chuck123wapati

yup great tools help, practice helps too lol.. I chose books because the op is an intermediate, so he should have at least a basic tool set and the knowledge to pick and choose quality tools. and have proficiency in the basic leather working techniques, sewing, gluing, finishing, etc. He probably already has a head knife, for example, or one that he likes and should know how to use it and care for it, and if it's good quality or not. Having said that, upping his game should then be expanding his knowledge base by trying new and diferent techniques or genres of leather crafting. Each of those requires specific new tools that you can't get without knowing what you need. For example, the Sheridan style tooling, the style is very unique and requires specific tools and techniques to be proficient. You can either get that info from the book or classes or blindly buy some great tools that may not be right and make crappy work until you do buy the book, then re-buy the correct tools. That is a hard lesson a guy who is an intermediate should have already learned lol. . So it goes to reason that in order to get the correct tools, you need the knowledge to do so first. The question is kinda vague, so I can't tell him what tools to buy if I don't know what he wants to do with leather past the intermediate level. If he were a beginner, I would have a different opinion of what he should do. lol. Just my opinion for what its worth..

YW Your friend Aaron did an excellent job filming imo, and getting the contact info is priceless to those of us who can't make those trips for whatever reason. I can't believe the amount of product you folks tote to those shows. I don't know if my bank account could handle a day there lol. You have a great tribe!!!!

And if you think the BBC are the only ones doing this shit your dumb enough to believe them.

I found this while perusing YouTube. A ton of good info, names, numbers and contact info and Bruce hisself lol. I have no idea where to post it, so you mods can figure that out.

yup all the tool answers above need special knowledge to use them and care for them correctly, and it can all be found in a book. Also, the saddler will have a different answer than the shoemaker or the guy who makes watch straps lol. What each of us envisions as leather work usually is diferent. And I'll add this forum as a great tool also.😁 You can see those who take the critiques and advice seriously improve as time goes on, while those who blow off the help or ignore helpful tips and good advice just don't improve as fast or as well. It's not the tool in the hand, it's the hand that drives the tool. A knowledgeable craftsman with mediocre tools can outperform the ignorant man with the best tools.

oh, i get it now. Of course, the maker logo on the front/face of the hub and maybe the specs of the machine age and any pertinent info around the hub.

Books, books, and more books! Don't know if you would classify them as a tool. but the knowledge I have gained from them has enhanced my work much more than any specific tools have.

Yeah, there is no doubt about how the global media has been and still is weaponized against that man.

I've been helping my best friend and ex-son-in-law this week, trying to get him an elk. Hopefully, I can get some rest soon. Ima getting tired lol. It's been in the teens at night and only in the 40s during the day, but no snow, just bitter cold winds. Any way your garden sounds like it's going pretty well. I don't have enough growing season here for peppers, sure wish I did, i have to start them indoors then hope they don't stunt when i replant them. I think i might be able to do some summer sausage this winter, we have a good supply of meat.😁 plus my daughter works at the local Walmart and get a heads up on markdowns so we get some low cost burger once in a while.

i would leave it alone until i knew how to take it apart and do it correctly with the proper materials, and I doubt most leather workers know how to do that lol.. Those things were dangerous enough without unforeseen problems. and someone may use it at some point in time. Take your time on your awesome rebuild, it's a very cool project indeed.

did you look here?https://fiebing.com/blog/

its a western purse made to look like a saddle. Very popular back in the day. Tandy sold a pattern kit at one time.

Use the search function; there are several threads that may help you.

Doris wore another cool Hollywood rig lol.

that came out really nice!!

Man, that must suck having the knowledge right there and not being able to get to it. With your natural talent, your work could get much more refined easily.. Keep up the good work!!

yup I ve done much harder work. Like getting it in the truck this year lol.

I would try spraying it with Febreze, then if that didn't work, maybe a cold or slightly warm tumble in the dryer with a dryer sheet or two.

I think the whiskey glasses were lol. Nothing western in Hollywood is real even now, but at least then they had some morality and sense of right vs wrong. Every show had a lesson and positive story line. I'll take Gunsmoke over modern "entertainment" any day. I think Matt was kissed only once in the whole series, and they didn't even have to show Miss Kitty's boobs to get the message across that she was a woman.

Tandy, in thier Library. https://tandyleather.com/blogs/leathercraft-library

"Figure Carving" by AL Stohlman would give you that info for adding the shading. I see Tandy is sold out on that book; however they have "How to carve Leather" which also shows the process Al used. I like that sheath BTW, very well done imo.

Thank you!! oh yea they were! A nice homemade chokecherry/service berry wine accompanied it. I also used a bit to create the au jus with some black pepper for a bit of spice. Then I sauted some onions until brown and made country gravy and smashed taters, with a light salad. Hoping you are doing as well, are you going to plant a garden this year? Some good spring veggies?

My son is doing the tanning, its very much like brain tanning but without the brains and makes the same type of leather. I'm trying something diferent on the fore legs, i want to keep the hair on so am using a diferent method. The legs have short hair and i want to try it on a holster or two. And yes he works his butt off during the softening process.

practice makes perfect!! Good job and noticeable improvement imo.

very cool!!!! you give me inspiration as well as others on the site I'm sure. Much more creative than a cut-and-paste laser image IMO. My old art teacher would say. Put some shadow texture in to ground your cannon and building a bit.