battlemunky

Looks pretty comfortable. If stronger rivets are desired, go with bit & burr rivets, a.k.a. saddler's rivets.

I'm slowly migrating back to Barge. I tried the Aquilim but in my experience so far, it isn't quite as strong of a bond as Barge, not even close really. That doesn't mean that Aquilum doesn't have an application but for any hard use item, I'd get out the nose clamps and use the Barge...the stuff is the best bond in leather.

I couldn't find anything but BKs when I was upgrading from my Craftools and the jump in quality and usability was considerable. Unfortunately I can't speak to anything other than my BK 00 and 0 both being ridiculously good. Can't imagine what better feels like.

I am afraid that you may be in a niche most of us are unfamiliar with and haven't been able to scrape together a decent answer.

I don't have any words to help lighten the leather but I've noticed leather darkening in my shop out of direct sunlight as well. It must be ambient lighting and time. *shrug* That is a great looking bag and the sunburst works reeeeally well. If you don't tell the buyer they likely won't even know the leather started out lighter than it did.

He says he doesn't use a pony. He also has a few videos about how to sew without one. It's fine for smaller items, which is @corter's specialty, but sometimes you need some clamping force, ya know, like a holster? I can't do it nearly as well without a pony. He's on LW.net so maybe he'll see this post and weigh in. That dude is right up there with Nigel, Art from Mascon, and Ian in my eyes.

I get why there's a market for waterbased stains and stuff for leather but I really wish the manufacturers would just leave it behind. Fiebing's Pro is about the only way I get consistent good results without the need to hand hold a project and stand on one foot on the second Tuesday of a month, but only after I remembered to put the recycling bin down by the road longways to the curb, but only after it rained the prior two weekends, etc... I'd recommend getting Fiebing's Pro-Dye when you get the chance. It'll make most of you problems go away, including working with Tan Kote and whichever version of Resolene/Mop & Glo you opt for. Your applique looks great btw, I hope you can figure out your immediate issue.

Agree with all of the above. Keep in mind too, taste and preference comes into play as well. Some folks want slimmed down and super light stuff while others don't mind a bit of chonk.

You could try NFO prior to dyeing, some folks have pretty good success doing that. Light coat of NFO, wait an hour, then dye. Some also mist their leather with water immediately before dyeing and get decent results as well. Also, the Fiebings Pro-Dye applies far more consistent; not sure which variant you are using... If all else fails and you can't get consistency, airbrushing it on seems to be the least fail method I've ever tried. I don't mind a little inconsistency though but I can totally see why people strive for completely consistent dyeing.

I'd like to add that just starting out, avoid soft and/or thin leather, until you get stitching figured out. Soft stuff will pucker at the stitches and it's a bit easier to get tension figured out after you get stitching figured out. Thinner leather will be a bit easier to pucker even if it isn't soft.

I love making stuff for friends, there is generally such a feeling of gratitude and they think you are some kind of magician. Looks great @Dwight!

That's quite an addiction @YinTx! Beautiful work on the sheathes and the handles!

Leodis Leather (see YouTube and Etsy) has a pattern pack for a tote bag that with a little tailoring should answer the mail. All you'd really have to do aside from following the directions for the tote would be to modify the interior pocket to give the heater somewhere to ride a bit deeper.

Creative and cool!

https://youtu.be/u7awkN6OkFQ see around 1:52:00 mark for when he starts using the tri-glide. He is using it on canvas webbing but the tri-glide doesn't care a single bit. EDIT: sorry, I know you asked for a photo but the only photo and directions I have are copyrighted and I can't share them but the video above is from that exact same set of instructions, as it is from the same pack Ian sells.The video is the companion to the tote template.

A lot of great suggestions. I like the tri-glide set up @mike02130 posted. It uses much shorter individual pieces and joins then into longer ones all while allowing for adjustment. Post pics of whatever direction you go with, please.

That's quite nice!

I'm pretty interested in seeing how you finished the rivet the way you do. Do you have any close ups and would you mind detailing what you do to get them clean and hexagonal? What type of rivets are they, just typical bit and burr?

Love it! It'll tan up nice too.

Acrylic will definitely work as an antique but it all depends on your application and if it suits it or not. Sorry if it is ruined, I hate it when that happens.

Ahhh, I did take a bit of a Murica centric approach to that, apologies. Sucks y'all have them too up there. I'm actually surprised we don't have them here to be honest.

That looks very classy. The only thing I can add is that since it is black anyway, you could soak that piece in beeswax and never have to worry about weather. Well, maybe a tornado, but rain and mud would bead right off.

Yeah, gluing would be off the table but you could also just run a hairdryaer or heat gun around the stitch line and bond the beeswax from both side into one. That'll make it water (or whiskey) tight. Since you can't see the inside you could even forego the building up of the wax layer on the inside. It is more for aesthetics anyway.

Was going to suggest that. Glad that you found it. Ours don't have safety caps this side of the Atlantic.

Beautiful work and great color choice with the bison brown!