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I have been teaching myself to tool for the past few years in my spare time and have been making some progress recently, however I am struggling with decorative swivel knife cuts! I can't get them to look smooth and flow with the design (see picture). I have used two different blades, the one in the picture is a small angled blade. I always make sure they are sharp and stropped before I used them. Any suggestions on which knife blade to use and techniques that help to make them look professional would be greatly appreciated! I feel like everytime I try to add them I ruin my designs! It is getting very frustrating! Thanks!

I'm having some major issues sealing a piece I've dyed with the Eco-Flo Scarlet Red color. I made sure to buff between each layer of dying, and buffed before sealing with Satin Sheen, but after 3 coats of Satin Sheen, color is STILL coming off quite a bit. The amount of residual dye on my daubers is not diminishing. This is a piece that will be worn on bare skin, and I certainly don't want to potentially stain skin after sweating or in minor rain! Has anyone else had issues with red in particular? I've never had issues like this with any other color I've dyed with before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

Hi everyone, I want to get into some upholstery and leather work. I picked up a machine from a divorce issue. The guy bought it a few years ago with the intention to start using it but never did. So it is like new. It's a Consew 255RB-3 .... walking foot with all the gadgets that come with it still sealed in the plastic. Does anyone know anything about these machines or did I buy a donkey ? What needles and # thread should I be using on this machine for upholstery / vinyl / leather ? Thanks Sam

I am not asking for legal advice. Just general discussion on the topic. What needs to be done in order to make profit from your crafts. Why is no one talking about this? Is it a taboo kind of question in crafts. If it is just no one reply and I will know better next time

Hi there! I need some advice on making this eye patch. It's for a costume I'd like to wear from the show Dr. Who. Any advice? How do I mold the leather? Thanks a ton!!! My email is AmyMartz@me.com

Hello all, my name is Brandon and I am still a newbie. I have a problem that I would like to have some help with. I was asked to make a black leather skeet pouch. The pouch came out great first of all. I might have done everything wrong though. I cut out all the pieces and punched the stitching holes. I laced it up with a double loop stitch and then I dyed it. The first coat made it look purple and you could still see some of the raw leather peaking through so I decided a second coat would be good. I read somewhere on here that you dye your project after you are done stitching, so thats what I did. Normally I only use brown dyes and have never had to wipe off any excess. I just put on the coat of Carr and Day and Martin Belvoir leather balsam. So this is what I did with the black oil dye. Unfortunately after applying it with the tan sponge it comes with, it was totally black. This worried me since the skeet pouch will be on a belt and rubbing off on this guys pants. So I got out some rags and started buffing the pouch................well I'm about 15 rags in and it is still just coming off. I don't know if it is because the balsam is releasing it or it just has that much extra dye on it. Please give me some advice. Should I just keep buffing and use a different sealer?

