Recent commissions and a round up.

  I have been so busy something has had to give and that has been my blog. I have been tweeting and facebooking but not blogging. So to rectify that situation here is a round up of recent commissions and events.

  I shook hands on agreement to retain my workshop in Ashby de la Zouch. That has given me a little more security. A small but steady stream of handbag repairs and bag strap alterations keep popping up. I had a little flurry of shoes repairs.

One of my customer's competes in full contact Medieval "sport" i.e. clouting each other with assorted metal weapons.. He wore out the soles on his boots. I was asked to resole them but also to add treads. Whilst not historically accurate you need to have a secure foot whilst beating the b'jesus out of the opponent. His son likes the medieval scene so I was asked to repair a pair the shoes for him. The shoes are so nice and I had such a lot of feedback on social media about them I am working on making some from scratch. When that will be I have no idea at the moment!

Mark as Savage Opress

A commission I competed sometime ago came back in to be "distressed". The costume is Savage Opress, a character from the Star Wars Alternative Universe franchise. I had to dismantle the eighteen pieces of the armour to get all the hidden areas and backs of the plates. It took about ten coats of paint to get the base down. Then another ten passes, in different colours, to create the mottling random enough. I put it all back together again and another couple of passes to get the overall look a bit more uniform, if random can be uniform. I delivered the outfit back the Mark at the Colletomania at Milton Keynes. My good lady came with me and was delighted to see the actor, Paul McGann, in the flesh. It made her day. Mark's day was made with the suit. He had to try it on. I have to say I am pleased with the result although I was not at all certain fo the outcome whilst executing it.

   Another Star war piece was Chewbacca's Bag. The customer had some very definite ideas about what they wanted. I am happy to report the finished article exceeded his expectation so now I have another commission from him....which is nice.

Boba Fett's ammo belt

 I got a photo from a customer who has now finished his costume. Here is Adam sporting his Diamond Awl ammo belt.

Steampunk ditty bag

 I was given carte blanche by a customer to create a small ditty bag to go with her Steampunk outfit. The only guide was that there needed to be somewhere for her lipstick. So with that in mind I made a wet formed bag, finished in contrasting thread AND a small pocket on the front for the lippy.

E-11 Blaster Holster

The E-11 blaster holsters continue to be a steady seller. I got some feedback on them when I crewed for the 99th Garrison at the Nottingham Car Show on the 1st June. The feedback was that they were expensive but really well made. It seems the holsters have become aspirational buys for the well kitted Stormtrooper. I am glad I held my ground on the price. I knew they were worth the expense.

Click HERE to see what he good people at the 99th Garrison do. The collection at the Nottingham Car Show raised about £280 for Dreamflight. Click HERE to see what Dreamflight do.

Crazy busy for Easter

   Getting the launch of the training session at the Mill organised has been a great deal of effort. I think I am paying for it. Work is coming in but I still have a back log. One of my commissions has caused me a great deal of aggravation but I believe I have resolved the issue. The work has been varied the last month. The Star Wars character piece, Darth Revan armour bridge, a strap for a Steam punk purse, a strap for a Radley bag, a repair to a pair of boot for a medieval reenactor and an order for a pair of slippers.

  Easter Bank Holiday weekend in the UK approaches. I have my pitch arranged for at Papplewick Pumping Station steaming days which are Sunday and Monday 20/21st April from 10.30am. Papplewick is an amazing place. High Victorian engineering at its best.

  The engines will be steaming and there will be a couple of traders besides myself, a chap doing some wood turning and not least Dave the Blacksmith bashing out Unicorn shoes. I think the model boat club will be there too. There is something for everyone in the family.

Click HERE for their website. See you there?

Woodend Mill Studios Spring Exhibition

   I has been a bit hectic but we are pretty much there. Jason is covered head to foot in paint and dust but we are ready to take our part in the Woodend Mill Open day and Spring exhibition.



The open day is on Saturday and Sunday 5th-6th April from 10am until 5pm.
Woodend Mill, Manchester Road, Mossley, OL5 9RR

 visit https://www.facebook.com/woodendstudios for details.

