Rockoboy

There are several people here from Australia, and a few from W.A. As for where to buy Giardini edge paint? I have no idea, maybe one of the other people will have some ideas on a supplier. I saw a post a while back about ordering a sample pack from a supplier, (might have been Giardini, but I cannot remember) but I never got a reply to my email. I subsequently found they were in Europe, so maybe that is why they were not inclined to reply and/or send out any products. We have an active Leatherworkers Association in W.A. If you would like more information on attending, send me a PM with your details.

Gotta love a project that has more than one possible use! Who amongst us has not had to "repurpose a project because it came out different to the plan"?

Looking good for a 1st effort with almost no tools, onwards and upwards from here.

Great job. I have to do one of these. I like the "Visitors Beer" holder.

I got mine from Sergey Neskromniy nickname @arbalet12 on this website, all three of them plus a custom stamp and around 20 of his production stamps. Great value, very easy to deal with and excellent quality. He has an etsy shop as well.

Australian = ute (short for 'utility vehicle') Australia = wallet

Is your workshop/shed insulated? I know a bloke who used coolroom panel to line his shed. I used coolroom panel to enclose the patio on my house. Best thing I ever did.

I have never heard of these ceramic knives, and never used a ceramic swivel knife blade, but I have heard very different opinions on ceramic sk blades, some love 'em, some hate 'em. I think its a very specialised field to get the edge back once its blunt. Nothing like stropping a steel blade AFAIK.

IMHO* = in my honest opinion WIP* = work in progress ATM* = at the moment - or - automatic teller machine Not sure why I use these in caps, but I always do ... sometimes.

Can you carve the tree as you did in the bottom pic, so the tree is complete, and use those same stamps along the border of your leather? Maybe a backgrounder which fades away as it gets to the edge stamps. Not an expert, just thinking on the go.

I am more inclined to think of a welt as a necessity on a sheath for any decent sharp knife. Maybe I am over-building, which I do in a lot of things, but not much I make falls to pieces.

That is a little beauty! How much to post one to 6168 WA?

Both look really good, but I am not so sure about the stamping along the top of the tree. It loses a little bit with those stamps, IMHO.

After applying the glue and placing the patch, are you able to apply some clamping force? That might be a 1lb or 2lb weight sitting on the patch and the piece sitting on a firm flat surface, or a spring clamp, G clamp or similar.

I have heard some people use thread that is a lot longer than their job requires. Any dye is collected on the first few inches of thread, so the only thread that actually gets dirty is the piece that is left over after the job is fully sewn. I am still trying to get it sorted in my work.

I am not a master, I am not even good at leatherwork, but I would suggest to become a master at anything, its practice, practice and more practice, interspersed with a lot of reading and some tuition, then practice a lot, and did I mention practice?

Really nice job. I like that ostrich skin.

Thanx Gary. The fish skin is proving to be quite resilient overall, but the scale pockets can get a little ragged and untidy. You can see a couple on the folded edge towards the top of my 1st pic. I am thinking about playing with my new airbrush and some antique, dyes, sealer etc on the veg tan interior. Never used an airbrush or any spraygun before, so that might make my project really pop ... or jump into the rubbish bin!

Nice simple design, well executed. I like it. Why do you change the thread colour to yellow at the top of the sheath? Do you use a welt in your knife sheaths?

There is a tannery, that does only fish leather, in a town called Esperance, on the southcoast of Western Australia. There is quite a good industry, from what would otherwise be waste left over, from a commercial fishery. I bought a heap of there leather that appeared in a salvage/disposal warehouse near where I live. I have used it on a few small items, like a small case or a pouch.

I think @bikermutt07 has got it right. Even craftaids are only about 8 or 10inches long, and made to repeat over and over. So draw your designs with ends that meet up nicely, so you can get the design to run as far as you want, without drawing out the design for the entire belt length.

Listed in my signature, used for canvas, 5mm vegtan single thickness and 4mm chrome tan x3 thicknesses Protex TY-8B (227R copy). Singer 31K-20 with clutch motor, used infrequently. Singer 201P, used very rarely for canvas or tarpaulin work. Kennedy (Singer 201 copy) never used. Singer 66K-16... waiting for repair and renovation ...

No offense taken. As I stated in my original post, I have no experience in making holsters, but from what I see on this website, whilst I believe your holster looks good, it would look better and possibly last longer with minor alterations to the outline of the piece. No harm, no foul, play on.

It must be a leatherworker thing. I do it to!

Here is my latest offering to the leatherwork gods. My Father used to carry a key wallet, which I have never been a fan of. Recently I decided to give it a go, and I am liking the idea now. The fish skin is from an unknown but local species to Western Australia, the lining is 1.2mm vegtan undyed or sealed so far, stitching is hand-stitched 3.0mm spacing with Gutermann Topstitch embroidery thread because I did not have any thinner suitable thread in the colour I wanted.