we don't get all the Brit shows here, and then they're already old. Tom Baker was the one we started with, so, all the others are impostors! I was trying to figure out why in the world anyone would name a store "Poundstore", it finally dawned on me that it would what we here call the "Dollar Store". Duh. Still not sure what "brill" means, something to do with either cost or value, I figure. We had a good friend here, (passed away unfortunately), that was our go to guy for Brit expressions. In the "she's a witch!" bit, we couldn't figure out what the witch said when they finally determined she was, in fact, a witch. Our friend told us it was "it's a fair cop". Well, sure, once you KNEW that, you could hear it. We had the sound turned up and listened very carefully numerous times, but were never able to figure it out on our own.

I wonder if you cut the royal blue with some white? Lighten it up a bit? Maybe 80/20?

Also, don't confuse 60% with 60 proof. 60% is 120 proof. So, a seriously high alcohol content, but not close to isopropyl or denatured alcohol. But it seemed to work for you, that is some great color on that piece! Jeff

Whoa! Not sure I want a croc wrapped around my wrist! Oh, it's a bracelet...never mind. Nice work. Handbag foot is a nice touch. I really need to get some croc or 'gator. Looks GREAT on holsters! And belts. And, well just about anything.

So, hootch and Fiebings Dye are mutually exclusive?

It all has to do with return on investment, ROI. That means time, as well as money. As you've e seen, a real skiver is major time saver, as well as a more precise way to do that kind of skiving. Things that didn't make sense for making one or two belts a month, are a necessity for serious production. That being said, a three thousand dollar stitcher, requires a LOT of belts and sheaths to get a return on investment. I'm retiring in a month. I'll have a lot more time on my hands, but I still don't want to make 5 dollars an hour doing leatherwork. I can get a part time job, make more money, and still do leatherwork for fun. You have to decide where that break point is. You can make a nice burnisher with a cheap used motor, and that will save some time. Personally, I'd like to have a larger motor, and a huge buffing wheel to do my buffing! So, yes there is a middle ground, but it has to be tailored to what you want to put into it, as opposed to what you'll get out of it. Pricing of the product is a big deal, as you can imagine. You'll read elsewhere on this forum of people that discover what their particular market will bear. Selling a lot of less expensive items generally, but occasionally some high quality, high dollar belts, holsters, etc. to round out their offerings. BTW, I seem to be selling a lot of dog collars, lately. You can get the same return with a lot less leather! Off topic, I see you are into green woodworking. I have an idea what that is, but I may be way off. What is it exactly? Jeff

Great solution, Dwight! If I had room, I'd go to that solution. I'll put up a pic of my admittedly small solution. And thank you for your service. Jeff

TSes has some very good advice right there...Remember, there is only Custom, and mass produced. If you try to go with semi-custom, or kinda mass produced, you will hemorrhage money and time. Oh, and leather!

It shouldn't matter, as long the work is being held at the same place. Make sure the jaws are padded with some leather, you don't want to leave marks on the work.

I get a line with my Craftool Pro edgers, also. The "heel" for want of a better term, is what leaves the line, unless I really lean the beveller over. With thin leathers, I have to put another piece of leather under it, or hold it on the edge of the table to the right amount of lean to avoid the line. Zane, you say the Pro only comes as small as #2, but I have a 1 and a 0 also. The fine is REALLY fine, but the groove is so tiny it clogs with leather that has been cut.