   Besides the resident artists opening their studios there will be craft stalls, children's activities and workshops. Lots to do for all ages. For my part I will be making a bag over the weekend in the workshop and chatting to folks about what I do and how you can learn it too. Jason will hopefully scrubbed the paint off and will be in Open Day's reception area manning our stall.

  The tea shop "the Flying Teapot" will be open for a respite from all the heady excitement.

Oh, I nearly forgot.....admission is FREE! 

New website, New venture

   Regular readers will have spotted that the blog has been missing for a few weeks. Well........a lot has been going on. I hooked up with a digital marketer, Jason, who is mad about leather work. We have formed a joint venture to provide leather skills courses. We call it Diamond Awl Workshops. Click HERE for the website. The courses will be run from Woodend Mill near Saddleworth in Lancashire. We have had a lot of support from the Mill owners and artists in the mill as well. Jason has just about fitted out the workshop.

The courses are one or two day duration. The one day courses start with small pieces that contains many basic skills. The longer courses are various bags. The bag are still pretty basic in design but they extend the basic skills and introduce design of the manufacturing process.


 A new website was required to go with the Workshop. Jason worked his magic, behold a super website Click HERE for the website.

Thank you to everyone for their support and encouragement.

New links

   Whilst you are on this website take a few minutes to look at my new friends on the "Links" page. They have lovely stuff.

Click HERE for the Links page 

Greyhound collar

   This chap comes up to me at the Papplewick Pumping Station Christmas Fair with two dog collars. The dark one had been well used and the red one is light in construction and relatively new. The chaps asks me if I can de-construct the red collar and fix it to the bigger brown collar. The red collar has sentimental value to the chap. The red collar is about the same width and a little shorter than the brown collar which is stoutly made from two thickness of leather. The brown collar has seen better days especially the billet. That is the bit that has the holes in it and goes through the buckle. I give it a good clean with saddle soap and rub in some Neatsfoot oil. The chap had already said he would like the red collar tapered so it was a straight forward, if tricky, to mark out the red collar for cutting. Once I cut down the red collar I bevelled the edges then dyed them then burnished them.

   I carefully line the up the two collars and made sure the motif on the red collar was the right way up. The collar is worn as a tight circle so one has to be careful when setting the pieces out for stitching. When completed the red collar will have a greater radius than the inner brown collar so the stitching has to be done with the curve of the collar. If the pieces are stitched together on the flat the stitching will be strained when the collar is bent to be buckled up. It is not terribly difficult. It just needs close attention. I used 18/3 linen thread and gave the thread a good waxing before beginning stitching. The wax lubricates the thread making the stitching a smoother process. When the stitching is complete I gave the stitching a vigorous buffing, with a soft cloth, which pushes the wax and stitches into the the stitching holes and gives the exposed thread a lustrous shine. One of the last jobs was to burnish the edge of the old brown collar. The leather was in poor condition but I managed to get a fine finish. The very last job was to cut back the billet as agreed, then redo the stitching round the billet end. And that really was the end.    

Happy New Year

  The New Year fast approaches full of promise and excitement. I hope the New Year bring you health and happiness. Thank you all my friends, customers and supporters for a providing encouragement in starting my new venture. The truth is I did not have much choice in the matter however your encouragement has been invaluable. I hope 2014 will be at least as interesting as 2013.

      I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous New Year

As Mr Singer Intended

   It has been a fairly eventful couple of weeks and very different to Christmas of the past few years. Orders and inquiries have been coming in steadily. I managed to get over to the leather suppliers and have the makings for a couple of commissions. I start back On Monday 30th to get a couple of items in the post.

  The 29 has some more attention and oil. I had to resort to the hammer to persuade a part of the mechanism to join the reminder of the machine in working. The mechanism that moves the foot up and down just needed a few friendly raps to free it. More oil and working it up and down freed it up and had running as smooth as silk. The tensioner, stitch length and foot lift all now work as Mr Singer intended. I found the parts I need from the Internet so I expect I will be sewing by this time next week - postal service permitting. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all the folks that have helped me along the way this year. Merry Christmas to my customers that have put money in my pocket in exchange for a lovely hand crafted leather pieces, repairs or refurbishments. Merry Christmas to all those that have given me moral support. And the biggest Marry Christmas to she who must be obeyed for believing in me. I feel as if I have already had my Christmas present this year. Here's to the New Year, happy and prosperous not just for me but for all you big hearted souls.

