anester05

I normally put neatsfoot oil on before I dye, should I still do this? If I just use neatsfoot oil and saddle soap will the color bead on the horse?

My sister has a very old bridal she needs repaired. It needs to be dyed black. I have leather thick enough but should I use an oil dye or a alcohol based dye? Her horse is mostly white around face and head so she needs something that won't bleed. Should I use one of the earlier dyes and then dunk the strips in a sheen finish? Will the normal Tandy finishes be good for outside tack? Should I dip dye the strips of leather or will applying the dye with a dauber work? thanks for any help Adam

I know about Barry King Tools and Robert Beard Tools. Are there any other tool makers, suppliers. I am looking to slowly upgrade my most used tools. Also does anybody know if there is any difference between Hidecrafter's stamps and Tandy's stamps.

What do you do to attach the 3 rings inside your leather binders? I am having problems with mine. I tried a quick rivet it was either too loose or I bent the binder trying to tighten it up. Should I use screws, split rivets any suggestions? Thanks, Adam

Maybe I should put some hot air to it. Or just a warm breeze after it has dried normally. The biggest problem right now is I am finishing up a project had a piece of paper stick then took some of the finish with it. Note some of the construction has happened. I am thinking that I can take a damp sponge with some Shene on it even out the spots that where stuck. Any suggestions?

I have been using tandy's Super Shene and after they are dry for a couple of days they stick to paper and other things. One of my projects actually adhered to a piece of paper and now the paper will not come off. Am I missing a step in the finish process? It does not seem to matter the amount of finish, or maybe I am always using too much? I use a Preval Power unit to apply my finish. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Adam

It is the smoke black hi-lighter.

I want to make a set of saddle bags for my sister. Her saddle is not stained and it doesn't look like it has a sealer on it. Is there a basic oil type finish that is used on saddles that does not seal the leather? Thanks Adam

Just my latest finished thingy. Besides the listing of the basket weave I thought it turned out ok.

I use the Eco-Flo highlighters. I like the effects but I am concerned with what will happen when/if the finish gets rubbed off. I First apply the highlighter then I spray on a acrylic finish. I know that the finish is not water proof just water resistant. Will the dye bleed and come off on clothing if the finish gets rubbed off? Should I use another top finish on top of the acrylic finish? Should I do anything to the stitching gouge line? I am mostly concerned with this for Belts. Thanks Adam

Well, the soap thing seemed to help, I still had to strop every other cut which was annoying but I got it carved. This is the first time I have had this kind of trouble with Tandy's cheap leather. Is their Live Oak leather better than their other leather? Which brings me to a leather question. Which part of the cow is best for carving, Belly, shoulder, back or butt? Are double shoulder worth buying or should I mostly try and just buy sides? Thanks for all the suggestions Adam

I have been casing a piece of leather. I soaked it in water and let sit out of the water for a couple of hours then I threw it in a bag to let it sit over night. I have done this several times before with great success. But this time my swivel knife is dragging horribly. I will strop the knife and the first cut seems to do well at the start then it starts to drag not even a 1/4" into the cut. I have a Barry King knife and is sharpened well so I know it is not my knife, because my last project carved great with it. Could it just be the cheap craftsman oak I bought at Tandy? Any suggestions on how I can get it carving better? I really would hate to lose this piece, it is rather large. Like I said I have been casing this way my last several projects and it has yet to fail me, man is this frustrating Any help appreciated thanks Adam

I use both the Tandy Hi-Lighter and the Tandy Gel antique. Both work well. I have had the the most luck with the hi-lighter though. What I do is I spread the Hi-Lighter on thick over the entire surface then I take a damp sponge and wipe off the excess. Use tight circles for both applying the dye and wiping with the sponge. This seams to give me the most consistent look. After the stain dries I use a prevail sprayer to spray on the finish. One thing to note is the prevail sprayer shoots out a ton of finish so make several quick passes do not let the finish pool too much(there will be some pooling) because when it dries you will have a uneven look to the finish. I have yet to try using the sponge with the antique gel but will soon I think it will give me similar results. I have attached an example of the Hi-Lighter.

I have had really good luck with the Tandy Hi-Liters. I have found for me the best way to apply is to layer it on with a wool dauber then with a damp sponge wipe the excess off and even out the color. The Hi-Liter part will seep into the impressions and bring out any tooling. Makes a basket stamp look awesome. I have found the best way to apply the acrylic finish is the spray it on either with a air gun or the prevail sprayer. Good Luck

That is one heck of a bag. Its nice a neat. Very good job.

I'm sure this is asked somewhere but I have been unable to find much information on what angle to use when sharpening a swivel knife blade. I sharpened my blade at a 30 degree angle and that did not cut like I thought it should. So I then sharpened my blade at a 25 degree and that seemed to almost slice straight through the leather. I am now going to try a 27 degree angle. Any tips would be appreciated.

I think I have just decided to line it anyway less hassle. I was just trying to cut cost ohwell. Also does anyone line their belts?

What has worked for me is I soak the leather then let it sit until the color changes back to lookin not wet. Then i slick it then wet it again with a sponge wait until the wet look disappears and slick it again. I do this several times to stretch the leather a bit. Then I back to something smooth while the backing glue is drying I set a piece of glass on top to assure adhesion. If you do not have glass books on top of Tandy tracing paper works great to. Then after a bit I start to work. I usually carve the project before I back it, I like the freedom of being able to rotate the piece with out the backing on it. but if your backing is no bigger than the piece np. This process takes a couple of hours the multiple slicking seems to make the carving easier. Hope this gives you some ideas.

As long as it is not just me having the problem. I guess I will be buying some regular old barge and see what happens. I wonder if diluting the cement with thinner would make it weak enough?

Maybe the rubber cement I use is the wrong stuff? I buy the blue canister Tanners Bond from Tandy which is their rubber cement, and it is really really strong I get stretch just by removing the leather from the backing board. If I apply the leather to the board when it is dry then the leather rips when I pull it off. So I started to use Elmers rubber cement because it is weaker.

I want to make a diplomat pouch but do not want to line it. how thick should the leather be so I can carve the back and front and not have to back it. I'm thinking 8-9oz and I will carve only a small portion? Thanks, Adam

Tried to email Duey, but I got error, I need prices to get my round knife, 2 swivel knifes and a trim knife sharpened. Thanks, Adam

I will be making a brief case that will have either fantasy creatures(Dragons) or normal animals(Lions Tigers and Bears. oh my!) have not decided on which yet. I thought it would look nice to have the animals custom dyed instead of just antiqued. I have no idea on how much work like this costs. I would like to have prices to see if I can even afford to pay someone to do this for me. If I could get some examples and what you would charge for them I would appreciate it. Thanks, Adam Nester

My Grandfather worked on leather before his arthritis got to bad for him to keep tooling. I made a couple of belts with him when I was younger around 12 or so. Well I came across his old tools and decided to start working with leather again. Thats about it.

5-6oz and 6-7oz can be used for bags, purses, notebooks and the like.