A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE . . . .

Howdy All!

The Missus is constantly learning from Mr. Legendary Leather's

handmade leather creations. I like to share things that I find

interesting in hopes that you can join the learning curve. too.

 

 

 

Take a look at the above holsters. Both are 'pancake' holsters

(so called because of the obvious shape) that hold a 1911 pistol.

Do you see the subtle differences between the two?

 

 

The first holster is unlined, sports a retaining strap, and is

tooled using a copyrighted traceable pattern. The second holster is

lined and has a unique tooled design created by Mr. Legendary

Leather. Subtle differences that make a big impact. Since the

second holster is lined, it has a tighter fit so no retaining strap is

needed to keep the pistol from sliding out of the holster. Lining

a holster or sheath makes for a classy appearance however it is

labor-intensive. The lining always has to be hand-sewn . . . extra

labor and materials that translate into a higher price for the item.

Mr. Legendary Leather often makes items with these subtle

differences giving his (much appreciated) customers the option

that best fits their needs and pocketbook.

 



. . . . AND YET ANOTHER . . .

As the Legendary Leather Clan prepares to sell goods of the

bovine hide type at yet another Ambush this weekend, the Missus

wanted to share another costume creation from the artistic duo

of Mr. Legendary Leather and Sugar N. Spice . . .

 

 

 

 

 . . . yup, the duo crossed over to the pirate side and made

a trip to the Renaissance Fair. Pirate Days was the lure

and the two had fun creating yet another costume. The

baldric for Sugar N. Spice was the highlight of her

costume and dad had a blast making it.

The Missus sees the purchase of another tub from

the container store to hold the plethora of new costumes!

THE ARTISTRY OF COSTUMING . . . .

Well, you varmints are surely in for a big surprise this time . . .

 

 

 

What in the world could Mr. Legendary Leather be up to this time?

 

 

 

For those of you who know Mr. Legendary Leather, this will

all make sense. And for those of you who don't, the Missus

will try her very best to explain things.

 

Mr. Legendary Leather has always enjoyed making costumes

for various events. When Sugar N. Spice was young, the Missus

created her costumes for Halloween. However, as Spice became older,

her tastes weren't so juvenile and that's where daddy stepped in . . .

and Spice caught the 'costuming' bug.

 

 

Sugar N. Spice enjoys playing Assassin's Creed (she obviously

takes after daddy in this category). During the time she's played

these games, she became particularly attached to Assassin's Creed III.

 

When Mr. Legendary Leather and Sugar N. Spice heard about

WonderCon 2014 they both agreed they wanted to attend. But what

to wear? Mr. Legendary Leather naturally decided to go "western"

(what else?), but this gave Spice the perfect opportunity to step

outside the box and create something totally unique . . .

 

 

. . . Assassin's Creed Western Style! And she knew just the

right person to help her with the leather details.

 

 

The Missus is happy to announce that both Mr. Legendary Leather

and Sugar N. Spice had a fantastic time at WonderCon. They both

claim that they were hounded all day to pose for photographs.

 

 

I think Mr. Legendary Leather is relieved in knowing that

he has a whole year before he has to put that much work

into creating another 'Sugar N. Spice original' costume.



CHANGIN' IT UP . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather will be the first to tell you how

frustratin' it can be to get an exactin' dye color on leather.

I think we can all understand how a variety of leathers

might show off the same dye color differently, but most of

us would find it hard to believe that the same piece of

leather can also reveal very different results.

 

A year ago, in May, the Missus blogged about the holster that

Mr. Legendary Leather made for Brother Scrub Brush . . .

 

 

. . . while the dye color was supposed to be closer to a shade of tan,

the leather chose to reveal more of a mustard color. Brother

Scrub Brush took politely to this little 'snag', however, he was

a might happier when Mr. Legendary Leather discovered

a way of changin' the color to somethin' a might more appealin'.

 

 

Naturally Mr. Legendary Leather tested this method on an old piece of

leather before he tried it on the holster he made for Brother Scrub Brush.

He was very pleased with the results and thought some of you fellow

leather artisans might be able to use this method down the road. This

method only works if you are going from a light color to a darker one.

 

1.

First, he rubbed some mineral spirits (found in most hardware stores)

 on the holster. Mineral spirits is basically an alcohol-based laquer thinner.

This takes off any finishing wax and dirt that is on the leather.

 

2.

He then let the leather dry. This doesn't take very long, about 15-20 minutes.

 

3.

Next, Mr. Legendary Leather applied the darker dye color. He kept applying

this until he reached the desired color (anything was going to be better

than that mustardy color).

 

4.

Then he let the new darker dye color dry overnight. In the morning he

was able to tell if the dye had dried evenly, which it had. If not, he would have applied touch-ups

and let it dry thoroughly once again.

 

5.

