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Contact Lui, he has classes and apprentice, good guy and talented, lots of cool stuff in his shop including vintage tools. Lui Rayon Daddy's Leather Supply 7495 NW 7th. Street unit 9 Miami , Fl. 33126 305-260-4532

I cut the welt for the width of the loop inlay, skive the loop leather so it is as thick as the welt, then glue it in, as I do with the welt then stitch it up. Seems like the way to do it but I couldn't tell you for sure. It works for me.

Among some of the materials already mentioned, I use the plastic that comes in bacon packages and the cardboard that 12 packs of canned soft drinks come in. I don't like or use corrugated cardboard.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I made up a bunch of ukulele straps for a Uke Festival I played at yesterday, it kept me busy for a day or so. Thanks, yes it is left handed, one of the reasons I do leather work to make my own left handed stuff. The pick holders are really simple to make, I use a large belt strap end cutter, I strike the leather twice to make the football shape then cut one in half to make the front pocket. I've made hundreds of these things and thinking about having a clicker die made up.

Just a logo, no advertising of my name or "Barclay Customs" the image is actually me. I know it's kind of goofy but that's what it is. Same image I use on my guitar picks.

This would be a good opportunity to practice your pattern making, this is a relatively easy project. I've made a few dozen bags for bikes along the same lines including a larger one for just keeping my Rendezvous stuff in. Pretty much the same thing. I didn't make a pattern just drew it out on graph paper 1/4" to the inch to get the ball park proportions then cut it out and assembled.

I didn't see it, but today is my first day back in a few years I picked up a NAA "The Earl" and made a holster folloing the traditional 1858 lines of it.

Well, I haven't been around much, like the scatterbrain I am, I go from one project to another. I guess I was so glad to stop doing the custom motorcycle seats that I've only been doing utilitarian leather work. Just making stuff I need or a little custom stuff for friends. I figured I would just respond to this thread I started quite a while ago. I did a few more of the rawhide sheaths and started making knifes again. I'll post a few, I did make sheaths for each of them. This one I kind of got carried away with, adding gator scutes and bling. These are a few of the knives I've made, the first two are made by stock removal out of D-2 tool steel then professionally heat treated. This is the sheath I made for it. This is the biggest of the four D-2 knives 10 3/4" overall length with a 5 1/2" blade. both of these knives are hilted with Black Cherry Burl. And it's sheath. This is the last one I'll show and the only one I managed to keep for myself. The handle is made from stacked leather disks, below it is a fire starting ferro rod I also added stacked leather to. This blade is made by Enzo and is 01 tool steel. Thanks for looking, I'm playing at a ukulele festival tomorrow and spending the day making up ukulele straps Ya'all have a good weekend.

Thanks, I didn't know rawhide needed processing, other than de-hairing and scrapping. I’ll have to check out the process.

Yeah, you notice how smooth Paul's beveling is, he doesn't draw it out but man is it smooth. I talked with a bunch of shops but down here in Miami they were clueless on how much time it took, they wanted to pay me $200.00 for a tooled seat along with padding the pan. Then give me attitude about my prices. I got tired of the haggling but I still do it for my buddies. You ever notice how these guys would put together a beautiful bike then hand you the lamest un-symmetrical seat pan. Man, I had some work on my hands trying to make a symmetrical pattern line up with the seat and the bike. I had to buy and grinder to even up a few of these pans, like I need an excuse to by a power tool Again your work is excellent, charge them until it hurts

That's great, good work. Man I had a blast at the "Smoke Out" the two years we dragged our butts up there. Geno was going to do an a piece on my seats a few years back, it never panned out but Katmandu did a piece on my stuff for a local rag late last year. Got a good chance to talk with Paul Cox and did a few jobs for Billy Lane. I'm kind of glad it has died off a bit, seats where a lot of work.

Thanks megabit. I ordered a couple.

These blades I bought at the Alafia River Rendezvous from the maker. They are 1098 and fairly inexpensive, sharp as the dickens and good edge retention. They are 4 5/8" from tip to the end of the stick tang. The full tangs may be another ¼" longer. I have made a dozen or so blades but the guys I know that make them are master bladesmiths so it's better all around if my buddies make my blades for me. This is one of the full tangs. one of my home made, actually my first home made blade, with a very early sheath.

Thanks, I'm excited about venturing into this very primitive look, for way too long my leather work has been pointed towards fancy and fine. Now I need to find some deer rawhide. This was bleached Goat rawhide I bought for making instruments. I've got another sheath on the bench for a Damascus blade that I'm using bovine rawhide, I've scraped it a bit thinner but I've got to find a source of unbleached deer rawhide so I'm not spending too much time on it or paying too much money. I'll be a little more serious next deer season

I found a tutorial from another web site that gave a pretty good rundown on how to make a rawhide sheath. I've liked the looks of this style since I first saw it back in the 80s. I made the knife last Thursday and the sheath on Saturday.

Cool, it looks like it will work pretty good. I like to use 5 to 6oz. I make up a bunch and then carry the parts around as stitching projects when I'm waiting or bored.

