chuck123wapati

Actually I was talking about ALs work in the context of trends in the market. Then vs, now,. I don't consider myself nearly as good and I'm sure no one else would either. Most young folk buying leather wouldn't.t know Stholmans name from anyone else's unless they googled it. Now leather crafters or collectors seeing his name would buy it just because they knew who he was.

So does the market! sometimes leather is in sometimes its not! Leather was far more sought after in the western look back then, now maybe the money is in biker stuff, your cb handle story is a perfect example of trends that drive the market, Stohlman may not have done any better than us if he were in our time. But HE had a name and still has a name and his floral carvings would sell for more simply because of that, quality of leather wouldn't matter. The biggest variable in leatherwork or any of the crafts and probably the most problematic =when your work quits being just functional and becomes art, how do you price an artistic piece comparative to other people artistic endeavors? People buy products for a number of reasons, that run the course from frugality to just spending for spending sake everything in between. I think that's the best reason to pick a market, plan on selling to frugal people , rich people, bikers, whatever but don't consider others out of that target group as potential buyers. Your target group has to be able to support you and your competition by itself. What people paid back in the day is inconsequential to many other variables have changed.

Both JL and Tony have good points but I think have very different business models so have taken different approaches. Obviously very few will pay out the nose for crap, some will compare your stuff to box store items that usually aren't even leather. The first step is making the decision of what you are selling, ie stamped belts machine sewn etc, or totally handmade custom ordered belts , for example. Yes they are both belts but take different supplies, construction methods. Time, etc. , they cant be compared simply because they are belts and hold up your pants. Your ability to sell is just like any other commodity, supply and demand. First step make plan, decide on a product, find a market for your product, at that point then your pricing has to be competitive with those in the same market unless you are very famous which you aren't yet. That involves also supplies and your ability to drop your overhead, no new truck, you will be competing against those that have through the years found the cheapest sources for their supplies, quickest ways of construction with less defects and have created a name for themselves. There will always be those that want your custom handmade belt to be just as cheap as the stamped belts on the rack at Costco but they aren't buying customers plain and simple don't even think about them or vegans as real customers lol, remember you have found your target group, if it isn't big enough then you wont make it no matter how nice your work is or how much competition you have. in my experience those that have bought from me understand full well what they want and what the quality should be and the price of comparable products. If your quality of work isn't up with the apples to apples competition you wont sell as much and those that do buy wont come back and wont refer you to others at that point you have to change something quality or price.

friggin awesome!! don't forget the 12 pack! lol

I drilled my first ever stitching holes for a pistol holster the other day, glued the thing together, made sure the edge was square then used a piece of wood as a guide along the edge, with a piece under just the edge also to drill into, worked pretty well. I grooved the front first then played connect the dots with the groover on the backside, the grooves helped straighten the stitching a bit. Your sheath looks great.

Calling yourself a craftsman is easy, its when others call you a craftsman that is the defining moment I think.

really nice work!!! but I have to ask why the bolt isn't in the rifle? I use a button of elk or deer horn with one hole and a leather thong , just one half hitch around the other end of the strap and pulled tight will keep it secure and its easy to loosen.

very cool !!!!! thank you.

very cool modern moccasins lol.

I bought a tandy chisel to replace one of Chinese origin and found that the way they measure the spacing is different, a 4mm tandy has wider spacing than the 4mm other brand. One is measured tip to tip while the other is measured in between prongs so be sure to check.

you could make him an awesome fur hat with hidden sheath. Just thinking outside the box, its not going to look like a sheath so make it look like something that fits fur and hide the sheath inside. Bracers maybe.

didn't even notice it looks so good nice straight lines.

way cool I'll bet he does like it.

Thank you both

Thank you!

Just finished this skinning knife and sheath, Wait till you all see the skiving knife I'm working on.

yes always read the msds, and do a little research and usually you can find the same chemicals a lot cheaper than buying from accompany that just repackages and charges more.

I found this on the web never used it. http://www.kleanstrip.com/product/m.e.k.-substitute

Store bought chicken is way down there compared to rattler. Lol Do you eat the toads? Do they taste like chicken too? I've had frog legs they kinda taste like chicken or visi versa.

lol nope I don't mean that a bit I would use the heck outa one of em they are amazing. Alooong way off but a great place to see what the US once was about. You rock guys have me a bit confused now. lmao

LMAO!! I'm a dummy. sorry yea mine aren't great works of art but functional and meant to be used.

The dowel rods look pretty modern to me, I would look closely at the hinges they may have some clues, China made , japan made, etc, I would guess homemade possibly a boy scout, or 4h project piece. It is very cool would love to get some measurements and more pics to build one myself.

you could make it as a western ranger style with sewn on billets for the buckle and adjustment.

don't know about Cobra but rattle snake scales start to fall off during tanning so I take them off if they don't, the hide underneath is shaped the same so it still looks like scales. And I eat the meat too.

no harm no foul friend by the way your sheaths are top notch much better than mine wish I had croc skin to work with, I have rattle snake when I come across one fishin. lol