Silvyr

I don't blame you I'm shite at painting myself, but damn does it look good oiled and antiqued WELL DONE. Is that just a regular basket weave, at what 5mm pricking iron/chisel spacing 1mm nylon thread, or did you use waxed linen?

Some time ago I was looking into getting some custom boots made from Nicks out in WA, so I signed up for a newsletter but decided to wait till next year to do so. (now now why does someone in texas want boots from WA? Cause I have weird shaped feet and want nice boots lul) Black friday rolls around and I get a message from them for boot scraps 8-14 lbs Scrap Leather - Assorted (nicksboots.com)for 50 ish bucks for the Tobacco colored leather. So I got 2 boxes give or take about 20 lbs of leather scraps mostly 5-6 oz most pieces are nearly 1sqft each some smaller and a few pieces that are probably 2sqft+. I can make alot of projects, hell I wanna make a few wallets honestly. Problem is idk what leather it is, and i'd hate to make someone a wallet, them get sweaty and have a tan stained mark in their jeans now. Most of it smells like veg tan, but aside from that I have no clue. So is their a good sealant to prevent it from staining, or do I wax/oil it? This is out of my knowledge, most things i've made up till now have all been natural vegtan of various weights. Sorry for the dumb questions, figure maybe yall've ran into this situation before, when you don't know what the exact leather is.

I've heard that you can use a hammer to hammer down stich lines so they lay flatter and close up the prick holes/chisel marks , and tapping along glued areas to make it sit better I'm just curious as to what kinda hammer to use? Any particular brand or particular weight to it, I'd imagine a curved polished head but other than that idk.

First and foremost Thank Yall for the add about a week ago, you've got alot of useful info and alot of helpful people here. I can't wait to make some stuff and post it for you to see. Newbie here I've done a little leather working here and there, but I'm still very new to alot I just know some basics is all. I started playing around with leather say jr. high and high school, and I had made some knife sheathes in my teens when I helped forge knives with my father. (I had never thought to take pictures of my work, but honestly it was pretty bad waxed tandy thread and huge chisel holes and uneven dye jobs with basket weave stamping LOL...at least the stiching was good). But I stopped and moved onto other hobbies such as making chainmaille, and becoming addicted to computer games and table tops like D&D. I even made myself some belt pouches (I used an awl and didn't mark stich lines that time, it was tight stiching but all over the place) when I worked at renfaire for 2 years. (2 years was enough horrible pay and long hours on commission ugh..) So I've always done crafting and those kinda hobbies. So recently a few months back an old timer I knew was moving into a smaller house and downsizing and getting rid of things. I Picked up a Ruger Redhawk from him and it had a camo cloth holder for the gun. My mind goes Hmm big gun I live in Texas, I need to make this a worthy Leather Holster for it. So I proceed to spend weeks looking at designs and researching leather working again. Yeah I got bit with the leather bug again, so instead of being rational I just decided why not just let this consume my whole life haha.... So I've been reading, watching all kinds of videos about leatherworking, I've even considered getting the leather masterclass stuff online. I work nights so I have alot of free time during the morning before I collapse midday sleep and repeat the cycle. Computer games are fun for a while but unfulfilling, I'd really like to start making things again and if i can get good enough at this maybe a side hustle for money. I had read good reviews about Kevin Lee tools so I took the plunge and bought 2 sets of pricking irons 3.38 mm and 3.85mm, and his copy Brass clicking knife_Brass Clicker knife blades_China Handmade Leather Tools Manufacturer (kevinleathertools.com) of the Vergez Blanchard L'Indispensable . I'd read reviews that the lindispensable was a nice knife but the blade was crap and alot of people replaced it with a D2 Chartermade knife. Anyways his knife has a nice weight and balance to it, and its sharp as hell cuts through my 6oz+ leather like butter. The pricking irons are very nicely polished and punch through easy and leave small slits, I'm considering getting some 3.0mm and 2.7mm so I've got an entire set. I've currently gotta clean a bigger spot to do this on, and I'm waiting on my black friday leather sales to come in the mail I'll update yall when it arrives.

Good grief thats a big ole tool LUL, It's fine lesson learned tandy = crap tools but I still love the smell and they have a nice selection of Ritza tiger thread. I'll use it for now, but i'll probably save up and get the Calati gauge from italy that RML sells. I was looking at that last week, but didn't buy it cause i bought alot of leather during BF sales.

NEW Tandy Sale Dec 2 - 5 December Deal Days — Tandy Leather, Inc. Now I don't like everything at tandy, but its pretty cheap price for veg tan I got some the other day. Some bellies to play with, and some nice clean trimmed double shoulders I can dye and make some wallets for xmas with.

yeah my dumbass went to tandy and got their gauge for $40 got home and see its made in china... sigh.. shoulda just got the 10 buck one off ebay.. They had behind the counter couldn't get a good look at it. I did however also grab the wooden slide in gauge its like that acrylic one from SLC and it seems to be accurate enough. Its whatever stupid me thinking something from tandy would be US made and not mass produced crap. They did however have a 35% off sale on veg tan bellies so i got a buncha bellies and some nice trimmed shoulders 20% off so its not a complete loss. I've got 3 sides of HO thin black coming from SLC, and some ostrich scraps 2lbs from the same, and 15 Veg HBS Seconds - Bundles - Maverick Leather Company so I've got tons of stuff to keep me busy for a while.

I'm just starting off and lets face it, I'm not using the best quality of leather its belly and scraps and whatever till i feel confident to use the sides I ordered online. So my question to yall is where do i buy or which thickness gauge is decent enough for leather. I wanna have a rough approx of its thickness so i can plan projects accordingly. But i'm also worried that if i buy a $10 off ebay itll explode after 2 uses.

Yeah I picked up some crafttool 3mm fine diamond chisels the other day from tandy online. Shipping got delayed, but I'm in no hurry, got leather and tools coming from all over #blackfriday sales. ALSO for those interested Thin Black Hermann Oak Veg | Springfield Leather its 3-4 oz black herman oak sides for $65. I talked with the CS and they basically said it was ordered in a size thickness they don't normally carry so they're selling it on the cheap as its normally about $240 a side.