FlatwaterLeatherGuy

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Maybe find a decent old Timex at a pawn shop or something and remove the band. Thanks! Ken

does anyone know a good source for buying a men's wristwatch without a strap? i'd like to try my hand at making my own. Thanks! Ken

I recently purchased this pattern from Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/sewing/patterns/bag-sewing-patterns-handbag-patterns-pdf/237933. I believe these are from the folks at leathercraftpattern.com. I know from my research that they are woefully inadequate in terms of providing instructions with their patterns, but I thought that I'd be able to figure it out. Well, I was wrong. I am hoping that someone has had previous experience with their patterns and can advise me regarding what all the different colored dashes and dots are supposed to represent. I've emailed them, but am hoping to hear from someone here with experience in making their stuff. Thanks in advance! Ken

Thanks Alisdair. I was wondering what he might be using as a darkening agent. I'd thought maybe saddle soap but mink oil sounds legit too. Also, just to reiterate - I don't want to know his exact methods as I respect that they are his secret. I'd just love lto figure out an approximation to get similar results. I have a ton of respect for Tony's work and in now way do I want to impinge upon his secret.

I was wondering if he might be using something like a wooden block with a leather pad glued to the bottom maybe? Something like this one perhaps? I want to say that I totally respect Tony's work and in no way do I wish to infringe upon his secrets. But damn, those results! BTW - is he ever on these forums?

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but thought I'd try here first. Is anyone out there familiar with the work of nitecore? Here's his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtKpONsTurpMqHUDylWNCaw . I would love to know how he gets the beautiful "burnished" stitching edges. I'm not really sure if it's burnished, but that's the closest term I know of to describe it. In one of his videos, someone asked him about it and he replied that it's a secret. I totally respect that - we all need our secrets, right. I think I saw a video of someone on YouTube doing something like what he's doing. It looked maybe like they were using a leather wrapped block of wood and briskly rubbing along the edges. Anyone have any idea how one might accomplish this? Thanks, Ken

Not sure if this will help or not, but Jeremiah Watt over at Horseshoe Brand Tools has a "Tight Corner Edger that looks pretty nifty. Have a look: http://www.ranch2arena.com/hsbttightcornr.html

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing!

@instinctive I just now read this - Thanks for the pdf pattern! Ken

So I've inherited my Grandmother's old Singer 301A sewing machine. Anyone here know anything about it? Can it be used to sew leather? Thanks! Ken

So I'm kind of a newbie and I'm a little confused. What is the difference between slicking and burnishing? Or are the two terms interchangeable? Thanks! Ken

I bought Nigel Armitage's Billfold Template set as well as the Messenger Bag Template. Both are excellent and IMO well worth the money.

Greetings! I joined the forum yesterday and have already found a ton of great information and seen some amazing works here. My leathercrafting journey started a few months ago when I took a basic leather carving class at the Tandy leather store here and I started a leather construction/fabrication class there last week. I've only done a few carvings and my first billfold is about halfway done. I am loving leather work and am afraid I've been bitten by the bug! A little about myself: I live in Omaha and previously lived in Minnesota and Omaha before that. I guess I kinda made a Minnesota sandwich with Omaha bread. Prior to that I was an Air Force brat and moved around quite a bit. I am a recovering musician, but will still relapse from time to time. I worked in IT for about 10 years but am now in a transitional phase of my life and am trying to figure out what to do with myself. I live with my best buddy Olive (an 11 year old Rat Terrier), or maybe I live with her. When not doing as much research as I possibly can about leathercraft, I am also researching transitioning to a nomadic lifestyle. I want to buy a van and convert it to live in full time and travel across the country with Olive. Well, that's about all the news that's fit to print here, But I look forward to being a part of this community and being a sponge and soaking up as much knowledge and information as I can. Best regards to all, Ken

Fire88 - Very nice work! I tried to follow the link that you posted, but unfortunately it's not working. Could you repost please? I'd like to make one of these as a guitar playing seat/stool and this design would work perfectly and be portable as well. -Thanks!

So I am a newbie here, but I found a link that might help people order the Versa Groover directly from Bob at Douglas Saddle Company's Facebook page. Hope this isn't a repost from somewhere and that it helps somebody, especially Bob.