oneminer

Thank you for an excellent post. I often thought about making a head knife, but didn't know where to start. Your post gives the confidence to try. Now if I can only make the time.

I've tried a few things with little success and then started using the sharpie markers. Lots of different point shapes and sizes and they are clean, convenient, and available in many colors. The ink is alcohol based, so it seems to work similar to leather dye. I usually try to edge dye last, after final finish. Once the sharpie slipped and some ink was on the final finish. Wiped up the goof with a little alcohol on a cloth and it was gone. I wond how well an old dry sharpie would work as an applicator dipped in Feibings dye?

I followed the instructions in "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman. I bent the awl blade and sewing needles into a curve. The trick is to not pull the stitches too tight. Thanks for the compliment. Oneminer

I recently read the the Sheridan Style Carving book and was inspired to learn how to make tap offs, layout directly on the leather, carve and tool Sheridan style, etc. I also wanted to try stitching a butt joint. The results is my super sized flask. All that is missing is a coat of Tan Kote on the outside and Irish Whiskey on the inside. I think the stems and petals look anorexic, but it seems to work on the bottle. The color looks good in the photos, but in real life the Eco Flo Saddle Tan Antique looks too orange, even when mixed with Brown. I was afraid to use Eco Flo Mahogany Antique because it looked too purple. Is it possible to get a good Sheridan finish using Eco Flo Antiques, or do I need the Fiebing's paste? ALso, does that rich Sheridan Red color come primarily from the Neatsfoot Oil, or the antique paste? BTW, I did use a coat of Neat Lac after oiling. That is a neat trick that I just learned. Critiques and comments are appreciated. Thanks

sdkid, thanks for the encouragement. I first did the pebbling freehand with a small spherical diamond coated burr. Worked very well, but I didn't have precise control over the location of the divots. As I added more divots, I wanted to be more precise. So I tried a standard drill press. Didn't work at all. The drill press was too slow, and the burr is not designed to work on its axis. A carbide cutter might have worked, but I went back to using the diamond burr by hand. I liked the results well enough, but I might try something else. Be sure to post your results.

After seeing all the great work on the forum, I decided I needed a pebble type matting tool. A quick search of the tool box lead to several stainless steel bolts of perfect size. A little grinding and polishing and I had a great blank. A little dremel work with diamond burs and I had matting tool. Then I figured I would try it out on a sheath I had been wanting to make for my bench knife. A little while later, wa-la... What I fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Hello, Wanted to thank the leatherworkers out there for some great assistance. My Dad gave me a few leatherworking tools in Junior High and I was able to learn enough to make and sell Tandy kits for spending money. Then I got busy with life and only managed to make a belt or a purse for a few family members over the next 35 years. Recently my Dad mentioned that he wished he had a tooled guitar strap, so I dug up the tools, modified an old Tandy's billfold pattern to fit an untooled strap I had purchased and jumped in. About halfway through I found the Leatherworker.net and was amazed at all the great work being done and the sharing of techniques. I have always had terrible luck with antique finish and couldn't figure out why it looked so great on the disply items in Tandy stores, but so wretched on some of my pieces. From the Leatherworker.net forum I learned about using Neat Lac as a resist over Neats Foot Oil. I think I bought the last spray can of Neat Lac in Denver. Finally, I got the finish I had wanted. I think my Dad will be pleased. Since this piece I have tried a few other things I learned on the forum, and will post them soon. Thanks