Best wishes from Dave.

Papplewick Christmas Fair

   I was one of a select few craftsmen to be invited to attend the Christmas Fair at Papplewick Pumping Station. Click HERE for their website. There was David Gill the Blacksmith, Bob Newman the wood turner and me doing my leather work. Well, I would have done some leather work but it was perishing cold. The sun was so low in the sky, it being the day after the winter solstice, and the courtyard being surrounded by two story buildings and beyond that a big stand of trees which all led to a lack of direct sunshine. The wind was biting cold. I set up my gazebo but only put one side of it. Anymore and I would have a parachute loosely tethered to the ground. The one side gave a degree of shelter from the wind. I set up my new folding table and set out the goodies. Extra care was needed to make sure nothing would blow away in the gusts.

   11 0'clock came and gates were opened. Folks came in and went straight past me with hardly a glance. I discovered this was the choir that were performing at midday. Visitors came in but did not linger. Most were dressed in their finery for the concert. The volunteers of the Pumping Station came by to say hello which was very nice. Bob the wood turner was set up next to me. He was very organised. He had a trailer which was set up with a lathe, lights and a heater. It took him minutes to set up and pack up. Bob likes a chat so we kept each other company through the day.

Old and new knobs

I was recently given a seized up Singer 29 leather sewing machine. The wooden knob on the flywheel was broken. I knew a wood turner would be at the event so I took along the broken knob. It had split from end to end from drying out. Bob was only too pleased to make my a replacement. As he rightly said, doing something bring people in and it passes the time. The story of the knob gave Bob something to talk to the customer about and it demonstrated the cross over in skills.

The new knob fitted to the 29

 

   As the day warmed up and the wind dropped more people came to see the various performances. Those folks that had seen the performances then came to look at our stalls as did the performers themselves. Lots of the volunteers came by to say hello. I met some interesting folks. Lots of stories for folks to tell me. I found out that the model boat club was based at the pumping station. That gave me an idea to do up my A class yacht so I could sail it at the station. The A class is impressive in full sail.


   Ashley, the Director of the station, came by to see how we were all doing. I now have an open invitation for all the open days at the station for 2014. I can see Papplewick being a regular venue for me. It is a nice place and nice people. The event close at 4pm. Just as well, the Sun had set and with the sun went whatever heat it provided. Being out doors all day was fine. I was dressed for the day and the gazebo provided shelter from the wind.

   The steam engines were shutdown and were started to be cleaned. I packed up my pitch and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and with that my last event for 2013 was over. Time to take stock over the Christmas break. Having said that I was at The Identity Store in Matlock on Monday. Jackie made me a brew which came with a mince pie. Jackie left me to peruse the stock. I have a couple of commissions for which I need suitable pieces of leather. Jackie came up trumps as usual. Whilst chatting over the brew told that Jackie and Peter, The Identity Store, would like to do some joint events in 2014. We did a joint event at the Midlands Game Fair earlier in the year. Click HERE for the story.

Merry Christmas.
 

Savage Opress - The Clone Wars

   I was asked by a couple if I could rework a costume they had made. The character was Savage Opress from animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

We had a chat about the positive and negative elements of the existing costume.  One of the issues was that the armour was a little flat and the arms holes were too tight. Rendering a 2D image into real world 3D always presents issues. There is a pesky thing here on Earth called gravity. Gravity does not exist in comic books. So getting the full effect one the shoulder poudrons and arm blades were always going to be tricky. The suits had to wearable as the customer was going to use the costume for trooping. Prior to the order for the costume being placed I was at a trooping for the 99th Garrison at the Bluebell hospice I found a comic book of the Clone Wars. Perfect reading for the back story of Savage Opress.

