RidgebackCustoms

Thank you!

Latest guitar strap done! I wanted to do a tooled portrait, but my skills aren't quite there yet. I think the faces turned out well, but didn't bear enough of a likeness to Chester. The guitar strap is tooled leather, Fiebing's black pro-dye for the background. I used dark brown antique for the hands and a matte resist. Although to be honest I don't see much of a difference between the matte and the high sheen after a few days, comparing it to other straps I've done. The inlay is sanded stingray. The leather is 6-7 oz, so to get the cutouts to sit lower I hand skived the back to reduce thickness along the stitch line. Lisa Sorell's book The Art of Leather Inlay and Overlay was a great teacher for that technique. As an aside, I'm trying to get my hobby to pay for itself, but having trouble finding a place to sell my work at cost that doesn't cost me money to post and sell. I feel like posting to facebook / instagram only gets me in front of the same 30 people and the support I get there is great, but they're not customers. I don't want to pay for advertising since I'm practically giving my work away anyway. I'm at a loss. As always compliments and criticisms are welcome. And criticisms are more important for improvement. Thank you! -Ben

Detailed pictures of the pick pocket construction:

They are pick pockets. I stitched a false top across the top of the pocket and then finished the stitch attaching to the strap itself. So there’s an opening at the top to put a pick but it’s a complete border just looking at it. There’s also a little tab on the inside of the pocket to keep the pick from popping out. I’ll post a pic soon.

Fair. I definitely want to try this design again to continue practicing hands.

Been on a guitar strap kick recently. Some of these designs have been kicking around my head for a couple years. Finally decided to sit down and get them knocked out. Each one was done to practice a particular thing I needed more reps with. As always, criticism is appreciated and more valuable than compliments for continuing to improve. Thank you!

Very true. I called around to a few shops before I found the good stuff and most were incredulous I would even ask. But if you're in the Anderson, SC area I know a place lol.

I favor thicker slabs over thinner slabs. Not so much an opinion on material. FYI before you order one, if you have a local granite/marble shop that actually does the fabrication you could see if they have any scrap. Local granite place has a massive pile of off cuts (circular cut outs for garbage bins in countertops/small squares from sink cut outs, etc.) and they just treat it like garbage. Told me to take as much as I wanted when I asked if I could have a piece.

Rocky Mountain Leather Supply has a fair assortment of Italian leathers. You can order $1 sample sizes too to do color comparison. Maybe try the conceria Walpier Buttero in Chestnut. https://www.rmleathersupply.com/products/copy-of-conceria-walpier-buttero-veg-tanned-leather-18-colors-3-oz-1-2mm-for-full-inventory?_pos=2&_psq=buttero&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=39903324766317

First instinct, I'd punch out the rivet on both sides and replace both (so that they match). Find a leather of similar consistency/color for the repair. If it is for personal use/non-professional repair, I'd use a 29 series sewing machine with a swiveling head to stitch the repair on and through the liner. It will look a little rough on the inside of the purse, but the outside will look the same. Otherwise you would have to pop the stitches around the liner to do the same repair, but then have to put the liner back the way it was. Lots of work for something that's only on the inside. I'd be curious to see what the good side looks like.

Looks Great! Also dig the tool set up you have!

Not speaking to the structural / protective effects, but when oiling carved work I find it easier to get a more even (although not as dark) color using the compound. I think because it is less viscous.

Pattern is an amalgamation of some free pattern/image references with modification. Posted the same in the Show Off topic and getting good feedback. Going to revise and try again at some point as well. Feel free to use for personal projects.

Got the tool. Just looking for education resources / how to's that are specific to hair/texturing.

Any suggestions for hair / texturing guidance? I've seen some stuff from Weaver, youtube videos, etc. But looking for any resources you may have.

LOL! Points for originality and fair call. Maybe I should rebrand it. Fair. The standard beret is much shorter and this one would be out of regs in America. But the style for young, indestructible paratroopers was to stretch them out as much as possible and wear it as low as possible. Fair call. I was thinking the same during tooling as they blend the upper face with the lower part of the drawing and make the area with the beret, fore tusk and aft tusk on the left side of the drawing very busy and difficult to tool.

Hey everyone. Couple purposes in posting this one so didn't know which thread to post in. Latest design, tooling complete. This one will be a green notebook cover. Hope you like it. Always looking for criticism / ways to improve. Thick skin so please don't hold back. You're not doing me any favors if you do. Feel free to use the line drawing if you like it. Happy to share. Is there a thread to post line drawings/templates for use by this community? I poked around but didn't see a thread.

Thank you

Thank you! The brass knuckle design is more form than function lol. A little uncomfortable and probably not reasonable for someone petite. I have another version that is a more traditional handle and I include a removable shoulder strap with both designs. Biggest problem I've heard back on (from family) is that the bag tends to pop open when overfilled because the handle closure is magnetic. Not a deal breaker, but been thinking of upping the magnetic force on the standard handle and seeing if that helps.

Just finished the latest tote bag. The construction design is my own. I wanted something I didn't have to sew; someone without extensive leather skills could build and therefore repair; something unique; and something that gave me a large blank canvas to tool and experiment with. I've sold a handful of them, but they didn't get as much traction as I would have hoped. If there's interest, I've been debating whether it would be worth the time to digitize the pattern and provide it to the leathercraft community. Thank you. -Ben Little Ridgeback Customs

Looking forward to it! I'll swing by and say hello.

Quick break down on how I would progress through this drawing. Rushed the pear shading and hair work, but hopefully this is helpful.

Update to conform to rules: 162 patches total. Patches are shown below Quantities vary per type, but approximately 3 per variant. Retail value of patches is between 5 and 15 dollars per patch. PDFs are exact patch part numbers and retail values. Asking $165 firm. Invoice will be conducted through square using an email address. Includes shipping, hanging displays as shown in the photos, and all inventory. Please let me know if I've missed anything from the rules or there are points of clarification. Thank you. Scan_20240428 (2).pdf Scan_20240428.pdf

I charged $5 per patch plus the cost of the patch if they bought one of mine.

I'm no longer going to motorcycle shows to sew leather vests. I have quite a bit of inventory in patches remaining. They're all Patchstop brand patches (patchstop.com). I'm hoping to get 1 dollar per patch for my remaining inventory. Over 100 patches. I believe 173. with retail values between 5 and 15 dollars on their website. Can provide more information and pictures to anyone interested. Thank you. -Ben