PastorBob

If you have the leather, practice, practice, practice. :-) Keep the plain wallet (or give as gift) and make another one from scratch with the tooling.

I bought one of those cheap cocobolo tips for my dremel. I still prefer the hand slicker from Tandy and a bit of canvas. Seems to go just as fast, except for on belts.

For those interested in selling their leather products online, there is a dedicated market place getting up and running. It will be limited to handcrafted merchandise and avoid all the bulk made items that are listed on Etsy now. The shop setup is free and there are no commissions to list your items. Only a 6% commission on each sale. I am familiar with the owners of the site, but am not affiliated (other than listing my wares) with them in any way. Just thought it would be another avenue. Like I said, it is just starting up, but the owners are excellent at Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so I am sure in no time there will be some traffic. Here is the link. https://www.internationalleatherclub.com/marketplace/

I use a double layer of 5/6 oz. leather for my avengers. Seems to give it some rigidity and retention without being too flimsy. Are you using a stitching groover for your stitch lines? It appears the stitch lines vary from the edge in places. Was this intentional? I normally set my stitch lines about 1/8" - 3/16" from the edge. I am using a modified Slick Bald Pattern for mine. I like the brass rod idea, I am using a portion of a chopstick.

Looks good Frodo. Just a thought...maybe round off those sharp points near the left, where it necks down and around the thumb hole, on the exterior. Like the lines around it. I have been playing with that lately as well. Adds a nice touch.

Merry Christmas!!!

I have calipers, micrometers, and a handy acrylic gauge I picked up at Springfield Leather. They are $3-4 bucks.

Absolutely stunning. Need to make one of those. I have drawn out a couple of patterns, just haven't pulled the trigger. How did you dye that large a piece?

nice belt. Definitely a fun hobby / business (if lucky). Where in MO are you located. I am in Carthage.

found this for tandy... https://tandyleather.com/pages/sale

Nice indeed.

May want to go through your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). They are a National group that helps entrepreneurs start new businesses and see if they have any folks with interest.

I like that mottling on the leather. Pretty sharp, I am sure she will be pleased.

Does the revised one allow for a smoother draw when on your leg? Nothing like making an improvement to a design you weren't happy with. Very rewarding. Did you put the ammo loops on this one too?

Welcome to the group!

Thanks. Carsterone, reach out through my FB page or drop your email here (make sure to leave spaces, etc. so spam bots don't pick it up).

nicely done. Best of luck to you.

Welcome to the forum. Shoot me a PM and we can discuss.

I would like to air brush. Just don't have the setup for it now. I dip dye what I can. For me, it has given me the most consistent results. I use Feibing's Pro dye. It does use a lot more dye that way, and clean up can be a burger. But the results are good for me. Prior to that, I was using the wool dauber approach. For small pieces, that works fine, but the larger the leather, the more splotchy it became.

The answer is "sometimes". If they are real wrinkles, not just folds created in the rolling process, it was probably created during the tanning process. I have bought several rolls of leather where there were wrinkles. I have never tried to flatten them for carving / stamping purposes. My thought is that it may not be fully tanned. I normally look for imperfections in the leather when I select it at the store. This, to me, is considered an imperfection. When they are small enough, I will buy the roll, then the wrinkled part ends up in my scrap bin. I have noticed it more on the imports than after I started buying Hermann Oak. Although it can still occur on HO.

Welcome from SW Missouri USA

When I run into that problem, I have skived the area down to allow for more post to show.

It would be helpful to know your location, the States, Canada, Australia...lots of countries represented on the forum. If stateside, I have had great luck with Springfield Leather Company. They are super easy to talk with and will be more than helpful if you call them up and explain what you are wanting to create. Or, if there is a Tandy nearby, you could speak with them in person. Most of the folks working in these shops will be more than willing to guide you to your solution.

Thanks. How do you dye your project after wet molding? dauber? dip?

Great job. Love the double row of stitching. I have not tried doing that yet. Looks really nice.