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mendedbowl

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Posts posted by mendedbowl

  4. Posted · Report reply

    If it's on a motorcycle that gets ridden much, there will be a lot of rubbing on the seat. denim jeans can be pretty abrasive (that's why denim is good for slicking edges). So if the paint doesn't penetrate into the leather but only sits on top, it won't take long before it starts rubbing away.

    i think much of the color on the seats you posted is from dye. but my guess is all of the white is from acrylic paint. and my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)

    ken

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Your new site looks good. I really like the drop down boxes for order options. I remember reading at studio 2-dawgs how they offered customized order processing. it's good to see how it looks in operation.

    i have only one suggestion:

    you have a bunch of wonderful items pictured in your "custom work" gallery, but all that work is hidden behind that one little link at the top of the page. i know those items aren't for sale, so they don't really fit in any of your "shop online" categories, but viewing those items might be what it takes to entice a potential customer to ask for something a little different.

    my humble suggestion is to consider making those items a little more prominent some how.

    your leatherwork looks very professional, and your new website reflects that image. i wish you well with it, and i hope it brings you many new customers.

    Kate you did a wonderful job.

    ken

  8. Posted · Report reply

    You do beautiful work...and now I know why. every detail is important to you.

    If i were you this is what i would do:

    First i would take out the stitches where the dye darkened it, and restitch that part and see how it looks.

    If that didn't look good i would take out all the stitches in the black leather and redo that.

    If i was still unhappy after that, i would remake the whole project for the customer, and keep the first one (which would now be stain free) for the flea market or gun show table.

    ken

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Everybody,

    Thanks for all the wonderful compliments!! I really do appreciate them. I have been talking with a couple groups / people about possably doing a one day class on coloring. I know most people are kind of like me,,, in that it's difficult to get to an instructional show sometimes, so I'm also considering a book, or DVD. I believe that most everybody has the ability to tool & color. It just takes some good "lernin" & lots of practice, patience, & the attitude that it's Ok to mess up, sometimes,,, because that happens to all of us. I've never claimed to be the best,,, far from it,,, but I've figured out a lot of the easier, simpler ways to do things. Doing an overall color job on a piece will take about as long,,, sometimes longer, that it did to completly tool the piece. Sometimes the toughest part, is figuring out, how the recipient would like it to be. Muted colors,,, more vibrant colors,, stictly natural with some hi-lights,,, or just coloring a few parts.

    A small bit of chemistry is involved,,but not much. Some instruction on brushes, & how to use them. A good eye for not only color,,, but an eye for layers of transparent colors, is actually something that can be taught,,, although a lot of people are already good at it. It's actually simpler than it sounds here.

    Thanks again,,,, Ed the"BearMan"

    Ed you do beautiful work! Your attention to every detail is an inspiration.

    I've admired how you do your coloring for some time now, and i would jump at the chance to buy an instructional DVD of your process. Your instruction on working with layers of transparent colors, and the chemistry involved would be a big asset.

    I already own over 25 DVDs by other leather artists, and i would be proud to add a BearMan to the bunch. I favor a DVD over a one day class because it's hard to remember everything the first go around, and as my brain gets older i find myself refreshing my memory more and more.

    ken

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Ken, Just a regular propane torch works fine. Just be careful to not get it too hot. Once you see the it's getting hot, just rub it with a fine wire brush, & the chrome will come right off. One point you need to be wary of,,, some of the newer tools, are made out of "sintered" metal, which melts at a very low temp. Sintered metal is made by compressing metal powder. So if you are going to do adapt a tool,,, it should be an older one. Ed

    Hi Ed,

    thank you for the for the quick answer.

    I've got the torch, the wire brush, and a bunch of old craftools collected off of ebay that i'm looking forward to cleaning up.

    and thanks for the warning Biggundoctor, i'll be sure to do it outside with adult supervision (another way of saying my son will be standing by with the garden hose, ready to put me out)

    thanks,

    ken

  16. Posted · Report reply

    I've been wanting to try my hand at motorcycle seats, but haven't had a request for one yet. So i did this job for a little practice and for advertisement. (there are a lot of bikers working at this manufacturing plant)

    the maintenance and control persons use industrial tricycles to haul themselves and their tools from place to place quickly inside this large indoor facility. the one pictured here is used by a friend of mine, and you can see from the before picture just how badly his seat was in need of recovering. he had gotten tired of it chewing on his tender parts and he thought i would just do a simple little recover job.

