Daffy

To simply say you have talent is an understatement, Beautiful work!!

Have done some bag work in the past on my own, one thing I do to make working on them easier is I inflate a beach ball in them till they take normal shape, seems to make things easier while I'm moving them around.

Climbed for 35 years, the gaff part is either way worn/filed down or a pole gaff which is shorter/wider. As for the leather I'd recreate what's there with harness leather. The brunt of the force when using climbers is in the stirrup, the straps just cinch them to your boot and calf. Those are pretty used up and there are much better climbers out there, Buckingham, Klien, and my favorite Bashlin. My knees don't miss me climbing...

Following this. Very interesting stuff it can do.

Inspired by you all, on a budget, and having most of this stuff laying around, here's my starter kit of homemade and re-purposed tools. Included my first leather work in the knife sheath, yeah I know chrome tanned... it was cheap. Also the knife is a re-purposed pipe thread cutting die.(it ain't for cutting leather) Really impressed myself with the two background tools middle row and 3rd and 4th from the left, heated up the bolt heads while in the vise and beat a wood rasp on them for the texture. Odd that I've spent most of my life polishing stuff and now I look at everythings texture wondering if it would make a stamp of some sort. The two stitch groovers went through several design changes before I got what I wanted, I will say though that getting a cotton thread through a 1/16" hole and trying to polish the bore was an interesting task. Tying the string off at one end, threading it through the hole, twisting it with a drill while holding it tight until it "snugged up" in the hole a bit, then JR1 the thread and working it back and forth did a fantastic job. Carving tool was a one shot willy, after looking at several available online it was a no brainer to make one. Stitching punches came from a failed knife blade.. well part of it failed.. Maybe at some point I'll pretty them up a bit more.

Greetings!! Thought I'd get the intro out of the way. Name is Mark, but as my handle implies I go by Daffy, long story, let's just say it fits. Recently retired, communications tech, telco wireline. (dying breed) Have worked wood and steel as a hobby my entire life, usually with some success. Have been making knives for about 3 years now and have made some fairly nice ones. The natural path to making sheaths was there. Oh I kinda like vintage firearms too..Holsters need to be made... Seems as though at the moment my duty has been making my own leather tools, I won't buy junk tools and the supposed good ones got some hefty price tags for a newly fixed income sort of guy like myself.. I'll get around to posting some pics of projects soon. Still in the process of absorbing info from those of you that have had the passion much longer. Truth be told I'm envious of your skills in all aspects and realize you didn't get them overnight. But if at least one of you all would bag up some of that artistic vision for stamping designs, I'd graciously accept it.... Yeah that ain't possible, so I keep trying to impress my self. Guess that about sums it up, Yall have a Merry Christmas!! Daffy