dog ate my leather for first attempt at cartridge belt

Farmer · August 10, 2009, 10:04:34 AM

Well,..I get home Friday,...and u.p.s. left my package on the front porch. It was a 3" piece of rawhide,...belt blank. It was packaged in a plastic bag,..and my yellow lab thought it was just a wonderful chew toy!! She chewed on it for at least an hour before my daughter came out and freaked out! My daughter called the wife, and asked her if she could just hide it,..and not tell me,..lol,...she was afraid I'd shoot the dog.

So low and behold, I get home,..and after examining it,..I was sick. She mauled teeth marks EVERYWHERE on it,.......she really had a blast I guess.

I was going to just chuck it in the trash, but I said well heck,...I sure cant screw it up any worse. So I decided to try my first attempt at making a belt. I tried to carve every inch, to hide the teeth marks. Whew!
I learned a LOT! Like,..shrinking a design to fit on a 3" belt,.....might make for some very tight curves,......and all I really have is the 7 piece starter kit,...you know,..3/8" straight blade knife,...and a basic shader and backgrounder,..etc.

I used a Will Gohrmely? pattern ,...for the billet and chape,.....

Still have yet to add the cartridge loops,..but ,..at least I hid the dog bite marks! I also still have to run a stitch around the edge,...just decorative,...it's not lined.

So,..try not to laugh too hard at my first project

Farmer · August 10, 2009, 10:15:08 AM

This was the first thing EVER,..I tried to do with leather,.....so of course,..It was a major learning experience,....

I used water based fiebings mahogany dye,......but then,...like a dummy i guess,...I tried to put a finish with tan-cote. Some of the dye came off!?!?!? Gave it akinda cool look though

also,..I totally dont understand how to use a background tool. Mine leaves horrible tooling marks everywhere! How the heck hard are you supposed to smack down the background?!?!??!

man,..I got so many problems,/ questions,...........

There's a whole bunch I don't understand...lmao

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · August 10, 2009, 10:17:00 AM

Howdy Farmer

Heck Pard, it looks awesome, this belt will mean more to you than one that wasn't chewed on by your Lab, you did a nice job of hiding the teeth marks, and if anything it just adds CHARACTER to it, if you've seen my work, you'll know I tend to go for the used look anyway, or worn look.

Well Done Pard

Best Regards

tEN wOLVES

Farmer · August 10, 2009, 10:22:33 AM

Quote from: Ten Wolves Fiveshooter on August 10, 2009, 10:17:00 AM
Howdy Farmer

Heck Pard, it looks awesome, this belt will mean more to you than one that wasn't chewed on by your Lab, you did a nice job of hiding the teeth marks, and if anything it just adds CHARACTER to it, if you've seen my work, you'll know I tend to go for the used look anyway, or worn look.

Well Done Pard

Best Regards

tEN wOLVES

Thanks man,..but I feel so totally lost doing this. I 'm not even sure I'm like going in the right order with the tools,...lol.
I read, and read, and read in here,...and I still don't get a lot of it.

I was looking at cowboy 316's carving,..and how he laid the background down so smooth,......how in the heck did he do that?!?!?

Oh,...this belt definitely has character,,lol,...in the second pick from the top,..you can see a clear outline of her teeth,...on the flower on the left top,.....a perfect mold of her mouth...lol

It was still fun though. Hopefully the material for my holster and loops will be in today.

RollingThunder · August 10, 2009, 10:29:59 AM

I believe they call that "character" ... I was gonna comment on the aged patina you got going there. Accident of application or not, it looks pretty nice. No shame in wearing that one!

GunClick Rick · August 10, 2009, 11:43:22 AM

You will come to love it.Ain't nuttin wrong with that.I was out second hand slummin one day and found a brand new 100.00 Akubra hat for about 5 bucks.If you have never wore an Akubra they are just the most comfy hat ever,it was perfect size too.I was as proud as a peach,showed my wife,it's very hard to find a hat that's made for ya.I sat that hat on the back of the couch and went some where,i came back and Aussie dog (duaghters dog,and i am his grandpaw)had more fun with that 100 dollar hat~~~~Chewed the edge off,put a nice hole in the pinch and reshaped it all by himslef.

