tsunkasapa

Yes, obviously WE have been doing it wrong all these decades.

In 35 of saddle stitching, I have never had the backstitching work loose. And that includes collars and harness repairs for working sled dogs. And those guys give those items some serious use.

I use Saddle Tan on 95% of my projects. It's been my go to for years.

That is exactly what it's all about.

It shows he was on here yesterday, but I haven't seen anything that he's posted since January.

Stoopud teknologee! This stuff is supposed to make life EASIER.

Saw this on Face Book. It didn't seem to be getting much traction there either.

I blame a lot on THE 60s. And the 70s are pretty fuzzy as well.

I left mine raw wood. But I have 24x32 marble slab and a 24x36 cutting board, so very little wood shows.

Al Stohlman's book shows ow to design them from scratch.

I found this to be hilarious.

I've never dealt with Alum tanned other tan boot laces. And as I said, I don't use 'sealers'. But try the resolene on some scrap. Sno Seal might be an option as well.

As to resolene, I can't say. I never us it. But black dye is notorious for 'perpetual' rub off. On a sheath, holster or other small project it is possible to buff it out. But something like a jacket, I don't know. I would point out that the leather was most likely dyed with an aniline dye rather than an oil dye like Pro Dye.

A friend of mine made his black powder shooting bag and knife sheath out of latigo. The color rubbed off and ruined his brain tan buckskin pants. I don't think any sealer will stop it if there is any surface friction. Myself, I avoid latigo for anything that comes in contact with clothes or upholstery.

Not at all. Those kinds of A-holes are far too common today. Come out and stand on the road with my people and I, just for a morning. Year before last I drug a guy half way out of is car window for verbally abusing on of my girls. All she did was stop traffic from his direction. Would have pulled him all the way out, but his belt hung up. All in all, I hate people.

I av so many firearms and knives now that when the wife asks, I just reply "Oh, that? I've had it for years."

Yes, that is important, but the geometry of your awl will affect that as well. If one (or more) of the 4 planes on your is off from the rest it will cause your awl to not want to travel straight through. I hope I explained that clearly, I don't do diagrams on a computer.

I tried that pierced thread thing once, about 25 years ago. Never did it again. I have found it to be totally unnecessary. YMMV

Based on your photos it is definitely a dull edger. And the line on the face is from a sharp point or edge scratching the leather.

Brain 'tanned' leather is not truly tanned. The hide has not been altered. It is more like softened rawhide with the fats from the brain mixture infusing it. And unsmoked BT will revert back to rawhide if it gets wet and dries unless it is worked until dry. The smoke does not waterproof it but allows it to dry and remain flexible. Chemical/chrome and even vegetable tanning actually changes the nature of the hide. As I said above, I wash my buckskins in the washer and tumble dry with no heat (as with wool, this avoids shrinking) and there is no stiffening. You can smoke chemical tanned skins, but all you will get is smokey smelling skins. I'm not a chemist by any means. But I have been a Men's Traditional dancer and fur trade reenactor for the greater part of my life and that is just my experiences with buckskin of both types.

I only hand stitch. I have a machine that I have never used...other than a place to stack stuff.

Go to a company that installs marble/granite counter tops. Most of them will let you pick through the 'bone pile'. My son got me a 24"x32" bench slab and a 12"x12" portable one for free.

PSSSST!! Wanna buy some tokonol?

Tooling on a slab also drastically reduces the noise from banging on tools as opposed to doing it on a table or workbench surface.