Dale

I never have like the Craftool hair blades. One day they'll change the curve on the face from concave to convex and it just may work! I think Clay gives two of the best alternatives I've found -- use a lined beveler or a needle (different sizes of glovers needle work well).

But why have so many colors in edge coat?

They're ok for color, but they really don't put out enough light to be of use as a lamp. You really need to flood the room with light in order to take advantage of it's color characteristics, and that can get expensive. There are less expensive options. I suspect the lamp you've got resolved the glare issue with a diffuser over the bulb. You could also do that with any lamp.

Ed, I wonder if I'm missing the point of what you're trying to do....it sounds like you want to pay someone $35 a shot to create several one-of-a-kind edge color formulas. Am I understanding correctly? If I am, why would you want to do such a thing?

You did this in 5 hours? I think it's time to hang up my mallet.

Bookbinder suppliers and paper suppliers usually have them less expensive than most leathercraft suppliers. They're pretty easy to shape, so don't be afraid to make it the way you want it.

What advantage does it have over its competitors to make it the most expensive knife on the market?

Tina, When I said "thin layer," I was referring to the varnish. I suspect it's possible that a thin layer of varnish (sprayed on, e.g.) will have more flexibility than a heavy layer brushed on. 2-Shews actually used wood lacquer on some of his stuff and said it worked fine. Dale

Ahhh....painting functional stuff. Some immediate thoughts are (it's late and I haven't thought any of these through): applying it in thin layer may work, Saddle-lac may work, possibly spray varnish for wood, or just leave it alone....it's going to rub off anyway (is oil more durable than acrylic?). Oscar, Interesting thought. I've done similar things with acrylic, but the oil may perform a little differently. I'll keep it in mind. Dale

Thanks for the explanation, Tina. I had no idea it took days for the stuff to dry. I'm not sure I'd have that kind of patience, especially since I tend to blend by layering. Depending on your results, I may still check it out, though. I think all painting mediums have varnishes suitable for the medium. Take a look around dickblick.com. Here's an example for oil: http://www.dickblick.com/zz004/84/. I don't know what effect it would have on the leather itself, but I really doubt it would hurt it...we've all put some odd stuff on leather without ill effects. As long as you're testing, try that, too! Dale

Tina, I've got several random thoughts/questions....please don't take any of them to imply that I don't think you should give it a try. I'm curious to know how it works myself 1. With respect to the sealer, I'm not sure it would really be necessary, but why not just use a varnish made for oils? 2. I'm fairly ignorant about oils, but my understanding has always been that they're a bit heavy. I've seen leather used as a canvas before -- it was a good looking painting, but I had to ask "why use leather instead of canvas or masonite?" I use acrylic (very wet) and try to let the texture, if not some of the color, of the leather come through. All that being said, your "half translucent" comment is interesting and may render insignificant my decision to use acrylics for that reason. Perhaps you can elaborate on the translucence train of thought. 3. The working time of oil could be a real benefit. Do you get the same working time when it's thinned (I'm assuming that's how you get it translucent)? I'm curious to hear the results. Dale

Good to see you (and your stuff) again, Victor. Please come back more often!! Dale

Like Ken, I thought it looked like a jester's hat. I like his title choice.

It's also sold as "liquid frisket." Should be available at any art store. Dale

Richard, I'm a little confused. Your response to bcurrier indicates your idea works on more than just straps, but your initial post says you developed a system for strap goods. That's making it a bit hard for me to understand what utility this thing may be for me. My initial thought was that you may be targeting too broad an audience with the poll. It initially looked like you were targeting folks that do a lot of production strap work. That's not me -- I can fumble through the few holes I need to punch. On the other hand, if this thing weren't too expensive, it might even be worthwhile for the few I do have to do. Now, if this thing opens up the possibility of creating new design elements in something other than straps, it might broaden your audience. I didn't vote in the poll because I don't want to skew the results (though I'm still not sure what audience you're intending to poll). But if I were to vote, I'd need more info. Dale

