Introduction

[SteveJ]

I guess the first thing I should do is introduce myself to the forum. My name is Steve , and I live in west central Wisconsin. I have been involved in leatherwork of some type or another for about 20 years. For about the past 14 years I have been involved in living history, mainly early American and fur trade time frame. A small group of friends and myself do alot of volunteer work with local historical societys to try to keep some of the old crafts alive.

From many of the examples of artists I have found by looking through this site, I guess you could call my work primitive, or folk art. It is far less fancy, or finished than most of the examples I have seen. I try to construct things the way they were done 250 years ago, when a harness maker would have contructed a pouch for a itinerant hunter passing through the settlements. Everything that I make is hand cut and hand sewn by yours truly. Give me an awl and some harness needles and I will get to work.

I feel humbled when I see some of the works of art on this forum. Far beyond my capabilities. But I hope you can understand what I am attempting to recreate. A simple craft, by simple folks, in a simpler time.

My beard might be snow white , but I am always interested in learning something new. And if I can be of service, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kind regards to all,

Steve Johnson

AKA Bentneck Johnson

[SteveJ]

I guess the first thing I should do is introduce myself to the forum. My name is Steve , and I live in west central Wisconsin. I have been involved in leatherwork of some type or another for about 20 years. For about the past 14 years I have been involved in living history, mainly early American and fur trade time frame. A small group of friends and myself do alot of volunteer work with local historical societys to try to keep some of the old crafts alive.

From many of the examples of artists I have found by looking through this site, I guess you could call my work primitive, or folk art. It is far less fancy, or finished than most of the examples I have seen. I try to construct things the way they were done 250 years ago, when a harness maker would have contructed a pouch for a itinerant hunter passing through the settlements. Everything that I make is hand cut and hand sewn by yours truly. Give me an awl and some harness needles and I will get to work.

I feel humbled when I see some of the works of art on this forum. Far beyond my capabilities. But I hope you can understand what I am attempting to recreate. A simple craft, by simple folks, in a simpler time.

My beard might be snow white , but I am always interested in learning something new. And if I can be of service, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kind regards to all,

Steve Johnson

AKA Bentneck Johnson

[Regis]

Welcome to a great forum with a wide array of skills. Nice work and, that's some pretty nice hand stitching. 'wish I could do as well.

Regis

[SteveJ]

  Regis said:

Welcome to a great forum with a wide array of skills. Nice work and, that's some pretty nice hand stitching. 'wish I could do as well.

Regis

Thank you Regis, I appreciate the kind words. I also apologize for the double post.

I am not a computer guy by any stretch.

[Don101]

Hi steve glad to meet you i know exactly where you are comming from i have also made shoepacks and primative stuff for reenacting for 1776 longhunter, its a verry interesting hobby you do ive read a few books and have a few friends that do that period but ive never got around to it yet cheers Don

[whinewine]

Never put yourself down by calling your work 'primitive'. It is very very nice work, and elegant in its simplicity.

Russ

[Don101]

ill try again LOL

Hi steve glad to meet you i know exactly where you are comming from i have also made shoepacks and primative stuff for reenacting for 1776 longhunter, its a verry interesting hobby you do ive read a few books and have a few friends that do that period but ive never got around to it yet cheers Don

[SteveJ]

  whinewine said:

Never put yourself down by calling your work 'primitive'. It is very very nice work, and elegant in its simplicity.

Russ

Thanks whinewine, very nice of you to say. I didn't mean to infer that primitive was a bad thing. For what I do ,and what it's used for , it does have elegant simplicity. It's more function over form, and made to be used very hard in very harsh conditions. Nice to meet you.

[SteveJ]

Greetings Don. I guess I need to apologize to you too for the double post. Sorry about that. Did I understand that you made shoepacs and such for someone else? They are a interesting project, and somewhat difficult to get to fit properly, until you get a few under your belt. How did yours turn out? If you get a chance, take a trip back in time with your friends, I think you would love it.