(I was told this was the right area to post this in, so sorry for those who see this as a doublepost.) Hello! So, this is my first post on leatherworker.net, and I have quite a few questions regarding leather weight, purchase inquiries, leather types, and copper rivets. But first, some background... My name is Caracal Keithrafferty, and I'm located right by Milwaukee, WI. I made my first large purchase of leather tools, dyes, and hardware late last summer. The tools I have are: Knives V-Gouge Awl Edge Beveler (Sz. 3) Parallel Stitch Groover 2 Overstitch Wheels (Sz. 5 + 6) Bone Folder Edge Slicker Wood Hammer (I was considering an epoxy or rubber hammer; can't afford a good rawhide one) 2 cutting mats Dyes and liquids (and related items) I have are: Wool Daubers EvoStik Time Bond Contact Adhesive (haven't used it; not really sure when, how, or where one would use it) Carnauba Creme Gum Tragacanth Tan-Kote Neatsfoot Oil (Never used it, not quite sure what it's for) Leather Sheen 8 different dyes Hardware (and related items) I have are: Lots of scrap leather from Hobby Lobby; mostly small pieces. A couple different hammering tools 2 small anvils (one is damaged) O-Rings D-Rings TIny buckles Various rivets *Note: To describe the rivets and other hardware further might be challenging. I know I have some snaps, and I can set those properly. I have many tiny eyelets (the ones that mushroom out; one piece). I have a couple of grommets (2 pieces, brass look to them), but I don't believe I have any of the necessary setting tools. I have some single cap rivets I believe, but they are missing the male end I believe. I used all my copper rivets; even with improper tools, I made use of them (and I plan to purchase many more in the future. Any suggestions on what I'd want?). Aside from those, I have some other ones I'll call mystery rivets... I've got some that are long tubes (7/16 inch or so) that are unthreaded on the inside. I'm not sure how they're used. I've got other ones that look like grommets, but are non-flowering like the eyelets, and have a short shaft. I don't know if they're part of something. There's another kind that seems similar in for to the snaps, but is missing a 4th piece. They are definitely different from the standard ones; one cap has a little piece of metal lifted up, another part has tiny holes and grooves on it, maybe implying that it's supposed to change shape when tooled. Another kind I have are only few in number, but they're flat-bottomed, have a moderate/small sized shaft, and have a tiny hole at the end of the shaft. Lastly, I've got some solid ones that I have no idea how to set. They have long shafts, end in a dome on one end, and about 2/3 of the way down from the dome have a disc solidly on the item. It may be related to a Sam Brown rivet, but I am unsure. I also have several split pins, but I don't know if they're related to leatherworking at all. Those are all the leatherworking related items I have at my disposal currently. I do not know how to sew leather, and I am not quite sure where to start. All the items I've seen sewn so far have been with very thin leather, and I hardly to never work with thin leather. Can anyone suggest some hand tools for me to use? I did some brief research and though about buying, but I have no idea where to start. I cannot afford machinery, but hand tools might work. I have dyed some leather a fair amount, and I've learned how to smooth edges and backs of leather well enough. So, as far as that goes, I have down the technique, just not the perfection. I can hammer rivets well, and I can cut leather just fine. But what I need now is information on leather weight, proper leather types, and other items needed for making basic armor for LARPing. I've got a friend who wants me to make him some armor. It doesn't need to protect much, and he's seeking form over function. I also want to sell at other LARPing conventions. More details on armor: My friend Geoff has commissioned me to make him a set of armor consisting of: pauldrons (shoulder armor) that go from arm-to-arm over the shoulders, covering the arms up to the elbows; greaves (shin armor) that go up to the knees, but don't cover them too much (I have this part mostly done, should I post photos?); sabatons (foot armor) that cover the instep of the foot, and covers the ankle bone on either side; and that largest part being the breastplate (front body armor), which only needs to cover the chest, the belly, part of the sides, the collarbone, and little to none of the lower back. He also told me that a long term project I could do with him would be a plumed helmet. Another one would be a Romanesque skirt. The overall look he's going for would be somewhat similar to a roman soldier with a mix of some medieval aspects. It does not need to be historically correct, just similar in its look. What I'm not worried about is making the whole project aesthetically pleasing. Geoff said he doesn't mind nicks and damages to the leather, as long as the overall product is good. It can be made of lots of straps and things on it without much worry. What matters is that it looks good, fits semi-comfortably, and is thick enough to protect against foam swords (they can actually hit fairly hard, should I get 7-8, 8-9, or 9-10 oz leather?) For reference, Geoff is a pretty big guy; he's about 6' 2" and weighs around 230 lbs. What I seek to learn: What I really need to know now is what kind of leather I should purchase. To cover the pauldrons, sabatons, and breastplate, I hope to spend less than $175 on leather. I'd like to purchase leather that's bleached or white so I can dye it easily to my liking. So, what suggested weight (oz) leather should I grab, what specific type of leather should I grab (rawhide?), and where should I get it? I have a Federal Tax ID #, so I can purchase from wholesale suppliers, but I don't know if I'd be purchasing enough for the venture to be worth it, or if I should just stick with eBay or wherever you guys suggest. I currently have only a catalog from Weaver (thoughts on the company?), and I'm curious where I should go from here. Overall list of questions: Important: What leather weight do I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? What type of leather do I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? What amount of leather would I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? Where should I purchase my leather? What other leather related items should I purchase? Not as important, but still curious: Should I post pictures of my leather progress and various works? Should I post pictures of the mystery rivets? What tools should I get for copper rivets? When is leather adhesive used? When is stitching used in leatherwork? Is stitching the same as sewing (if not, when is sewing used in leatherwork?)? Any ideas on what the mystery rivets were? (Sorry if some questions seem like they can just be googled; I really prefer to ask people because it allows me to respond for clarification.) Thanks much for reading all this. If any parts need clarifying, please let me know! This is a large project for me, and I hope to learn a lot from it!