If you've got a less pixelated photo, that might help us narrow it down. Based on the photo posted, three things come to mind: 1. The paste was sitting in that spot for a comparatively longer period of time. (Based on the color, I'm not inclined to believe this one) 2. It actually looks like a dirty area to begin with. Maybe your color-matching effort changed the color. 3. The leather is "weak" in this area. This has hit me many times. I don't know if I can adequately describe it, but I'll try. It frequently happens near the belly and natural wrinkle areas (neck, leg areas). The spots near the belly are usually somewhat spongy and have odd shapes. You may be able to push the spongy area out of shape (it's not as stiff as other parts of the hide) The natural wrinkle areas have linear flaws and the leather has a natural tendency to fold along that line. It's easier to fold or push the piece out of shape in these areas as compared to the rest of the hide. These flaws can also exist in other, more firm, parts of the hide as part of its processing. For example, the hide is split too thin in one area making it weaker than others, or it gets folded over and excess weight ends up on it creating an unnatural wrinkle. In any case, these areas typically (I want to say "always," but then someone will probably make a liar out of me) turn darker when a stain or paste is applied. I actually like some of them and if I find them ahead of time, I'll try to use them creatively in the piece. I think it holds character and can actually look pretty cool...in the right place. Sorry to ramble. I was just trying to explain as clearly as possible. Dale

Either way is fine. With acrylic first, some stain will likely be left on the paint, effectively antiquing it to some degree. You can also hide some painting errors by staining last. A potential issue with this method is that you can rub off some of the paint when removing the stain. With stain first, the paint colors are essentially undisturbed and remain more vibrant. The real question to ask is, "what look am I going for?" Dale

The only thing I could consider a possible cause is that some reds are "transparent" and require some layering to get a good look. But that doesn't fit the symptoms that were given. I think I'd have to watch the application and see the piece before I could make any reasonable assessment of what the problem is. Dale

If all goes well, we're planning a class for ClayM's store in Rapid City in January. We'll probably have one in Colorado Springs shortly after that.

In the past, the welded three-prong bolts had a tendency to break. I made one by heating and bending a piece of all-thread to 120-degree angle for two of the prongs. For the third prong, I drilled a hole in the head of a thumb screw and ran the bent all-thread through it. An eye bolt may work, but the thickness may also cause trouble. You'll need to try it and let us know. Dale

Larger pic as requested. Kathy...The matters aren't as good as the originals, but they're better than the first ones I ever had and those I've tried previously. Texture is a little flat, but I think the shape has been refined. Not all the tools on the rack will work as well as you want them to. At least not for what you want to do. In other words, the textbooks may not be accurate any more. Sometimes you have to improvise. I know I've said this before, but look at the new Craftool modeling tools. If I didn't already have the ones I want, those would be the ones I'd go after. Dale Oh yeah...Kathy, send me a pic and I'll see what I can do.

How big do you want the pic?

I went to the local Tandy today and tooled this up. All the stamps came off the rack, and I used their student's Craftool swivel knife. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about tools for production work or tools for folks with a lot of money. These are tools made for the hobbyist. You don't need the big bucks to get a good result (at least I think it's good). Incidentally, I was not only able to use the foliage tools well, but was actually rather pleased with them. The checked matting tools are also quite good these days. Dale

I agree with Carl -- mostly. You don't need the exact color of the lace, but approach it. I would also prefer to see it shaded rather than a solid color. Don't add any more dark color, just use the light color to create a 3-D knot. Dale

Cyber, Two thoughts come to mind: 1. Since you're getting burnish for one tool width, my first guess would be that you're not beveling/tooling with the same force you used to bevel the perimeter. That's typical...most of us want to fade the burnish as we move farther from the cut/bevel line. That being said, the force of impact behind the tool, by itself, doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. You can get a good burnish with just a modeling spoon. So... 2. Like Mike says, moisture content makes a lot of difference. Too much and it's like working a sponge. Too little and it's like working cardboard. I've attached a couple photos below. The first one shows the difference in color between dry and quick-cased leather. The second shows the approximate color of the leather when the moisture content is at working level. The color variation around the image is largely due to burnishing. If you look at the top of the piece, the color variation is the result of the leather drying (the uneven drying is a natural consequence of quick-casing). That not-quite-dark and not-quite-light color is what I look for as an indication the moisture content is where I like it. Dale