I came home saw the hat went outside and went,~HOLYCRAPPINFIDSHIDLERRACKSNAILBITINFURRYFRIGGIN~I'M GONNA KILL THAT,then he looked up at me and i melted,still had his tongue hangin out

I got the best Gabby hat ya ever saw now,duaghter moved to Texas with Aussie dog and i miss him big time.

That's a hunnerd dollar belt iffin i ever saw one

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · August 10, 2009, 11:49:04 AM

Farmer, if you don't have any books on carving, you should get a few, or at least one good one for beginners, and another thing if you're comparing yourself to 316, don't, he's been at this for some time, you can get there too, but it takes time and practice practice practice, that's the only way I know of for honing your skills, there is a wealth of information here in the forum, but when you're starting out you need all the visual aids you can get, the books will tell what to do first and what to do last, and everything in between, don't sell yourself short, if you did the flower design and carving on this belt, your way ahead of the game, this is a fun craft, and rewarding ta boot, you will find that everything you do from this point on will be better than the one before, so take it easy on yourself and enjoy the process.

One other thing, there are a lot of background stamps, you might want to go to a Tandy store and try some of them out to see what you like, they all have a purpose, but some tools are made better than others, you need to try them before buying, and if you got them from Tandy, and they're bad , they will take them back without a problem. get the catalog, and mark off the tools you already have, and take the catalog with you when you go so you won't double buy on anything, plus the catalog will show you the impression that each stamp makes.

Best Regards

tEN wOLVES

Nice Hat Rick, it has STYLE for sure

Farmer · August 10, 2009, 11:49:16 AM

Quote from: GunClick Rick on August 10, 2009, 11:43:22 AM
You will come to love it.Ain't nuttin wrong with that.I was out second hand slummin one day and found a brand new 100.00 Akubra hat for about 5 bucks.If you have never wore an Akubra they are just the most comfy hat ever,it was perfect size too.I was as proud as a peach,showed my wife,it's very hard to find a hat that's made for ya.I sat that hat on the back of the couch and went some where,i came back and Aussie dog (duaghters dog,and i am his grandpaw)had more fun with that 100 dollar hat~~~~Chewed the edge off,put a nice hole in the pinch and reshaped it all by himslef.

I came home saw the hat went outside and went,~HOLYCRAPPINFIDSHIDLERRACKSNAILBITINFURRYFRIGGIN~I'M GONNA KILL THAT,then he looked up at me and i melted,still had his tongue hangin out I got the best Gabby hat ya ever saw now,duaghter moved to Texas with Aussie dog and i miss him big time.

That's a hunnerd dollar belt iffin i ever saw one

LOL,....I had intentions of whuppin her with that belt,...but like ya say,...one look from the big puppy dog eyes,.......and it was over.

that hat would go perfect with my belt!

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · August 10, 2009, 11:59:19 AM

I think I doubled with you Farmer, check my post above Ricks

TW

cowboy316 · August 10, 2009, 12:24:56 PM

hey there Farmer
you did a grreat job for r first try hide those pesky bite marks just fine and to copy what TW says and i age PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE and also its aa good investment to get a few books if not everyone you can get yourhand on in if yoohave a Tandy shop near or shop them online definitly pay the 35 bucks and get in there membership club you will save money in the long run and to boot when you buy stamps you buy one and get one free once a month
As for getting my backgrounding smooth i do it just like beveling and go over it till its smooth trying to use the same force with every hit but that gos back to the PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE part of this lovely art
feel free to ask me for help anytime like TW said ive been at it a long time i started this craft when i was 9 years old and im 37 now LOL
enjoy pard and hope i helped a little and always keep a sharp swivel knife
Cowboy316

Farmer · August 10, 2009, 12:27:47 PM

Quote from: Ten Wolves Fiveshooter on August 10, 2009, 11:59:19 AM
I think I doubled with you Farmer, check my post above Ricks

TW

got it

and yes,..I did get a few books,...."how to make holsters"....."leatherwork Manual".....al stohlman.