The tunic was a good fit and just about fitted one of my manikins. It was not difficult to work out the size and relative positions of the pouldron lames [the individual leaves of the pouldron] from the screen shots. Card is a handy material to make up maquettes of the pieces. The key bit for me was to make the pouldrons appear to be floating. The obvious answer is spacers but they would effect the curve of the pouldron and how was I going to create a foundation to support the floating poudrons? 

   The answer was to create a yolk that fit under the tunic and rest of the costume build hinged on this decision. The yolk comes in two parts, one for each shoulder. The yolk sits on top of foam padding. The padding gives a comfort fit and at the same time holds the screws in place and shields the heads from the costumers skin. I used a 50mm webbing straps to act as a hinges to allow movement in the front chest area. The back strap holds the yolk in place without help from the tunic but also allows the tunic to be removed. After getting the yolk to work it was relatively straight forward to cut all the lames and blades from Aluminium. As with any cutting process the edges needed cleaning up and all the pairs of lames and arm blade needed regularising. Regularising ships planks just needs a plane, regularising lames needs a file and a lot of patience especially the blades. At this stage I was ready from a first fitting. 

 We arranged to meet on the motorway and booked a meeting room for our purposes. I had profiled the yolk in advance and prepped the webbing straps. I dropped the yolk on Mark [the customer]. It was a close fit from the off. It took about half an hour to custom fit the yolk. We then secured the yolk to the foam padding. Another tweak session with the padding locked in place. The tunic was then placed over the yolk for a trial fit. My concern was that the yolk would be to bulky under the tunic. The fit was good. It actually tightened up the tunic. The sleeves holes were always a bit tight. We decided that the sleeve holes would definitely need to be changed. The tunic had fleece sleeves and these would not support the arm blades and the arm aperture need re-profiling. With Mark in his suit we spent a good deal of time marking up the tunic with the position of the pouldron's fixing points and the arm blades. Julia made sure we had plenty of tea to lubricate my brain. We finalised the requirements and packed up and said our goodbyes.

   Back in the studio:  The detailing on the tunic was a little lacking on the pectoral area of the chest. I made a couple of large shaped patches to fit from the chest to the shoulder blades, one of reach side. The patches were sewn on with and pocket padded out with wadding to give the chest area a level of relief. The next job was to cut all the spacers to length for PVC rod. The rod had to drill for the special interscrews. The interscrews had to be cut to length for the position in which they to be installed allowing from the thickness of the Aluminium and the leather that was to cover the aluminium in the finishing. The spacers gave the floating effect. The interscrews gave the strength and articulation of the lames. One vital for the look the other vital for comfort and wearability. The arms were re-made in leather and a little larger than the originals to allow for the arm blades supporting plate and foam backing. More spacers and interscrews for the blades. Then all I had to do cut holes in the tunic and sleeves for the interscrews, drill holes in the Aluminium yolk, lames and blades and assemble the armour, spacers and interscrews. It took ages. This was a second fit. Having decided it all fitted together, I took all apart again.

   The next step was to cover the lames and blades with shiny leather. In this case special finished lamb.The lamb gave the Aluminium substrate more body. This job was a trial of epic proportions. The finish had to be just so as it is the final finish. The interscrew holes had to be re-drilled and cleaned up. Only then could I reassemble the pouldrons to ensure they still fitted the articulated. I should not that worried they fitted fine. The blades were covered and fitted to the sleeve via the supporting plate. I should say at this time that clock was ticking, not because Mark had created a deadline but because I was to debut Savage Opress at MCM Birmingham three weeks from the first fitting. 

   I had a little leather over from the pouldrons so I fugured to would be worthwhile recovering the siliver elements of the boots. Part way through the molding of the toe boxes I was thinking I had made a mistake however more tea and some perseverance and the job came together. We decided the kilt needed better support so I added eight heavy duty poppers which would secure the kilt to the tunic very securely. I got some rubber coloured paint [Tamika] the paint out the heads of the poppers. 

