BearMan

Good Morning Pepin, Thank You sooo much!! I hope everything is good in your part of the world. Ed the"BearMan"

Good Morning, Those are some very nice straps!! I especially like the the un-dyed one next to the black one. Thanks for sharing!! Ed the"BearMan"

Good Morning everybody, Bobby, Terry, & Dave, are all absolutely correct,,, stabalizing the back is abosolutely essential. Back many years ago, before I knew about stabalizing the back, I had the same problem with cupping & stretching. Once I started taping & glueing the back, I noticed something else,,, my tooling had a lot more depth & definition also! What I believe happens, is since the leather cant stretch, it has no other place to move, when tooling, it can only moves up, or down. But, just as important as stabalizing the back,,, proper Casing, is just as important. To get the best tutorial for that,,, Bobby (hidepounder)has the best proceedure. Travis, if you follow these two tips, your tooling willl improve by leaps & bounds! Ed the"BearMan"

Good Morning Art, King X, Terry, & Bobby, Art, King X, & Terry, PM sent. Bobby, thank you so much! I really love the combination of the Cocobolo, brown head,,, & the smooth design. One nice thing about Cocobolo is that you never know exactly how the grain patterns & colors will look,,, it's always a surprise. Thanks Again,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Marlon, This head material doesn't take to that type of machining. I sent you a PM. Ed

Thanks, Terry, Sheridanman, & Ben, Yes, I will be selling these, they will be around the same price as my "Grand" mauls. I'll be offering these in the 14oz to around 22oz range. The first 4 are already designated, 3 are going to some people that I owe some special thanks too & #1 is for my collection. I'm planning on numbering the first 25 or so. Yes, I believe I'll be set on using Cocobolo, as it is one of Bob's favorite. Thanks,,, Ed the"BearMan"

The title should read "Bob Beard Special" not "bob my typings not so good sometimes,,,

Good morning everybody, Most every Leather worker, that's been around for a while knows about the great mauls that Bob Beard made. I feel it's time to honor him & his maul design. I feel that Imitation is the sincerest form of Appreciation,,, as long as that person approves. Bob told me that he would be Honored,,, so here is my version of his mauls. It carries the same major dimensions, with a couple small styling changes. The handle is Cocobolo, & of course the head material is the same type that Bob used in all of his mauls. Nothing fits or preforms the same, as this design and this head material. Those of you that have one of Bob Beards black mauls, or the newer Ed the"BearMan" brown mauls, know the benefits of this type of head material. This "Bob Beard Special" is 18 oz, & is going into my personal collection. Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi, One thing I haven't been able to tell from the posts here, is weather the leather is being pulled off of the backing,,, or if the backing is being pulled off the leather. If you are pulling the leather off of the backing,,, you will have all kinds of stretching, & distortion. Always pull the backing off of the leather! Now is a good time to review Bob Parks casing proceedure!! My proceedure is: apply 2 crossing layers of good packing tape to the back of the leather, then apply rubber cement to the backing, & the packing tape. When dry/tacky stick them together, using the slicker, on the backing side, to make sure they are stuck good. After the tooling is all done,,, & dry,,, lay the leather face down on some clean paper towels, & start peeling the backing off,,, making sure that the leather remains flat against the paper towels. Once the backing is off, do the same with the packing tape. Things that will cause distortion: peeling the leather off of the backing,,, removing the backing while the leather is wet,,, bending the leather during the removal process. Doing any of these will reduce the tooling depth also. Note about using packing tape: If the item is going to be lined,,, there is no need for the tape! Also, if you are going to be using tape,,, get the good stuff. The cheap stuff, doesn't stick good enough,,, plus the cheap stuff stretches. If the tape stretches, that defeats the reason for using it. When using "Plexyglass" it should be at least 1/4" thick. Any thinner, & you'll get lots of cupping. I have some "Plexyglass" that I've used that is several years old, & is still nice & flat. Also another nice thing about using a backing is that while tooling, if you want to cover a portion, with some plastic, to help keep in the moisture, you can tape it to the back to hold it in place, while tooling the rest. I hope this is of some help,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Congrats David!! Way to go!!

Hi Everybody, Thanks for all the wonderfull comments! This box was made out of left over,,,, what I had on hand things. Ed the"BearMan"

Absolutely Outstanding!! Thanks for your inspiration!! Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Wildrose, At my last count, there are about 15 distictively different "Oak" leaves. There are several that look very similar. Here is something I did a while back that has 9 different types of "Oak" leaves. Let me know if any of these are what You're looking for. Ed the"BearMan"

Hi 50,,, First off,,, very nice design to help with your stitching problem!! It's good to see how other people solve problems they run into. I ran into the same problem stitching up notebooks, & anything bigger than about 12" square. So,,, this is what I came up with. Of course, it requires a bench vice, or some other way, to attatch it. But,,, it will hold something up to about 22" square,,, or bigger if you don't mind it hitting the floor. With it mounted in the bench vice, it can be moved around a bit, while still being pretty solid. I don't use it all that often,,, but it doesn't take up much room while not in use. For everything else, I use my little sit on stitching pony. Thanks for sharing,,, Ed the"BearMan"

My Goodness Tat2,,, I'd almost forgotten about this post, from 2 years ago. Thanks for all your kind words. That little knife has held up better than I thought. It's still going strong. If I was going to make one again,,, I'd make the handle a bit longer, & thinner except where it holds the blade. Thanks again ,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Hi, Nice looking box. It looks like it was done with a lot of book binding rollers & stamps, along with some extra tooling. Thanks for sharing. Ed the"BearMan"

Hi Everybody, It looks like you are getting some very good advice here! Everybody is right, weight is a important factor, just as balance is,,, but another very important factor, is the head material. After making mauls for a few years using a type of white head material, I knew there had to be something that works, a bit better. With the much appreciated help from Ben & Bobby, "I've seen the light",,, that Bob Beard knew several years ago about the material I use now. The weights, I make most often fall pretty much right in line with the charts that Ben posted, with one exception, I make a lot of 18oz mauls. I don't get into the heavier weight above 24oz. A well balanced maul will make your tooling a lot less painful on your arm. From what I understand, my mauls, as far as balance, fall right in between Wayne's & Barry's. I haven't used any of Wayne's mauls, so I'm just going from what I've heard. Personally, I use a 17oz, for most everything, a 20oz, for the "heavy" stuff, a 14oz, for bargrounders & backgrounds, a 10oz for very delicate things, & a special very soft 26oz that doesn't bounce, for makers mark. When asked what size to start with, I usually suggest a 16oz, if you mostly do "Sheridan" or intricate types of tooling,,, or if you do heavier stuff, that uses larger stamps,,, possably like the "Porter" saddle designs,,, I'd suggest a 20oz. I hope this helps some,,, there are some very good mauls makers out there. Who ever you go with, I'm sure you'll see things getting a lot easier on your arm. Ed the"BearMan"

Great Job Kevin!! A great wy to bring awareness. I had a close friend that died from ALS. What a cruel way to go. Mind sharp right up to the end, trying to move & control a body that just won't work. Ed the"BearMan"

The auction is going pretty good,,, only about another hour or so to go,,,

Hi, I use ZWL for most all of my leather needs. Tim knows exactly the type of leather I like. Great people to work with,,, plus they are the closest supply to me. Ed