BillinTR

And thank all of you for the further clarification. I have probably learned more than my feeble, inexperienced brain is capable of handling. I hope the OP didn't consider this a thread hijack.

Thank you for that heads up. A big help. Doesn't explain the occasional conflict in terminology but it sure tells me a lot about the tools.

Let me pose a question or two on the subject if I am not hijacking the thread. When I browse online and in catalogs I see pricking irons, stiching irons and stitching chisels. Sometimes there seems to be overlap in the use of the terms and occasionally conflict in terminology. As someone indicated above KS Blade lists pricking irons and they are actually chisels. They also show regular, inverse, flat and round versions. How is an inexperienced person supposed to know what he is getting if the terminology seems to conflict? And why would one opt for regular, inverse, flat or round. I work mostly with 7-8 oz veg tan for sheaths, archery gear, cases of one kind or another and have used a set of "chisels" I got from Weaver that have so far done what I need done. Is there an already existing discussion or tutorial that explains all this? If so could anyone point me in the right direction? If not would anyone care to expound on the subject?

I am referring to tooling stamps right now. Besides the basket weave I am also playing with making cuts withmy swivel knife and then bevelling. Also playing with a camoflage and a background stamp. I seem to do OK with those last two.

I have been browsing this section of the forums looking for examples of a knife sheath designed to be worn horizontally on the belt rather than vertically as is most common. My son wants me to make a knife sheath for him that is for horizontal wear. Personally I don't understand the desire for such a sheath for a fixed blade knife. It seems like it would be an uncomfortable way to wear it. I have seen some examples by searching with Google but I was hoping to see something here with some commentary on the design but haven't been able to find any. Has anyone made such a sheath?

That seems to be an issue for me right now. As careful as I am it seems that by the time the mallet makes contact the stamp shaft has shifted slightly one way or another. I fully understand the need for practice and I intend to continue doing so. But right now it sure seems to be a huge struggle.

Just beginning to try my hand at stamping and also want to get into some carving along the way. I expect that I will destroy a good bit of practice leather along the way. I have a fair amount of 6/7 oz. veg tan to use for that practice. But I am really getting annoyed with my early attempts at this. It seems that nothing wants to go well for me. A list of questions/problems/issues: 1. In spite of reading tutorials from here on casing leather I can't seem to get it right. The leather always seems to be too wet or too dry when I make my stamping efforts. I can't seem to time it right. And the leather doesn't seem to dry evenly after wetting. The leather is soaked completely and left to dry on my work table. Why would one section dry quicker than another? 2. Basket weave stamping is driving me nuts. It seems that no matter how careful I am things don't seem to line up nicely even when using lightly drawn guide lines. 3. I can't seem to consistently drive the stamp straight down evenly. It seems that the stamp impression is frequently deeper on one side or another. 4. Even when I do drive the stamp down straight and evenly I can't seem to get two stamp impressions in a row to the same depth. How do people manage to hit the stamp with same authority every time? Andjust how hard are you supposed to hit the stamp? 5. When beveling cuts with the swivel knife the leather keeps moving around on me as I try to walk the beveler along the cut. What do you do to stop this sliding? It seems that you wouldn't want to anchor the leather somehow because as you walk the beveler around a curved cut or shift to a cut going in a different direction you would want to easily reposition the leather as you work. Are these sorts of things just a part of gaining experience through practice or am I destined to be inept forever?

I guess I got some pretty decent veg tan then. The flesh side wasn't particularly rough and by the time I had applied about 3 coats of antique paste and rubbed each one out it had smoothed out fairly nicely. But it retained what to me looked like a weathered/distressed appearance. I may consider using the flesh side out for a future project. I guess in hindsight I should have expected that probably a lot of you experienced leatherworkers would have done it a number of times.

Being new to this hobby I am still in learning and acquisition mode. My first serious project (an archery quiver) turned out reasonably well. It performs its function well and it looks presentable even if there are flaws. But one thing I noticed as I was looking it over after sealing the project with Resolene was the back side of the quiver where the flesh side of the veg tan was on the outside. After finishing it with antique paste, buffing and sealing with Resolene the finish actually looks quite interesting. It has a weathered/distressed look that is kind of rustic. Has anyone opted to use the flesh side as the presentation side of any case, purse or other type of container type project? Am I the only one who thinks it might make a pretty good look for something?

So far I haven't accumulated enough to present a problem. But I am working on that. Hope to be able to have my own disorganized mess in the not too distant future.

JLSleather, I tried that Ebay link and decided to give him a try. He has a swivel knife that seems to be a good value. I also ordered a set of smooth bevelers. He seems to have a range of price/quality. I will see how these tools turn out to be before I order anything more. I figure a swivel knife and bevelers ought to at least get me started with some very basic carving. Thanks for the heads up.

To me "tool" = "utility". Apparently I ruffled at least one or two feathers here. It wasn't my intention but I can understand where some of you might be coming from. It just seems to me that there are some things you spend money on as much for appearance as for its intended use. Personally I wouldn't consider it for a tool. Apparently some people feel strongly about the glitz of their tools as well as the function. I fully agree with this. I can appreciate the difference that buying higher quality can make in your work. As a hobbyist on a limited budget I have take value into serious consideration so I have to look for how to acquire as much quality as I can without killing the budget. For that reason I have to focus on function more than glitz. In that regard I have been trying to locate tools somewhere on the scale between $10 and $100. But that doesn't seem easy to do. I guess I will always be one of those "tandy toolers" you can spot a mile away. But I am a beginner and I want to eventually do good work. I will eventually see if I succeeded. Again I apologize if I offended. I have no intention of ever becoming the professional that some of you who were offended are.

I have one of Stohlman's books on carving, just not that one. The one I have wasn't as useful as I would have hoped. It was just not as good a tutorial as I thought it would be. I will look into getting a copy of the one you pointed out.

Yes but there you are talking about the end product where the objective is quality of appearance as well as function. I am talking about tools. Yes I can understand the cost of quality steel in blades and quality construction relating to the function of the tool. Being just a hobbyist with a limited budget I just can't afford to spend well over $100 on a swivel knife. But even if I could I wouldn't spend the money for pretty handles. It is a tool.

I have been trying to do some research for upcoming tool purchases. In particular I am looking at stamps and swivel knives. The problem I am having is understanding why it seems that an awful lot of high priced versions of things seem to be more about the glitz than the function. I see swivel knives costing well over $100 where it seems that a lot of the cost is because of some really wild looking glitzy handles. The same thing with some awls and other hand tools with wild looking handles made of exotic hardwoods. Why do people care about how their tools look vs how they work? If I can afford to put money into a high end tool I want it to be to make it do its job better not make it look better in the tool rack.