carr52 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 I had a request from a fellow Vet for a couple of buckles to match a tatoo he got in Viet Nam. One for him and one for his son who is in the military now. Gonna use a lace to match the background color so it doesnt draw your eye from the center of the buckle. I want the focus on the middle. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArtS Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Looks great Tom Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singteck Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Looks good. What do you use inside the wrap? I am thinking of doing something liket that. singteck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Looking great Tom!! I'd use black lace quite and like to argue that that it will make it look better. The way I'm taught is that the eye will naturaly read the contours first and then fall into the center and focus on whatever is more interesting there and with the added leaves a black border will keep this design together very well. With a natural lace the eye will tend to stray off the center IMO so if it was my buckle I definetly go with black lace but then again this is also a matter of personal preference. As I've been taught this is a leftover from times when man had to be on the lookout from predators and such and because the human eye has very limited field of sharp vision. Anyways those buckles look very good, nice job with those small leafs. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rayban Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Hey, I thought I recognized that makers mark!! Looking good Tom!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carr52 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Looks good. What do you use inside the wrap? I am thinking of doing something liket that.singteck Hi Singteck I use the Buckle back-ring hook from Tandy. You can get the whole thing from them. I tried cutting my own leather blanks for the buckle but then decided it was easier just to buy the whole thing. Thank you for your compliments it means alot to me. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carr52 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Looking great Tom!!I'd use black lace quite and like to argue that that it will make it look better. The way I'm taught is that the eye will naturaly read the contours first and then fall into the center and focus on whatever is more interesting there and with the added leaves a black border will keep this design together very well. With a natural lace the eye will tend to stray off the center IMO so if it was my buckle I definetly go with black lace but then again this is also a matter of personal preference. As I've been taught this is a leftover from times when man had to be on the lookout from predators and such and because the human eye has very limited field of sharp vision. Anyways those buckles look very good, nice job with those small leafs. Tom Thank you for the compliment Tom and your right a darker lace does work better. I thought the black was too much and the natural color was too little so I went with something in the middle. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Yeah that looks great!! I must admit that when I wrote the post about border I forgot what strong border a braid really makes just in itself but this one is great! Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MADMAX22 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 That looks really good, Nice finished product. One question, how did you get the leaves and such to stay that nice light natural color? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carr52 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 That looks really good, Nice finished product. One question, how did you get the leaves and such to stay that nice light natural color? I painted them with super shene. Kinda tedious but it works. Then after that dried I buffed it real good and gave it a second coat and buffed it again after it dried. The antique stain doesn't penatrate the coated parts and wipe I just wipe off the parts coated with the super shene. I just finished another project using the same method. I'll post it. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites