RidgebackCustoms

I'm sorry you're having trouble with your hands. Couple ideas that may help: You can try wrapping your stamping tools in a wrap to increase the diameter. That can make it easier to hang on to for longer periods of time. I've heard some people have success using rubber pencil holders. I've seen, but haven't personally used, a leather tattoo machine. Thicker handle and no cause for pounding /using a hammer. May be worth a look if the hammer strikes are causing problems. https://www.blackflagleathergoods.com/leather-tattoo-machine-21grams-leather-goods/

Not bad. You're off to a good start. Some suggestions: The boundary between the hair and shoulder is probably the only thing I would tweak on the image you showed. Picture shows the shoulder in the foreground, but the beveled image follows the perimeter of the figure and has the hair and shoulder in the same plane. Push the hair to the background. If you're not going to add color, recommend running smooth bevelers and checked bevelers. The checked bevelers go where there is background and provide a sharper contrast on what is background and what is figure. This is a gross oversimplification Would also recommend backgrounding if not adding color. It's an easy way to get the eye to see what is figure and what is background. If you're running background, no need for checked bevelers. The fringe/hands could be cut in with a swivel knife to try and duplicate the effect and then blend that into some background matting. This is probably the most difficult part of the design from a skill perspective. For a design like this, pear shaders are your friend. A set in several sizes, smooth will show the flow of the blanket she's holding as well as the dress. A set of modeling tools would be good too, but one or the other would suffice. The ruffles on the dress I would separate the layers with an undercut technique if you have that tool (pro petal tool or undercut modeling tool) Keep going! A design like this doesn't come alive until after pear shading and then you really start to see it.

Oil tanned leather doesn't tend to wet mold well. Usually veg tanned leather is the go to for wet molding. There are knife sheath patterns that don't require wet molding though.

I would think a good contact cement plus velodon would minimize stretch. It really does depend on the application / expected use of the belt. If this were a heavy duty gun belt, I would probably do a veg tan backer and then the 5 oz outer. If it's more a fashion accessory you'd be okay. I've also seen polyester ribbon as an intermediate layer to prevent stretch. Again, secured with a good contact cement.

Difficult as the burnishing process darkens the edge. Edge matching can be done with edge kote or edge paint, but if you want the burnished edge, maybe dilute down your dye significantly with a solvent before application so it's more of a water color type consistency before application. Fiebings dilutes well with Isopropyl alcohol.

https://www.springfieldleather.com/Maverick-Trifold-Wallet-Interiors These are ready made wallet interiors, which may be a good starting point if you're new to leatherwork. For outer leather try to stick to vegetable tanned leathers or latigo/combination tanned leathers. Rocky mountain leather supply has a good assortment of leathers, you can sort by firmness, and they will split down the thickness to whatever you need. I'm partial to the Italian veg tans, but lots of great options. https://www.rmleathersupply.com/

I think this could be a great way to introduce leatherwork to people with limited or no use of one arm.

I'm assuming it will be at the college / same venue as the show? Sounds like a good time.

Is that just for vendors? I haven't heard anything about it. I worry I stretched myself thin, but since I'm only going to be there Friday, Saturday I signed up for classes both days. Friday doing Tooling Realistic Portraits in Leather with Annie Libertini, Saturday doing Fearless Swivel Knife Use with Jim Linnell, and Saturday Afternoon doing 3D Inlay Patch with Lea Wagner. Hopefully I left myself enough time for shopping. The leather community is pretty sparse on the East Coast, so very excited to head west for an event! I was thinking about bringing some of my previous work to try and solicit feedback for improvement. Is there anything else I can do to I'll be sure to stop by and say hello. Thank you!

I'm going to the Rocky Mountain Leather Show for the first time this year! Very excited and taking a few classes from the talent there. Has anyone been before? Does anyone have any tips for getting the most out of the trip? I live in South Carolina, so this trip is definitely not something I can do every year.

Not personally looking for production work, but wondered if you looked into Mexico? A lot of hand tooled work I see from production shops originates there.

You can also start with water resistant leather. Hermann Oak makes some good stuff on that front: https://makersleathersupply.com/products/expedition-water-resistant-leather-hermann-oak?_pos=2&_sid=3f4924a06&_ss=r

I've used the 8 to 10 oz double buffalo butt from Springfield leather for belts and some 4 to 5 oz (unknown origin) for a purse. The 8 to 10 oz I think is combination tanned, so not a pure veg tan and the 4 to 5 oz was probably chrome tanned. The 8 to 10 oz is very dense per square foot and I wouldn't use it for large square footage projects because it would just be too heavy. I personally use a single layer buffalo leather belt almost every day for the last 2 or 3 years. Buffalo is strong, but tends to stretch more than cow. For belts I wouldn't use it for heavy use belts / utility belts such as full size gun belts, but it works just fine for general use and light duty (I carry a multitool every day). I notice more stretching at the belt notch than with cow, but nothing I'm concerned about. I wouldn't have it under constant tension, i.e. using it to cinch your pants super tight. Burnishes super easy and patinas well. The 4 to 5 oz purse holds up well. The thinner leather and smaller design control the weight. Burnishes super easy, so the purse develops a patina easily. Person I made it for likes it because it looks a decade old and you can see where the side of the purse has burnished just from brushing against their side consistently. If you want a design that looks pristine for longer, I wouldn't use it.

Thank you! 25 hours all in on just the tooling work.

Greenville, SC area