azrider

I hadn't seen the reply on this thread. This is an 8x5 three ring binder from Office Depot. I drilled out the rivets holding the rings to the binder, and glued foam backed cloth (like they use in automotive headliners) to the front. I glued the leather front and back to, and sewed the edges. The only down side, is that the binder is really stiff when you fold it over. It should loosen up with use though.

I have only used vinagroon once, but I did loose some of the definition on my carving. Next time I try it, I will do the vinagroon dip before carving.

All I can say is wow. That gives me something to aspire to. How do you keep the curved basket weave lined up?

This is a gift for my nephew, who is just finding out about all the cool family history. The design for the wallet is mine. I tried something different on this piece, and mixed dye into the oil. This made the color consistant, and very easy to apply. The only down side with dying this way, is that different hides absorb oil differntly, so the guts for the wallet are not all the same color. Feedback welcome.

I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil on my leatherwork, and my father uses it on his tack. There is a lot of debate on it, but it works well for me.

Thanks, Ed. Basicly I am using this particular bottle of dye because I bought it over a year ago, and am too Scottish to throw it out. The oil dye does not have any oil in it, it just seems to be spirt based. I just thought the oil might be a way to get it into the leather. I don't have an airbrush yet, but its on the list. How was this type of product used before air brushes?

I have not had a lot of luck using Fiebings Professional Oil dyes. I have tried using sherling, daubers, and rags to apply and can't get the oil to go on evenly. Yesterday, I experimented a bit, and tried to dye some olive oil. Since the dye is alcohol based, it does not mix with the oil, and as it evaportated, left tiny particles of dye pigments in the oil. When the oil was applied to the leather, it lead to a cool looking beat up type finish that I might play with later, but it's still not what I want. I have honestly avoided much more than no finish, black finish, or antique finishes because I can't get the dyes to go on evenly. Any suggestions?

My step-mother gave me a huge stack of Make it with Leather Magazines from the 70s and early 80s. I just finished reading one of your articles from 1980, and ran across this thread. I look forward to seeing the rest of the course.

That's the spirit! I have had good luck with both my leather work, and on dry tack when I lived in Arizona with Olive Oil. Sound like you are doing the kind of things I would try to save it. Good luck.

Disclaimer- I know nothing about holsters, and have done very little wet forming. My only thought is that since you may have to pitch this one anyways, why not try soaking in cold water until the bubbles disapear, and then shaping it over something until it dries? If nothing else, look at it as a learning experience.

Thank you for the compliments. I dyed the black portions and the edges with Fibeings black dye with a small brush. I was running out of dye, so I did the back with Kiwi Leather Dye with the sponge applicator. After the black dye, I oiled it and did the edges, then did two coats of Eco-flow Acorn Brown all-in one Antique. After wiping that down, I used Fibeings Leather Balm with Atom wax, and buffed it with a shoe polish brush.

I have to wear a suit in a few weeks, and my black belt seems to have shrunk a few inches since I got married. Oh well, time to make a new one. This is a Stohlman disign out of Craftool Tech-Tips. I needed a black belt, but wanted to do something that would stand out a little more. This is quick belt to tool, but the dye and antique took a while.

One of my coworkers liked my portfolio I use at work, and asked about making this. The celtic frame design is based on a design from a Leathercrafters and Saddlers Journal a few years back. Customer requested the items on the back, and I came up with the designs. I know that pricing is a sticky subject, but I think I am off on my pricing. I would be interested in PMs on what you would charge someone for something like this. Any thoughts or suggestions for improvement are also welcome.

I am in the process of covering a pair of hard bags right now. I started with a junkyard set of Leatherlyke ABS bags so it isn't really the same thing. I talked to one of the SCA guys that makes armor, and he said that if you get one those plastic 55 gallon drums, cut it into smaller pieces, and heat them with a heat gun, you can mold the plastic. My plan before I found the bags I have was to make a wood form to bend the plastic around it. I was planning on moulding a lid, the sides, and the bottom piece, but using the leather to hold them together.

A customer from my work requested this after she saw the portfolio I use every day. This is only the second thing I have used color on. This is cova color thinned down to a wash with multiple coats. Suggestions or feedback welcome.

Several people wanted wallets for Christmas. Got them done and shipped out yesterday. These are made from a pattern I came up with. They are 2oz for the wallet guts, and 4-5oz for the back piece. The wallet is very heavy duty and thick when it is done. I wanted to get some of the stuff out of my wallet when I made the first one, so the pattern only holds 8 cards. One of these is going to a sandblaster who goes through at least four wallets every year so I can't wait to see how they hold up. Critiques and suggestions welcome.

I had this happen to me too. I used bleach and course salt to scrub most of it off. The concrete in my garage is also still stained by it. I will use gloves the next time I use it.

I have had pretty good luck with sanding the flesh side of leather. I used 60, 80, 100, and 180 grit to smooth it out. Then I put some leather dressing on it and rubbed it down with a rubstick. I don't know if that process would work on lattigo, but it did work well on veg tan.

Thanks, Grumpy. These are all out of 2/3oz leather. The black on the insides is pigskin lining, with the shinny side out, so no crocking. The dark one was dyed with Ecoflow antique, with no resist. The two with basket weave are olive oil and Bee Natural, and the floral one is walnut oil and Bee Natural. (Just wanted to see if it looked differnt, and the walnut is less gold, more brown colored, but it didn't show well in the photo.)

Thanks Tim. I was pretty happy with the way the stiching came out on the last one, but the edges still need some work. I have not been dyeing my edges, but have been using beeswax as a top coat. I tried some Edge Cote on one of these, but it looked very plasticy when dry. It was probably how it was applied, though. I really enjoyed doing the group of these, just as a way to practice different skills. Back to practicing...

Here are four checkbook covers I did. If you go clockwise from the Masonic one to the cow skull, that is the order I did them in. I really saw a progression on my hand stiching on these. For the Masonic one, I didn't use a grove because I was having a hard time visualizing the angle the awl needs to be at, and how that affects the finished product. It helped me a bunch, but didn't help the stiching at all. The cow skull one came out looking way better than anything I have ever hand stiched before. Critiques welcome.

I took some pictures of it, and took the lacing out. The leather is in worse shape than I thought. The lacing just turned to dust when I pulled it. I was afraid to try and take the key ring out. Both pieces are currently in a ziplock that has been filled up with Lexol. I will check it again next week.

When I read the title, I was thinking someone lost a foot or something. Not sure what would remove the Axe, but I had a piece I spilled coffee on and stained. I tried to clean it off, but it didn't work, so I dipped the whole thing in coffee to at least get the color consistant. The coffee didn't interfere with applying the finish, but I am not sure if Axe would.

Thanks, Ray. I will try the Lexol. My main worry is that the finish won't let the Lexol into the inside. I have no idea what the finish is, but it is very plastic like and stiff. I will put some pictures up when I get it done.

I was cleaning out a box this weekend, and I found a key chain thing I had made for my Grandfather as part of my Leatherworking merit badge about 25 years ago. It had hung in an outdoor shed in Phoenix, AZ for at least 20 years, so the leather is very dry, and the lacing is dryrotted. Right now, I am afraid to even open the snap because the leather is so dry. What conditioner should I use on this? I would like to re lace it, and keep it around.