8thsinner

I wanted to post these pics sooner but here you go, enjoy. The site The leather the end results The water logged package I caried home Soaking Cleaning Scraping drier Heres how much tou can get from one two seater, Note there are a further 10 panels measuring approx 3 by ten inches that will do for watch straps or something The whole lot piled high beside a cup

Are you sick to death of people not using search for themselves and reading stickies? Why not make a new Forum section for a list of all stickies, book reviews etc? It would probably take a little while to put together but it might be worth it. I wouldn't mind putting a book review on some things that I own in and braiding links and what, Anyone else want to help?

Well I spent all day yesterday cutting, and trimming some of my newly aquired sofa leather and Now have a seemingly working rim of my new akubra. I used an old fashioned curtain wire for the insert given that it's spring steel and remembers it's shape well. I waxed it first and then began just a running stitch which actually took me longer to do than a regular stitch would have if i had used an awl. Anyway. I am taking my time with this design as I have basically no idea how akubras are made. I started a thread on this a few months ago and got no replies so I just decided now I have leather I didn't pay for I might as well risk trying to design it. So, the rim is done, I am going to add the vertical section to this maybe tomorrow and cut the top out next week. I am supposed to be working on a leather corset right now with hard 2mm leather to be ready for saturday night wearing. All edge bound and flat spring steel boning.. I should still get it done but...meh Thought I would share thats all.

After reading about people who take a 1/2 - 1 inch cut on circle cutting I never gave it much thought until I finally got around to doing samples of all the lace maker widths braided out to see how wide the braids actually are I had an idea. Using a lace maker to get wider cuts... Basically fitting the blade on the outside works. File down the outside ridges about 1/16th or so, making sure you get the ridge to fit the blade into perfectly at the top and bottom. I used the wood file on my leatherman TTi which tore through it very quickly. It took a few attempts at locking the blade in with the split rings as it tends to bend outwards and I did break a blade trying to line up the edges. So now I can cut roughly half inch strips with my lacemaker. Which may come in handy especially for Inner core work on whip making.

It's approximately £115 pound a year for a colour license and £75 for Black and white, Or so I have been told. I had to ask a few people to get those numbers.

Actually baring about 50 hours a year of educational material I don't see it as beneficial monetarily speaking. So I don't use any. I don't even have a TV license. I do watch things in other peoples houses, but most of the shows I do have an interest in bring out good quality DVDs soon enough, so why should I pay for 3 lots of 6-8 minutes of advertising in a single hour... Though in saying this I did work for a call centre for a while recently and I would offer only one suggestion, look around getting prices and deal offers from all of your local suppliers, then call your company again, and demand better rates, but make sure you give them full details of the competition if they are better. Chances are the people on the phone will be delighted to hear from you. Most companies like that work on commision, if they can get you hooked onto a contract for another year, be you existing customer or not, that counts as a sale...If you get a rude one, just hang up and kep trying, theres probably a hundred people waiting for your call. Good luck

I would try rolling it between a suede lined block of wood and a hard slab with foam or thick soft leather suede, it can't work for all knots but it absorbs the shape a little better than rolling on purely hard materials.

Inspirational work thanks for sharing.

I have been sitting trying to list everything I can which people normally do carry, and going through the other thread helped a bit, but what about the survival and bush craft side to things. Yes again this is me and my eternal post apocalyptic interest breaking through, But can you add to this... Jackets Jeans Hats Gloves Chaps (possibly) Moccasins Quivers and bow cases Finger tabs and bracers Backpacks Possibles pouches Bumbags Holsters for other things than guns too... Rifle slings and straps Lanyards Belts Bottle wraps knife pouches and sheaths Knife and other weapon handle wraps Slings (As in old fashioned sling shots) Leather thimbles Note books Boladeros Lighter holders or wraps Ammunition belts and holdalls Can you think of any more a survivalist might want to make and carry?

I have sort of been invited to run a leather working workshop in august by a local craft organization and I would like some ideas in the planning and organizing of it. First off mind, I am a braider not a carver and stitching I can do yet slowly. So I was thinking of the main project being a ranger belt with edge braiding, stitched on secondary straps for the buckles, eyelets and a little decorative appliquing in the centre of the belt. Supplying if needs be, needles and extra leather to take home and finish working if needs be can be done for a little extra cost of course... It's relatively easy to. Most people appreciate a good quality belt. It covers briefly the following skills. Stitching, Edge braiding, Appliquing, Burnishing, Punching, marking and awl use Cutting Awl use etc etc I would probably start with a demonstration of lace making and preperatory work used in traditional leather work giving a little history and suh for about fifteen minutes and a five minute breakdown of exactly everything thats going to happen... Females I realise may not have as much interest for this paticular product so for counterparts I have thought about would be a purse using similar principles of fairly large size with a few extras obviously. Any other product suggestions welcomed?.... I think the tools list could be kept pretty minimal so a low start up cost for me. easy to do and keep track of the 10-12 participants or so class size. I would not want many more. Anyway, my target audience will be those interested generally in craft work, not mind traveling expenses as I have been told people from europe will be in attendance. So money should not be hard to part with. I would like to keep to a half day schedule with break for lunch so 4-5 hours tops. Probably two day run time. And I cannot think of any other information that is relevant. The other obvious benefit for me would be the ability to display and sell my wares to many people spread over a large potential market. Extras like books, oils, conditionings, lace and tools etc should also shift a little if I can work out what would and would not go. But hopefully you can provide suggestions here too. So...Any ideas guys?

