SaintJoy18

Fire would get it out

If the leather is thin enough you can use pinking shears

I think it looks great. Almost has an elephant hide look to it. Just remember, it's not scrap if you can put it to use!

That's one angry Jesus...

When dealing with straps you are taking into consideration tension, stress and weight distribution. "Lengthwise" stitching will reinforce the leather and support additional strains. By sewing across a strap you are creating basically a perforated tab that can't withstand too much weight and tension. Wallets aren't handling that much stress and weight across those areas so I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

Yup! Operator error (i.e. end user abuse)

I was wondering the same...

It's a notebook cover for a "field notes" or 3x5 sized pad.

Did you use the dye straight from the bottle or did you dilute it in any way? If you went without diluting your pigmentation will be higher and provide a different coloration than intended. There is also the, as you mentioned, the natural color of the leather that will change your final product.

They're trading on the name that was developed over the years and don't give a damn about quality anymore. A sure way to ruin the name and push themselves out of business.

That is a fantastic process! I'd love to see an instruction video on this.

Using the cork ruler or straight edge will help a lot. I would also recommend making several light passes with the cutting blade instead of trying to go all the way through all at once. Too much pressure will stretch the leather leading to pulled "out of alignment" cuts, especially with thinner leather. Going a little outside the lines with multiple passes will give you room to have your glue up/stitching which will thicken the piece and allow you to even out your finished edges all at once.

Don't know if it was intentional but the brogue looks to me like a sea turtle. I really like this piece!

I like the way the carving turned out. I know this isn't in the critique section, but I would be careful with the design around the grip. It doesn't look like there is enough room around the grip and trigger guard to provide space to have a proper draw and firing grip. This could result in the shooter not being able to properly acquire the pistol in an emergency situation. Just a thought.

Those are beautiful. One question though... How are you attaching the body of the strap to the button on the heel band? You don't seem to have any slots cut in the body to accommodate them the way you do in the strap.

You could try to line it with a lighter weight backing. Contact cement and stitched together. Did you tape the back prior to tooling? The spread from tooling may be what caused the curl.

Ad-blocker... Yeah that makes sense.. It's already been one of those days.

I don't know if it's true or not, but after seeing this post I noticed that the supporter ads that usually grace the top of the page are missing. I don't know how long they've been gone for as I usually just skip to the posts.

I built out a French cleat wall in my shop and made a wall rack for mine. It has a "sun-proof curtain" cover to protect the leather from UV light and dust. Saves a lot of shelf space and searching through boxes for me to find what I need. Rolls are held tight with 2-sided velcro strap.

The overstitch wheel you would only use 1 side at a time. It's got 2 different thread patterns (TPI's) so you would run the center blade section along your edge with the desired TPI on the leather to make your marks.

A bell skiver

Should be fine as long as you're not applying it over an oil based dye

Personally I like having a taller bench. I'm able to use a shop/bar stool to sit or work while standing. It all depends on what makes YOU comfortable.

That's absolutely incredible! As a LEO for the last 24 years that piece is something I would proudly display! The detail is amazing. I'd be lucky to get that level of crispness with a relief stamp!