rdb Report post Posted December 20, 2007 Well, it's been about two months since I started up leatherwork again, after decades away. I don't think I've gotten my skills back, by any means, but I am improving. The tooling is a bit better. It's deeper, even though this is only 6/7oz. The hand stitching is okay, but the old eyes are fighting me. For hand stitching, I use a pointed awl. I don't like the stitching chisels, or the look of the slanted diamond awl. The pointed awl pierces easier, I can control the hole size, and the harness needles slip thru easier. I dip the awl and needles into saddle soap as I go along....just my preference. I can see a million mistakes in this piece. The swivel cuts are horrible, the pear shading is haphazard at best, and the circles of the spirals are just not round enough, other than that, it's wonderful...lol. So pile on, and let me know what you think I should work on. This was a commission. He wanted to pay $50. I actually spent a good 6-7 hours on it. I could have spent more. But at my $15 an hour goal, the price would be too much. Many people could probably spend a lot less time, and do better, but there it is. So, I'll probably try and charge $60. Most of the good toolers charge about $3 an inch, which would translate out to about $120 for this, if it were tooled better. The pattern was Craftaid 3611. It's a really old template, I probably bought it in 1975, but I use it for 2" straps/belts, cause it's a fairly quick tool, not too complicated, big leafs,ferns, and flowers. I used 3 parts neatsfoot oil, and 1 part Feibings Tan for the dye job. She didn't want any two tones, or antiquing, so it looks a little bland to me. Leather balm over it. Usually I pride myself on the edges...super burnished, and waxed, but I ran out of steam on this one. I forgot to edge slick the sewn piece first, so I tried to slick it after it was on. I messed up, so I incorporated the slick marks into a "design feature"....lol The adjustment strap, I used to do in the '70s, but I don't really like it. I can't for the life of me, figure a buckless billet that works, with an easy adjustment. The only way for an easy, and quick adjustment is with a buckle, and nobody with expensive guitars wants a buckle near the finish on their baby. I've tried rifle sling buttons, snaps, seperately sized billets...one thing I haven't done is lace or wrap the buckles. Maybe I'll try that next. I look forward to any of your ideas on that problem.... I'm taking a schizo stance on this one. One minute I think it's horrible, the next, "Geez, that looks good". Either way, I'll get over it. The important thing really, is whether the new owner likes it. Anywho, here are some pix. Add some good critiques, so everyone can learn something. I'm going out for a bit, that'll give this time to marinate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abn Report post Posted December 20, 2007 I'm not surprised the customer likes it, for only 60 bucks. I think considering the quality of your work, you'll be charging more soon! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rdb Report post Posted December 20, 2007 Thanx, abn! I don't really care all that much about the money, but I try and put all the aspects of a piece out there in a topic. How I dyed, stitched, what I charged. That's what the forum is for. Some of us know less than others, and viceyversey. If we don't talk about it all, then nobody learns what's good, what's fair, what should I shoot for. Am I good enough to charge x$? Man, who are those customers that pay THAT much for stuff?. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
