rodneywt1180b

Very nice!

I can't help you but what a great find!

I don't know much about it. What are you working on? If it's something like armor I know of this method though haven't tried it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_leather My admittedly limited understanding is that rawhides and vegetable tanned leathers are going to be harder than chrome tanned leather in general.

Cool idea! I'm sure our dog would approve too.

Thank you.

Nice classic looking sling. How do you like the neoprene for padding?

Looks to me like you're still capable of some pretty fine work. I would like to someday get that good. I agree. the hospital is one of the very worst places to try to get a decent night's sleep. They apparently don't recognize the value of sleep in healing.

Thanks. The kidskin is dyed, but by the tannery. I decided that my fears were most likely groundless in this case. Something I wouldn't bet on if I dyed the leather myself. I know I didn't have any problems while I was handling it and stitching it on.

I wasn't interested 10 years ago but right now I would say this is a large active and healthy forum. I belong to a couple that are pretty small, sometimes with days between new posts. I do what I can with the ones I'm on to contribute to the discussion. I really don't want to see the forum format get killed off by the likes of Facebook. Forums have a huge advantage in building up large, easily accessible archives of good information. I don't like the "right now" type of format that Facebook uses.

I haven't worked with them. Test a couple maybe? If you don't like the results I think I would look at products intended for wool.

Thanks for getting back to me on this Tony. There was a similar question about your milled veg tan from another member here in the "How do I do that?" section. You may have already seen it. I'm hoping after payday I can order some more leather from you.

I agree there. Oblivion was good but Morrowind had the edge I think. My only issue is it's easy to get too powerful. Oblivion made you work a little harder.

I really like the hex bolt stamp. Great idea. I have two bee hives in my yard so I like the honeycomb look it gives. I love the Elder Scroll series of games (I've wasted many hours playing them) though I don't have a machine that will handle Skyrim (yet). The nails look like a good idea too.

Tiered pricing sounds like a good idea from here. I like it.

I buy Tiger Thread from Egyptian Leather on Etsy. Egyptian sells it wrapped on tubes instead of flat and gives great service. I use only smaller amounts so it makes sense for me to buy smaller quantities for specific projects even if I'm paying a premium for the smaller amounts. I haven't felt a need to try anything different. If something is really low in price I tend to wonder what they left out.

Wow! Awesome job Caitlin!

Good question. Leather isn't my main thing so about I can do is give some general ideas. When my wife and I had our little antique business small, easy to carry items that could be given as gifts tended to sell best. We closed it several years ago because when we adopted our daughter she required all of our attention. I know, nothing to do with leather but the same general idea of smaller gift type items might work out. Key holders, cell phone cases, cup cozies, that sort of thing maybe? What kind of sports, tourism, recreation, etc. is there in your area? Maybe some items to fit those niches? Maybe something like canvas and leather tote bags too. Canvas looks good, goes well with leather, and helps keep costs down. The only problem I'm aware of with flea market type settings is a lot of people are looking for bargains. If you can get into craft fairs or even GOOD farmer's markets you might get better prices. Go for venues where people are looking to buy unique hand crafted items, not just what's cheapest.

I'm pretty much in the same ballpark hourly wage wise on my canes. I end up making around $8.00 an hour, sometimes I under charge and make less. Some is just what the market will bear but a lot of that is my choice. I aim to make good daily users for the most part. I want people to actually use my canes. Too high a price and people would be afraid to take them out and maybe drop them. I'm working on leather handles as a way to stand out from the rest of the makers out there. A part time job would pay better and be more regular. OTOH it keeps me entertained, it's money I wouldn't have otherwise and I'm doing what I want, not what someone else wants, with my time.

Semi custom maybe? Same size, standard colors, custom tooling on the side panels like name, etc? You would still have to make them one at a time but just having a standard pattern helps. It's a great looking kit and like the others said there are people who know quality are willing to pay for it.

That turned out great.

You should be pleased. It's a great looking bag.

I know which one you're talking about. SLC sells it. It is listed as a veg tan. It's one I'm very curious about and interested in. I'm hoping Tony will see this and chime in with more specifics. Does it have a lot of stretch? I prefer a stretchy leather for covering cane handles.

I might try just a regular round sewing machine needle on some scrap first and see how it works. IIRC leather needles have a triangular point to cut through the leather. That may not be completely necessary for what I'm doing.

More like "OK" and "Shows Potential" at this point. I can and will use this one as it is but the next one will be done differently. The flaws are there but small and livable. The plain boards I used smashed the scale texture a bit. I want to preserve the textures of these exotics as much as I can. They're a large part of the attraction to me. I'll have to pad and line my clamping boards next time. Maybe a little less pressure will help too. I'll also skive the edges and use a sewing machine with small thread on the seam. That should take care of most of the issues. Maybe. I hope. It's a good thing I like learning new things. I have a lot to learn.

Thank you. It's good to see I'm on the right track. The method in the video is interesting and I'm guessing that's how the high end bags are made, by gluing the leather strips on a backing to form panels, but I would be concerned (maybe needlessly) about the joint opening over time. A cane handle is low stress but is constantly held. The rubbing and sweat from hands might cause the glue to fail. I'll stick with stitching the pieces together. I'm not too concerned about the thickness right at the seam so much but will need to skive the turned under edges. I don't want them telegraphing through the leather. A padded grip will help with that too. One of my old domestic machines will handle these thinner leathers just fine. I'll pick up some leather needles and try sewing a panel on a machine. That should give me the smaller holes and higher SPI along with a less bulky thread.