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Here are some things I do and have done in the past. 1. Wherever you located the stud or snap, mold the snap into the leather to recess it. Soak it in water before setting the snap or stud and really put it in tight. Then mold around it when wet and cased. 2. Use a thin leather to cover. Think...

Here's the holster for that rig I was telling you about. This is a single cordovan with the Craftsman Lace. It isn't a finished product yet but you can see where I'm going.

Experiment with different lace. It makes ALL the difference in the world on usage and finished product. The best of the real leather lace is called craftsman lace. If you want something that will hold up a little better, ProLace is a good option, although it is synthetic it's hard to tell on the...

Buffing in between coats with steel wool or 1200g will really make it shine, if that's what you're after. It flattens the oil finish, like car paint. Removes all of the small imperfections. Then reapply, dry repeat. Same technique is used for gun stocks.

I see the grinder and kit on USA knife maker but I can't seem to find any reviews on it. Is it just so new that there aren't many out yet?

My leather comes from Montana leather in billings. I only buy Herman oak, grade a.... The anvil is a 200 pound Peter Wright.

I might post a few later tomorrow when I'm back home. I'm actually out of town buying leather and anvils...

Couple things here... do not soak stingray. Yes the nodules are tough but any razor knife will go through easily. I cut it with leather shears for the best result. Exotics are a majority of what we do.

I haven't played with one is a good while but the one I ran in the past was used for engraving more than anything else. Play with it some and you'll like it. Cutters are just carbide dental cutter sized tools if I remember right.

With tooling on sheaths, a little goes a long way. here's another example. Simple tooling gives a dramatic effect.

Don't fall into the trap of feeling required to use a specific tool for a specific job. Use the tools you have in creative ways. Tooling takes tons and tons of trial and error practice. Don't get discouraged. PM me here if you want and I will try and help a little more if I can.

Oh and in place of a hair knife, use an exacto blade and a straight edge ruler. Just space the small thin cuts about 1/32" apart. Quil to outside of the feather. Then go back and fill in with some random straight scuffing cuts. It certainly adds that. "Something".

OK, let me start small. A beveler creates a smooth edge on one side of the work and leaves the hard line on the other. It's usually slid along the line into cased leather. A backgrounder is a tool that is angled in towards the work. The face of this tool can be smooth (just like a beveler) or...

Dennis, Tandy has a bunch of Craft tool stencils for stuff like feathers and general shapes that are very good. The sheath below is my tooling on their stencil. Here's a few things that might help. Feathers are supposed to be delicate....think, lots of light tooling versus small amounts of...

I am coming at it from the other angle. Many years ago I stopped making knives to concentrate on leather work. I'm just now spinning back up to make knives again. I'll only be making a few custom pieces at a time concentrating on my own designs. Of course offering the custom leather as a side bonus.

The most important part is the pattern. Make your pattern from plastic sheet or some kind. After that I don't scribe it onto the leather. I just simply take a new blade in an exacto knife and trace the pattern. You'll get two cutouts in 10oz leather and then toss the blade in the trash. With the...

Google, leather clicker. This is a small press we use to punch patterns into leather. That tool uses a "Die" that is made from 1/8" cold rolled steel, 1/2" wide. They heat it and shape it with a torch then weld the seam together. Add a brace or two and sharpen the edge on the strip to cut the...

If you are looking for something specific, shoot me a PM here. I have hundreds of tools and duplicates of most I could part with.

I've been working with leather for a long time and honestly, besides the specialty makers, Tandy is about the best game in town. Now having said that, you can get some incredible deals on sleezebay. I see lots of stamping tools sell dirt cheap. As in cents per tool. If you aren't looking for...

I make my living with custom leatherwork. I'll add a few small things for you. I make these dies all the time. I do mine with a piece of 3/4" birch plywood with a strip of 0.080 stainless shim stock shaped around the edge. I can make one in about ten minutes. One quick trip to the sander and a...