iPhone 4 slipcase

I finished up this iPod Touch slipcase recently. I used a pattern from Al Stohlman's Lucky 7 Fotocarve Pattern book. I saddle stitched this by hand with waxed nylon thread. The case was wet formed and the finish is Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene.

New Belt

I just finished this belt to go with a buckle that I have had since I was very young. The belt is 1 1/4" wide and the pattern came from Belts Galore by Al Stohlman. I finished it with Fiebing's Tan Kote then with Fiebing's Antique finish in sheridan brown and then finished it with another 2 coats of Tan Kote.

Milwaukee Skyline

I shot this image from the shore of Lake Michigan about two weeks ago at about 9 pm. I used a tripod and I think the exposure was about 15 seconds long if I remember right. I love how the city looks from this spot on the shore.

Old Leather Tools

I just picked these up from someone selling them on Craigslist here in WI. Some of the tools are are made by Craftool with 'Craftool Co USA' stamped on them along with the number and letter prefix.  This label indicates that they are post 1969 production as noted here.

Some of the tools are unmarked and non-plated tools and are much older than the rest of the lot (pictured with mallet).  I am not sure who made these unmarked ones, any ideas? Pretty cool addition to the tools I already have.

Vintage Craftool Swivel Knife

I bought this swivel knife on eBay recently. The knife is an earlier Craftool and only the saddle and stem are chrome plated. The barrel has really nice and crisp checkering, but is non-plated steel. I haven't seen any others like this, but I am guessing that this non-adjustable model was fairly common. Judging by my other Craftool swivel knives that I know the approximate dates on, I think this tool may be from the early to mid-1950's. Any comments/corrections here are appreciated.

iPhone 4 Case

Front

Back

I just finished up this slip case for my wife's iPhone 4. The floral pattern was taken from the book: Lucky Seven - Foto Carve Patterns and Instructions for Carving Leather.  I made the template for the case by adding 1/4" to the dimensions of the phone.

After I carved the design, I cut a back to match and then saddle stitched the two sides together and finished the edges. Once it was stitched and had its edges burnished, I wet the leather inside and out and inserted a wood 'iPhone' made from plywood and formed the case and let it dry. This slip case is finished with Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene which was applied with a wet sponge.

Stihl 015 Chainsaw

Stihl 015

My childhood dreams of owning my own chainsaw are finally realized! On a walk in my neighborhood this last Sunday I found this at a rummage sale. I have cleaned and inspected it throughout and it doesn't outwardly seem to need any parts so far. Over the past few days, researching online, I have found that this saw is popular as an arborist saw due to its compact, top-handle design. I did a little research about chains and bars as well and found that I could true the bar on my bench top disk sander, as one side had uneven wear. When I put the saw back together, I flipped the bar and retensioned the chain and there is very little side-to-side play in the chain. I need to pick up some bar oil and also some oil to mix the gasoline. I cannot wait to start it up and find a use for this little classic saw.

Below are a few pictures of the saw disassembled during the cleaning.

Right, rear view showing engine and clutch

Freshly cleaned starter side case and chain

Here is all the crud that I cleaned out from the groove in the bar! Lots for a little space.

Scandinavian Sheath

I made this sheath using the tutorial by Gerd Jorgensen that I mentioned in a previous post. I am quite happy with the fit, although I would have tapered the pattern at the tip portion to narrow the sheath at the very end. The sheath was oiled with neatsfoot oil and sealed inside with Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene.

Leatherman Wave Sheath

I made this sheath for a Leatherman Wave that I found last year as I was headed to work. Surprisingly, the multi-tool had only scratches. Pretty good for the middle of a busy road in Milwaukee. I made the sheath after being inspired by the sheaths that JRE Industries makes for different tools.

Birch Bark Handled Puukko

A while back I posted pictures of this knife without a sheath. This post is a follow up to show the Scandinavian style sheath I made for it. This knife was made as a gift for my mom.

The sheath was made from a belly cut of cowhide that I had purchased to make some other sheaths this summer and I decided to use it for this sheath as well. The plans for this style of sheath were based on the tutorial I found on British Blades forum called "Scandi Sheaths My Way" by Gerd Jorgensen. The author has this tutorial on his website here.  Gerd also has a pouch style sheath tutorial on the same page which is also great.

The knife handle was lightly coated with mineral oil and the sheath was coated with neatsfoot oil after it was completely finished drying.

Leather Handled Puukko

This morning I finished the handle on the Polar blade that I wrote about in the previous post. As my first stacked leather handle, I am quite proud of how it turned out.

The handle is stacked leather with green canvas Micarta spacers and hand-hammered brass. I sanded the handle to shape on my belt sander with a coarse belt and then did the final sanding with 100 grit Aluminum Oxide sand paper while the knife was in my bench vise. After sanding by hand, I dusted off the leather dust and used Bick 4 leather conditioner and a piece of canvas to burnish/polish the leather.
 
