BlackDragon

There are usually two ways I lock my stitching in. The standard way I do it is to start in reverse do three stitches, then go forward. The other way I do it that's not the norm is to start forward but leave extra thread so I can come back and hand stitch three holes to lock my thread in. I do this when I need a precise start and end point.

Good going on getting it to take a desirable black color! Looking forward to the pics. I totally understand wanting to be period correct. I used to frequent Ren Faires quite a bit and had a couple in depth characters. Vinegaroon only works with vegtan leathers as it's a chemical process between the tannins (from oak, chestnut bark, etc) and iron acetate. The more tannins the better the reaction. Vegtan leather can be most any animal. Vinegaroon wont work on Chrometanned, English Bridle, Harness, or Latigo.

Vinegaroon can be tricky, even on a piece of leather that you haven't done anything on. When you start adding things to the leather it becomes even worse. The vinegaroon works with the tannins in the leather so one piece of leather may not react the same way another one does. Sometimes even if the leather comes from the same cow. At this point the leather that's on that scabbard is the best you're going to get with vinegaroon. You'll have to use a commercial dye on it, like Fiebing's Pro, if you want to save it. You tried conditioner on the test piece of leather, try some neatsfoot oil if you have any or virgin olive oil see if that helps at all. This will usually deepen what you have. When I want something black I tend to use vinegaroon as a base then add Pro dye to the leather. This way I use much less black dye and it prevents rub off.

Just to be clear you tried to dye it after you glued it to the wood?

Ok, I found it in Account Settings> Content View Behavior I had it set for "Take me to the beginning" instead of "Take me to comments I haven't read" Thanks!

Yeah I'm using a System76 Gazelle 17" laptop. Works great and plenty of power to do anything I need. I tend not to use Snap because I've been told it slows things down. I do like that it auto updates though.

Not sure if there's a setting somewhere that I have to click on. Right now, on the website, when I click on a thread title I've already read it goes straight to post #1. If it's possible I was wondering if when we click on a thread title if it could automatically go to the last post I read. Ex; if I go the the "Mineral oil bad for leather? Or good? Or neutral?" It puts me on post #1 but it has 300+ post so I have to go to the last page then scroll to the last thing I read. When using my phone If I click on the thread title it goes to post #1 but if I click on the bubble it takes me to the last post in the thread. Other websites automatically go the the last post I read when I click on the thread title.

Wow! I hope you don't bump it anymore. When I was a kid I was working at a sail making company in Florida. One of my friends there made the mistake of running a sewing machine faster than his finger could move out of the way. He put a couple stitches in his finger and was lucky it didn't hit bone. That instilled in me to this day to keep my fingers away from things that could severely damage them. Whether it's a sewing machine or a circular saw I keep my fingers at a safe distance. And I always turn them off or unplug them if I have to work around the business end. Stay safe

Thanks for this! I just updated to version 1.4.2 and it looks a lot cleaner than the 1.1 version I've been running! I run Pop! OS which is based on Ubuntu If you want to update your's open your terminal and paste this into it. You'll need to enter your password, then it'll ask you to confirm a few times. sudo add-apt-repository universe sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inkscape.dev/stable sudo apt update sudo apt install inkscape To verify the update inkscape --version I haven't tried printing multiple pages yet but hopefully I'll get around to it soon.

It looks great!

The yellow one was what I needed when I wanted to listen to my Elvis records back in the day.

So it works on something like this? https://springfieldleather.com/products/brass-bar-snap-10pk?utm_source=chatgpt.com Can you explain a little how it works?

Thats a snap rivet setter It works like this but I'm not using the correct snap in the pic.

Looks like a rivet press with a foot peddle attachment Something like this https://www.goldstartool.com/foot-press-for-grommets-snaps-buttons-and-rivets-with-stand.htm?campaign=21363438166&content=&keyword=&gad_source=5&gad_campaignid=21359363180#830-011_11500_11261_7851_1278300881

I agree about the background but the actual portrait is excellent. I remember sitting in front of the TV on Sat mornings with a bowl of cereal singing along to the Spiderman theme song lol

Something I just remembered, while in Inkscape be sure your page size is as large as you need to fit your whole pattern. Inkscape will only export whats within the page boundaries

I also use Inkscape to make patterns. I export the pattern as a png file and open it with a LibreOffice Calc (It's free). I run a Linux system so I don't use MS products but you may be able to use any spreadsheet program. Make sure you add a measurement block in your pattern so you can adjust your printing size correctly (I do a 1"x1" square).

That is a beautiful piece! Could incorporate a boarder along the top or stitching to hide the scratch?

I agree completely. I told the customer that if he doesnt like it I'll make it right. So I'll let him think about it a few days then reach out to make sure he's satisfied.

After I cut my leather I put some NFO and let it sit for an hour or so while I do other things. (I put just enough to change the color don't saturate the leather.) I then dye the leather and let it sit until the next day so the leather dries completely. The only times I use a wool dauber is for edges or small projects. For larger things like bags, holster, belts, I use some thing larger like a wool pad or even a folded up sock, you can also dip dye Then I buff the leather and add my finish, either Resolene (diluted 50/50 with water) or Fiebing's Leather Balm with Atom Wax

Resolene is a protective finish and should be used to seal the leather. It's better to dampen the leather with water or use a little neatsfoot oil to make your dye even out. Also when adding your finish it is likely the color will change as well. It may become a deeper color and more glossy esp when using an oil or resolene. What Fiebings dye are you using, Pro or Ecoflo? If you're using Pro don't dilute with water, you can use alcohol. Color matching can be very difficult, especially with something that has been in the elements and has darken over time, BUT it may be possible to get somewhat close. Also the leather you use for a test should come from the same leather you're going to make your belt because different leather may react differently to the same dye. Sometimes even using a different section of the same leather can change results. To the color you showed try adding just a little bit of blue to see if it brings down the yellow. A few drops of blue goes a long way and you can always add more.

So I got off the phone today with a customer that I made a scout style knife sheath for one of his knives. He wanted a sheath the formed as much as possible to his particular knife. I explained to him that it wasn't possible for me to match a knife exactly when I don't have the knife in hand but I could get close because I can get the details from the website. He agreed and I worked on the sheath. He called and said that it was really snug but couldn't get the blade to go in all the way, other than that he loved the sheath. I asked him how much more does he need it to go in. He wanted it to go in another 1/8". I explained that if he leaves the knife in for a day the leather will form better to the knife. He said that if it didn't from better he guessed he could live with it. So what are some of yalls nit picky client complaints?

When I was hand stitching I mostly stayed with one size but depending on the item you may want to go bigger or smaller. If you're doing a wallet you may want a nice tight stitch but if your making a belt you may want to use a wider chisel. Stitching belts by hand can hurt your hands after awhile so using a wider chisel can lessen the amount of hole you have to stitch.

It really depends on what you want your end product to look like. I like French pricking irons but I did sometime use diamond chisels. I dont like round holes because the holes tend to be bigger than the thread.