Bone folders

[RandyScott]

Windy,

Bones from cow and pig contain large amounts of fat and grease. Tends to mess up your leatherwork. The effort it takes to 'degrease' the bones is simply not worth the time nor aggravation. I have the TLF 'plastic bone' folder and I have one that I made from cocobolo. I learned that cocobolo is tough stuff especially when you are cutting and shaping with hand tools, i.e., hand saw, wood rasp and sandpaper. Additionally, it is time consuming. So for less that $4 one can walk into a fabric store and purchase a folder. Or one can pay the price at Hidecrafter or purchase one from young Cornelious above and have a quality tool. I am glad I made mine for the experience of making the tool. But it's not an experience I wish to endure a second time.

[Leather Bum]

Well, this is an interesting point: what qualities does one expect from a bone folder? In other words, what do you like best about your bone folder, and/or what characteristics does a bone folder need to function as a bone folder? Does it need to be a hard, dense material, or. . .? What about solid surface material (such as Corian)?

L'Bum

Edited April 25, 2008 by Leather Bum

[bruce johnson]

L'Bum,

I like my plastic TLF one for the square heel end to get down into crevices or to sharpen up a crease like on my picture frames. I like my Osborne real bone folder for the point that gets into areas others can't, like the underside corners of a Cheyenne roll. The thin edge also has some applications for creasing. I like the ones with different curves for shaping swells on a saddle. I make them from chunks of plastic HDPE or LDPE cutting board. The half inch radius also helps with creasing up things like purses and shaving kits.

If I had to choose one for the smaller stuff it would be Riley's. First off, the edge has a tapering radius working thinner toward the tip and I can pick and choose which part to use. The heel end is substantial enough to have a good grip on, and less hand fatigue. I can put some pressure on it to help tuck a Cheyenne roll up into place, and then smooth it down. Good tool, and pretty well thought out. Final reason is that Riley makes them out of Osage Orange/hedge apple/bowdark/Bois D'Arc wood. I bid a job restringing fence in college for a local farmer. He didn't tell me the posts were Osage Orange, and I didn't ask. They had been in the ground a while, and I couldn't drive a single staple in them. I had to predrill every hole for each leg of every staple for 20 acres of woven wire fencing. That was pre-cordless drill days. I did it with one of those eggbeater hand-drills. He was a jerk, but his wife fed well. Lesson learned, and 25 years later I still hate those trees. I am glad Riley isn't cutting them into posts.

[Rayban]

I just made this one for myself yesterday out of Cocobolo...inspired by another one I saw some where on this forum.....easy to make and it works great...I put it to work this morning....please excuse the sloppy stitching job on the slip.....hand stitching and watching Detroit Tigers on tv don't mix.....

Edited April 27, 2008 by Rayban

[TwinOaks]

golly, but that looks familiar....

Rayban, you did a nice job on that. What I did on the ones I made was very similar, but at the butt end I made a tapered radius groove that wraps around the end. To do it, use a dremel with a conical cutting bit. Start thin, then get deeper/wider as you wrap the groove.

[Rayban]

golly, but that looks familiar....

Rayban, you did a nice job on that. What I did on the ones I made was very similar, but at the butt end I made a tapered radius groove that wraps around the end. To do it, use a dremel with a conical cutting bit. Start thin, then get deeper/wider as you wrap the groove.

I was inspired to do this one from somewhere on here, it may have been you, so if it was muchos gracias!! That groove is an excellent idea, so thanks for that too.

[Windy]

I like the cocobolo one , alas being a wood worker for forty years ,that and cocobolo is one of my favorite woods may make me a wee bit partial. One never knows I may have to make me one now. I have been tinkering with the idea for years. Sometimes I take a while to make up my mind on the design I want to use.

[Rayban]

I like the cocobolo one , alas being a wood worker for forty years ,that and cocobolo is one of my favorite woods may make me a wee bit partial. One never knows I may have to make me one now. I have been tinkering with the idea for years. Sometimes I take a while to make up my mind on the design I want to use.

Git R Done Windy...and show it to us!!