The only thing I might change about the knife if I were going to do it again would be the glue type that I used for gluing up the leather. I used Titebond II glue which I have seen recommended in some tutorials on line, however I think I would not have had such pronounced lines between leather pieces if I used an epoxy. I noticed that there is a little darkening of the leather at each junction and I think this might be from the glue interacting with the steel tang of the blade. Anyway... I am overall very pleased.

Stacked Leather Knife Handle

I am working on a stacked leather handle for a Finnish knife blade made by Polar that I bought a while back from Ben's Backwoods. As I have accrued some leather scraps over the summer, it only makes sense to try a stacked leather handle. I just started the project today and I have a few pictures of my progress so far. I am using leather from a tooling belly that I bought at Tandy Leather to make some sheaths from.

Cutting the leather rectangles

Rectangles of leather cut and organized

I used dividers to layout each piece before punching holes

Holes punched and ready to cut slot

Slots were cut with utility knife at first, then a mortising chisel

Leather in place for a test fit

Craftool Co. Stamp Index - ca. 1955

I recently received the 1955 version of Lucky Seven - Foto Carve Patterns and Instructions for Carving Leather. This book is still published by Tandy Leather Factory, however this version published by Craftool Co. contains an index to the stamps that were in production at the time. Many of these stamps are no longer available and some newer tools were produced that are not pictured in this index. I am posting this as an aid to anyone trying to cross-reference older Craftool Co. stamps.

In my research online, I have found the Puget Sound Leather Artisans Co-Op has a very comprehensive database of stamping tools here. The other resource that I have found that is focused on Craftool Co. stamps is compiled by John Herold of Baggs, WY and can be found here.

Sheath for Backpacking Knife

I made a sheath for the backpacking knife that I posted earlier this week. The sheath is a fold-over or pouch style sheath that is hand stitched with waxed nylon thread. The sheath was cemented with Pliobond contact cement before I stitched it up. The sheath is finished with Dark Brown Fiebing's dye and sealed with Acrylic Resolene. I tried to just seal it with Bick 4 after dyeing it to achieve more of a matte finish but some of the dye from the sheath loop rubbed off on my pants so I went for the Acrylic Resolene to avoid this in the future.

Backpacking Knife?

I just finished this knife today. I like to think of it as a backpacking knife because its big enough to get most jobs done, but is definitely smaller and lighter than a traditional 'bushcraft' knife. It is made from O-1 tool steel and it measures  7" long and has a 3" flat-ground blade. The handle is affixed with epoxy resin and hollow stainless tube pins. The spine of the knife was grooved with a checkering file to enhance the grip. I am not sure what kind of wood it is, but it is a hardwood with an open grain and it is finished with gloss, marine spar urethane.  I am happy with how it turned out.

Sheath for Victorinox One-Hand Trekker

Front

Back

Here is a sheath I made for my Swiss Army One-Hand Trekker knife. It is wet formed leather finished with Fiebing's Dark Brown dye. The sheath is hand-stitched with waxed nylon thread

Leather Coasters

I have been working on these for the last week or so and have 1 more to finish out the set of four. This project has been good practice on my tool techniques. The tooling on these were based on a floral design that I took from a section of a saddle that I think was tooled by Chan Geer. The leather was sealed with Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene, then with Fiebing's Antique finish in Sheridan Brown and then sealed again with a couple of coats of Acrylic Resolene.

Leather Edge Beveler

I needed an edge beveler for some leather projects and did not have one. I was not interested in buying one of the import models that Tandy offers currently and did not have the money to buy a better Osborne or King tool... so I made something to get by. This tool is made from a square-cut concrete nail that I annealed, ground, filed, polished and then heat treated. The handle is made from laminated Baltic birch plywood scrap that I had lying around and brass. The handle was sealed with Marine Spar Urethane.

Leather Bracelet

Until recently, all of my jewelry has been made from metal. I made this bracelet from leather and tooled the design from an old Craftool belt pattern. The design was sealed with Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene, then antiqued with Fiebing's Antique Finish in Sheridan Brown, hand buffed and then sealed again with Acrylic Resolene.  The bracelet closes with a Sam Browne stud made of brass.

If interested in a bracelet like this, email me or visit my Etsy store and inquire via the "conversation" tool.

Card Wallet

I just finished this card wallet yesterday. I have always wanted something minimal such as this, since I never actually have cash that I carry. The design was created by one of my new stamps that is somewhat of a copy of a Robert Beard Byrne's Backgrounder tool that I learned about from this article by Robert Beard.

Front

Back

Leather Tools

I recently made a few leather stamps that I did not have and/or could not afford. I used 3/16" SS rod for 3 of the tools and I used 1/4" x 6" carriage bolts for the other two tools. All but one of these tools is for backgrounding and the other is a smooth beveler which I was missing from my tool set.

New Tools

Polar Knife with Birch Bark Handle

I made this knife from a Polar blade from Finland and used birch bark to make the stacked handle. The front and back of the handle are sandwiched by 1/8 thick green canvas Micarta.

Bushcraft Knife

I made this knife from O1 tool steel and canvas Micarta handles. The leather sheath is from JRE Industries and I made the second sheath from Kydex and it has a belt slot attached with aluminum Chicago screws.