Hello! So, this is my first post on leatherworker.net, and I have quite a few questions regarding leather weight, purchase inquiries, leather types, and copper rivets. But first, some background... My name is Caracal Keithrafferty, and I'm located right by Milwaukee, WI. I made my first large purchase of leather tools, dyes, and hardware late last summer. The tools I have are: Knives V-Gouge Awl Edge Beveler (Sz. 3) Parallel Stitch Groover 2 Overstitch Wheels (Sz. 5 + 6) Bone Folder Edge Slicker Wood Hammer (I was considering an epoxy or rubber hammer; can't afford a good rawhide one) 2 cutting mats Dyes and liquids (and related items) I have are: Wool Daubers EvoStik Time Bond Contact Adhesive (haven't used it; not really sure when, how, or where one would use it) Carnauba Creme Gum Tragacanth Tan-Kote Neatsfoot Oil (Never used it, not quite sure what it's for) Leather Sheen 8 different dyes Hardware (and related items) I have are: Lots of scrap leather from Hobby Lobby; mostly small pieces. A couple different hammering tools 2 small anvils (one is damaged) O-Rings D-Rings TIny buckles Various rivets *Note: To describe the rivets and other hardware further might be challenging. I know I have some snaps, and I can set those properly. I have many tiny eyelets (the ones that mushroom out; one piece). I have a couple of grommets (2 pieces, brass look to them), but I don't believe I have any of the necessary setting tools. I have some single cap rivets I believe, but they are missing the male end I believe. I used all my copper rivets; even with improper tools, I made use of them (and I plan to purchase many more in the future. Any suggestions on what I'd want?). Aside from those, I have some other ones I'll call mystery rivets... I've got some that are long tubes (7/16 inch or so) that are unthreaded on the inside. I'm not sure how they're used. I've got other ones that look like grommets, but are non-flowering like the eyelets, and have a short shaft. I don't know if they're part of something. There's another kind that seems similar in for to the snaps, but is missing a 4th piece. They are definitely different from the standard ones; one cap has a little piece of metal lifted up, another part has tiny holes and grooves on it, maybe implying that it's supposed to change shape when tooled. Another kind I have are only few in number, but they're flat-bottomed, have a moderate/small sized shaft, and have a tiny hole at the end of the shaft. Lastly, I've got some solid ones that I have no idea how to set. They have long shafts, end in a dome on one end, and about 2/3 of the way down from the dome have a disc solidly on the item. It may be related to a Sam Brown rivet, but I am unsure. I also have several split pins, but I don't know if they're related to leatherworking at all. Those are all the leatherworking related items I have at my disposal currently. I do not know how to sew leather, and I am not quite sure where to start. All the items I've seen sewn so far have been with very thin leather, and I hardly to never work with thin leather. Can anyone suggest some hand tools for me to use? I did some brief research and though about buying, but I have no idea where to start. I cannot afford machinery, but hand tools might work. I have dyed some leather a fair amount, and I've learned how to smooth edges and backs of leather well enough. So, as far as that goes, I have down the technique, just not the perfection. I can hammer rivets well, and I can cut leather just fine. But what I need now is information on leather weight, proper leather types, and other items needed for making basic armor for LARPing. I've got a friend who wants me to make him some armor. It doesn't need to protect much, and he's seeking form over function. I also want to sell at other LARPing conventions. More details on armor: My friend Geoff has commissioned me to make him a set of armor consisting of: pauldrons (shoulder armor) that go from arm-to-arm over the shoulders, covering the arms up to the elbows; greaves (shin armor) that go up to the knees, but don't cover them too much (I have this part mostly done, should I post photos?); sabatons (foot armor) that cover the instep of the foot, and covers the ankle bone on either side; and that largest part being the breastplate (front body armor), which only needs to cover the chest, the belly, part of the sides, the collarbone, and little to none of the lower back. He also told me that a long term project I could do with him would be a plumed helmet. Another one would be a Romanesque skirt. The overall look he's going for would be somewhat similar to a roman soldier with a mix of some medieval aspects. It does not need to be historically correct, just similar in its look. What I'm not worried about is making the whole project aesthetically pleasing. Geoff said he doesn't mind nicks and damages to the leather, as long as the overall product is good. It can be made of lots of straps and things on it without much worry. What matters is that it looks good, fits semi-comfortably, and is thick enough to protect against foam swords (they can actually hit fairly hard, should I get 7-8, 8-9, or 9-10 oz leather?) For reference, Geoff is a pretty big guy; he's about 6' 2" and weighs around 230 lbs. What I seek to learn: What I really need to know now is what kind of leather I should purchase. To cover the pauldrons, sabatons, and breastplate, I hope to spend less than $175 on leather. I'd like to purchase leather that's bleached or white so I can dye it easily to my liking. So, what suggested weight (oz) leather should I grab, what specific type of leather should I grab (rawhide?), and where should I get it? I have a Federal Tax ID #, so I can purchase from wholesale suppliers, but I don't know if I'd be purchasing enough for the venture to be worth it, or if I should just stick with eBay or wherever you guys suggest. I currently have only a catalog from Weaver (thoughts on the company?), and I'm curious where I should go from here. Overall list of questions: Important: What leather weight do I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? What type of leather do I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? What amount of leather would I want for making pauldrons, sabatons, and a breastplate? Where should I purchase my leather? What other leather related items should I purchase? Not as important, but still curious: Should I post pictures of my leather progress and various works? Should I post pictures of the mystery rivets? What tools should I get for copper rivets? When is leather adhesive used? When is stitching used in leatherwork? Is stitching the same as sewing (if not, when is sewing used in leatherwork?)? Any ideas on what the mystery rivets were? (Sorry if some questions seem like they can just be googled; I really prefer to ask people because it allows me to respond for clarification.) Thanks much for reading all this. If any parts need clarifying, please let me know! This is a large project for me, and I hope to learn a lot from it!

