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Been a while. Had a request for a custom sheath, so I went for it. Let me know what ya'll think. And I'ld like to know if there is a better way to do the welt for the guard on the knife hilt: it was 1" thick, and my awl barely made it all the way through. Makes getting the holes to pop out right on the back super difficult. I don't want to drill holes, either. Will drop a couple more photos in a few, to comply with implied rules of sheath images. YinTx

Second video I've done trying to show stamping/tooling. Tried to add music, subtitles, etc. Still getting the angles down so folks can see what is going on under the tools... open to comments and suggestions if you are kind enough to take 48 seconds on the first and 5 minutes (on the second) out of your day to entertain yourself with my efforts! Thanks much. YinTx First video: second video:

Finished up another Bible Cover, kinda like the way this came out. Still need to get the machine stitching down pat tho... Used Wickett and Craig leather this time around. YinTx

Second go at the leather valet tray. Not entirely happy with it, although it turned out functional enough... working on 2,3 and 4 as we speak... I think the brass rivets are more difficult than copper rivets from what I can see of folks using them in videos... all I can say is I could barely nip the tips off and rounding it with a very large ball peen hammer was a chore. Metal got hot from hammering! Enjoy... YinTx

Finally finished this up today. Took half a year of Sundays it seems, but ready. 1" wide strap, Hermann Oak leather, Fil Au Chinois Thread, solid steel hardware. Learned a thing from @RockyAussie's watch strap tutorial, and tried to apply it here. Thanks for that! Plenty of little mistakes, and things I'd do differently (like only use that style of buckle with very thin flexible leather), but I think it will be serviceable! From what I understand, LuLu is a girly girl boxer with white fur, so I think she'll like this style. YinTx

Version 4 of the case design. I think a bit oversized, very difficult to stitch together, particularly the gusset, which took nearly 6 hours. Of the 5 designs I prototyped, this is the one I liked the most. I am certainly open to constructive criticism, particularly on construction techniques, as the next one is to be made out of more expensive glazed Alligator. YinTx A couple more showing the inside, etc.

Used some more Wickett and Craig bridle leather I had, along with some soft lining leather. Still room for improvement, but I'm not embarrassed this time around! Fil au Chinois thread, RiRi zipper. YinTx

Just finished up this little surprise gift for a friend of ours. Thought I'd share. Slowly but surely getting better at sketching my own designs. And tooling tiny items... YinTx

Black lizard, orange Chevre Chagrin, and orange linen thread. Thought I'd try my hand at some exotics. Had such a difficult time getting the camera to focus on this leather for some reason. What do you think, should I do more? YinTx

Took me long enough. Custom tooled cover for an IPad, all Hermann Oak Leather, saddle stitched. YinTx

Had some red leather and some hair on hide from @nstarleather, so this happened. It's version 1, I think I can do better next time around! YinTx

Tried my hand at a cat collar, had a model that generally does not like to wear a collar. Let me know what ya'll think! Will try a narrower version for the next time... still looking for a good source of small buckles for this kind of application. YinTx

Finally after 2 months of cogitation and prototyping, finished this guy up. As I don't do sheaths very often, open to critiques as well! And yes, as always, it has the inadvertent requisite Spirit Stitch. YinTx

So, I picked up a very old Blanchard head knife, cleaned it up, gave it a good sharpening (easily 8 hours of work), and realized it needed a good home. So I came up with this little number, designed to go in a drawer, or be hung on the wall. I hope you enjoy. YinTx

I went through my Craftaids again, and came up with more duplicates. All items will mail in large envelope unless requested otherwise. Buyer to pay shipping, I will combine items to keep shipping to a minimum. My prices are listed, you are welcome to make an offer. Countess Purse cover photo carve and tracing patterns with alphabet tracing pattern, 7 copies, will mail in large envelope $1.50 each plus shipping Biker’s choice saddle bag instructions only, with Indian head/headdress pattern $2 Getaway Bag Pattern with instructions, slightly musty odor $10 2540 Letters, red mark (not on the leather side), $4 2660 Letters, red mark (not on the leather side), photocopied sheet, $4 plus shipping 2681 Belt, Roses, photocopied sheet $6 2061 - Billfold $8 6567 Billfold $8 2310 Billfold $8 6543 Billfold $8

Well, she's finished in all her flawed glory. Still need lots of practice with horses I think, but many thanks to all those who helped me get this one as good as it is. For a guy who can't draw stick figures, I reckon I'm doin ok... Made this with some of that older Tandy leather like I have in the "for sale leather and lace" section, conditioned with some beeswax/neatsfoot oil blend I've made. Mahagony dye and antique, Tan Kote resist and Resolene top coat. 9 oz outside, 5 oz inside. Heavy Fil Au Chinois Brique linen thread. I'll probably put this one for sale, anyone have any idea what a tooled padfolio goes for these days? YinTx

Not everything is as it should be, but at least the blade is safe and sound in there for now. Decided to let the thing be as thick as it was going to be, turned out to be 1/2"! This was some of the old Tandy 10 oz veg tan shoulder leather. The Rose blade cut through it without a complaint. What a joy to use. YinTx