Luke, I can't exactly tell whether your making a sarcastic comment or not. If you are however, I ask you this.... Do you think the first caveman to wear the skin of his kill had to deal with such comments? If your not being sarcastic, perhaps you simply do not realise the quality of leather which can be had and used from old jackets and sofas. I have made nearly perfect bracelets and pouches from such resources before which I guarantee will stand up to much scrutiny and abuse. Having little money I have been forced all of my life to use, make and modify things all around me in order to achieve paticular goals.

In response to your problem with the horse hair not gripping fully the leather knot, heres a little trick which I am surprised knot head didn't share... Grouping for example 10-20 hair bunches all along the outer covering of horse hair, tie a crown/wall knot combination of any type you see fit, in the area which would be the centre of the leather knot. This will provide an anchor for the leather knot to grip around. Crown and wall knots are easy to do, even a four strand one would work, but I suggest at least 8 strands. Also if you search this forum for turks head finishing knot you will find some excellent information. I am not someone who uses a beveler due to money constraints but I have found it easy to spilt leather using a hand made tool which has improved my own knot work tremendously. Though I have not worked directly with rawhide so not sure if that will help you.

I just wanted to bounce in and share my latest aquisition. On the way home from the pub last night i spotted another abandoned sofa...so first thing this morning i'm out with a leatherman...i spent am hour gutting one nice old red sofa. And the first tenth or so of another tanned one. So far i have about 6kg of 4oz stuff i'm sitting getting a fried breakfast now and will heading back to Get the rest on the way home:)

I hear what your saying about other forum members there UKRAY. Personally I have been busy cleaning up and doing more of my own designs. I have over two hundred products in the list and upto a dozen variations on some. So I have been pretty busy. But the way I go about it is to look through a sceptical eye around me. I look at something walking down the street, say a shirt cut that I may or may not like, then I analyse why I like it, what it's good for, how it works, why it works, what other way it can work etc. My medium is a notebook that I never go anywhere without, ever. And a Caran dache auto pencil. These are my most important tools, the pencil has never failed, it's easy to carry lead in my wallet, and I make and use my own notebooks. So I can show people who well they hold up after years of heavy abuse. After I list the principles of application, weigh the pros and cons of differences in the little things like buttons versus snaps etc. After this I go about drawing up variations in paper adjusting lines as I go. I have my own kinda short hand imaging system where thread, snaps, buttons, lace, edge lace etc all have their own key. It makes sense to me but not a lot of other people. Once it's drawn out the way I want it takes a little longer to work up an actual pattern, and my note books often have finished ideas for years before they meet paper, much like my Hunting backpack thats been ready to fabric test for over a year now, but I have vowed to get this done by year end. I have kept putting it off for the shear magnitude of complexity that took three years to clean up. Least in theory. Inspiration I find my inspiration for little details all over the place. I will walk through pound shops, craft shops,second hand shops, tools shops, art shops etc. Just trying to take in the way other people put things together, how buckles are attached, new types of buttons or just generally the way certain problems have been overcome. Doesn't matter what the product is, could be an oven plate or a luggage scale. I don't do this to steal ideas, I do it so I am better rounded more knowledgable person in my choosen professional career. If a new tool for example is on the market that does two jobs where I would normally use two tools, it obviously speaks more to me, but not just in it's apparant practical application but also in how someone else took a common order of production and created a tool to do both jobs one after the other. It's the same way I look at the rest of life. I am an absolute B*****D to buy gifts for for this reason, and (my partner is sitting here shouting YES, DEFINATELY and poking at me) I will nit pick and tear the ideas of others apart reguardless of intent or sincerity of offering. Some might consider that a flaw in my character and I have insulted people before by actually being honest..But it is me, it's the way I think, and thats why I believe I am a good designer. Saying that, the majority of my stuff is designed for practical purposes, when it comes to pure novelty or decorative items I am not that way minded simply put. It's something I am working on.

I like this, and a friend of mine is a vet so this might make an excellent gift at some point on a more professional level than hunting...lol

I'll take that most definately, I want to start shirts and jeans this year after my nubuck jeans were bought. So a pattern would not go to waste. Is paypal okay?

Do you know any good cheap suppliers for this in the uk. I can find it for four dollars a bottle in us but will not deliver uk. Or i can find it in the uk for 7pound a bottle. I don't like the prices i am finding all that much for obvious reasons.

I have actually had very good success working with the blade from a swiss army card. I used to just dig it into a log, and push the leather around through it. The blade is small enough that it doesn't bind even doing circles as tight as a cup size, And when properly sharpened it holds a very good edge considering all the price of them. I have used the replacable blades from tandy lace cutters too but they are too thin and flimsy and curve with the pressure of leather pushing on it. Mechanically speaking though, you could get an even sharper cut using a concaved curved blade thats thin, maybe like a pruning knife as long as it's thin and shallow.

Thanks for the info. sounds good and cheap and the links are good too. Exactly what I wanted. I never would have thought these could be machine washed too, if they act anything like suede splits which I suppose they should. I'll be ordering this stuff on wednesday. And with any luck next weekend wearing them out..and showing before and after pics so other people can see how it went. Thank you kindly.

I managed to pick up a bargain pair of nubuck jeans the other day. It's probably about 5oz or so, pretty heavy duty, and probably chrome tanned. At the minute they are a dark brown colour, which is not a bad colour, but I don't really have clothes that match them, so I want to dye them black. Problem is, I have no idea what sort of dye would suit this material and finish, being nubuck...would it need to soak for a week or so? Help please.

Awesome work, love the colours. I don't weld but one on the wall might be nice.

That is exquisite work there, I love it. I am sure she will be over the moon to be able to wear that for years to come.