   The final job was the vambraces [forearm armour]. Card, pencil and scissors created maquettes of the vambraces. I wanted the floating effect but had to compromise the size of the pieces. It that gravity thing again as well as the ergonomics of the piece in the real world. I was able to used the original leather arm bracers as a base for the Aluminium, soon to be covered in leather vambraces. I created a vent in the cuffs of the original bracers to make access easier and to be able close the cuff tighter if needed. The maquette was made into a pattern; the Aluminium cut and cleaned, the flat Aluminium rolled to the desire circumference, covered with leather and fitted to the bracers with spacers for the flying effect. The final piece is going to be completed with latex gloves is Opress colours but with the addition of claws, in the meantime I made a couple of plates for the back of the hands, finished to complement the vambraces. That that was it finished. I made a display stand to use at MCM. All done with a couple of days to go. The tricky bit is to stop titivating the piece. I was lucky to have other pieces to distract me from Savage O.

   Mark lent me the Latex Savage Opress mask. The display stand was made to hold the bust on which the mask was fitted. Savage looked a bit round shouldered at MCM but it did not stop a constant stream of folks taking pictures and talking about it. The word is that there is a Savage Opress in Northern Ireland and one being made in Scotland. Mark's is the only one in England and Wales. 

          

 Mark took delivery of Savage Opress on 8th December. We made a tweak to one of the lames. I am sure he was pleased with it. I came away with a nice bottle of Sherry to boot. 

          

Isambard Kingdom Brunel !!

    It has been a bit strange since the weekend. I worked very hard to get ready for the Comicon in Birmingham followed the next weekend by a local event on Saturday in Ashby the which book ended by Steampunk events on the Friday and Saturday nights. Throw in a visit to suppliers, a quite pint with my Movember brothers and a drop in my friends shop to have a glass of bubbly to celebrate their 25 years  in their shoe in Swadlincote and I suppose it is no wonder I am a bit pooped. On Tuesday I was in London on a discovery mission about new technology to mix in with my traditional style pieces. I cannot say anymore about that except that it is very interesting.

   The Steampunk events were a hoot. The Saturday do was at Snibson Discovery Museum in Coalville. Click HERE for their website. It was not just a gathering but it also had several small performances and one grand performance. It was sort of a promenade performance as the audience moved for one tableau to the next. We were led to the theatre through the machine hall of the museum escorted by one of the miners [who as a day job explain the mining equipment to the visitors]. Many of the exhibits were wrapped up as if mothballed. The miners script went along the lines of the machines being of another age and our failure to understand how they worked or what they did. However they were preserved so they must have been important. It is difficult to relay the impact of the grand performance but I shall try. Snibson is a disused coal mine. The winding gear and many of workings and railway tracks are still present. It was a pitch black, cold November night outside as we were led from the theater were we had just experienced a performance relating to the memories contained the Cast Iron and how to extract those memories. As we made our way through external part of the Cast Iron memories interactive pieces, our way lined by braziers stoked up by the biting wind. We gathered in front of  a gantry which crossed the railway tracks. A young lady gave us two soprano operatic solos. Very powerful from one so small. Hanging from the gantry was a large screen. As the operatic element came to a close a gentleman on the other side of the gantry gave a spoken piece. As he delivered his oration a montage of images splashed onto the make shift screen. The oration was in form of a advertisement for an imagined company concern with future of power. Coal, history, power were all heaped into the performance. It sounded to me like a political manifesto being delivered. The climax of the oration was a real locomotive bursting through the screen. It was a very powerful piece. We were led through the darkness of the goods yard to the dimly lit museum. On entering the museum we were presented with a red pouch with contain something hard. On inspection it was a piece of coal. It was quite moving. With the museum to ourselves we took in the galleries and drifted back to the foyer where a second helping of food had appeared. A smashing three piece combo [organ, accordion and drums] were quietly playing traditional English country tunes in an up beat tempo. In side rooms there were exhibits of ray guns with the inventor along side to explain the up side and down sides of each piece. Next door was a several pieces from the museums collection of clothes. The pieces were corsets from the 18th and 19th century.
   I spotted a couple who looked vaguely familiar. Given that I went to an event were I fully expected to know no one at all it was a bit of a surprise to recognise a face. The couple turned out to be Cumbrian's we had met on a BMW motorcycle weekend twenty some years ago. They were attending another Steampunk event the next evening so I arrange to go to that as well and take my good lady along. An altogether splendid evening.

