badger

Wow! Very cool. Love the chunky design. Nice work indeed> Karl

Jonny, I'm based here in London, England. Let me know if I can help with anything. We have some very good suppliers here in the UK. Cheers, Karl

Hi Jonny! Welcome to the board. Cheers, Karl

Tony, Thanks very much for that. The info is very interesting. Cheers, Karl

Bree, Nice idea Following your lead: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Black-Blue-Esp...p3286.m63.l1177 I'm getting one. Cheers, Karl

Update. I ran a second test. The swatches in the pictures attached are around one inch by six, 5-6 Ounce veg tan shoulder. From left to right: 1. Vingarooned and air dried 2. As above but treated with Skidmore's Restoration Cream (lovely!) 3. As above but treated with Skidmores, then Resolene The flash picture is for comparison. Cheers, Karl

Hi Ray, The container is a glass jar with the screw lid just slacked a bit, so it doesn't explode. You can't really go wrong with the Bicarb thing. I used two level teaspoons of normal kitchen Sodium Bicarbonate in two cups of tap water. I thought it would be strong enough and it seems to work. The solution stewed for only 2 days and was the colour of very weak tea at the time of the first try. It's been a few days since, so I'll try another sample tomorrow. This time I'll use a larger piece of leather and I'll swab it instead of dipping. Also, I'll try the bicarb mix stronger. Cheers, Karl

It's only a small swatch, but I'll make a functional item and colour it with the 'ricegaroon'. I'll post pics of that. Cheers, Karl

I found this place! A lot more things have gone right for me leatherwork-wise since. I know more about the material it's uses and treatment, cutting, tooling and finishing. I'm a more confident leatherworker and a more competent artist for it. I would also like to join Ray in expressing a wish to meet more board members face to face. In fact I'm going to start with Ray! Happy New Year guys Karl

I started a small vinegaroon batch 2 days ago with some rusty springs and some chinese rice vinegar(Pearl River Bridge brand) from the local oriental food store. Half a Litre of vinegar was £0.89, around a Dollar 29. I'm sure I'll find it cheaper, but I bought retail just for the experiment. I wanted to try the rice vinegar out as I do a lot of Asian cooking and I'd noticed the smell was much less pungent than using regular white vinegar. So, I cut a piece of 5-6 veg tanned shoulder and dipped it for 2 minutes. The solution was the colour of weak tea. It turned the leather a lovely dark steel grey, almost a charcoal black. I made a strong solution of Sodium Bicarbonate and tapwater to neutralize it and soaked it through for a couple of minutes. Just for the sake of being thorough, I then rinsed the piece in running tap water. Once oiled, the piece turned a really nice deep black. I let it dry and gave it a coat of Resolene. There is a very slight metallic odour. Other than that it really doesn't smell at all, certainly not the strong vinegary smell I'm used to. I thought the Bicarb might help. I think the net result is a combination of the less pungent rice vinegar and the Bicarb bath. Cheers Karl

A happy and safe New Year to everyone. Cheers, Karl

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll try Tandy for Barge. Happy New Year, Karl

I was watching Chuck Burrows' excellent DVDs about sheath and holster making. These I highly recommend, by the way. A lot of American leathercrafters use 'Barge Cement'. Now I understand it isn't boat-building glue but I'd like to find out what the UK equivalent is.... Is it simply a solvent based rubber cement? A standard contact adhesive? or is it something else? I have a great adhesive I use called 'Thixofix'. It's basically thick Evo-stick that won't run, even on a vertical surface. It's good because you can put it exactly where you need it. What do my fellow Brits use? Cheers, Karl

Nice job! I like the bright colours. Do you have any problems with the permanent marker colours transferring to clothing? Karl

Hi, If you want a solid black colour in veg-tan, why not try vinegaroon? If you use the search feature you'll find the information you need. Cheers, Karl

Very festive Roo! Karl

Sawadee Tcthipyuth! Thank you very much. Karl

It is indeed a cunning hat. Firefly fan, Tashabear?

Ray, It is indeed a pleasure to be enganged in sporting repartee with as keen a fellow admirer of cranial carapacerie. My woolly is as fine a companion to my tonsorial topiary as could be wished for. Somewhat troublesome to 'doff' for a Lady, though. Cheers, Karl

Surveyor, The fastener is a Line 24 snap on the back, nothing more complicated. I decided not to use the Edwardian buckle as a means of closure as it was made in 1907, and I didn't want to put it under any strain. It's attached to the belt by waxed linen thread, tied through four punched holes in the smaller leather mount. I set the knots with PVA to prevent them coming undone. It's attached very firmly. Cheers, Karl

You can always groove the top and just crease the bottom. It compresses the leather rather than removing it. Karl

Thanks you guys, I appreciate the coments. Ray, there's nothing wrong with my hat, OK? Happy New Year, Karl

Thanks Matt. K

Wow! I love the organic nature of it. Beautiful! Karl

I finally worked up enough courage to show something I made. This is a belt for my Mrs, Deb. I was going for clean, elegant but robust lines. No fuss at all. There's no stitching, only creasing. This is the first thing I made using my new motorized burnisher for the edges. The Art Nouveau buckle is a hundred years old. The belt fastens at the back with a single snap and is fitted exactly to her size. She won't mind me telling you that, since the fit is so precise, I also made a small extender piece which snaps in, in case of Christmas dinner and other size altering events. Cheers, Karl