    I wanted to do it right, so i redid the foam and personalized the seat for the department he works in.

    i wasn't able to take the seat home, i had to install it there at the plant in a rush, so i was a little unhappy about some puckers that i didn't have time to work out. but my friend was so happy with the end results that he offered free website development (his hobby) when i finally get ready to put up a site.

    the first day i received eight inquiries about other work. I'm working on two of those projects now.

    thanks for looking, any advice on how to improve will be greatly appreciated.

    ken

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  23. Posted · Report reply

    I am increasingly concerned about this subject, personally. It's tough to figure out where our leather comes from because tanneries sell globally. Does your leather come from under-regulated Third World tanneries (such as India), where cows are starved/dehydrated, have pepper rubbed in their eyes to keep them awake, have their tails broken to keep them alert, are allowed to stand for days or weeks with broken legs or worse, get moved with forklifts when they are too weak to walk, get stacked on top of one another in pens while still alive but too weak to move, get killed with dull knives, get skinned while still alive, et cet? Or China (many of same, plus blatant skinning of live animals, including for fur)? There are eye-witness/hidden-camera videos of these practices. I have seen them and been sick for weeks.

    Then what about those tannery workers become ill because they are not given adequate protection from long-term exposure (check out the chromium VI risks below)? What about the pollution that results to the water table? These are difficult issues to ponder. Personally, I'm working to forge collaborations with local homesteaders to see if I can get brain-tanned hides from their animal harvests that would otherwise be left to return to the eco-system. Every now and then, our local Native-owned leather shop has a smoked moose hide or such.

    I have promised myself I won't randomly buy leather without attempting to acquire something more humane first. There are suppliers who are doing it on the up-and-up, such as http://www.braintan.com/ (Traditional Tanners). You can even buy a wet hide and do the tan yourself. Buckskin, rawhide, deerhide, furs (including buffalo).

    Just a look at the chromium science will give an indication:

    Chromium(VI) is a danger to human health, mainly for people who work in the steel and textile industry. People who smoke tobacco also have a higher chance of exposure to chromium.

    Chromium(VI) is known to cause various health effects. When it is a compound in leather products, it can cause allergic reactions, such as skin rash. After breathing it in chromium(VI) can cause nose irritations and nosebleeds.

    Other health problems that are caused by chromium(VI) are:

    - Skin rashes

    - Upset stomachs and ulcers

    - Respiratory problems

    - Weakened immune systems

    - Kidney and liver damage

    - Alteration of genetic material

    - Lung cancer

    - Death

    The health hazards associated with exposure to chromium are dependent on its oxidation state. The metal form (chromium as it exists in this product) is of low toxicity. The hexavalent form is toxic. Adverse effects of the hexavalent form on the skin may include ulcerations, dermatitis, and allergic skin reactions. Inhalation of hexavalent chromium compounds can result in ulceration and perforation of the mucous membranes of the nasal septum, irritation of the pharynx and larynx, asthmatic bronchitis, bronchospasms and edema. Respiratory symptoms may include coughing and wheezing, shortness of breath, and nasal itch.

    can you please give links to videos you mentioned and credible documentation (not the PETA website) to support your statements about the treatment of cattle in India? those practices (starvation and dehydration) are not beneficial for producing better meat for the market or better hides for the tannery, so it's hard to believe that kind of behavior is widespread. What would be the motivation for that type of treatment? After all, cattle are venerated by Hindus in India, and it's illegal to slaughter them in almost all of the states of the Indian union.

    Also can you please tell how many cases have been documented of tannery workers becoming ill from long term exposure at work?

    Not trying to argue. Just asking for some facts, and some rational thinking.

    ken

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