  The least said about the Saturday craft market the better. There had been a Steampunk event on all day at the Space centre Leicester. Click HERE for their website. We only attended the evening element. The rocket tower lent itself to a bunch to retro-futurists. There was performance poetry [John Cooper Clark's job is safe], a kind of musical hall witty banter and comedic songs element and a mentalist. In another space was a series of Victorian gaming tables, a type of shove ha'penny, bagatelle and pontoon. The event was collecting for the Movember men's health charity which had ended on the same day. Click HERE for the Movember website and find out what it is all about. The night end with a set from a Steampunk band "The men that will not be blamed for nothing". They were raucous, witty and odd in equal measure. Anyone that can do a tune about IKB [Isambard Kingdom Brunel] is okay with me.

Turn the sound up and click play.......



   We met our buddies, made some new buddies, had a few beers - Moore Beer in fact, an homage to the great Sir Patrick Moore and locally brewed by Belvoir Brewery and had a jolly good time was had by all.

Thanks you and God save the Queen.

MCM Comicon Birmingam - Day Two

   Day two was a later start but no less busy before the gates opened to the public. My costuming dressmaker, Belle Costumes, arrived with her Princess Leia, Queen Amadala, Valkyrie and Jawa costumes. I added my pieces to her outfits, Leia belt, Straps for the Valkyrie breast plate and the chain maille epaulette for the same costume. We also had to rearrange the table. The count down was given by the tannoy lady and the people flooded in once again. It was a different crowd from the Saturday but no less energetic. A number of visitor folks came to both days so they were greeted as "friends". The Valkyrie piece was something Fem451, my dressmaking friend's cosplay nom de plume, and I put together for the show. Fem451 made a medieval/Game of Thones style of dress and a breast plate modeled from a Victorian theatre prop. I made the plaited leather straps for the breast plate and a chain maille epaulette. It got a lot of comments and the piece drew people in to speak to me.

   Through that piece I got a number of contacts and hopefully a commission or two. The Savage Opress piece drew a lot of comments. I later discovered it is the only one in this country. The feed back on the overall impression and detailing was very good. It is comforting to know that a knowledgeable audience appreciates your work. More of Savage in another post.

   I donned my costume for the afternoon session. The wide belt supports my back very nicely. I might start wear the belt more often. I was chatting to a professional costume actor, as you do, he commented on my outfit and deemed it to be a Steampunk theme. So now I know. My winderbusse drew nearly as much attention as Savage Opress.

Mark, the bass player from the Steampunk band Birthrite dropped by. Click HERE for their website. I duly enrolled him the Ashby de la Zouch light Winderbusse yeomanry.





   
   Thanks to Simon and Jackie of the RPF for the invitation and for looking after me. Thanks to the lads and lasses of the RPF for making me feel at home over the weekend. The Judge Dredds for not taking me into custody. And lastly but not least my better half for putting up with comings and goings at all hours

MCM Comicon Birmingham - Day One.

   The folks flooded in and it never stopped from that moment onward. The was lots of positive energy in the air. The folks were very knowledgeable. I was pleased to see they appreciated the items on show.The two hits of the day were the Savage Opress costume, a recent completion for a customer, and my Winderbusse. A steampunk weaponised contraption.  Folks ebbed and flowed. Chats were had, enquiries made and business cards distributed.

   I took a stroll round the event as I was getting stiff just standing about. It amazing what was for sale. Sweet for Japan, self published comics, a myriad of collectibles and the celebrities autographing for a few quid. I made way back to the stand and took up duties again.





Imogen modelled my Steampunk epaulette. Imogen lives in Dudley and rocks the steampunk looks on daily basis

















This young gentleman posed with my winderbusse as a favour to me. I don't think he minded.










