lomfs24

Sorry for not checking in. There are some great ideas here. I really like the needle bottle idea. I thought about going to the farm/ranch store and picking up some syringes and needles. I think that would do kinda the same thing. Plus they are dirt cheap and if one gets clogged up, oh well.

Full disclosure. This radio strap is not my work. But rather a picture that I pulled off facebook. My question is, how do you do the fine painting. Like the white outlining on the letters. Or the flag for that matter. Or the superfine maltese cross and lettering at the bottom. When I try to do white outlines on my letters my brush is too wide and even the paint drop on the end of my brush is too wide. And I get it splashed over the edge. I even tried to thin the paint and flow it into the channel created by the stamp. But even then it doesn't flow evenly. What's the trick?

Here's the way I see it. There are two genders, male and female. And then there's gay. I'm not saying I agree with being gay but they aren't pretending to be something they're not. When you start getting into transgender, it really becomes a mental disorder. If you want to know the finer details of that search Youtube for Ben Shapiro, he'll clarify the transgender mental disorder for you. I'm ok with the idea that someone wants to pretend they're of a different gender than what they were born with. I wish them all the luck in the world finding the mental help they need to work through that issue. However, the problem lies in the civil rights movement. The movement of civil rights as it pertains to transgender is that someone wants to pretend they are not the gender they were born with, AND all their problems would just go away if everyone else pretended the same thing. In other words, I have a mental disorder and if you just play along with my mental disorder all the problems will go away. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no scientific data to back that up. In fact, the data suggests the mental disorder that leads them to the conclusion that they are no longer their original gender also leads to a whole host of other issues such as suicide. Suicide rate in the US is at about 4%. Suicide rate in the transgender community is close to 40%. We need to treat the issue at the root, not put a bandaid over the issue by saying "A male can go into a female restroom in Walmart." and expect the entire problem to solve itself.

Thanks for the replies. I kinda forgot I posted this thread and for some reason it's not alerting me when there are replies. Anyway, looks like I'll be heading to the store to get some sand paper. What's the difference in rouge? Grit I suppose. I have white rouge, is that more course? Or too fine?

I know this is a pretty basic question. I bought a small pack of tools from a local guy here off craigslist. Most of the tools look like entry level stamps etc... It also came with a swivel knife. I guess it's not bad, I don't know any better. So I bought, what I thought to be a good one, off amazon. Took forever to get and when I did I found out why, it came from China on the slow boat. I tried to use it and it just kinda chatters along the leather and doesn't really do a good cut. Soooo..... What have you found to be the best or at least usable swivel knife? Does the brand of the knife really make a difference or is it what blade is in it? What kind of blade? I know asking you what kind of blade you use is a loaded question. So what are the different blades for? Like there is a squared off blade, as slanted blade. I found a blade that looks kinda hollowed out along the axis of the shank so the blade is a little thinner in the middle than on the edges. Ceramic blades? Are ceramic blades better? Last longer? Stay sharp longer? Or are they more prone to breaking when you need them most? Do you still need to strop a ceramic blade? If this is all too much you can just point me to a Swivel knife 101 web page. Thank you so much. This site has been amazing.

Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a shot!

I am doing a fire helmet shield, again, where most of it is black. However, I am doing a subdued "Thin Red Line" Flag on the shield. So most of the shield will by dyed black with a thin red line painted. I plan on using resolene on the shield as a finish. Do I finish with resolene, then paint? Do I paint then do resolene? Or do I paint over the resolene and then do a sealer of some sort over the paint?

Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a try on my next project. Or maybe as I am reworking my current one.

How do you dye your edges? I saw a video on youtube and he used Edge Kote before he dyed the leather. He dyed both the front and the back. Do you use Edge Kote prior to dying? Why wouldn't you just use dye on the edge? I could see using a different color dye or Edge Kote if you wanted the edge to be a darker/different color, but if you want it all the same why couldn't you use dye on the edge?

OK, I couldn't take it. The way this shield was originally wasn't the look that I had intended it to be originally. I couldn't take it anymore. Do I redid it all in black. I wanted it more along the lines of a total blackout shield. So here's how it ended up. Let me know what you think, the original piece in the original post and the second one now. Tell me which one you like better. I may end up repainting the Blue and red but I'm not sure at this point. Kinda like the total blackout. I think it the total blackout hides the flaws a little better like the name not being perfectly centered.

You are right, the video is specific to finishes. It was extremely helpful. It does not cover paints. But that's OK, it was still extremely helpful. Thanks.

Thank you for the reply. I used acrylic paint on a shield that I completely painted back with colored letters. I haven't had it long enough to know how it will hold up. I have done a leather hatband type belt for my helmet. It seems to be holding up pretty well but where the belt is creased over the seams of my helmet the paint seems to be cracking a little. I will check out that video when I get a moment. I need it terribly to choose the correct method to color based on the application.

This was posted directly from my phone. I just use the editor in the phone to resize to get down to the limits the site allows.

