TargetRockLeather

You're right, that's an important part of the decision that I left out. I'm not looking for fashion and I'm not looking to hold up a tool belt. I just want to hold up my jeans for every day wear. It sounds like 1 inch 4oz would be a good starting point. The reason I'm asking for advice rather than just experimenting myself is that I'm not able to return to my home/shop due to the covid-19 concerns so I don't know what I have laying around. Before I order anything I want to get am opinion from someone that knows what they are talking about. Thanks a lot for the advice!

I'm trying to decide how to proceed with making a pair of suspenders for myself. I'm not looking for a pattern as I have a design idea in mind. The part I'm struggling with is how wide should the straps be and what weight should the leather be? I just started wearing the cheap elastic Walmart suspenders just to get an idea of what I think I would like. The straps on those are 1.5 inches wide. Would leather suspenders be as wide? Also what weight should the leather be? I'd like to use veg tan leather because that is what I'm comfortable working with, and I'll probably do some stamping on them. I purchased some 3/4" buckles but now I'm thinking that might be way too narrow. So here are the questions I have: What weight leather should I use? How wide should the straps be? Should I make the upper part of the straps wider (the part that goes over the shoulder) and have that taper down to a narrower strap and use the smaller buckles? I did a search and read a bunch of posts about suspenders but none of them addressed the questions I had. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

Don't sell it. You'll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life. Tell the wife "I'm still working on it".

That is one heck of an introduction. I'm glad they caught the loser but his sentence isn't enough. Sounds like you're at least on the road to recovery though so that's all that really matters. I think you'll find leather working to be very enjoyable and the folks here are very friendly and helpful. Some of us here (myself included) are knife enthusiasts, so it would be great to see photos of the knives you've made.

The rivet you are showing in your photo is called a "single cap rivet". Here is one example sold by Springfield: https://www.springfieldleather.com/Rivet-S-C-Np-Lg-100pk_2 I don't see any of this type on Buckleguy's website. You don't want the tubular style for the reason you stated. You might consider a "double cap rivet" if you would like the inside to have a more finished look. One way to set them is to slip the keeper over the horn of a small anvil. Rest the base of the rivet on the horn. Or you could clamp a piece of steel between the jaws of a vice and slide the keeper over that.

I tried the magnet trick but my magnet cracked and crumbled. I used rare earth magnets I found at Home Depot. Does anyone know where to get more durable magnets in the US? The magnet trick works surprisingly well other than my magnets getting crushed.

I think your confusion might be that you're expecting the Pro Dye (which was formerly called Oil Dye) is oil based. That is not the case. Pro/Oil Dye as well as Leather Dye both use alcohol as the "carrier". They both have the potential to dry out the leather. It sounds like you might be expecting the "oil dye" to be based on an oil carrier and thus provide moisture to the leather rather than drying it out. That's not the case as both are alcohol based. Why worry about drying it out? You can always apply neatsfoot oil afterward to condition the leather. Some people even apply the oil BEFORE they dye it. I wouldn't worry too much about drying out the leather.

I started learning to use Inkscape a few days ago. It's free and appears to be quite powerful. There is also a learning curve with it but there are many videos on youtube that walk you through the relevant steps.

I've seen them around. Here's one I just found on Ebay for $23. It's an inch, but maybe you could contact the guy to scale it down a bit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/USMC-Eagle-Globe-and-Anchor-Leather-Stamp/223740443855?hash=item3417f83ccf:g:oIwAAOSw3ydVjZ4s If you want to have one made, this guy can make pretty much anything. He's been recommended on here often. I think mine cost me around $50: https://www.leatherstampmaker.com/ It's going to be hard to get a lot of detail into such a small stamp though.

Clever name! Welcome!

Funny... I got mine from the same guy. Mine couldn’t be made smaller I guess because of the small font. I think I will redesign one that doesn’t have text in it so that it can be made small like yours.

.75 diameter at the widest point? that's pretty good. Mine is I think 1 and 1/8" wide. I'd love to have a smaller one. Where'd you get it made?

catchy name and nice logo. Did you get a stamp made for it yet? I'd be surprised if you can get such fine detail into a makers mark stamp unless it's a rather large stamp. That logo would look good on a business card or for advertising.

I don't see this mentioned anywhere so I'll add my two cents. Stamp the leather BEFORE you dye it and certainly before you apply a top coat. You can't properly case the leather if it has been sealed by a top coat. Also I agree with the comments about using an arbor press. They are not expensive and it will make your stamped impression much more crisp and even.

In my experience, when leather has dried out to the point where dry rot has set in, the best you can hope for is to prevent further progression of the dry rot. Once the integrity of the leather fibers has been compromised, no amount of conditioner will repair that. Your best bet is to condition the leather before using the item. It sounds like that's what you've been doing yet the sweatband falls apart anyway. That tells me that the leather was already dry rotted beyond repair.

Josh, thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I can't wait to try this! Have a great weekend.

Absolutely beautiful work. I love the color and I'm very curious about the "sun tan" technique you mentioned. It appears to me that the leather has been dyed. Am I right? Did you then oil/wax the surface and then leave it in the sun to darken? How long do you leave it in the sun to achieve the desired darkness? Does it need the heat from the sun or is it just the light that affects it? I haven't heard of this being done before (I'm fairly new to the craft and always learning). Again, the scabbard is incredible.

Couldn't have said it better myself. You guys are the best! Thank you so much for the help. I really appreciate it. Happy New Year to you all!

I already inquired about markings of any kind. No letters or numbers at all. Thank you for taking the time to investigate.

It looks like they are somewhat though a bit deeper than that. I don’t have the tools in my possession, just the pictures I shared. I’m waiting for an answer from the person who has them. They look like the edges are sharp yet there’s no relief opening like I’d expect to see on punches. Also I wouldn’t expect to see a handle like that. It looks like something you’d push with the palm of your hand.

Can anyone tell me what these tools are used for? Are they leather related at all? How old? They look like they could be hole punches of some sort. Any info is appreciated!

Well it's hunting season ya know. Not sure what the right caliber is for that though. Sorry Sraab, didn't mean to make fun. First of all, thank you for your service. Good luck with your new hobby and I look forward to seeing pictures of your projects.

I did a quick test using the pen mark as you suggested. I marked the left-most edge of the letter S and the right-most edge of the letter M. Then I measured from the left edge of the leather to the left mark on the S, then the right edge of the leather to the right mark on the M. Got those to be equal and this is what it looks like. Again just a quick test but it looks much better than the other attempts. Thanks again.

You're right about how I tried to align them. I drew a center line then placed the stamps along side the line, both touching each other. I guess I have to look at them as a pair, not two separate items. My mind wants me to have a precise measurement but in this case that is what is giving me trouble. I like the idea of making a mark on the stamp. I'll try that and just eyeball it to center the pair. Thanks for the tip!

I'm having a related problem with a new set of Tandy 3/4" letters. I want to stamp the initials SM on the front of a knife sheath. The problem is that the width of the letters varies from one letter to the next. The square backing is fine and the letters are centered reasonably well within the square. I'm talking about the lines of the characters. For example, the S is about 15mm wide while the M is around 25mm wide. The result is that no matter how I center the letters, it always looks like crap. Has anyone encountered this problem before and how would you resolve it? Pictures showing the stamps and also a piece of scrap I was experimenting on.