MarshalWill

That is a fine piece. The knife and sheath are a very nice combination.

Good point about the newer ones. Thanks for bringing that up.

Those are exquisite mauls. I also like the recessed nuts on the latest one. Outstanding work. Makes me want to run out and get a small lathe.

The A-104 is a finer pattern than the newer A-104-2. You might find an original on ebay if one isn't available elsewhere.

That's looking pretty good, there. The touch of color is nice. Your new stamps seem to do the trick for you. Keep at it, you're doing good. You mentioned you're looking for new background tools. Try the fine, cross-hatched ones like the Tandy A-104, which I have used for many years. I don't like busy background tools because the patterns can overpower the design tooling. I've tried many different background tools and the A-104 is still my favorite. To get into tight places, I filed one smaller but it's still the same pattern. This compares some background patterns. On the left is the A-104 (and the A-104 I filed smaller). This was done with an A-104.

That's first class. For my pruning shears I just used a test holster I made out of some belly scrap. Yours is fine workmanship.

Wow, that is outstanding! Beautiful work.

Looks great. The face on the sheath matches the one on the handle beautifully. Very nice work.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. I would expect that the quality is still the same, then.

That's pretty interesting. It looks good. I didn't know it was available. Thanks for the eye-opener.

I look forward to seeing the new one.

I got a steel one from Harper Mfg. It is top quality and was well worth the cost. It doesn't look like they make them anymore. They were a direct competitor for Infinity Stamps. For less expensive ones that don't have to last 50 years, Delron is a good choice. For those I use Grey Ghost Graphics. My last several have been from him. Good prices and very fast service.

That came out really nice. Congratulations on your first one. What will your next one be?

Very nice belt and wallet. Your friend should be pleased with them.

You did do a good on on those. The ones at the bottom are very attractive. That is an interesting undertaking. Your work is top notch.

Very nice work on both. That elephant hide has an interesting look.

That UHMW is great stuff. That's what I use on mine.

LOL, I understand that. I don't stand mine up either but some people do so they don't roll off the work bench. Then that's not an issue. Enjoy that fine maul you made.

Beautiful work on that handle. Very attractive as well as functional. As an alternative to putting an acorn nut on the head end, just recess the nylock nut so you can stand the maul on its end if you wish. I did that with one I made. Not a maul but a mallet. Still it's nice to not have anything sticking out up there.

How about putting a piece of poly cutting board on the base to raise the leather a half inch? That would also give the punch something to cut against that won't dull it like a piece of steel base would.

Looks good. I look forward to seeing more of your floral carving. There are a couple things I do in my patterns. This is not absolute but I like to make an odd number of focal points for your eye to land on as it moves around the pattern. That makes it more dynamic. An even number gives the design a more stability and slows the visual flow. There are times when that is beneficial, like a border around a central design where the central design is more important than the border. Transition lines are another aspect that make it work. In this one, the horse's nose directs your eye into the base of the floral part and the direction of flow then follows along the floral carving until it gets back to the horse, which then starts it all again. If the horse was facing the other way, it would hinder this flow.

There are a lot of things that make this an outstanding job. Including the horse, I see 5 main focal points which makes the whole thing balanced. That horse looks real and like it's going fast. The floral work has different growth stages of the blossoms. And I like that little curlicue at the base of the main stem. Very well done.

Another good idea. Can't wait to see your next one.

Very nice! That's a pretty cool way to make a wall plaque. Looks great.

Looks good. I like your plan to stitch all the way around on the next one. I generally like 5 stitches per inch, which I think is close to 5 mm. Good work.