MarshalWill

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.

I'm going to add to this old thread. When I worked in a saddle shop as a young man, I made a leather knife from a power hacksaw blade (bottom row, second from the left). It was copied after the knife that the saddle maker I worked for used. I made a few others for different purposes and they have been outstanding knives. I never felt the need for a round knife but one day I decided to try one. I made that one from a circular saw blade. It's a great knife but I don't find much use for it. Over the years I've made a handful of knives from saw blades (bottom row of knives) and they all hold an edge beautifully except for one. These knives were ground slowly to not over heat the steel and have not been heat treated. Yeah, they take a while to make but I get exactly what I want that way. The third knife from the left is a great shape but the saw blade I made it from was not good quality steel so it won't hold an edge and it's now discarded. It is the only one that won't sharpen properly. I'll have to make another one that shape.

A little more fat is good for pups. You probably have the best for him. Her?

We give ours their kibble for treats, too. Honest Kitchen, to be exact. That's why I asked. It looks the same. It's probably better for them than most of the high dollar treats, anyway, although we do those now and then.

That's a mighty fine bag. Nice job. That looks like good quality goodies, like Honest Kitchen or something.

Nice design. Not over complicated. I hope they do well for you.

Beautiful work. That brass end cap you made matches the whole thing perfectly. So it has an allen head inside it. It is a small concession to having it done like it is.

I just found this thread. What a great project. I love seeing old tools brought back to life.

Beautiful gifts! Quite a step above ziplocks. I can imagine how pleased they were all for those.

That's a good design. Simple yet attractive.

Well, then it's as good as they get. There are a few really good ones out there and his are among the best. Enjoy.

Nothing beats a good swivel knife. A bad one makes tooling a chore and a good one makes it a pleasure. What brand is that one? My best are a couple of Hackbarths I got some years ago.

Coming along nicely. Looks like you have room for about 30 pipes on it but you mentioned tobacco and other stuff so that will reduce the number of them. It should be most interesting when done.