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CraftyNick

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Posts posted by CraftyNick

  6. Posted · Report reply

    That is beautiful!  It's inspiring.  I have tried to figure out how a leather cover should work, does it have inside layers that the cover of the note book slides into?  Did you use a resisting finish to keep the leather so light after antiquing?  Now I am also wondering what leather you used to start with because it seems most leathers, at least the more high quality ones, are much darker tan, but I'd love to know where you can get light leather like that.  

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I recently made a mix of neatsfoot oil and beeswax, as Dwight mentioned, it seems to make leather very water resistant, but needs to be warmed to soak in all the way. Otherwise it will be sticky. I started with just a little beeswax but be warned it is very overpowering to the neatsfoot oil.  I kept having to add more oil to make it less waxy.  I think it darkens leather some.  But seems to be a good finish.  

  12. Posted · Edited by CraftyNick · Report reply

    Sometimes people choose to make an item out of veg-tanned leather and not finish it so that it develops a natural patina, or darkens with light or handling.  What if I wanted the opposite, and to do something to keep a veg-tanned leather item from changing so that it retains it's original light color.  Is there a type of finish I could put on it to keep it from changing or darkening?  Thanks a lot for any suggestions!  

    Nick

  17. Posted · Edited by CraftyNick · Report reply

    Hi Yin, thanks again for the helpful info.  I did get the same #12 thread, but I have not done the tapping it down.  Perhaps that will hep.  I'm using a 3 mm stitching chisel from Tandy, not sure it's the best tool for the job, but that's what I'm working with.  Anyway, as you can probably tell I'm hoping I'll be able to get my stitching to look like yours some day :)  Thanks

  19. Posted · Edited by CraftyNick · Report reply

    Good thoughts here folks.  Thanks for bringing up the topic.  I am concerned about the same and here are my thoughts:  Nowadays, although people think the standard of living has gone way up, the quality of it has gone way way down.  A hundred years ago people ate all their food organic, locally grown, and hand made.  Their shoes and clothing were also hand made, just for them, in the USA.  As with everything else they had.  If we care about where our food and goods come from, and that they are produced in a responsible, ethical manner here in our own country, we need to be willing pay for that "better" stuff.  We all know that stuff is more expensive,  but if we bought it we'd have less money for buying stuff we don't need, like the latest electronics and lawnmowers that are just unnecessary and don't come from the US and just become trash and pollution for and the environment.  At the same time we would create a demand for our friends and neighbors here at home who wish they could make a living doing their passion - leather working, tailoring, small-scale farming, etc.  In other words,  producing stuff the way it should be produced.  I spend a lot effort, and sometimes money too, to produce my leather crafts with real materials from the right sources.  For me it's not just about the crafting things, it's about the philosophy behind it, as it seems a lot of other leather workers are concerned about too.  It kind of runs with the trade.  Now, to be frank, you might find me buying some not US made stuff or materials sometimes, but my complaint is that American manufacturing has been relegated to making things that are for absolute perfectionist rich people that don't care a bit about how much it costs - they just need the best. That's the way it is with leather.  You can buy American leather, but not "reasonable-quality" American leather, just "perfect" American leather.  And if you can't buy the perfect leather, you'll have to buy it from somewhere who does make "reasonable-quality" leather.  In summary of that idea, the other end of the problem of the lack of American made product is that no one can afford to produce it who doesn't have customers who are eccentric rich people.  Because that's what you'd have to be to pay as much for the "perfect" American made stuff that's available.  There needs to be also a market and supply for "reasonable", practical handmade American products.  Not just a market for rich people buying novelty stuff.  That is, that's what we need to bring back the small-scale American producer.  And this applies to other places besides America that have this  problem.

  25. Posted · Edited by CraftyNick · Report reply

    I am pondering the reason why the wool is slow to oxidize at first.  The wool being submerged under the vinegar does not appear to begin oxidizing for days, so I have tried allowing it some air by lifting the wool out of the vinegar, or simply loosening the cap on the jar and that seems to quicken the rusting considerably.  I know rather little about chemistry, but this is what I am thinking.  I think the wool is un-oiled, it does oxidize well under the right conditions.  

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