I found a guy on ebay,..sells scraps dropped off from making saddles. So I ordered a bunch of pieces,..of heavy tooling leather,...where I can practice,..doodle,..etc.....

The swivel knife gives me trouble. Trying to make a tight radius is a pain!!! And then about halfway thru, the knife started skipping, and dragging in the cuts,..making some dotted lines.....I sharpened it on a stone,..that seemed to help.

I'm totally hooked though,...I was up early Sunday morning before everyone else woke up,..had my coffee,...sitting at the bench tooling around,......I love it!!! Very relaxing,.....I just can't wait to get back to it after work this week!!!!

The wife is getting plenty of quiet time to herself

thanks for all the responses,...

and yep Cowboy 316,....the hardest part is going to be keeping some leather around to play with!

I wish I was wealthy where I could buy like a couple tooling sides at once,..and then just go-to-town on them,....

but I'm a poor country bumpkin,..gotta pick and shop around for stuff.

cowboywc · August 10, 2009, 12:51:55 PM

Howdy Farmer
You did a really good job on the belt for your first time. Believe me I have seen 100's of beginners carvings over the last 13 years of teaching this craft.
Keep working at it and it will come sooner than you think.
As for your swivel knife chattering, you said you sharpened it and that helped. Did you strop it after that? You will need to strop that Tandy blade many times while carving.
I am going to be doing another couple of short videos for the CAS guys and one will be on backgrounding, hopefully later today.
WC
PS
In your first post you called the belt leather "Rawhide". It's not, it is vegtan tooling leather. I say this only so if sometime you call in a orders to a supplier you don't get the wrong stuff.

Johnny McCrae · August 10, 2009, 12:52:46 PM

Howdy Farmer,

Well now that's one heck of a belt you made! You did a great job on the carving. As the Pard's have said, "This Belt has character and will mean a lot to you". Thank you for sharing this with us.

GunClick Rick · August 10, 2009, 04:46:48 PM

Next time ya get the dog a rawhide chew bone ,make a belt out of it,that'll teach "im"

JD Alan · August 10, 2009, 05:04:29 PM

What Teeth Marks? I think you did a rockin good job, and double that considering it was your first ever wack at it.

You can't go wrong with the great advice you'll get on this forum.

Welcome, and keep it up! JD

FEATHERS · August 10, 2009, 05:56:43 PM

G'Day Farmer,Just sent you an email with some info.Feathers

Ace Lungger · August 10, 2009, 06:57:20 PM

Howdy Farmer,

You did a AWESOME job, I have been playing with leather for over 2 years and your first belt looks better than anything I have done!!
Keep up the could work! I can't wait to see your next piece!!!!!

Later
ACE

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · August 10, 2009, 09:33:25 PM

Quote from: GunClick Rick on August 10, 2009, 04:46:48 PM
Next time ya get the dog a rawhide chew bone ,make a belt out of it,that'll teach "im"

Rick, your a fun Dude to have around

TW

Marshal Will Wingam · August 10, 2009, 10:36:25 PM

That belt looks really great. Chew marks? Where? You can be proud of your first item. It's a good job. Congrats, you're hooked, now.

Dalton Masterson · August 10, 2009, 10:51:56 PM

Good job on that leather recovery project!! I really dont see anything wrong with it, other than an occasional divot here and there. Those could be range marks in the leather tho. Set you up a board with a piece of leather and some rouge rubbed into it, and strop after every few cuts, just like WC said. It really does help make cuts smoother, and no need to take a sharpener to your blade.

I havent watched them yet, but on Itunes, there is a podcast called "Leather Craft for Beginners". Its a free downloadable video series from what I can tell. I tried to watch one on this junky computer, and my video card said nope, so let me know if they are good or bad. One of these days I will swap them onto the laptop, and sit at work and watch....

(nope, I wont)

DM