Hi all! Second post here. I recently ordered a 6-7oz tooling shoulder from Tandy Leather Factory. The quality is fine, not amazing, but fine for what I'm doing with it. However, I wanted to see how some black dye would look on it so I cut some scrap off of it and tried to dye it (Gloves, wool dauber) and I found that the dye mostly just pooled on the surface of the grain and barely absorbed in. I could get it fairly well in after MANY coats, but I'm wondering why this is happening? It DOES look quite smooth, but is that it? I tried it out with an old round I had and the scrap side by side and the round absorbed the dye straight away but the newer shoulder just had dye sitting on top... Any advice? Will I need to sand it down or something? Concerned, R.

Hello all! This is my first post (how exciting)! I've just started out with leather working and have done some Tandy kits. I'm fairly happy with the quality of the work so far (no pics yet, sorry), a few rookie mistakes. A small splash of die in the wrong place on one wallet and tiny little tooling imperfections. Anyway! I don't really like the Tandy wallet designs. Might be because I'm from Australia and we have different wallet culture... or it could be that Tandy kits are weird. So, I want to start making them from scratch so I can make what I want and feel some real pride in my work. I'm trying to find a pattern to use and/or learn from but I'm having a really hard time finding any decent ones. I'm happy to pay for one, I just can't find one. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm looking to make a bi-fold in the same vein as the pic I've attached (ignore the red arrow, not relevant). The second part of my enquiry is about acrylic paints. I want to make a wallet that has a design painted on the front part (not near any bends) but I've heard that the paint can wear off pretty badly... On the other hand the paint manufacturers claim that their paints are fine on wallets. Does anyone have any advice about this? Should I just avoid it entirely or will it go fine if I put some finish over it? Thanks in advance for your help, R

Hello all. I'm interested in crafting some armour. I've done a fair bit of research and i think i have the general idea, but i'd like to have a good reference book, or How To book on hand to see what else i might need and just for general knoledge, i want to avoid wasting too much leather, considering the cost. any suggestions?

Hi! I desperately need some assistance. If I post this in the wrong place, I am sorry and I ask the post to be relocated to the right place. I have tried to make an Ipad sleeve, but it has not turned out how I imagined it. I sewed the two pieces together, but the leather gaped a lot in the opening with the Ipad inside. So clever me, I wetted the leather (with the Ipad inside) and put some books on top as weight. 1 hour later I removed the books and it looked nice. But the day after the opening looked funny as showed in the pictures. Shall I try to wet it all again, but leave it to dry for a longer period? Or am I taking the wrong path here? Hoping to hear from you! Best Regards Nicklas ps. after the wet forming the edge also separated like this:

Greetings folks! I need help identifying this machine by Randall Machine Corp. What it does and what parts it's missing and hopefully where to get them. It was once set up to run by motor, with no clutch and a fairly high gear ratio.

