Mulesaw

Our quartermaster onboard asked me if I would help her make a knife. I told her that I'd be happy to help her, and I suggested that instead of the wooden handles that people have made so far, we could try to make a leather handle. The blade is a store bought kind of discount blade. No name but a decent size for an everyday knife. I had brought some veg tan and some black leather with me (don't know much about it save for that it can be polished on its edges), and I instructed her to first cut out a bunch of small rectangles. We soaked those in water for about an hour or so then put them in a plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator over the night. The next day we cut some holes in the small pieces so that they would fit on the tang of the knife. The tang is kind of wedge shaped, so the upper pieces got 4 holes and the lower pieces got 2 holes. All the pieces were put in order on a jig to prevent them from sliding around while being pressed. Once mounted on the jig, it was compressed using the machinist vise in the engine room. We managed to compress the handle with almost 25 % in length. After roughly 20 hours in the vise the raw handle was removed and mounted on the tang. Anna (the quartermaster) started shaping the handle using a chisel, (we have to make do with what we have got out here). When she was satisfied with the overall contours and look of the handle she switched to some sandpaper, and finally after polishing and installing the guard and the pommel - the handle was polished using water and some canvas. For sake of clarity, I didn't do all the hard work, I just supervised and helped with stuff like silversoldering the pommel and turning the retention nut on the lathe. So Anna did the bulk of the work herself. But since she is not on LWN, I thought that I'd show off the knife for her. Tomorrow she wants to make a sheath for the knife.

I have seen some rifle slings that were lined with green felt. And I generally think that felt ads a touch of class to most things. If it isn't too much to ask for, if you ever get a picture of the sleight bell strap and this body strap on the actual horse, I would love to see the picture :-)

Like @Tugadude suggests, send an email to Tandy. Even big companies have someone who reads the emails that are sent to them, and my guess is that they get a fair amount of angry emails. So it might brighten someone's day to have an email praising a commendable effort from one of their employees. Brgds Jonas

Beautiful work, Is the felt edge a traditional trimming? Brgds Jonas

Beautiful work as always Tom! And that plough gauge looks sweet, glad to read that you are on speaking terms with it :-)

Lots of great ideas here. So far our little company has only sent out something like 4 packages in total, so we haven't gotten that far. But if people come to pick up a repair job, I usually ad a business card with a paperclip to the bill. @PastorBob Funny that you should mention Buck knives. I bought one about 30 years ago and still remember that inlay note that they put in the box.

One single great employee can also make me return to a shop. I do most of my stuff shopping at the local lumberyard. In the pro section they are like 6 guys and one lady. They are all extremely helpful, knowledgeable and appreciate a bit of small talk. The great thing is that they can normally always match online prices, and if there is ever a problem with a product, returning it is an absolute hassle-free experience. Thumbs up to you for supporting a "local" business and telling about it. I wish more people did that. Brgds Jonas

Beautiful work! That is a hefty amount of basket weave that goes into that case! It is impressive how much the flag stands out being painted, that effect couldn't have been replicated if you had painted the rest of the case. It gives such a great statement! Now you just need to figure out an appropriate answer when the rest of the PGR members asks you if you can make a similar case for them

Welcome, Good and sound advice from all above. I think that if you want to develop it into a business it is important to remember and be prepared to make stuff that people want to buy and not necessarily the stuff you would like to make yourself. Not that you should stray way out of your primary zone, but sometimes the things people like to buy and pay for are a bit different from what you like yourself. My business started out by buying an old patcher and I taught myself how to replace zippers in riding boots. That evolved into an extra patcher that I use for repairing horse blankets. Once in a while a decent leather project comes into the shop as well like repairing a headstall or some other leather gear. But the riding boots got it all started. It could easily be different in the area where you live, but if there is an equestrian center near by, it couldn't hurt to ask them if they needed anything. If you look at @TomE 's profile, you can see some magnificent halters he has made. So that could be an item if you want to produce new stuff. Personally I would love to make new stuff, but people in my area are generally more into having stuff repaired, and that is also a steady source of income. Good luck :-) Brgds Jonas

That's a brilliant idea!