Very nice, I hadn't seen that arrow head basket weave pattern. I got to get out of the cave more often.

I'll place them as hyper links it whoudl take you to the pictures. 1st pic http://inlinethumb37.webshots.com/43108/12...S600x600Q85.jpg 2nd pic http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/41595/11...S600x600Q85.jpg 3rd pic http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/6597/123...S600x600Q85.jpg 4th pic http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/2812/145...S600x600Q85.jpg 5th pic http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/5701/146...S600x600Q85.jpg Hope that works for you.

This one was for the Maui Chopper, it was for a friend who rebuilt this 60s chopper that he found in somebody's back yard, he was shocked to find it he owned the bike 30 years ago and lost track of it. His wife had me make this bag for that bike. Maybe if you saw the bike you will better understand the bag I made this fairly nasty bag out of scrap I had laying around, this bag was stolen from me at rehearsal one night 3 months later I got a call from the company that sweeps the shoulder of the interstate highways. It had sat on the side of the road for weeks. Not only did the thieves not want it none of the 10,000 drivers passing by it wanted it either. Must be my logo I guess at this point I should show one that has some redeeming value, not that I'm too full of pride but I don't want ya all to think I'm a complete hack. Don't even ask me why I made these, I guess a repercussion from making the other two. Ain't no way I'd ever get any cash for the time I've gotten into them.

Thanks Raven, the strap comes up the back through a punched slot and through a keeper. The strap is attached by two stitches at the bottom of the back, there are 14 stitched total, at 7 & 8 the strap attached, the keeper is attached on the front at stitch number 3 & 4 on one side and 11 & 12 on the other. The shape of the pick holder is cut with three punches of a 1 1/2" strap end cutter, look at the picture again and it will become clear there are 4 pieces not counting the split ring to attach it to your key ring. I've made hundreds of these and get 15 to 25 bucks apiece depending on the skin I use. I give away as many as I sell, often as an extra with custom guitar straps or to musician friends and players I want to remember me. Hey Dave, the rendezvous was a blast, it always is plus I get an opportunity to snatch up leather working stuff without hazmet fees and look at the leather and hides before I buy, this year I bought a buffalo hide and a hair on cow hide for some projects I've been wanting to do. I know about Billy, he blew it, I probably shouldn't say but I believe the guy has a problem with alcohol, every time I've seen him he was so toasted it was pathetic, I know because I was like that up until 14 years ago when I stopped doing all that crap.

Hey Luke, we've been Rendezvousing since the mid 80s and I've been shooting the black stuff since the 70s. We make the Alafia every year for 9 days and make it up to the Southeastern every once in a while. Here I am posing in my new vest just a few short weeks ago. Yeah, that darned uke turned out better than I had a right to expect, I'm one lucky dude. I made it out of a gourd with sitka spruce soundboard and bracing. The finger board is purple heart and the neck is curly Honuran Mahogany, I got both of these woods from the local Ace Hardware store . Sound File

A little over a week ago I was up at the Alafia River Rendezvous and bought a 5 foot gator hide from my buddy Dale at the Creative Aztec. This is an Oak tanned hide and very well done, Dale used to be a rocket scientist and I'm almost convinced that what it takes to tan gator Here are a few things I made out of the last one I got from him.

I've been fooling around with leather for at least 20 years, I should be much better at it than I am but I can't stay focused and tend to drift and dabble into other skills/hobbies. I always come back to leather work because I need stuff that is made out of leather. Such as stuff for the motorcycle, knives, guns and pistols, bags, cases, wallets, belts and off the wall stuff like gourd instruments with rawhide heads, musician related junk, like pick holders and straps. The regular stuff nothing too fancy. I got busy a few years ago when the chopper motorcycle thing was big and I was asked by a buddy who owned a MC shop to do a few custom jobs for his clients. The motorcycle seats took over my life for a few years, man I'm glad that has passed, it was crazy, then all of a sudden every leather worker in the world started doing the custom tooled seats and I couldn't pull in the big bucks as often as I had, thank you, truth is I don't like making the seats, the pans always seem un-symmetrical, making pattern making and the art insane. I did some work for Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. and had a chance to meet Paul Cox and talk with him about the craft, the guy has some of the best beveling I've ever seen though he doesn't draw it out, rather leaves it as a channel, which is kind of cool too. Anyhow I still have a web site I put up during this time and have kept it, though it has drifted into other directions some of the leather projects are still posted on the first three pages or so, www.barclaycustoms.com if you're board to tears and need a distraction. I still get asked once in a while to do a custom leather job and that's fine with me. I finished up one on Tuesday and have to wrap up another tomorrow and then the calendar is clear for a while, a good thing, I need to make up a couple old style fretless gourd banjos and fix my band saw. Dang, I have an inlay I have to wrap up for a ukulele maker up in the North East, nothing fancy but the guys waiting on the uke until I can get it cut, assembled and shipped up to the maker, hate to make the guy wait any longer. I know, I waited a year for my custom Kepasa Ukulele but it was worth it. Anyways, I'll be popping in from time to time, helping where I can and asking dumb questions when I must. Mike in Homestead Finding fossil shark teeth in the Peace River