PastorBob

absolutely beautiful. Nice, deep stitch groove lines really adds to it as well. Classy.

I don't think it turned out bad at all. Hard to mark stitch lines on a piece like that. Even so, the alignment of the stitching isn't too bad either. Thanks for sharing!

I just have the one maul. Also only have one nylon hammer. Mine probably weighs 24 oz. (1.5#). I use it for everything, just adjust the amount of force depending on the size of stamp. Or adjust the number of whacks. When doing basket weave stamp, I normally whack it once or twice. for my maker's mark (1" x 1") I whack it 2-3 times really hard. Anything larger than that, I put in the arbor press. Make sure to send pics when done. I would enjoy seeing your creation.

Welcome to the forum from SW Missouri.

it is in the top of the post you quoted.

https://www.adamsleatherworks.com/post/vacuum-press

very nice. what method did you use for that pattern on the top and bottom portion of the leather?

Nice job. That looks really nice. I bet she really liked it.

@WarhaukIt is in my signature line. And @Spyros is correct on price setting. The customer sets the price. Imagine driving down the road and needing fuel. 2 gas stations are ahead. One is $0.50 cheaper per gallon. Which one do you stop at? The only thing we can control is the cost to produce. I am not saying make it using cheap materials, but initially we may eat our labor costs. Most of my sales are local and through word of mouth. Seems like folks in small towns still enjoy buying local and love the personal touch. This allows me to get what I am looking for price-wise. It always helps when you are face to face and can show the differences between your product and the junk ones, as @chuck123wapati said earlier. I have made several smaller items that are unique and are quick to make. These help cover my overhead as well as some of the labor for the larger or more time consuming hand-stitched items. These small items are generally made from scrap. Keychains, earrings. Then I also make items like coasters out of rounders and cup wraps with import leather that help as well.

I got one of the $10 amazon knives. It was sharp out of the box, but the metal is so soft, the edge of the blade is already rounded. Where did you get the good one for $60? Which to you recommend?

i normally price it material *2 + $15/ hour. It seems to work well for me. My main product is holsters, I can make an avenger style holster in about 1.5 hours of labor time (doesn't include dry time). I charge about $65 +/- shipping. I should probably charge more, but I am happy getting that and it allows me to restock my supplies. Etsy sucks. Marketplace sucks. Because you are competing with mass producers. I do have my items listed on a new site just for hand made leather products. It is fairly new, but it is all handmade stuff listed. It would be more for the higher end buyer I would guess.

That is really cool. Never thought of a tree wrap. I hope they enjoyed it as much as you did making it.

There are many solutions. Super Sheen, Resolene, Mop 'n Glo cut with water. Search some of these terms and you will find even more information. And welcome to the forum from SW Missouri.

welcome back. Good looking holster and Micro 9.

That is a great looking belt. Please make sure to thank him for his service from me. Merry Christmas!!

Got any pics of the issues? Could be several things, but will be easier to diagnose with photos. Thanks.

+1 for tokonole. Works wonders. I am too cheap to buy one of those glass slickers, as they look nice. Simply use my bone folder to smooth it out.

Very nice work. Not a fan of thumb breaks, but with this wee gun, there really isn't a choice. Very nice!

great looking work!! Superb!

Thanks! I have several and have not looked at BK for them. I will check it out! The one I have been using recently is Sergey's.

Nice work. Where did you get the basket weave stamp with the cross in the middle? Stitching is looking good. One of the areas I struggled with early on was the overlap, or backstitch piling up and being very visible. Not sure if it's the right approach, but what I do is pull the thread super tight on the first few holes, so that when I come back around I can do the same on the overlap and it makes it much less bulky in that area.

Very nice. Clean lines and great molding. Vacuum press?

Very sharp, as always. Question...what are the holes for on the back side on the pouches themselves, drain holes?

Super clean look. Love the stitching patterns as well. Very cool indeed. Anyone would be proud to have that on their waist.

I also love that color combo. Also like how you thought through the strap placement so even though they are opposites, they are still fastened the same way (buckle on bottom). Whether it is a dragon stamp, or a basket weave...any type of repeating pattern stamp, I still struggle with getting too close, sometimes over the border. Using a cam or border stamp allows me to leave a little cushion so as not to over run the border.