BearMan

Hi Michael, My goodness,,, What a Beast!! I'd hate to hit my finger with that!! hehe As far as the weight range for a tooling maul, with a sometimes use for punches,,, hmmm, that's kind of like asking which child I like best? But,,, the best way to figure it out is, by what type of tooling you do, since that's the primary use. If you do mostly larger stamps,like basketweaves, & geometrics, you will want a heavier, 19oz to 22oz. But, if you do mostly floral, Sheridan style tooling, a 15oz to 19oz would work best. If by chance you do mostly figure carving, 12oz to 16oz works nice. But, one thing to consider is how big & strong you are also,,,, that does fit into it somewhat. The shorts answere is,,, get the weight that is best for your type of tooling, since that's the majority of use. I hope this helps some. Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Everybody, Some of the less expensive tools are made out of something called "cintered" metal. Basically powdered metal, that is compressed under high pressure, to form a tool. Being made up the way they are, the grain structure, isn't nearly as strong as cold forged, hot forged, stainless, & especially special grades of tool steel. But, that being said, they do fill a need in leather work. Being very inexpensive, it makes it very affordable for people to try out a type of stamp, to see if they like doing that. Like basketweaves, & geometrics. Then if they really like that type of tooling, they can move on to one of the Top Shelf makers. I hope this helps,,, Ed the"BearMan"

hehehe,,, not me,,, That's Mike, he did great!

Back, a long time ago,,, when I was working at Lion Country, my part time job was doing leather repair, for Gucci, on Palm Beach. Lots of tedious repairs on purses, lots of other little things. But,,, when they were done,,, they were always wrapped in first a layer of soft tissue paper, & then some sturdier tissue paper over that. As long as the finish is completely dry, soft paper towels work well also. Just make sure that the finished side of the leather doesn't touch plastic. The plain brown wrapping paper works very well. I know, kinda long winded to get to the point,,, I hope it helps anyway... Ed

Great job,,, Very informative,,, You did good!! P.S.,,, I noticed, you had one of them fancy beatin sticks on the table too!! hehehe Ed the"BearMan"

Hehehehe... Thanks Kevin,,,, but I'm not moving New Orleans after all,,, we're moving to Panama City. That's where Beary lives, & my Mother, & Brother, live pretty close to there also. So, Panama City, is kind of like going back home. As far as these mauls,,, they are all gone. I don't think I'll find any more, but if I do,,, I'll let you know. Thanks,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi, I had that happen too! I live in Sc, & I was sending a package to Nc,, should be just a 2 -3 day delivery. When I tracked the package, it was in Tx,,, & sat there for 5 days!! Is Tx, the Abyss for packages?? It was finally delivered after 12 days. My Son had the same problem once. No idea why this happens, but if you're missing one, it seems like it's always in Tx. Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Bobby, I can see where that could be a problem! hehehe A couple solutions: some ugly paint,to cover up all the Mesquite & Cocobolo,, or maybe some blinders,,,?? But, being as good as you are,,, I'm sure you'll overcome the problem! hehehe Take Care,,, Thanks Bobby,,, I needed a good smile!! Ed

Hi Everybody, Here are a few mauls I found while doing some packing. There is a 15 Oz maul with an "Elite" style handle, a 16 Oz Zebrawood "Grand" style, with a Faux Ivory spacer , an 18 Oz Cocobolo in the "BBS" style, & a 19 Oz "Grand" with a solid Faux Ivory handle & extra file work. I wanted to offer these to my fellow leather friends here first. If you are interested in any of these,,, just let me know. The 19 Oz Faux Ivory,,, has been "trained" through some use, & testing to see how the Faux Ivory would work / holdup. I will probably make more with solid Faux Ivory,, it works out pretty nice. Thanks for looking,,, just let me know,,, Thanks, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Brian, The only way that an awl will work easily, is if it's sharp, & smooth. 99% of the awls out there, you have to sharpen & polish, after you get them. If you can, avoid all the frustration, & get a Douglas awl. Sheridan leather has them. They ain't cheap,, but they are worth it! Ed

Hi Doug, Thanks!! That background is one, that was supposedly one of the first tools made by Ray Hackbarth,,, so I was told. I really dont know,,, it's all black, with no knurling, & it's all the same diameter right down to the head. It was given to me by Bob Dellis, back in about 1980. The tool itself is similar to a #A102 by craftool,,, except that it is bigger,,, & the center bead is bigger than the surounding ones. It creates a mottled background, that's pleasing to look at. To get into the corners, I made another one, except it's only half a circle. I may be wrong, But,,, I think craftool used to make one also. Hi Bobby, Thanks Sooo much!,,, but I still have a ways to go, before I get the true "Bob Park" edges!!

Hehehehe,,, Thanks Cheryl!! Maybe one day I'll make it up there,,, I just know I'd love it!!

Good morning Cheryl, First,,, thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! This is the last project I made here in South Carolina. We are moving. I wish we were moving up to Vashon Island,such a beautiful place,, ,, but we're not, we're moving back to Panama City Fl. I hope to be able to be set up & pounding leather again, within the next couple months. And if I'm really lucky,,, I can start making some tools again! I'm kinda going crazy, not being able to create!! Of course everybody that knows me,,, knows I'm right on that crazy edge all the time anyway,,, hehehe Ed the"BearMan" Hmmmm,,, BearMan on Vashon Island,,, might just fit right in!! hehehe

Thanks a lot!! I figured I should make something special, for my last project here. The basketweave, is really pretty simple, I didn't do any curves, or anything fancy. Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Everybody, It's been a Looooong time since I posted any leatherwork. Here is the last project I made in South Carolina. It's an Artist portfolio / drawing notebook. It takes a full size clipboard, that is held in with rare earth magnets. I made the pockets big enough to hold lots of drawings, & other drawing templates & supplies. It has a very unique feature, that I'm not quite ready to reveal yet. Of course I have to make something a bit unusual! The tooling pattern I had lots of help with, adapting one of my old patterns that needed help,,, I'm very happy with the way it came out. The colors are all spirit dyes,,, which take about as long to do as the tooling. The inside color is what I call "BearBlood" it's my own mixture,,,it's not as red as Ox Blood,,, but more red than Cordovan, & a bit darker. Thanks for looking,,, & please let me know what you think,,, Ed the"BearMan" P.S. The edges are all done by hand, using Bob Parks proceedure, & one of his burnishing mitts. I have a ways to go, to get them as nice as Bob's,,, but they ain't too bad!! hehehe

Hi Everybody, I just talked with Beary, & he's having some computer issues. As soon as he get's to a working computer, he should be able to get back in touch. Take Care,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Thanks,,, Not having too much luck so far,,, but that may be just because of the holiday & nobody available. Take Care,,, Ed

Thank You Arthur, That's the place we'd like to move, that would be a shorter drive for my wife's work also. Ed

Hi Everybody, We got word this morning, that my wife's old employer, is wanting her at their sites in New Orleans. At least for the next 15 months or so. In this job market, we figured she'd better not turn it down,,, there may not be a second chance. We don't really know anything about that area, other than the place is below sea level. So now, we are in hurry up mode. We are looking for a good area to rent with 3 br & 2 ba,,, & of course a garage / workshop!! Any help, info would be greatly appreciated!! My wifes' job is on the west side of N.O. from what I understand. Thanks,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Jack, What you've made is an old "Casing box". At the saddle shop we used to have something very similar. The box we had was about 2' x 3', lined with foam rubber, with a sealed lid. After getting the leather to the correct moisture content, the leather was put in the box to keep. It would stay cased over the weekend, with no problem. We would take the open box & sit it outside in the sun, every few days, just to make sure there wasn't any mold problems. During the tooling process, if the leather was getting too dry, we'd put it in the box with the other cased leather, while we tooled something else. Within an hour, the piece was ready to tool some more. It's a great thing to have, if you have lots of pieces to tool every day. Otherwise, it's just a big box, that takes up a lot of room. Take Care,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Everybody, I use a LOT of spirit dyes. When I know that I'm going to be doing a lot of dying, I wash my hands, then apply some type of lotion. I found by doing this, the dye doesn't "stick" to the skin as bad. If it doesn't come right off with the alcohol, & Fast Orange, it only takes about a day to wear off. I've tried using gloves,,, but I have a tendency to just transfer the dye from the gloves to the project,,, usually in the wrong place. I hope this helps,,, it works for me. Ed the"BearMan"

Hi JDM, Cutting boards are made out of HDPE(High Density Polyethylene), which work great for cutting boards as they are tough, cut resistant, & slippery when put under any pressure. The slippery part is one main reason they don't work all that great as maul head material. But,,, that being said,,, it beats the heck out of nothing! Just make sure after you've assembled the maul, to sand the surface with some rough,,, 50 grit paper,,, to help give it some bite. Eventually, it will loose it's bite,,, & the tools will start slipping off when you hit them. Just re-sand, & it will be Ok again for a while. With the cost of buying the hole cutter, the cutting board, & all the other stuff you need to make your own,,, for about $30.00 more you could get a 16oz maul from Barry King for about $55.00,,, also I believe my Son is still making the white head mauls for about the same price. But,,, what you have in mind will work. Hope this helps,,, Ed the"BearMan" P.S.,,, making a rawhide head maul is a LOT more work!

Hi Everybody, Here are a couple Stitching related handmade tools, I made a couple years ago. The first one is my "Rapid Repeater",,, it uses an awl, to punch the holes for hand stitching. Makes it a lot faster,,, & keeps everything in a lot better alignment. The next thing is my little stitching pony. It's made to sit on,,, so if I want to take my stitching inside,,, I can do that. I also have a stitching clamp I use quite a bit, since I do a lot of Bible Covers & Portfolios,that require more depth. Thanks for looking,,, these are just the tip on the "iceburg" Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Kevin, Rhide, Ben & Rick, Thanks for all the wonderful compliments!! I get soooo many people asking me to make differnt things for them. The modeling tools came about because a couple people I met at a show, asked if I could make a set of modeling tools out of stainless, because they were tired of picking out the chrome flakes they were constantly getting. After lots of asking on thier part,,, I finally said yes. They actually turned out to be kind of a pain to make,,, I guess I made the first set too nice, because I have two more people wanting them,,, hehehe The Scratch Awl is just something I was playing with. I looked at all the scratch awls out there,,, but it seemed that there wasn't anything that looked like it would fit the hand the way I liked. So,,, I made this one which fits in the hand like a paint brush,,, but with Lots of control. The Peroba Rosa, is from a nice chunk that was given to me,, & this seemed like the perfect oppotunity to use part of it. I really like the wood. Kevin, Beary is getting better all the time. I'm sure he will do a great job on your maul. I believe he's going to be able to get it done pretty quick for you. Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Everybody, Here are some things I've been making lately. I have several leather projects, that I need to get going on, now that I've gotten several things done now. Here are 3 mauls,,, one is a 16oz PurpleHeart with an Army medallion, the next is a 20oz, with a Peroba Rosa handle,,, very interesting wood,,,it's Peach colored, & the other one is an 18oz, with a Cocobolo & Burmese handle, with an Ebony & faux Ivory spacers. I've also made a set of modeling tools with rosewood handles, & a Ebony & Cocobolo Scratch Awl. Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan" P.S.,,, Have Ya'll noticed my Son's mauls on here??