JazzBass

Anyone NOT burning the midnight oil, finishing gifts? LOL! If I had a basement, that's where I'd be...and I LIKE the drying rack... It works as designed!

Indeed. Serious hurdles, to be sure. Funny...I thought that I was just a "hobbyist" until 2 things happened - First was a limit on what I could spend. (no surprise there), but the second was showing things I made to friends, and having them ask me to make something (whether the same, or something unique) for them. Currently, I'm hoping for enough to keep me always working on varied projects, and maybe come out on the plus side, if I don't spend it all on new tools! LOL. Thanks for the insight.

I too, was going to remain silent on this one. (BIG fail...I feel a diatribe coming on) Ok - I'm a hypocrite. I do love animals. But the truth is that I often love them on a bun, or on my plate. I just adopted a litter of cats that found their way into my condo complex, and donate to animal shelters etc., and hope for the day when science will make it possible to "grow a steak" (or hide material) without growing and slaughtering an animal. Fine. Nice wish, and quite sincere, BUT-- We pound animal hides here. I happen to believe that whenever an animal is taken for food, that it is wrong to waste any part of it, and therefor I feel that using the hides is completely justified. To even suggest otherwise, flys in the face of what goes back to before recorded history. @battlemunky and @NVLeatherWorx are unarguably correct. "Vegan leather"?? Oh c'mon! It's just another feel-good phrase that simply does not comport with any part of reality. Ditto for "green" and "sustainable". You want "green"? You want to regrow rain forest? I'm all for "global greening". Double the current CO2 levels and adding a few more degrees, resulting in a couple of weeks more to the growing season will do that, and feed millions more people at the same time. Ah, but don't ever look at the science if the effects don't fit your ideology - just call someone "a denier" . Yeah, sure. I'm quite tired of those who can't recognize how many tons of ore need to be extracted by diesel guzzling machinery, plus all the energy to process it into usable material, just to make an "eco-friendly" bicycle. Ok, I'm done ranting... for now.

Thanks, Bikermutt Yes - costing things out was one of my questions. I know what the leather costs, but then there's all the "smalls" like dye, thread, finishes, etc.

Thanks, Richard. I don't mind "digging"...the search tool has often helped as well.

Haha!

Don't ya just love these forums? You get direct links to commercial suppliers, home brewed solutions, and an education on the difference between marble and granite, all in one thread =:O Wonderful!

What can I say? Everybody else beat me to it! except... To @Arch, on his very first post... Huh??? I'm curious as to what you have been smoking, my friend. ROFL!

Not sure if this has been addressed, and maybe I just missed it within all the sub-categories, but I don't see a forum on how to get into and run a business based on leathercrafting. As a 1 year amateur who might like to work professionally in the future, tips and pointers about starting a leather business, marketing/advertising, required systems for orders/customers, etc. would be quite helpful.

Although I agree with the comments above, I think some of it might be a bit harsh - I too, avoid "day in the life" videos, but I see Parker as a good man who, in the American tradition of entrepreneurialism, decided to hang out his own shingle, and work hard to make his way in the world, and take care of his young family. A partnership with a world-wide company like Tandy is a big deal, for which he should be congratulated. His energy and enthusiasm undoubtedly encourages many to get started. Let's cut him a bit of slack here, ok? Re:Tandy - 1. If it weren't for Tandy, I and MANY others would have never taken the plunge into the leatherworking addiction...er...I mean, tradition 2. Yes there are much better tools, but I only really learned about them, AFTER having taken the plunge, via Tandy. The staggering amount of tools from great, to garbage, are nearly impossible to navigate and judge when someone is just starting out. We all learn, improve, and upgrade as we go. Unless one lives near a place like Springfield, Weaver, or others, they won't get a chance to actually TALK to someone, hold/try different tools, see and feel different leathers etc. 3. Even Nigel Armitage acknowledges the importance of Tandy, in their ability to reach so many, while being quite frank about the quality of many of their tools. If anyone has the bona fides to be "snobbish" and slam Tandy, it would be Nigel, yet my impression is that he considers them a significant net-positive for the leatherworking community, and I absolutely agree. Let's cut them a bit of slack too. (Opinions to the contrary are welcome, as always)

Ditto!

