Leather work...

[Overmountain]

Yes, I know there is a sheaths and such sub. But, I am a knife maker and metal worker first, and leather worker second. But, I have had a rash of leather jobs come in. And some of it turned out really nice I think... So I figured I would show off a little of it and give props to one person in here who helped on the supply side.

First, a Hermann Oak veg tanned, hand tooled ranger style belt with a Diablo buckle set. A Sam Browne stud was added to the reverse of the wider back belt for extra support. The color is a custom mix of Fiebing's pro colors to make a nice mahogany/brown. The matching strap is a leg strap for a camp knife sheath still in the works... Matching 1911 holster is also coming.

Ranger style buckle, etc...

Kydex and leather holster with J-clips for tuckable IWB wear. One oddity... When I looked at other IWB carry rigs, some by some fairly big name manufacturers, I noticed they were flat. Every aspect was flat. I can understand the ease of manufacture, but when making this one it added a lot of comfort for the customer to form it to his body pre-assembly. Also, I tried suede and microsuede and discovered the skin side of the Kangaroo moved better within the layers of clothing than a suede textured surface. The guy I made this for carries religiously, so comfort was goal #1...

Thread recessed in a groove to avoid wear and tear...

Backed with Kangaroo leather from Packer of Australia. I love the scratches and scars from 'life in the bush...' A whole kangaroo hide isn't very big, but has such a range of characteristics to choose from. The belly portions, along the sides, have scars and scrapes from obvious thorn encounters. Yet it is still supple. Much more like our skin, with pores and such than the thick and feature free cowhide. The back, or center section of a hide, is flawless and smooth. The flesh side is smoother than the best alcantara found on high end sports car seats. It doesn't tool very well due to its limited thickness, but is supremely strong.

Thanks to Chris H. (Larrikin) for pointing me to Packer Leather. I use the roo for everything that requires supple feel, rustic looks, extreme strength, etc etc etc. At about 1-2oz thickness it is as strong as 6oz cow hide. It also wet forms like no other... Thanks for shopping around down there Chris!

Well, maybe I can get my hands on a hammer and some hot steel sometime in the near future... All this sewing is making my fingers hurt... Lol.

Cheers!
-Eric

 

[Chris Larrikin]

Looks great Eric!
Are the buckles and metal fittings your work too?

I have to admit I have much more experience in cooking/eating roo than wearing it. I'm really glad it worked out so well. Now go make some pointy stuff!!

 

[Overmountain]

Looks great Eric!
Are the buckles and metal fittings your work too?

I have to admit I have much more experience in cooking/eating roo than wearing it. I'm really glad it worked out so well. Now go make some pointy stuff!!

Thanks again Chris. Sometimes just being on the right continent helps. You quickly sorted out what it would have taken me a month of emails to do...

I have made a few rather plain buckles and tips here and there, some from big old coins and medallions. But alas, these are just the relatively standard 'Diablo' style buckle set. Tandy sells a version, as do a few dozen other vendors. Some have some silver in them, some are plated, some are punched and hollow. These are solid, but just solid brass with a silver plating. This whole project is going out the door when finished. And to keep the money where the money should be, I chose to forgo the very tempting offerings from Montana Silversmiths etc... A drop leg piggyback sheath with a recurve camp knife and small skinner as well as a kydex under leather 1911 holster will be finished in due time. (This whole affair kicked the Jade Ghost out of the shop ) The camp knife is getting black dyed quilted maple handle treatment and matching grips on the 1911... So not having the fanciest buckle around won't detract too much I hope...

I am not a belt buckle guy. I was brought up around hot rods and bikes, and always learned to leave the buckle at home when working around $15k paint jobs... So that upbringing, plus almost always carrying as concealed as possible, means buckles aren't really my thing. During my digging though, I came across some real pieces of art. Thousand dollar buckles that were absolute stunners. I'd like to see what some of the jeweler hands like Stacy or Page could turn out buckle wise. It might just be enough to turn me into a buckle guy... Not that I'll be riding any bulls anytime soon... But buckle guy nonetheless...

Cheers.
-Eric

 

[FL_Jimbo_K]

Well done sir, well done indeed!

 

[i4Marc]

Good looking stuff there!

 

[Salolan]

Nice work Eric! Don't be scared to wander over to "Sheaths and Such". There are a few of us that try and frequent both areas but there are also a quite a few over there doing strictly leather that doing amazing things!

Chris

 

[Overmountain]

Nice work Eric! Don't be scared to wander over to "Sheaths and Such". There are a few of us that try and frequent both areas but there are also a quite a few over there doing strictly leather that doing amazing things!

Chris

Thanks Chris,
I would drop by over there if I thought I was on that level. I put my name in the listing over there for anyone needing rather routine work. I, like a good deal of the knife makers here, learned leather as a by-product to the actual knives. (And gun stuff I also do...) So I would say I stick with the fairly classic. I tool (artistically, freehand non-geometric etc) some on the side, but wouldn't say that stuff is at the level I'd be happy putting out there for a price...

I am particularly proud of the holster, except that I wished for my maxx form foam before doing it but it wasn't here yet...

Cheers. Thanks for the compliments.

 

[Salolan]

Thanks Chris,
I would drop by over there if I thought I was on that level. I put my name in the listing over there for anyone needing rather routine work. I, like a good deal of the knife makers here, learned leather as a by-product to the actual knives. (And gun stuff I also do...) So I would say I stick with the fairly classic. I tool (artistically, freehand non-geometric etc) some on the side, but wouldn't say that stuff is at the level I'd be happy putting out there for a price...

Trust me, I'm not on that level either. Think of it as the Shop Talk area, except with leather. There is the same variety of skill level there as over here and they are just as helpful and welcoming.

Chris

 

[Overmountain]

Trust me, I'm not on that level either. Think of it as the Shop Talk area, except with leather. There is the same variety of skill level there as over here and they are just as helpful and welcoming.

Chris

I do like to lurk over there from time to time for inspiration. But I don't feel like I'm at the level where I'd be telling anyone anything they didn't already know or could find better someplace else. Lurking there actually pressed (pun intended) me to get the new kydex foam. I was getting good fitment inside, but especially with thicket kydex the outside remained uneven. Plus I had to go hotter than I wanted, killing the foam quicker and not yielding ad good of results. Seeing what was offered up over there prompted me to get the new foam. So far it is stellar. Only wish I'd have waited. Need to get some pics up of stuff pressed with it.

I started tooling with the typical floral and oak patterns by copying what I was seeing here and elsewhere. That's what I've been working on most in that medium lately; tooling. But I've gone to more knotwork and images with it. Here is a St Michael I did on a scrap piece. It is taken from clip art I found a while ago. I transferred it to the leather and had swivel cut it here.

I would like to find the original artist so I could give him/her credit. I used this piece to practice the shading, and think I'm comfortable enough to try it on a good piece of leather....

I also started making my own tools after seeing some other examples. I have a slew made from nice big SS bolts cut and ground to size.

Thanks again. I'll speak up next time I'm over there so I can properly introduce myself...

-Eric