MMArmoury

Would that be boiled linseed oil? Or the same kind of oil used in artist's oil paints? Because I have read that you should wait at least six months for an oil painting to dry before putting a varnish over it. And I painted something once with oils that was still sticky five years later. I cannot wait that long for things to dry.

What sort of paint for leather would have been used before the invention of acrylic paints?

I am making a fire bucket, and I am looking into waterproof paints and top coats that would be suitable for leather. Does not have to be flexible (well a little bit, but not like for a belt or handbag). What do you guys recommend? Are there any old time beeswax based top coat recipes, like mixed with linseed oil or shellac or varnish? I am also thinking of using artists oil paints.

Here is the clamp I bought a few weeks ago. I found it in an antique shop. My best guess is that it was maybe used for repairing machine driving belts in the old mills around here as it resembles a similar clamp shown in R.A. Salaman's Dictionary of Leatherworking Tools. I used it for the first time yesterday at an event.

I can see that you are the person who recreated the Lemuel Lyman pouch. I also have been trying to make it. I met the collector who owns the original years ago but I never was able to personally see the original. I would like to share info with you.

Does anyone have pictures and specs for recreating an 18th century horse bridle?

It is a good place to start, though if you choose to use a drill you should use a 1/16 bit instead of the 3/32 listed. I also mix in brewers pitch in the formula, it raises the melting temp a bit and adds some shock absorbsion to the wax making it less likely try dry out and flake.

I have made about 60 bottles myself so I can say that yours came out quite well. Congratulations!

I just got contacted by a movie prop studio. They are looking for a used (aged) old portmanteau to use as a prop for an upcoming movie. Needs to be available within a few weeks. I don't have one, and I'll put you directly in touch with the contact person. Contact me through e-mail: mmarmoury@hotmail.com

I am trying to decide on a leather type for making hunting pouches/possibles bags. Right now I am working on a pouch with Tandy's Deertan Cowhide, which I believe is a chrome-tan. Yet the book "Recreating the 18th Century Hunting Pouch" by TC Albert recommends lightweight veg-tan (which I am very familiar with). And someone else recommends oil-tan leather. Which is best? Chrome, veg, or oil-tan?

I already use a pitch and beeswax mixture for waterproofing my leather bottles, but I don't want to use pitch just for regular exterior leather finish. I am considering a beeswax/lanolin/neatsfoot oil mixture, trouble is I don't know what ratio to use because I don't know if the lanolin behaves more like a wax or an oil (to compliment either the beeswax or neatsfoot). I am consider a 2/1/1 ration of beeswax/lanolin/neatsfoot or a 1/1/1 ratio. Which one would be better?

After years of searching for the right finish for my leather projects, insisting on natural and historical ingredients, I settled on Kiwi Beeswax Waterproofer. It contained lanolin as well as beeswax and made for a lighter and more flexible finish than pure melted beeswax. But unfortunately it has been discontinued. I was thinking of making my own, with beeswax, lanolin and neatsfoot oil. I also just heard of a recipe with equal parts beeswax and petroleum jelly. What do you guys think? What about Tandy Atom Wax, is it similar?

Sir, Thanks a lot. It is exactly what I was looking for. But someone else was supposed to be sending me one, if that falls through I'll contact you.

I know the subject of stitching clams has been brought up here in the past, but I want to know what the availability is of them on the market now. Is there anyone (in the USA) selling them? I am looking for the freestanding ones, not a pony or stitching horse or floor base model.

I brought my pre-1906 Osborne round knife into a Tandy store recently to compare it against the managers own modern Osborne. I noticed right away how paper thin the blade of the modern one was and I didn't like the feel of the cut. Mine was much thicker despite being slightly smaller, I noted that when cutting heavy lathers like 9oz veg tan you have to push down as the blade pushes the leather aside but it cuts very clean and smooth. I think it is much like a traditional japanese katana sword with a convex edge that pushes apart what it is cutting through as opposed to a western style blade with a hollow ground edge. Though I still think there is something cheap and lacking in the modern blade.