That looks fantastic. Being able to see the entire bearer of the flag makes an incredible difference. Sorry for the late comment, but our Internet provider on board (Telenor Maritime ) is completely useless and unable to supply any forms of communications as soon as we leave the path generally trodden (sailed). And the South Atlantic Ocean diagonally isn't exactly a maritime expressway :-) Brgds Jonas

Well, I was always taught to tell the truth, and the bearer on that line drawing looks like something from a 1950'ies ad for joining the service :-)

@TomE Thanks for the nice words :-) I think the logo is pretty good looking as well, especially on this light veg tan. The sewing was all done on my old patcher, but it did an admirable job I think. Brgds Jonas

At first I thought it looked a bit overwhelming with the stained basket weave, but after the painting of the flag and the pole it looks good to me. My only suggestion would be to move the face of the bearer a smidge forward (if that is possible), or move the hat a little down on the head instead. On the line drawing, it is easy to see that the bearer is wearing a cap, and you can see the contours of his face, but on your practice piece, it looks kind of like he isn't wearing a hat, other than a strange pointy shade over his eyes. It is a minor detail, but I think it will be worth it. Also on the line drawing there is a resolute stout expression on the bearer, aided by a strong chin and a good posture. It might just be the chest of the bearer that has fallen a bit on the carving, but that gives a different look. I am looking forward to seeing the finished case Brgds Jonas (who is no where near being able to carve something like this)

hmmm, now you got me confused :-) If there is only hair on the front, then is the back of the goat skin "shaved" or is the back of the batwings just the canvas? I have never seen a pair, so I have absolutely no idea, and when I googled images of woolies, all the pictures showed them from the front.

It is funny how we can remember specific things like clothing, even so many years after. I can still remember some of the jackets I wore as a kid, I don't know why that is. I know my wife commented on it at some time that she felt it was one of the things that really made it worth while knitting a sweater or a set of socks since it was so much appreciated by me. And on the other hand I can frequently forget other stuff, so it is not that I remember everything. But my own guess is that some how deep down our brain registers warm clothes as something that helps to keep us warm and safe and alive. (I am getting a bit philosophical here). I don't know if I can find some Angora fleece, but there is regularly lambs fleece available, so I'd probably just make some out of that.

Now that would mean that I finally had an excuse to make a set of batwings! It sounds like an interesting construction, as I see it there must be a regular set of batwings, then all lined on the inside with canvas and in addition to that wool on the front.

Thank you so much :-)

@tsunkasapa Thanks, I'll have to show Laura those angora chaps, I bet she would love a set like them too. I wonder if they are hairy on the back side as well, or if it is just on the front/sides?

@chuck123wapati Thanks a lot Chuck, I have to ask my son really serious if he would prefer me to make him another set with dark brown yokes and no tooling at all. In that case Laura can get those :-)

@PastorBob Thanks a lot. I think the most difficult thing was to not get the weave to "wander off" , but I could feel that at the end of the second yoke, it was all more natural compared to the start. @doubleh Thanks a lot. I have never used chaps for riding my motorcycle. I normally use bibbed leather overalls, they seem to fit better with the semi crouched riding style on my 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport.

Great looking job!

Looks great. I almost expected to see scrolls of ancient sorcery formulas inside! For sure no one will be in doubt who that binder belongs to.

Since making the set of purple chaps, I have been interested in making another set. Gustav participated in a large jumping competition around Christmas time, and it was uncomfortable cold, so I suggested to him that I made hi a set of chaps. He accepted but he wanted them dark brown so they would match the tack for the horse, white stitches, and there was to be absolutely no bling or fringes etc. whatsoever. He would be using them while riding and also while he is teaching riding to others. I purchased some oiled leather that I figured would look and work fine as riding chaps. Last year I bought the Tandy chaps pattern pack, and I started measuring on him to get a good fit. I made the yokes out of some veg tan that I had, and despite the no bling restraints, I decided that a discreet basket weave didn't fall into that category. It was my first real attempt of making a basket weave, and I think it came out OK. The sewing was done on my old patcher, and I had put some heat shrink tube on the feet to avoid them marring the surface. There was still sufficiently grip in that they could transport the material. Laura generously posed as a model for the photos since they were to become a Christmas present for Gustav, so he couldn't see them as soon as they were completed, that's why they are a bit too long and also a bit wide around the waist. He liked them and has used them when it has been really cold, but he commented that he thought the basket weave was well into the bling category!!! I think that he'll get used to the basket weave and I'll just have to continue my quest for finding someone who want me to make a set of batwings with fringes and all :-)

Beautiful work. I especially like the elegance of the wavy tapered sides. That just looks spot on! I know that a regular taper could have done the job but this is just perfect.