TonyRV2

I believe you've just nailed the premise for the whole free market-wall street thing.

For what its worth here's a guy on ebay selling a new Osborne 1-1/2" punch for 52.49 shipped. I have no experience with this punch, just thought I'd throw it out there for comparison. http://www.ebay.com/itm/C-S-Osborne-No-151-1-1-2-Inch-Bag-or-Oblong-Punch-Made-in-the-USA-/301633930454

I like it! Nice job. I have just one suggestion and that would be to pick up a modeling too...spoon shaped, to smooth out the tooling marks around the carvings' perimeter. Heck, some folks just use a small spoon, but there a little too big I think for any real detail work. ymmv Keep up the good work!

I've never heard of anyone getting back money for material AND labor from a supplier. And as far as getting money back for material alone, you're probably SOL unless you can prove or at least demonstrate that the material was defective or perhaps at the very least misrepresented. After a years time, its anyones guess how a supplier might respond. A lot will likely rest on what your relationship with the supplier is and how often you do business with them. If the supplier is respectable and well known like you say, then maybe they'll work something out for you. Let us know how it turns out one way or the other.

Since its in a dusty old box at the army surplus store, ask the manager if you couldn't just cut a few square inches off of it for testing purposes. Then you could take it home, see if it will properly case and take an impression from a stamp. If it does, then its likely veg tan.

C'mon J....if you won the lottery, wouldn't you at least give the F150 King Ranch a look?

Dirkba....nice job on the head knife. I also make knives, mostly hunting style knives, but I've been kicking around designing and grinding out head knives as well. I haven't gotten as far as pricing out materials yet, I'm just in the "I wonder if I really want to try this" stage. Using an old saw blade was a good idea for starters, but the hardness is usually suspect since most saw blades use carbide or tungsten welded on teeth. Not that that's necessarily a problem, just means you might have to sharpen it more often is all. In the knife making end of things, we call this kind of stuff "mystery steel" because know one knows for certain what it is or how to harden it. Good looking end result though....I like it. Oh....and a great job on that secondary bevel as well. What did you grind it out on?

My understanding is that rubberized leather is a composition of rubber interspersed with leather fibers. Its not something that you're going to brew up in the bathtub. I don't know of anywhere to buy the stuff, but someone must have it.

I stand corrected if each of these head knives are custom made. I was under the impression that these were production pieces. Still in all, and, when I'm shopping for tools for everyday use I take more of a utilitarian approach. I don't need it fancy, I just need it to work.

And for 275 bucks it should also cut the leather for you by itself as well. Who needs the mosaic pins or the fancy handle material....I just want to cut leather with a sharp blade.

Try searching for "line art English Setter" or some other such breed on google. You'll get a lot of good ideas I'm sure. ...Tony

Very nice...thanks for sharing.

I can't speak for the saddle, but the quilt pattern on the sheath is done with a swivel knife and a seeder, just as you'd suspected.

If this has an A.C. motor, which I'm assuming it does, then a dimmer switch will not do the job. Dimmer switches, through an electronic device called a triac, control the average power going to a light bulb for instance. The speed of an A.C. motor cannot be properly controlled using this method as their speed is dependant on the frequency of the A.C voltage. This is why there are devices called variable frequency drives specifically for this purpose. Like I said though, I'm assuming here that its an A.C. motor. However if its a D.C. motor it still won't work with a standard dimmer switch. What could be used though is a variable resistor of suitable electrical specification. D.C. motors can be speed controlled by varying the voltage to the motor, which can be done with a rheostat or potentiometer, both are types of variable resistors. There are many applications where this is done with a foot pedal although modern foot pedals use solid state electronic devices to do the same job for better efficiency. Sorry for being a bit wordy here, but the bottom line is no....you cannot use a dimmer switch.

This is true....I failed to point out the funner factor.

Dang....I'd have sworn it was a maul.

Trick question....that was tooled with a mall.

What project could you do with an open end wrench that you couldn't also do with a crescent wrench? I suppose if you wanted to, you could simply cut leather with a butcher knife...a blade is a blade is a blade, as long as its sharp. I just recently purchased my first head knife..putting it off for quite some time because I thought as you did...exactos and utility blades are cheap and they do the job. It seemed to me that head knives and round knives were overpriced and unnecessary. What I've discovered is that the head knife is more versatile. I can make short straight cuts easier and straighter by 'rolling' the knife through the cut. I can also use the head knife to skive. And skiving an edge is very easy with a head knife. Cutting around curves is also well suited for a head knife when keeping the pointed end facing downward. Another advantage that I find is in the way the head knife is used. The user pushes the knife away from them as opposed to toward them as you would do with a utility knife. As rare as they might be, this cuts down on accidents. Since I bought this knife, I haven't touched a utility knife for cutting leather, I like it that much. So I suppose it really boils down to personal preference. Some are going to like it, and some can't be bothered. But don't knock it until you've tried it.

My first instinct is to say that perhaps this is not the best application for leather. I would think that leather would tend to stretch excessively over time. This is just a guess on my part though, and who knows until you try, right? I don't think that I'd rely on sewing alone to hold the leather in place. The stress on the stitching may be too much. Perhaps along with stitching you could also find some decorative tacks to use on the sides...something that would relieve some of the stress off the stitches. Or, barring the use of tacks, maybe use another piece of wood screwed to the top side to serve as a clamp to hold the leather in place. I think I like that idea better than using tacks. In any event, I wouldn't rely on stitching alone.

Has the kidney seen much use?

In the for what its worth department....I just looked on ebay and you can get oxalic acid there with free shipping for anyone thats interested. Prices seem reasonable for a 99.6% purity around 15 bucks shipped for 5 lbs.

This doesn't even make sense for a business to do seeing that companies like ups and fedex will insure deliveries.

Now I understand why I like to drink Mead while working on leather! If memory serves, I think BFK is 5% Oxalic Acid.

I'm sorry for your loss. It really sucks losing things that have taken years to accumulate. Tell you what though, since it appears that you're not covered by insurance, consider starting a GoFundMe page to help in recouping the loss of your leather tools. I, for one, would contribute. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.

About 1 tablespoon of BKF to a pint of water seems to be the usual mix. ...Tony