MarshalWill

That new one looks great, too.

Whatever you put on leather will over time migrate throughout it. It might take a while but that will fade.

That's beautiful, Andrew! When that purple heart mellows over time, it will just get classier looking. I like your extension to cover the blade sticking up. I have just broken mine off to avoid the issue but this is better. Very nice work. And a very Merry Christmas to you, as well.

It's good to push one's skills. The finished case is quite good looking. Beautiful work.

Outstanding! Nice job. I like both equally but do you have a favorite side?

Beautiful holster. Clean and to the point. Yeah, stacking leather for a welt like that are a bugger but it sure does make it nice. Of course, you could probably get by with a couple layers and wet mold the holster to fit. That cross draw is good. It's the most comfortable place to wear one in most situations.

Those are looking really good. That's some mighty good tooling.

The handle shape on the Jueschke looks like it would be very comfortable. Go for it. Heck, AND the the BK.

That mill scene looks mighty good. Very nice work.l Love those trees and the wood and stones in the mill. Thumbs-up! Again, the balance of the whole piece is outstanding.

When you get one, post a photo for us.

Beautiful belt. Certainly a far cry from the one he gave you to measure. The basket weave looks good running along the belt instead of at an angle on it. I do mine that way too. He should be very happy with that one.

That's coming along good. I made a briefcase one time. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing what you do for a handle on it.

I have a BK straight-face mallet style one. It's top quality. Certainly worth the price. I would expect their round mauls to be as good quality. My only objection to their lineup is they don't have any small ones so for tooling and most stamping I had to either buy a foreign made one or make one myself, of which I have done both.

Thanks for sharing the photo, too. It looks similar but the detail on your tooling shows a completely different bridge design. I like both but the layout on the briefcase is a bit better. I'm glad you're going to not put any color on it. I airbrushed a scenic carving one time and it took away drastically from the beauty of the natural leather. I never made that mistake again.

Beautiful! The bridge detail is outstanding. The overall layout is really balanced, too. Very, very nice work. Looking forward to seeing the finished briefcase.

An angled blade is good for this. Either the 1/4" or 1/8" should do well, as others here have already mentioned. Try both sizes and see which you like better.

I also have one like Dwight shows. Mine's also a great one. I actually like the width groove it cuts, just a little narrower than my new one. I don't see Tandy offering that one any more, though. They have something similar but it's different. The one I listed is the best one I've found in recent years. It also will work in a tighter spot than my old Tandy one due to the narrow guide rod. There are times when one, or at least I, need to get into a tight inside corner and the new one will do much better.

There may be other ones that work as well but like you mentioned, the price on this one is good. You can take the guide out and use it as a freehand groover or work along a straight edge, as well.

Yeah, this one. Cuts good after you strop the tip to give it that extra sharpening on the cutting edge. The small tip makes a good groove for most projects. It's the best one I've found.

Sharpening the punches will give you a good set of nice punches. The experience of sharpening them will teach you a lot on how to care for your punches. Go to the 'Sharpening' section of this forum and start reading through the threads there to get an idea of how you can get them going.

Quick and simple is good. Nice job.

Those spots could be from touching it with wet steel. Steel (iron) is what makes vinegaroon black. I've had similar spots after I used my drill press to impress a stamp. Obviously I got it against some steel in the shop. I have to take care to not touch the wet leather against any steel.

I like it. It's a good idea to use your maker's stamp in a design. It shows that you're proud of your work and it lets others know who did it. That's what many makers did in the 1800's and it's still a good thing to do. Your stamp looks good in that scroll. If you wanted it to be less obvious you could not dye it a contrasting color but I like it the way it is. It becomes a focal point of a design with little room for much in the way of a design. Oh, and that's a fine exchange gift. Thumbs-up!

Clean holster. I like that. Good work. Yeah, going through all those layers of leather can be fun. Nice job.

That's a nice blend of floral carving and geometric stamping. They look really good.