   The day continued in much the same way. One couple did look a bit lost. The couple were of pensionable age and came over to have a chat with me. They were amazed at this new world they had discovered. They had been at the Model Train exhibition which was also on at the NEC. They took a chance and stepped into the comicon world. They liked it. Lots of folks enjoying themselves without expenses of the anyone else. It was accessible to them because the was lot s film and TV references. The gamers and Japanese anime kids was a bit strange to them but they liked the atmosphere. It was not until the tonnoy lady announced the event was closing did the visitor numbers start to dwindle. In fact a few souls had to be herded out. We exhibitor tidied up and picked over the day during well deserved sit down. I got away at 6 pm which felt early. Back tomorrow for part deux.



 

MCM Comicon Birmingham - Day Minus one.

   Day minus one at Birmingham Comicon and Collectomania. I turned up at the NEC in Birmingham on Friday at 2.30 pm. Security directed me to a car park with a long queue of vans and cars. As luck would have it the chap I was to meet, Simon and his missus Jackie, were in the same queue. Again as luck would have it they was nearer the front of the queue than me. Given there was just two lines of vehicle I ran the car down to meet him. I was let into the queue....which was nice.We were directed the loading bays where bun fight commenced. If your are not on the list you are not coming in! was the gist of the security guards message. Jackie worked her magic and entry wrist bands were procured as were free parking passes. Gold star for Jackie's merit chart.

  Si and I bagged a heap of tables for our pitch. Si gets a call to say the bike has turned up. What bike? It is only the Lawmaster motorbike from the Judge Dredd movie. We gingerly unload it then had a bit of bother manoeuvring it. Too many cooks etc. I take charge...whats new.... I whizzed round and through the doors of the venue in a trice. Nothing broken, scratched or bent. It really i easier to to do on your own. To be fair it is quite a light bike if bulky. The three of us build the back drop for the set and position the bike and Dredd manikins. A few posters and graffiti are we are done.

   I set myself to setting up my area. It is not that big a job once we have decided where all the other exhibitors are going.



Before long the other exhibitors had arrived and unloaded there wares. Unbelievable models of space ships, amazing latex masks, brilliant costumed manikins and fantastic space helmets.

   I got home about 8 pm. I glass of wine with a late tea then bed...well eventually after in had made a number of labels.  A 5 am start. It is frosty outside. However I get sorted, shower, shave, breakfast and butties made and I am in my car for the run over to the NEC in good time. Everything is as we left it the previous evening. The lady on the tannoy system counts down to the opening to the public. The folks flood in.

   

Next Outing

   Here is your next chance to see, fondle and smell some of my work. Sir John Moore Foundation know their audience. There is a free glass of wine included in the admission price.

I hope to see you there!

Click HERE for Sir John Moore Foundation website

Nice bit of Feedback

   There is a new entry on the Testimonials page. It is great when someone voices their appreciation of your work.

Phew! That was a day

   Well that was a day. After a potential rocky start when the copper sheet I had order was found not correctly cut to size the decent folks at Smiths Metals in Beeston re-cut replacements as I waited and were very apologetic. They made it better by providing a brew. They gave a very personal service. I will using them again. Click HERE for their website.I got away earlier than expected which was a bonus. The next stop was to drop the copper sheets to a polishing firm in Lye near Stourbridge in the West Midlands. The company shuts down at 1 pm on a Friday. I think that is a legacy of the old hours of working. Lye is in the heart of the Black Country. I like all the old factories and workshops but it is a pain to travel round. I made it with quarter of an hours to spare. When my business was completed the Dad of the firm introduced me to the sons business which is laser etching.

   I had my sandwiches in the car park. It was warm and sunny. "Very mild for the time of year" as they say. A railway line ran past the car park. Trains kept me company whilst I made a few phones calls and replied to emails. I took a punt and decided to visit a beekeeping suppliers that was sort of on the way home. I found the place fairly easily even though it was in the sticks or so I thought. Having bought a supply of bee candy I set off North for Solihull. In a matter in minutes I was in the hurly burly of Solihull. I had a look round Toys R Us for Nerf guns. Lots of cosplayers use Nerf guns so I figured I would do some research. I was sadly out of place in the creche that is Toys R Us Solihull. Solihull is right on the M42. Once leaving Toys R Us I was on the motorway heading home.