I am very new to the world of sewing, however my wife is quite proficient at it, so much so that she's very limited by her consumer grade machine. I have been searching for quite some time and came across a Juki LU-563 for $650. It's a few hours away from me so I had some photos sent to me and I have been told it is in good running condition. What do you think for the price listed? What's up with the stuff on the right of the sewing needle??? Judging by the photos what should I look out for? Please let me know what you think as soon as possible, if this is a good deal I plan on picking it up in the next day or two.

Hello everyone! Just discovered the site and am really enjoying the community! I did a bit of searching around (probably didn't have the best search parameters) but have a few general questions for a completely new craftsman. I believe my interests revolve around more simple design, not so much carved, just hand stitched. I would like to start with maybe a wallet or belt, maybe a dog lead. Question is, what are the basic tools I need to get going? Is a stitching chisel the way to go or maybe a prickling chisel maybe ever just punches? Basically I was hoping for opinions of a good "starter" loadout for a simple, no carve workbench. I don't have a ton of money to spend but do not want to have to rebuy after junk tools break so medium grade sounds like a plan. PS: The Art of Hand Sewing Leather is already on order.

hi all, not sure if anybody can help but i have a 29k53 and i am having problems with top thred looping and snaging on bobbin,i am now starting to think that the pinion gears are worn to excess which may be the cause,i have read that these gears for the 29k53 are not available-is this true and if so will any other machine bar(think thats what its called)fit this machine?any help would be appreciated as i am starting to loose the will to continue with this machine and i think it would be a horrible door stop.

A co-worker of mine asked if I could repair his leather bag, I agreed but cautioned him that the color of my repair would most likely not match. He is okay with, what I'm sure will be a mis-match. I am looking for some help in determining the color and best way to apply...tan's seem to give me trouble and was thinking of spraying verse sponge or shearling. I've attached a photo of the bag below. Any advice/help is always appreciated! Jesse Sorry for second post, I was thinking British Tan but not so sure now. Jess

Hi! I've been reading these forums and they've been very helpful so far, and many topics have come close to what I'm looking for but I'm about to give up and I'm hoping someone has some information to help me. I want to sew garment weight leather, specifically, leather taken from old coats. I just purchased a Family Sew FS388 because from what I've read these machines work for sewing lighter (garment) weight leather. I can't purchase an industrial machine (price, space, weight, etc.) so this machine seemed perfect. So far the machine seems to sew thick layers of fabric well but when I try to sew leather it sometimes skips stitches and sometimes just doesn't even sew at all. It just leaves long lines of thread behind and bunches up the leather. It seems to be ok when I sew the leather together with fabric (either with the leather on top or bottom), although that's not perfect either as it skips a stitch here and there too. I called in to the place where I bought it and he insists that this machine will sew leather and that I should try a different needle as it could be bent (I'm using the one that came with the machine now) and experiment with the tension. Could these problems be coming from that? Or is there something else I should be concerned about. I would appreciate any help and advice. I've been trying so hard for so long to figure this out that I'm about to just give up!

Hello everyone, I'm new at this, so sorry if I ramble a little I'm a year 12 textiles student and for my major work I'm crating a Steampunk inspired leather dress. The dress will have a large skirt and a corset top. I want the leather to be quite sturdy, but I'm working with a regular sewing machine so it can't be too thick. I'm really just wondering if anyone can offer any advice on what sort of leather I should think about using (actually any advice at all would be hugely helpful). I need the leather to be supple, to allow freedom of movement, but I also want it to look quite sturdy. All advice will be taken and considered, I'd really appreciate any help you can give Thankyou.

I bought an old secondhand leather sewing machine (an Adler 169) and all's right except the marks that makes the pressing foot: it's a little wheel with a graven impressed (I think it's for pull the leather better) BUT this leaves marks on the leather. If I got down the pressure doesn't sew good because not drag the work. The problem: The guilty: That only happen significantly in cow leather, but is the one I want to sew. There's any trick to avoid it? Or you know if a teflon wheel exist? Or something to do after in the leather to eliminate or dissimulate? Please, any idea will help! Thanks a lot!! Greta

I am wanting to start sewing patches on leather vests. could someone help me out with the type and weight of thread i will need to use as well as needle size for my home sewing machine. Also were i have had patches sewn on before they use a double sided tape that seems to come off easy if i need to remove patches, but i have no idea what it is called and where to find it. Thanks everyone for the help steph