badger

What did everyone get for Christmas? I was really fortunate this year. I got 'Packing Iron', the historic book on western gunleather, and Chick Burrows' DVDs on holster and sheath making. I now have creative asphyxiation, knowing I'll never have time to make eveything I want to. How did you guys make out? Cheers, Karl

Seconded! All the best for the New Year. Cheers, Karl

Smorgasbord sounds good. I'm crashing Tina's place! In reality, I'll cook. Deb and I are both self employed so she does the housework and I do most of the cooking and washing up. It'll just be the two of us and Pete, our cat. I'm preparing smoked salmon and champagne to start, the main is a roast duck, maple syrup roasted parsnips, roast potatoes, carrots julienne. To follow, some fantastic Brie and fruit. Yum. Have a fantastic Christmas everyone. Karl

I plan to strop and polish the rounded outside part and run a rouged thread through the hole. They come pretty sharp and well polished. Karl

Wow! Blown away. Karl

Ray, Made perfect sense to me....... I think your special hat's too tight. Karl

Beautiful! Congratulations. I agree with Tina, everyone needs to see this. Stick it in the 'Show off' section too Karl

I just bought one, arrived today...... Anybody want my old ones? Seriously, this is THE best grooving tool I've ever used. I order all three size blades with it and you can colour me impressed. This tool is going to make me look great! I found you can set the depth of the groove by varying the amount of the blade stem you insert into the tool body. If the guide rod is running on your stone slab, it can only cut to a given depth. The tooled groove is laser sharp and clean. Wow! Cheers, Karl

Thought you guys might be interested; http://www.vintagegunleather.com Cheers, Karl

Oh, I'm a fan I really like the colour and the stiching. Very cool. Karl

Nice work Mike. Cheers, karl

Welcome Karl

Well, Soap is a surfactant and will promote flow and break the surface tension of the liquid. A little soap probably won't do any harm. Baby shampoo or dish detergent. It'll make the solution easier to apply, it'll soak in better and faster. PVA forms a skin by cross-linking of the molecules. Basically it's an aqueous acrylic emulsion, Acrylic molecules in water. Water based house paints are the same. If you let one dry right out it'll form an acrylic slab in the bottom of the can, effectively a lump of coloured Plexiglass. After you paint on the PVA solution on the leather, the water will evaporate. When it's all gone the acrylic molecules 'join hands' (crosslink) and a plastic film is formed. I can't see how adding oil will help. If it intereferes with the crosslinking process a film may not form and the solution may not dry properly. Watered down PVA on it's own with very little soap, just a drop, should do it. It'll be strong and flexible and water proof. It'll adhere strongly to the flesh side of leather, no problem. Cheers, Karl *edited to correct the apparent inability of the author to write in his first language......

I'm in England too. I wish we had something like Thanksgiving. I work with a lot of Americans and travel to the USA often. It seems to me that Thanksgiving is to you guys what Christmas used to be to us; more of a family oriented celebration and less of a commercial free-for-all. It would be nice to have a festival which isn't about avarice, more about family and friends...the important things. Regardless, Merry Christmas to you all. Cheers, Karl

I'd be willing to bet real money that the white sealer is PVA based. See the way it has a very slight bluish tint? I use a lot of PVA based adhesives, including Pros-Aide (a medical adhesive ) and they all exhibit the bluish tint. Also they all go on white and dry clear. They will form a moisture proof barrier when dry. You can dilute PVA with plain tap water..... Karl

Yep, very cool. Karl

Bob, I know nothing about saddles, but I know great work when I see it. Wow! Karl

Henry, Good advice, well taken. Thank you, Karl

Tony, My email address is: karl@karlderrick.com Sorry if I made a mistake. Cheers, Karl

Henry, Thanks very much indeed. I sent you an email last night. I'm very interested in the spare ornate flywheel! Cheers, Karl

Tony, Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry I took so long to respond My mailing address is: Karl Derrick P.O.Box 140 Greenford, UB6 9AL England. Thank you again, Cheers, Karl

Love it! Karl

Dear Pearson owners, I only have a really muddy photocopy of the original manual for the Pearson #6. If anyone has clear images of the exploded diagrams of the machine, front and back, I'd really appreciate it if they could email me a copy of each. Or post them here..... I'd like to blow them up and mount them on the workshop wall to guide me in the restorations. Any help greatly appreciated. Cheers, Karl

Thanks Bruce, Steve's machine is great, his work is amazing. In many ways I'm leaning toward refinishing the Pearson machines in simple black. Or possibly waxing the bare metal...that would look interesting. I kind of like seeing the workings of things, which is why I like the look of the Pearson. It's all on show, nothing hidden in a casing. I doubt you'd be allowed to operate one of these in a factory environment here in the UK now. Health and safety would want all kinds of guards around the moving parts... Thanks very much for the links Bruce. Cheers, Karl

Hello Chuck! I thought you might be a member here. Congratulations on your lovely work. Thanks for the kind offer of direct contact. Cheers, Karl