So with these letter press letters do you press them with a press like an arbor press into the leather or do you hammer them like a regular letter set? I can see where the letters come right up the edge of the type so lining them up would be much easier.

Thanks, looked it up and it's quite affordable for as much as it would get used too!

If you sell shield blanks I might hit you up some time. One of my other challenges is cutting out two pieces of leather that match. I am not into it so far as to have a custom die cutter made yet. But I might get there.

I really like the dragon skin. That is a very unique look. What I am really interested in though, and it's probably pretty simple. One the basket weave one. What did you use to make the rough background. You know, that part that looks like flaking plaster. I have seen that style other places and I love it, something different than the standard background. What tools do you use to achieve that look?

Again, thanks for the replies. I know that my leather work is not where I want it to be. I appreciate honest critique. That's how I learn. I think what aggravates me the most is when I know there are flaws and faults that I am working on and people try to patronize you by telling you it's as good as what you were shooting for. Thanks again.

I will try playing around with antique that sounds like it would make an interesting piece. I will also look into a foundry letterpress. I am not sure even where to start looking for something like that. I am interested in hand tooling letters. It seems that the options there would be infinite. Is there a place I can go and read, watch video etc... on hand tooling letters. It seems difficult but I am willing to give it a shot. As far as the original design of the triquatra. Well, all I had to work with was a line outline of the design. That meant that the tooling and back-grounding was all up to what ever I wanted. That means the flaws are all mine. :-)

Thank you for your reply. I understand what you are saying when you say that it would drown out the details. I could try a second coat of Smoke. I know that my tooling isn't that consistent and that is something I am working on. There is a company out of Kansas City called Red House Leather. He has a series called the DarkcKnight. They are a series of solid black shields. They look awesome in pictures online. I have not seen one personally. That was the look I was shooting for on this shield. As far as lettering, The top four could have been moved to the left a little and the name on the bottom didn't land exactly where I wanted it to. I am struggling with getting things to line up the way I want. It seems when you lay out two pieces of leather and tool one and line it back up things have moved. LOL. But It's getting better. I see what you are talking about as far as tooling consistency. You see the results, here's what I wanted. I wanted to have the checkered beveling around the inside of the lines with a smooth bevel on the outside. When I got to the smaller sections of the inside they ended up all back-grounded while the larger sections were not. You are right though, I think that back-grounding them all would make a more consistent look. I may go back and retool those sections. The blue and red are acrylic paint. The black four at the top was just the way the stamp took the dye. Which brings me to my next question. Color. What type of paints do you guys use. And do you seal paints and what with to keep them from flaking off and getting washed off. Since this is a fire helmet shield it will encounter some water in the course of it's life.

I am pretty new to this whole game but I am learning quickly. This leather shield was put together with two pieces of about 9oz leather. Looks as simple as it is. But I am looking for some honest critique. I realize it's not the best but I made it for my sons helmet and he loves it because Dad made it. Couple questions. 1) It has been dyed with Eco-Flo smoke dye. It didn't turn out as dark as I wanted it to. Can I re-dye it using black. I have not used a finish on it yet. 2) What type of finish would I use on it to give it kind of a satin sheen to it. I don't want it matte, but I don't want it shiny either. Kinda a semi-gloss or satin look to it.

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, I agree, it is far more satisfying to know you've done it yourself. I have a set of leather suspenders that I made first. I need to rebuild a couple parts of the suspenders. I have also made a shield for my helmet and one for my sons helmet. I am not looking for specific measurements but more about how to properly color them. How to get the tooling to look sharp etc... I know some of the sharpness of my tooling is simply my skill level, some of it is not casing the leather properly. I did read the article on casing. And a few questions about dye vs. paint. Like I said, I will peruse the discussion already here so I don't ask a newbie question that has been answered a million times already. Thanks again for all the replies.

Good Morning to all and thank you for allowing me to join the leatherworker.net forums. I am new to the leather working and have a million questions. I will peruse the forum first to see if my questions have already been answered. I will also post a couple pictures of things I have already created, ask for input and how to make them better. I may also post examples of what I would like my work to look like and how to get from where I am to where I want to be. But none of that will happen right now as I have to head off to work. A bit about me. I work at a small Class C school in Montana. Sheridan, Montana to be exact. I am also a firefighter and my passion for leather stems from the fire service. I saw all these really cool leather things in the fire service and wanted some of them. When checking the price tag I thought, I need to learn leather craft. So here I am learning and struggling along. I would love to take advice from some of the people who I am familiar with in the fire leather world. However, I am a little apprehensive about asking them for help. I feel the conversation would go something like this, "Hey I'd really like to buy that product, how much would it cost to have you make me one?" "Well, that particular item costs about $250" "Ouch, that is a lot of money, could you just tell me how to make it instead and then I wouldn't have to pay you?" "Shove off!" I may be wrong but that's kinda how I feel it would go. Anyway, thanks again! Look forward to me asking a ton of questions. Rahn Sorry, I didn't see that you had to select "Notify me of replies" and I don't know how to change it now other than make a second post.