A STITCH IN TIME . . . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather is moving right along on this project. He has dyed the leather and begun stitching the thin piece of leather (that will form the loops to hold the 22 LR bullets) to the belt. Very similar to the time consuming step of measuring and drilling the stitch holes, the actual hand-stitching process requires a few hours of patience and labor. Mr. Legendary Leather does not own a sewing machine that is able to sew through leather like many other leather crafters use to speed up the process. His items are all hand-stitched. Stop and think about it. Stitching a thick piece of wax thread through two layers of leather . . . my fingers ache just thinking about it. Often times, Mr. Legendary Leather uses a small pair of pliers to guide the needle through the thick pieces of leather.

As he forms each loop, Mr. Legendary Leather places a 22 LR bullet inside that loop to let the leather stretch and form to the bullet itself. He comments that you don't see too many cartridge belts for 22 LRs for the simple reason that the bullets are so small and crafting a belt to hold such bullets is very time consuming because the loops are many and quite small. Most shooters will just store these bullets in some type of pouch because of their size . . . it's just easier. But to some, the look and feel of a cartridge belt around their belly gives them a sense for the rustic old west and how things must have been all that long time ago . . . a time where hand crafting an item was the only way things were made.

Stitching the thin piece of leather, that will form the loops to hold the 22 LR bullets, to the belt itself.

The bullets are placed in each loop after it is stitched to start the stretching process.

A view of the stitching from the back side of the belt.

THE PROCESS BEGINS - MAKING A SIMPLE CARTRIDGE BELT . . . .

When last we left you, Mr. Legendary Leather had received a request to make a cartridge belt that would hold 22 LR (for those of you who aren't familiar with LR . . . Long Rifle) bullets. With all his materials on hand, Mr. Legendary Leather has begun the process. Starting with a trimmed down leather belt blank (7-8 oz), a small strip of a very thin 2 oz leather (this piece will form the loops that hold the bullets), and a belt buckle. He first trims all pieces of leather to the necessary length and width. This step also includes tapering the tip of the belt, making holes on the tip of the belt, and getting ready for the addition of the belt buckle. The next step of carefully measuring and drilling holes in which the stitching will take place, is probably the most time consuming. The measurements for the holes must be accurate and one must have a steady hand to drill the miniscule holes (approximately 288) that will be used for the stitching. Now that you are familiar with process up to this point, and after examining the photos below, you can't help but truly appreciate the time and craftsmanship that is involved with handmade goods!

All pieces have been cut and trimmed . . . holes measured and drilled.

A closer view of the miniscule holes required to begin the stitching process.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE SHOP?

Well, I asked Mr. Legendary Leather if he had any new projects in the works. Turns out that he's just about to start on a "special request". Mr. Legendary Leather has been asked to create a new cartridge belt to replace an old one that a customer has worn through. The customer would simply like a replacement . . . meaning that he wants it to look like the old one. Nothing fancy, nothing added . . . plainly done like the original. This will give us a chance to see how Mr. Legendary Leather is able to create what the customer asks for as opposed to creating a piece that is to his own liking. Will he be able to "contain" himself and create a piece within the parameters of the customer's request? We will have to wait and see.

An old worn and over-oiled cartridge belt that has seen better days.

Through many years of use, taking bullets in and out of the small loops, the leather becomes worn and tattered.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT . . .

For those of you who have been waiting to see which method Mr. Legendary Leather chose to finish his sheath for the spring-buck bone handled knife . . . here it is! He chose to use wax thread to sew the back and front panels together. A bit less fancy than adding rivets or tacks, however I believe this gives the sheath a nice refined finish and doesn't distract from the beautiful carving he worked so hard to achieve.

Now for the bad news. If  you were hoping to buy this sheath and claim it as your own . . . Mr. Legendary Leather has chosen to keep it and display it among his other "bovine hide" creations. However, there's always special orders that he is happy to accomodate!

The hand carving compliments the handle of this knife nicely.

THE "DYE JOB" IS COMPLETE!

Well, I snuck out to the garage to see if Mr. Legendary Leather has made anymore progress on his latest creation. I was in suspense as to what color he would be using on this sheath. Well, here it is! What do you think of the color?

As you can see, he chose to leave the backing of the sheath plain on this one. It looks as though he has used the same shape and style of sheath that originally came with the knife . . . flipping over the top side of the backing to form the loop (allowing placement on a belt) before he glued the two sides together.

Since glue is only a temporary way to hold the front to the back, Mr. Legendary Leather now needs to take the next step in the decision process. Will he chose to stitch the back to the front . . . possibly lace the two sides together . . . or will he use brass tacks or maybe even some rivets? So many decisions to make . . .

The backside of the new sheath.

Hand carving and stamping shown on the front of the sheath.

JUST A HINT . . .

Well, just like you, I couldn't wait to see what Mr. Legenday Leather has decided upon for his beautiful spring-buck leg bone handled knife . . . so I went out to the "shop" for a peek.  Oooooooo! It looks like this will be one of his hand carved creations combined with a bit of stamping . . . nice choice, don't you think? I can see the crudely shaped outline of his design in the bottom left hand corner of the sheath, but I also see how nicely it takes shape when he adds the stamping to the top right hand side. Nice job Mr. Legendary Leather! I wonder what shade of dye he will end up using? How long do we have to wait to see that part of the project?

A rough hand carved pattern takes place before the compliments of the hand stamping begins.

A closer look at the details.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE SHOP?

Oh that's a riot . . . there is no "shop" . . . it's the garage! Yes, Mr. Legendary Leather does his leather-crafting in the garage. It's his "safe haven" and an escape to his world of the bovine hide!

Mr. Legendary Leather thought you might want a hint about what he's creating for his new project. Many years ago he purchased this spring-buck leg bone handled knife. As you can see, the sheath that accompanied it is rather plain . . . especially for such a fine looking knife. Are you as curious as I am to see what type of new sheath he will create for this beauty?

In the minds of some crafters, "plain and simple" needs to be remedied.