Mablung

Interesting, mostly useless factoid: It’s arguable at best that the site needs to be made ADA-accessible, because the language of the ADA has not been extended to websites by Congress, nor has the Supreme Court interpreted it to apply to websites, either. There is a split among the US Circuit Courts of Appeals that have addressed the issue regarding whether the phrase “place of public accommodation” applies to websites, rather than solely physical places. The Circuits that have held the word “place” covers websites rely on a purposivist approach to construing the text to analogize websites to the kinds of (physical) places inarguably covered, websites’ importance to most Americans’ lives now, just like physical places they need to access, and the apparent purpose of Congress to require those that accommodate the public to make their places accessible to those with disabilities. The Circuits that have reached the opposite conclusion reason that the text as enacted in 1990 and later amended in (I think) 2007 refers to physical places and physical places only, as evident from the plain, ordinary meaning of the word “place,” as understood at the time of enactment, and the examples within the statute of “places” covered are all physical places and thus do not include non-physical so-called “places”. With that bit of legal trivia, I recede again into the background… *None of this legal advice, so don’t view it as such.

I like the contrast of the black polymer with a brown holster, as long as the contrast is noticeable. Not a time to try to contrast subtly with a dark brown; then it just looks kinda dirty and weird. Double Daddy’s example above is an excellent one.

Glad to see you’re still around, even if not especially active right now. Your reasons for an absence are your own, so say no more if you don’t like.

I was afraid of that.

Lookin’ snazzy. She’s a pretty girl, too, although I agree that chaps don’t look right with pink leggings, lol. Need some jeans and proper boots with those chaps.

Tagging @chuck123wapati so he’ll see this.

Very neat. The upper panel is especially apropos, since today is Good Friday, albeit more appropriate for this Sunday.

Good to have you join. As far as good newbie projects, given that you’re interested in making knife sheaths, I’d start with a fold-over knife sheath. I started with the same interest, so I started with a fold-over sheath. The pattern is easy to draw and cut and the construction is simple. Doesn’t require many tools or complex pattern-making. For me personally, that was good because I’m not good spatially or with my hands. You’ll find yourself progressing really quickly after making something like that.

Like it so far. Especially that thread color choice. My default is a dark brown, but that blue will look really good.

I almost got a little pattern knife like that but decided to go for a bit bigger, and went a lot bigger. That piece is in great shape.

You do some truly lovely work. My personal favorite is that Damascus set, but the knife and display box for your surgeon friend is truly unique and special. Well done indeed.

I can post some closeups of the handle and ferrule, if it would help. I didn’t do a quite perfect job setting the bevels, but it still cuts like a dream, as Nigel Armitage would say, so I love using it.

Snazzy. I had read the production moved to Harrison sometime in the early 20th century but hadn’t known some of that other history. It’s definitely a solid knife; the litany of owners before me took good care of it, and I intend to do the same. I use it for nearly all my cutting and all my skiving. Is there any way, that you know of, to determine more precisely how old it is? Obviously it’s at least 118 years old, given the stamp, but I always wonder how old it really is.

Ah, I gotcha. Sometimes it is difficult to get them through, but I think that’s generally an issue of mismatching sizes of thread, needle, and stitching hole. You’ll start to get it dialed in with time. The amount of information on that subject is overwhelming.

I don’t think I follow. Do you insert both needles into the hole, then pull each one through separately? If so, then you’ll still have needless difficulty sewing. Either way, get yourself some proper harness needles, and that should help considerably.

What SUP said. I do occasionally push both needles through at the same time, but really only on softer oil tan leathers that I know will shrink back down from the extra stretching. A hole large enough for two needles at once is likely one that will allow the thread for each stitch to shift and wear prematurely anyway. It also appears you’re not using harness needles, nor are your needles the same size. Get some harness needles around the size DieselTech suggested. That will make the process considerably easier. I think you’re trying to make the wrong kind of needle do a job it wasn’t made to do.

Interested to see the results. FYI, I tried to put the Instagram handle you listed into my browser, but got an error message from Instagram.

Do you mind sharing some closer shots of that butt cuff? I would love to make something very similar, cheek riser, loops, and all, but I haven’t quite digested how to put together the pattern.

Ahhhh, that makes much more sense. I also read the “-er-“ into “archy”.

Why is a magnifying glass part of her archery kit?

I think you could just taper the bottom of the loop a bit so that it is narrower than the shoulder of the cartridge. Like other similar wildcat-like rounds, it has a fairly sharp, defined shoulder. I would think that making the loop fairly deep and a bit tapered at the bottom would do the trick. @chuck123wapati made a cartridge loop pouch of sorts. Not at my computer atm so can’t find it quickly, but as I recall, it has a bottom to it so that the cartridges sit in a pouch, rather than in a true loop exactly. That may not fit the bill, but it’s worth a look.

Or get a 12” x12” panel of veg tan from Tandy or another of the leather retailers. They’re not too expensive and allow you to make minimal investment in leather to try the craft out. If you can, look at the stuff in-hand in a store to get a decent piece. It’s hard to do it the right way with crappy leather.

You may know this already, but make sure you put the cement on both pieces, let it sit for several minutes (until it feels mostly dry to the touch, just a bit drier than tacky), then put the two together. I tried to use my EcoWeld contact cement more like glue at first and got subpar results. Then the directions clicked and it worked. On that note, something like EcoWeld or, I understand, Aqualim has a consistency in the bottle more like white glue, so it is tempting to apply it the same way. Barge and Tanner’s Bond look and smell much more like epoxy, so it’s easier to grasp how to apply it properly (at least for me). EcoWeld also tends to stay in little puddles like glue, too. So, make sure you spread it properly, whichever one you use. I’ve also had Barge and Tanner’s Bond sink into some nappier oil tan more than in some shoe leather I have and into that more than into loosely-grained veg tan. Each leather takes cement a bit differently (and each cement will interact with different leathers differently), so keep that in mind when figuring out how much to apply. Trial and error is your best friend, with generous helpings of both “trial” and “error”.

“Ant-streak”. I like that.

Something else to consider that some members do is use a Sharpie fine point pen to mark in the tooling crevices, without resisting first. Others hate antique paste and will use small paintbrushes to contrast dye the foreground and background (more relevant in floral tooling and similar tooling work, as opposed to figure carving or something like basketweave stamping). I haven’t tried either of those techniques myself but figured I would mention them, since no one else has yet. When one would do each one will depend on the technique chosen. In either case, I would want to have prepared the leather for stitching but not yet stitched, to allow for application of the finishing topcoat before stitching.