hidepounder

I have a Danny Marlin skiving knife and a Bob Beard also, however I almost never use either of them...I now do almost all my skiving with a round knife. Once I learned to get the round knife sharp I began using it more and more and I just don't reach for the skivers anymore. I have found I much less restricted with the round knife than I am with the skivers which only allow you to skive a narrow edge. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Hi Denise, LOL, I haven't done anything yet....I got sidetracked! I had to take some photos of the alligator belt and got the A80 out just to set if I could get it to work and it did, so I'm hoping that bought me a little time, LOL! Bobby

Me too Bruce...I've never seen one that came apart.

That was my first thought too....a fine tip Sharpie....

Beautiful workmanship David as always! I'm with everyone else...I can't imagine anyone not being blown away with your level of craftmanship and designs. Bobby

Pepin, I'm not sure how I missed this post! The sheaths are very nice! I love the inlays and I especially like that you added a tooled border to them. Your stitching is very good and your edges are wonderful, LOL! You should be very proud of these...it is excellent work! Bobby

I wear an XL glove (I'm not sure what size that is) and I like the taller knives. I'm like Bruce...having a big long blade in a large barrel knife makes cutting long flowing lines and straight borders a breeze. In my opinion you have to fit the knife to the work. The smaller the pattern the smaller the blade I use and I like to keep my blades in barrels that are a similar size. I keep about 10 knives on the bench and they run from 3/8" barrels with micro blades to 5/8" barrels with 5/8" blades. I also agree with Bruce that having a larger diameter barrel is easier to control than a 3/8" barrel. That said I'm using the 3/8" barrels more than any of the others but that is due to the size of the pattens I have been tooling and it is not unusual for me to use two or three different swivel knives on one pattern. Hope this helps... Bobby

I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I would post this project. It is for one of the pro trainers who wanted to wear an alligator belt and matching spur straps to the 2009 AQHA World Show. Utilizing the alligator is a little different for me which made this a fun project. As always, all critques are welcomed. Bobby

Nice job Rusty!

That's beautiful Clay! When I read that you weren't going to emboss it I couldn't believe my eyes! I looked at the first photo and then I read on....I knew you couldn't resist! It's a great composition too. Kathy did do a great job on it also! Bobby

bkeller, I would use a Fiebings or Angelus spirit dye to do the background of the tooling. You could use the same color spirit dye for the gussets if you wanted, but my recomendation would be not to dye the gussets and to apply an antique finish to the entire purse after you've dyed the background of the tooling. As for the the lining, there are a couple of ways to go. You can glue your lining pieces to the back of the exterior pieces or you can fabricate a lning that attaches at the top opening of the purse and just hangs inside. I would glue to the flesh side and then assemble everything....that's considerably easier to do in my opinion. Hope this helps... Bobby

I'm glad this thread got bumped because I really enjoy looking at this saddle! Bobby

The truth is...I'm too old to remember! Bobby

Joe, Your client should probably be using rope halters....they are inexpensive, adjustable and they won't break. But if rope is not an option for him then I would consider eliminating the "halter" hardware all together and go to heavy solid steel rings on the halter. I think they would last a lot longer. Where do the conway buckles go? I think that will be a weak point also and am not sure where it goes on a halter. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Are you looking for yourself or a customer? If it's for yourself and you really want an unbreakable halter I highly recommend going to 5/16" a rope halter...they won't break! Otherwise I'd probably go to heavy steel rings. I think they would be stronger than halter hardware. Hope this helps... Bobby

Storm, I think you did a very nice job on that! Good flow, very pleasing to the eye....I like it a lot! Bobby

Eugene, If you Google "replica guns" or " prop guns" there are lots of sites. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Thanks Brent, I hope I was able to help a few folks out. I was really suprised to see this thread pop up again. Over 1500 views...WOW!

CEW, Keep an eye on e-bay...there are always lots of old tools for sale there. Hope this helps.... Bobby

That is tremendous Ed! Unbelievable relief and the dye job is terrific! I don't think it gets any better than that. Great photos too BTW! Bobby

Good job Tim!

Pete, I buy more 7/8 oz leather than anything. I use it for belts, saddle bags, organizers, rope bags, headstalls and a variety of other things. Sometimes I need to split it down and sometimes I use more than one piece back to back. But in general it is my handiest size to have on hand. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Nice job on the tutorial....good photos and explanations. Thanks for sharing! Bobby

Good looking rig Justin. I like the border/floral combo. Bobby

Thanks everybody for your responses. I've been researching these cameras...seems like I have ended up with more questions than answers, LOL. Anyway, I'm going to continue to do some reading and I'll let you know what I end up with. Thanks again...... Bobby