Not as straight forward as it might initially seem, so I had to make a second go at it to get it to be presentable. 3 oz Hermann Oak leather, about 3". Ignore the slip of the modeling spoon. Tried to rub it out, no luck. YinTx

Vegetable tanned leather which is labeled a double shoulder for sale. Labeled 8-9 oz (3.1-3.5mm) leather thickness, backside is marked 12.5 square feet. I think it is probably correct. This double shoulder is fairly clean as can be seen in the photos. The backside is fairly smooth. It does show fat wrinkles and other characteristics. I have more leather than I can use right now, so I'm selling off some pieces such as this when I have the time. Labeled asTandy item #9052-02, their price $90-$99 plus tax on the label, currently $112 - $140. I'm no expert, but I don't see the filling that is used in some of the newer Tandy leathers to cover up scars and such, so this *may* be some of the older nicer leather. My price: $55 plus shipping. I am also selling another side, which is an Oak Leaf Light Skirting 10-12 oz, photos in another listing, for $115 plus shipping. Combine these two pieces of leather to save on shipping and save on leather: $160 plus shipping or best offer. YinTx I just noticed the shadow lines in the photo: it is light shining through the slats in the back of a chair, no diagonal shadow marks on the leather.

Been working on this off and on for the last couple of weeks. Finally finished it up today - not as easy as I had thought it might be! Enjoy YinTx

So, Merry Christmas to me! Managed to acquire a Rose round knife, and I have been looking for a nice round knife for over a year now. Hoping to get some experts to chime in and tell me what they can about this knife - age, condition, value, etc. These photos were taken as I was sharpening it, only using the 1200 grit Atoma stone, and followed up with a broken little natural stone I have, then some stropping, it is push cut sharp on a piece of paper. The burr took forever to work off! I am curious about the beveling that you can see in the close up photo of the edge. It looks like 3 bevels: a gradual, then a steeper, and finally the cutting bevel. Is this an original bevel? seems to have never been sharpened on the 2 big bevels? I don't see any wear or any metal loss on the edge beyond the bevel I put, so I did very little work on it. I like the patina, but worry about continued rust. Do I need to do something to condition the metal? Can I just use some steel wool on the lettering to remove the rust, or should i be using vinegar or some such thing? The brass ferrule has a bit of a hangnail on it that is fairly sharp. Can I file it off, or will that degrade value? Also, the handle looks like it was burned at one time - how much of an issue is this? I don't know if I like the handle patina enough to leave it alone or not, but if it affects the future value too much if I fiddle with it, I will leave it alone. YinTx

This is like the 3rd version or so of a Sheridan style drawing that I have done on my own, with lots of input from folks on this site like @Wykoni, @immiketoo, @JLSleather, @Stetson912 and others. This is the first one I have not put in the scrap bin, and actually antiqued and stitched up. Still not happy with it, lots of things I see to improve, but useable. I think the tooled version with an initial on it is better, and will post a pic when it is done. Just wanted to show it here, and say thanks to all that helped me out along the way. YinTx

Well, after a long hiatus, I got some parts and put the hardware in! So it is finally finished. For those that followed my post in "The Eagle has NOT landed..." this is the first figure carving I attempted, back in August of '17 if I remember correctly. Some things I wasn't happy with, others I really liked. Comments and suggestions welcome! I'll try to post a pic of the back... YinTx

So, found out today I needed a cover for my book by tomorrow! Decided the only way to make it personalized was to use a piece that I had just tooled and experimented on with antique color that I was going to toss in the bin. Suppose it turned out ok! A first, I decided to go with undyed veg tan, a rough scarred up piece, wrinkle marks and all. Have always wanted to do an oiled type finish and let it patina on its own, so figured this was an excellent opportunity since I didn't have time to go with dye, wait, etc! Also a first, made my own "dubbin" or leather care whatever you would like to call it with neatsfoot, beeswax, lanolin, etc. today, and used it on this after I heavily oiled with neatsfoot. Was a lot of work to get into the leather, this is 6 oz. I think a 40/60 mix (wax/oil) is a bit too firm, had to heat it with the hair dryer to get it in. Lots and lots of buffing. Overall, I liked the effect, and I look forward to seeing how it patinas over time. Surprised at how dark the undyed leather got: the tooled piece was dyed pretty dark by the antique, and almost looks the same! The veggie may lighten up by tomorrow morning, as the oils diffuse throughout. Another first, finished the cover in 5 hours (not including the tooling work) this did include making the dubbin! Will try to put up a photo of the back and all it's wounded glory when I get it off the phone! YinTx

This is version 2 and 3 of a long wallet a customer ordered in Barenia and Chevre Chagrin. Only version 3 made the grade. Version 1 never got finished, not sure what to do with Version 2, not good enough to sell, and with 1/2 a side of Chevre Chagrin and a couple square feet of Barenia, a Riri zipper and hours of edge work I can't bring myself to toss it. Happy at least Version 3 came out well enough! I have a newfound respect for those that are able to work with this leather. Stitching is a challenge, and not adding your own "Patina" so the customer can add theirs is also a challenge. Edge painting is also not easy for me on this type of leather! Enjoy. YinTx