   I had five stops on my 150 mile journey round the English Midlands and achieved something at each stop. I very efficient day all in all.

   If you of the Tweeting persuasion you can find me on Twitter @diamondawl
 

Heritage Craft Association

   I am chuffed to report that I have been accepted into the Heritage Craft Association. As soon as I get my account credentials I shall updating my profile. You too can join as a friend of the HCA.

Victorinox Pruning Knife sheath

   I have been promising myself to practise wet forming leather and a sheath for my pruning knife. The two promises came together as made a sheath for my knife. Wet forming sounds simple and a suppose it is however a number of things have to be just right. The leather has to be wet enough to succumb to the tight shaping it is to undergo. The manipulating of the leather must not but so rough as to damage the leather's surface. Most folk mold the leather directly onto the item that is to be encased in leather. In some cases, where the item is fragile or not waterproof for instance, it might necessary to make a timber of plastic pattern of the item that you are going to encase. In my case the pruning knife is a robust item.

    The first job is always to design the finished item. It is at this point the order of build is decided. If the sheath was to be lined  or have pockets, loops or straps accommodated this would be the time to decide how the sheath is built. In this case the belt loop needed to be made and fitted to the sheath's back first.   Next the leather is selected. Sometimes the leather dictates the design and not at other times. It is important to give allowance for the flap which is made from the same piece of leather as the back. The front need plenty of allowance because the leather is going to forced around a pattern. Insufficient allowance on the wet formed leather and you make not have enough margin for some or all of the stitching.

  One can use hot or cold water to soak the leather. Hot water penetrates quicker but it tempers the finished leather like a very stiff cardboard. This can be an advantage in certain circumstances. Leave the leather in the water [hot or cold] for too long and you may have a jelly like substance that will take and age to dry before it can worked further. Very wet leather will take an impression of anything that comes into contact with the leathers surface with the slightest of pressure e.g finger prints, the weave of cloth or tools used it shaping the leather. To short a soaking and the leather will not be sufficiently supple. Forcing the leather when it is too dry is where damages to surface finish occur. When the leather is just so drape the leather over object or pattern and start to work the leather into take the shape. Be careful not to rub or press so hard as to rub off the surface layer of the leather. The time it takes to form the leather depends on the leather's characteristics. A re-soaking might be needed however patience will be needed at all times. When the leather is formed to the desired shape it has to be held in position whilst it dries. When dry the leather will hold the shape. Some folks make A and B patterns. The A pattern may be the inner shape if the piece to be contained in the pouch. The B element is often the outer shape. The B element holds the piece in shape whilst it dries. I usually leave mine overnight however a couple of hours is usually enough to fix the shape.   

 

The back section remains dry. I marked up where the belt loop was to fit. The decided what width the belt loop billet would be remembering that the had to be rolled over at the top. The trouser belt would ride against to inside of the rollover rather than against the stitching if the belt loop was sewn on flat. I made the belt loop wide enough to fit over my work belts which are 2inches [50mm] width. The edges of the belt loop needed the usual prep, bevel, dry and burnish. I stitched the belt loop to the sheath back. I also put a rivet in the top anchor of the loop just as an insurance policy. The bottom of the belt loop is to have a snap so the belt loop can be undone allowing the sheath to be detached from the trouser belt without unlooping the trouser belt.

   Back prepared and front piece molded it is a case of joining the two elements together. Cleverer folks than me cut the pieces to size then do the sewing. I leave the excess of both the back and front pieces, sew the elements together, making sure there is no distortion, then oh so carefully trim of the excess to reveal the piece. My pruning knife is curved so I left the flap over size. The last cutting job was to bring the flap down to the desired size. All the edges need the usual finishing of bevelling, dying and burnishing. The final job was to mark up and fit the Sam Brown that secures the flap. The sheath is a friction fit so the knife will not drop out, even when the sheath is shaken up side down. The flap is just for other folks sensibilities. It might be the law too!

   I can make a sheath for your knife. Please use the contact page to drop me a line.