Working with stingray

[Big Papa Leather]

I bought a stingray hide off Ebay a few years back. It sat in the gun safe for a few years. It originally was going to be a leather handle cover for an old Navy knife I re-did. Anyway instead of doing the ray skin I just put stacked leather as the original had.

I was playing around Saturday and cut off a chunk to make a money clip for my son. Cutting it was a bear! Then once it was cut, sewing it was even tougher than I expected. I ended up using a 4 prong diamond hole tool to punch through from the backside to keep from crushing and fragmenting the little black pebbles. The stitching is kind of ragged looking due to the irregularities in the pebbled surface. Anyway back to my orginal point.

Question # 1

On the cut edges the cut pebbles had a white crust look where some were cut through or shattered. I used a regular old edge dressing to blacken them up and make it presentable, but I know that will wear off with time. How do you properly address this cut edge of the ray skin?

I'd add a photo but my son saw it and high jacked it immediately upon reailzing I was done stitching. It will take an act of congress to get it back even long enough to photo!

Question #2

I still have quite a bit of hide left and the ever so valuable diamond pearl section in the middle. I want to use it in a wallet later once I get more confortable with the stitching (making it straighter and more even in length. Even by using the punch/prong took, sometimes the pebbles only give and the stitches ran a bit longer which made the next stitch look short? Does that make sense? Does anyone have a finished stitching technique that resolves this issue?

Thanks in advance!

Allen

[MickWoolnough]

Hi

We do a lot of work with stingray, wallets, purses and even a tool bag for a softail.

i found that punching the holes from the back was easier then from the front as the tool dosent slip on the pebbles. i dont stitch all our projects are laced (well all stingray anyhow) after i punch the lacing slits i use a spirit dye close to the colour of the skin, hit it with topfix and your pretty right.

the cartlidge is as tough as, even with a machine the needle slips on the bigger bumps. inlaying is one way of getting around the problem.

by the way its a cow to lace as well, the edges of the pebbles wear your lace down realy quick.

[Big Papa Leather]

I think I will try lacing the next time I use it.

I went back and ised a dremel with a sanding bit and "softened" the edges a bit and recoated them. It looks good and not as sharp feeling. I too used the back to punch the holes after trying the front and the pebbles shattering. The stitching followed the less than uniform nature of the pebbles.

Allen