Nice rig!...and COMPLICATED. It must have taken a lot of time just to make a pattern for this. The harness is bad-@$$, and the holsters and pouches, beautiful. Great Job!

As a professional bass player, you would think that the callouses on my finger tips would prevent such discomfort. Nope- different areas of the fingers are used for sewing. I found two options - 1. Thin, soft leather gloves that fit tightly around the fingers. They also help when tensioning a stitch, preventing the thread from cutting into the sides of your fingers. That's the easy way. 2. After playing for over 40years, I found that the way to build the toughness of the skin, is to work until they are as sore as you can stand, BUT NOT to the point of blisters. Blisters will come to the surface as skin layers are shed, and peel away any callouses you've built. Accept that it will be ~2 weeks of discomfort until you build up the needed firmness in your fingers. Yes, it's the hard way, and rather uncomfortable, but if you do it all the time, it's worth the discomfort. Take your pick...it depends on how often you are stitching. If you're not doing it several times per week, I'd go with gloves.

Do you already have a correctly sized pattern that can be traced for the look you want? If not, that's the first step. Tooling the leaves will require (as a minimum): - Swivel knife - Beveler (textured or smooth, depending on preference) - A Pear Shader or Thumbprint to create the burnished "dents" in the leaf - a petal lifter is nice, but is not absolutely necessary IMO to get a good looking result, but it DOES make a nice difference. . Others here are MUCH better than I, so definitely wait for some others to chime in. Good Luck, and welcome to the forum.

A friend asked me to make a belt for her husband for Christmas...my first "commissioned" work. Since he likes "simple", I endeavored to make my first "dressy"/nice casual belt. ...but it gets better! I showed the final product to my next door neighbor, and upon examining and feeling it, he immediately asked me to make one for him too! W&C English bridle, solid brass buckle and rivets. I spent a LOT of time on the edges on this one (and special thanks to @battlemunky for the beeswax suggestion as a sealant after gum trag) These edges are the best I've done, but the pics don't really do it justice. Can't wait to make the next ones!

Yup - better and better ! Feels pretty good, doesn't it?

Thanks! - beeswax hadn't occurred to me. It would seem the easiest to control and buff. That's what I'll do !!

For large stamps, the dead-blow hammer is marvelous - if you "commit" to a good solid strike, it comes right off the tool with no bounce. I use a 2lb one for punching holes as well. Works just fine. They are also quite inexpensive. Try one - you'll like it.

I'm nearly finished with two belts I've made as Christmas presents. They are made of W&C English Bridle, in black. Having beveled, rounded, and dyed the edges (Fiebing's Pro Dye), they were first slicked with saddle soap and water, then slicked again with Gum Trag on top. Question - is the gum trag sufficient to seal the dye against running from moisture, or should I use a coat of Tan Kote or Resolene to further seal them? I was hesitant to cover the entire belt with a seperate top coat, as the leather itself is wonderfully finished. Advice please

Man oh man- your work is SO clean- stitching, creases, etc. Wonderful!

Jeremiah Watt, Horseshoe Brand tools. Website is tough, since everything is in the same drop down list (you'll see what I mean), but his tools are as good as it gets. Found him from Nigel Armitage's videos. JW's tools make even a master like Nigel, swoon. http://www.ranch2arena.com/hsbtintro.html

I'm with you...would love to make bags like the one shown, or like this backpack from LM Products. Can't wait to see the responses of the many pros here...I was going to ask similar questions, but not quite ready to do it yet. I absolutely love leather bags, and have seen some stunning examples on this forum. WooHoo!

Haha...just don't say he'll be playing "Cowboys and Indians". Current "PC" is truly ridiculous! I was clandestinely hoping that the "Redskins" would change their name to the "Washington Rednecks"....wonder what would be said about that, by those who need crayons and puppies in their "safe space". ...ah, but I'm just spewing. Never mind. LOL!

Nice work

@Lobo Read every word, sir. I am new (1yr) to leatherwork, but an old hand with guns and gunleather. Your real-world account on this subject was quite enlightening. Much appreciated. Much to consider. I'm looking forward to hear how other pros deal with this. "Tools" can be expensive, and must be justified for both the pro, and the hobbyist as well.