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Hi there, Hi, I’ve dyed this 6oz eg tanned leather, three coats applied with a dauber. It’s Fiebings oil mahogany. I’ve also applied one coat on the flesh side, after burnishing it. It’s patchy, and there are variations in the surface reflection when held up to light. Do I just keep coating it? It wasn’t 100% dry, after casing, when I applied the first coat. I waited 4-5 hours between coats. Any advice would be great, as would pointers where I’ve gone wrong. TIA.

It’s 5oz. Notebooks are what I’ve mostly made so far. I have a few orders for Christmas. I’m keen to do some belts and walkets though. Thanks for all the great comments. That chart is really useful. And in Newcastle pounds, I’d say it’s probably enough to get a round in at the Labour Club on match day I was born just the other side of Gateshead, man.

I’ve seen them close to forty Sussex pounds, which is too rich for my wallet currently. I downloaded a free pdf of the figure carving book but it was dark and hard to read all the type.

Ah, thanks. I need a new belt anyway! Is the belly good for wallets too? i keep looking at his books but they cost a bloody fortune.

Hi, I just took delivery of my first big piece of veg tanned, a 29’ side. Are there any resources detailing which areas are best suited to various purposes? I’m a little scared to start cutting out panels for notebooks without soaking up some knowledge! Also any advice on optimum storing conditions would be appreciated. TIA.

Thanks, their site is great.

I did three coats of Fiebings saddle tan, and something went wrong on the last coat - there were patches of almost grey, when the light caught it. So I put a coat of mahogany on top to see what it would do. I lucked in, I guess! Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. Means a lot.

Thank you, gents. Kind words!

So I’m using a scalpel, but have just ordered a swivel knife, so hopefully things will improve a tad. I made this notebook, with a Valknut (Viking symbol) for a friend. Didn’t case the leather enough, but noticing that is the pay off I guess. Won’t do that again.

Thanks, that’s an interesting watch. I’m using a scalpel at the moment, so any blade would be an improvement! I’ll see hw I get on with Tandy one, then try a wider angled blade. And tha Anka, Richard, I’ll look into those too.

Thanks. Are there superior makes of blades I should look out for?

Thanks, guys. Really glad to have found this site, nothing talks like that experience.

Thanks for the answers, everyone. I’ll give the Tandy a go. I have a good sharpening and stropping set-up, as I carve wood, so I’ll see hw I get on with the blade. Thanks for the links, too

Hi, just thinking about buying my first swivel knife, and have a limited budget of around £30 ($40]. There are some Tandy Ergo knives on eBay, new but reduced from £50. Is this is a decent knife? And is it easy to buy blades for? I’m coming at this from a place of absolute ignorance! Don’t know if blades are interchangeable or proprietary. Havent seen any second hand leatherwork gear for sale in the UK...

Bit far for a coffee and natter, then

Thanks!

Thanks for the great replies! I have a medium beveler now, going to try it out tomorrow.

Hi there, I’m pretty new to leatherwork, and would love to have a chat with someone with some experience. I haven’t managed to find anyone locally, so wondered if someone on here might be Sussex-based, and up for giving a noob some pointers. TIA.

Definitely my next purchase. Is it worth getting a cheap one y about with or should I bite the bullet and get something more professional? Is there a general sized beveller i should start with? There's a large selection.

The mask is great, I've made a couple of simple 'Robin' style ones but want to branch out. What gauge leather is it?

So I had a go at tooling... I don't have a swivel knife so I used a scalpel, and the only stamps I have are a pear shaped crisscross thing (that is the right name yeah?), aand crescent shaped camouflage one. Oh, I have a modellers spoon, but it was cheap and I realise now it needs filing and shaping. I cased it with a little dish soap/washing up liquid in cold water, and smoothed it down with a folder - saw this in only one video but thought I'd give it a go. It's a attempt at a free hand acanthus leaf, and it's pretty damn shoddy, but I enjoyed it and will practice more.

Hi, and thanks! I dyed that myself, Fieblings oil Walnut, then some leather conditioner. One of the 'things I won't do again' is use 3mm for something like this, as it was hard work. I aim to get a beveller, although I might experiment with a set of Palm gouges I have. I used a gouge to remove some stock behind the folds. Ill look into that PDF, as I'd like to make some more cases.

Hey all, I'm a hobby Wood Carver who felt the pull of leatherwork. Bought a couple of tools and a piece of 3mm veg tanned and, after much head scratching, decided to make a case to put the tools and dyes in. It's been a great learning experience, and I've done things I know I won't repeat. I'm pretty pleased with the case, and more importantly I really enjoyed the process. I'll keep at it, and keep coming here for inspiration and guidance. The standard is high, and I have makers envy every time I visit! By the way, the name is from a childhood accident, although I'm not immune from sticking the odd gouge through my left hand.