tsunkasapa

Thanks guys. Last night our Governor extended the "Stay at Home" thing for another 30 days, so I guess I have lots of time to work on them. I'm finishing one made from Shrunken Bison. I TOLD them not to put that wet buffalo in the dryer, but did they listen? Noooo.

I don't see any problem with the quality of your stitching. I do know that the geometry of your awl, most specifically the TIP dictates the path the awl wants to take through the leather.

Thanks all. I'm not a fan of the synthetics, although I have tried nylon. I thought it had too much stretch. The hemp I'm using needs a knot on each end until it's waxed to keep it from unraveling. Once it's waxed that's not an issue.

Other than a bit of lacing from time to time, I handstitch everything. I see Many different threads, poly, nylon, braided. I sew everything with 3 or 5 ply flax I get from Crazy Crow, or 3 or 5 ply hemp I get from Rawganique.com. The hemp comes natural and unwaxed, so I can dye to suit. I'm wondering what others use.

I recently saw a Tony L***a belt at a thrift store. It was a filigreed belt that had vinyl for the color layer. I would have expected better from the brand.

Many years ago a friend from my town moved to the Seattle area and lived a couple miles from a Tandy store. When I went to visit John, I would go hang out at the store for a couple of hours and got to know all the people quite well. But my home town is about 2 1/2 hours from there, so I couldn't always buy in person. So I would have Sharon or Kevin pick out one that THEY would buy and send it to me. Also had the same relationship with Leather Factory in Spokane...before Tandy drug them down to their level. I miss the old days.

Put some oxalic acid crystal in the water you case it with and it will minimize the chances of mold or mildew.

Very nice job. I used to have a dog that was half malamute and half mastiff. There was no commercial collar strong enough to hold him, so I would hand stich two layers of 8 oz and make him a new one every year.

Rendezvous or Rondy is an historical re-enactment of the American fur trade. We gather at different locations, dress in early 19th century (1825-1840) attire, camp and participate in competitions of shooting, throwing knives and tomahawks and cooking. There is also a goodly amount of "period correct" drinking and carousing. Here is a link to one of the biggest ones. http://www.pacificprimitiverendezvous.com/

Forgot to add this until AFTER I hit Submit. This is me at Troy, Idaho last summer. The little guy is my grandson. That is a fully functional .45, and he can outshoot and out brag most adults when we go out.

So, I'm Big Ed. 66 year old Traffic Control Supervisor for a road construction company. Since I am technically retired, ALL I do for the company anymore is traffic control.No more carpentry, concrete or labor. And DON'T call me today wanting me tomorrow. Because I MAY have plans of my own. Some of the stuff we do as a result of floods etc I realize happens without warning, but for the most part they give me at least 2-3 days heads up. So, because of my "work situation" I have large blocks of time for me (US if you ask my wife). So I have lots of time to work at my bench, and from April-September, my partner and I go to numerous rendezvouses around the Pacific Northwest. Because of my black powder hobby, most of my leatherwork is shooting bags, sheaths, holsters and other rondy themed items.

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I was working on getting my inventory built up before the upcoming rendezvous season started, and THEN got hit with stay at home. And a lot of the rondys are getting cancelled, so I will just keep cutting and sewing. I have enough leather to get me through this. I don't know how many pics I can get per post.