[esantoro]

  SteveJ said:

Thanks whinewine, very nice of you to say. I didn't mean to infer that primitive was a bad thing. For what I do ,and what it's used for , it does have elegant simplicity. It's more function over form, and made to be used very hard in very harsh conditions. Nice to meet you.

Hi Steve. My bags, too, are inspired by simplicity and function. I like the leather you're using. Could you share your supplier?

Thanks,

Ed

[SteveJ]

Hi Ed. My supplier for most of my leather is "The Leather Guy" from St. Charles,Mn. He does alot of living history,buckskinning type events. I always stock up when I meet him at a event somewhere. I have never been to his store in St. Charles, but his website is www.theleatherguy.org. I believe that he is doing some heavy construction on the site right now, so I can't vouch for it. His name is Keith Brubaker, and he's a good man. Hope this helps.

[esantoro]

  SteveJ said:

Hi Ed. My supplier for most of my leather is "The Leather Guy" from St. Charles,Mn. He does alot of living history,buckskinning type events. I always stock up when I meet him at a event somewhere. I have never been to his store in St. Charles, but his website is www.theleatherguy.org. I believe that he is doing some heavy construction on the site right now, so I can't vouch for it. His name is Keith Brubaker, and he's a good man. Hope this helps.

that's funny. I've got about eight side of oil-treated chrome tanned from him. Love the stuff, but have been buying off Ebay and have wondered if he has some other distribution method for first or second quaity sides (without tanning defects, strange coloration, or missing sections).

Ed

[esantoro]

  SteveJ said:

I guess the first thing I should do is introduce myself to the forum. My name is Steve , and I live in west central Wisconsin. I have been involved in leatherwork of some type or another for about 20 years. For about the past 14 years I have been involved in living history, mainly early American and fur trade time frame. A small group of friends and myself do alot of volunteer work with local historical societys to try to keep some of the old crafts alive.

From many of the examples of artists I have found by looking through this site, I guess you could call my work primitive, or folk art. It is far less fancy, or finished than most of the examples I have seen. I try to construct things the way they were done 250 years ago, when a harness maker would have contructed a pouch for a itinerant hunter passing through the settlements. Everything that I make is hand cut and hand sewn by yours truly. Give me an awl and some harness needles and I will get to work.

I feel humbled when I see some of the works of art on this forum. Far beyond my capabilities. But I hope you can understand what I am attempting to recreate. A simple craft, by simple folks, in a simpler time.

My beard might be snow white , but I am always interested in learning something new. And if I can be of service, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kind regards to all,

Steve Johnson

AKA Bentneck Johnson

Steve,

Are you using some of the 6oz leather from Keith?

Ed

[SteveJ]

  esantoro said:

Steve,

Are you using some of the 6oz leather from Keith?

Ed

I use alot of 5 to 6oz that I get from him. Plus alot of the Buffalo and Elk. Are you buying off the Ebay auctions? I guess thats the beauty of being able to see and feel every hide that I buy. I get exactly what I want, and none of what I don't. I used to buy alot on line, and spent much time and money returning things that I couldn't use.Keith has always been a straight up guy to deal with, at least in my experience. I would contact him personally and tell him exactly what you are looking for. If you do , let me know how it works out.

Steve

[BruceGibson]

Welcome, Steve!

[SteveJ]

Thank you Bruce

[Roger]

welcome to the forum steven!

you will have to post some pics of your work.

i am always interested in what other people are making and how they get it done

[dsenette]

welcome to LW.net steve...since you made two intro topics i went ahead and merged them into one

[SteveJ]

  beezachoppa said:

welcome to the forum steven!

you will have to post some pics of your work.

i am always interested in what other people are making and how they get it done

Greetings, and thank you. I do have a couple of pics posted with my intro. Hope to get some more up soon.

Steve

[SteveJ]

  dsenette said:

welcome to LW.net steve...since you made two intro topics i went ahead and merged them into one

Thank you very much,I was wondering how get rid of the other post. I appreciate it.

[Oscar B]

Welcome Steve

Your work is great.

[SteveJ]

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QUOTE(Oscar B @ Apr 22 2007, 12:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Welcome Steve

Your work is great.

Thanks Oscar. Nice to meet all you folks.