DwightT

My step-daughter asked for a case to hold her Tarot cards and a crystal. Here's what I came up with.

Awesome. Thanks for posting that. I've always wanted to go to one of those shows, and now seeing what's available there just reinforces that desire. I think that I could easily spend a couple of hours at many of those booths. Maybe if the stars are aligned right I'll make it to a Pendleton show since they aren't too far away.

Thanks. It's always interesting trying to wet-mold some leather that has already been tooled. At least with a basket weave I don't have to worry about losing too much detail. I was bored a while back so I watched a couple videos by Jim Linnel (Feather Carving) and Don Gonzales (Large Basket Weave). I was intrigued, so I grabbed a piece of scrap leather and gave them both a try. Not the greatest, but it was fun playing with them. Maybe you just need to watch a couple videos and go play.

Hello all. I've been gone for a while with traveling and moving houses. Moved two kids from Boise to Big Fork, Montana, then my wife got the bug to move too. Fortunately we didn't have to move all the way to Big Fork, just a better home in Boise. I finally got my new workshop set up, and a friend asked for a knife sheath to go with the knife that she received for Christmas. Gave me a chance to warm up the tools again.

FWIW: If I have to take a long break during tooling, I will spray the project and my stone work surface with a misting sprayer (light mist), then cover the project with plastic wrap. The wrap will seal to the wet stone and hold the moisture in the project for at least a day.

I realize that this is probably after the fact, but my thought on this was that a Rougher might work: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/products/hand-rougher-tool That would be similar to the other Dwight's suggestion of using a laser etcher, but I'm thinking that a hand tool might give you more control.

I don't have one of these tools, but I went to the Weaver web site to take a look. On the page for the tool they have a couple videos showing how to set up and use the tool, including how to leave a blank space by releasing pressure, advancing the leather, and then re-applying pressure. I think that is what you are looking for? The page for the tool is at https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/products/master-tool-creaser-and-embosser The videos are at the end of the list of photos. Hope this helps.

Ah geez. I made a pair of boots from that pattern pack once, when I was in high school back in the '70s. Amazing that the pattern is still kicking around. I'll have to go dig through my old stuff and see if I still have the patterns and maybe make another set. My memory was that they were pretty comfortable.

Looks great. I wish I could get my carving to look that good. I use glazed pigskin for my wallet lining and pockets. Seems to be about the thinnest material that will still hold up.

Really? You did two for the Space Force but none for the Coast Guard? I'm insulted. Just out of curiosity, when you getting licensed by the Marines, did they place any orders? /dwight

One of our granddaughters is in to Irish dance, which requires two pairs of dance shoes. She had been carrying her shoes to classes and events in just a general bag, so my wife and I made her a tote bag out of leather: The colors in the photos are off because of crappy lighting, but it was made using burgundy chrome-tan for the main bag with veg-tan died with Feibing's burgundy die for the center piece and the name plate. There is a zippered pocket on the back, and another pocket in the inside liner for things like her dance socks or shoe waxes. The Celt-ish design on the center piece came from the design that is on her dance costume. I traced over a photo of her in her costume and turned that into a carving pattern. It was an interesting project from coming up with the design to trying to figure out the process of putting the pieces together and there are lots of things we would do differently if we were to do it again, but overall we're happy with the results, and our granddaughter loves it. /dwight

Probably personal taste, but I don't like those clips. I've had a couple instances where the case would push up and off of my belt when I sat down. Now I just use a belt loop, maybe with a snap at the bottom so that I don't have to undo my belt to add the case. /dwight

Well thanks all. I decided against antiquing, but I cleaned it up a bit with some Fiebings cleaner/conditioner, mounted it on a backer board, and hung it over my workbench. It looks good to me.

I made this leather panel some 30+ years ago for a briefcase that I used to carry. The briefcase eventually fell apart, but I saved the panel. A while back my wife pulled it out of my storage, and she thinks I should hang it on the wall in my work space. I might do that, but since I tooled this way back before I knew anything about stains and antiquing, it's just plan with a little dye in the background. Before I hang it I'm thinking that some antiquing might make it pop and maybe hide some of the stains and watermarks that it has acquired over the years. Or maybe I should just leave it as is? What are your thoughts? /dwight

Thanks. I tooled it before molding, using the Dragon's Scale stamp from Sergey Neskromniy: https://leatherstampstools.com/regular-series/72-tool-for-leather-craft-stamp-62-dragons-scale-size-12x14-mm.html When I molded it I just laid the damp (not wet) leather over the knife and worked it down with the bone folder, being careful to not pull too hard. I also made release cuts around the bottom as I was going. I think that helped to minimize the stretching. Here's what it looked like while it was drying: /dwight