Since the mineral spirits is alcohol-based, it can suck out too much of

the natural moisture in the leather. So the next step was to apply an oil

of some kind to restore the moisture back to the leather. Olive oil works

good, however, Mr. Legendary Leather prefers to use Neatsfoot Oil

from Tandy Leather Factory. He applied one layer to the

holster and let it soak in for two hours.

 

6.

Mr. Legendary Leather then came back and rubbed off the excess oil.

 

7.

He then waited another hour before proceeding to step #8.

 

8.

The last step was to apply a wax finish. This holds the moisture in the

leather and gives it a nice overall look.

 

 

The result was a more pleasing color which made everyone

involved very happy . . . especially Brother Scrub Brush!



KEEPING AN OPEN MIND - THINKIN' OUTSIDE THE BOX . . .

For those of you who are creative artisans, this may sound mighty

familiar . . . and for those of you who ain't, maybe you'll understand.

 

A few years ago, when  Mr. Legendary Leather was creatin' his first

leather carved projects, he made a recoil pad for his Marlin 1894 rifle

 and since then has made one for Sugar N. Spice.

 

 

Even though these are usually one-time creations, the Missus tries

to take pictures and post most items just in case there's a kindred

soul out there looking for the same thing. Now it just so happens

that "Mr. Buick" was lookin' for just that . . . a recoil pad.

However, he wanted one for his Model 11 Sportsman and he
wanted some extra inserts for adjustment to his comfort.
This posed a new dilemma to Mr. Legendary Leather. The
end of his recoil pad would not easily accommodate extra inserts.



 

Mr. Legendary Leather had to keep an open mind when coming up

with a new design for Mr. Buick. Sometimes this is difficult to do

after you've created somethin' a certain way. He would need to come

up with a way to fit the end cover "around" the end of the pad as

opposed to "inside" the end like he did on his own pad.

 

 

Mr. Legendary Leather was disappointed with his first try. There

seemed to be extra leather that gathered at the finishing point of the

end cover. He would have to rethink his pattern for a cleaner look.

 

 

With a little advice from some friends, reworking the pattern, and

patience from Mr. Buick, Mr. Legendary Leather was able to create

a carved recoil pad that he was happy with . . . and more importantly,

one that Mr. Buick was ultimately happy with.

 

 

 

 

A mighty fine thanks to Mr. Buick for his trust and patience

in Mr. Legendary Leather's work and for his kindness in sharing

the previous three images. The Missus can most certainly

appreciate his fine photos!

THE TALENTS OF McSHAGNASTY . . .

Howdy All!

The Legendary Leather Clan would like to thank everyone for

their continued support and mighty fine comments on Mr. Legendary

Leather's creations over the past few years. We want everyone to know

that we give special-like thanks to those who have helped Mr. Legendary

Leather in many ways . . . especially 'behind the scenes'.

 

 

I'm sure y'all remember the purse that Sugar N. Spice requested from

her daddy. This purse with its fleur de lys design was her pride and joy

in her younger years. However, she has now become a young lady

 and felt she required somethin' a little larger . . .

 

 

So naturally Mr. Legendary Leather, who is always up for a challenge,

created a purse that was larger in size. However, instead of carving a

fleur de lys design, he had somethin' else up his sleeve.

 

Enter one of those 'behind the scenes' guys . . .  McShagNasty.

Mr. Legendary Leather has always admired the leather creations of

McShagNasty. A long-time member of SASS, McShagNasty shoots

with The Cowboys in Corona. Not only does he have exquisite leather

crafting abilities, he also designs/creates some remarkable conchos!

 

 

Mr. Legendary Leather commissioned McShagNasty to create

a fleur de lys concho for Sugar N. Spice's large purse. Magnificent

work, don't you think? Truly one-of-a-kind.

 

 

Once again, the Legendary Leather household is happy. However,

I think someone should have warned McShagNasty that when invitin'

Mr. Legendary Leather over, beware! You might have a hard time

gettin' rid of that gabber! Thank ye much for your sacrifice!

 

 



SKULLS IN JANUARY?

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!

I think we can get away with that since it's still January.

However, the Missus realizes that there has been no

blog communication since November, so I thought

I would begin the New Year with an 'eye opener'!

 

 

No need to adjust your monitor . . . yes, those are skulls.

Mr. Legendary Leather never misses a chance to amaze

us with new and intriguing creations!

 

 

 

 

Mr. Legendary Leather wanted to give Sugar N. Spice a

little something for the good grades she received her first

semester at the University. What better than a journal

with a hand carved leather journal cover??

 

 

He was happy with the results and is now busy designing

other covers to sell at upcoming Cowboy events.

 

 



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVIN' Y'ALL!

ADDING ANOTHER LINK TO THE CHAIN . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather was commissioned to add yet another

diverse creation to his leather-making repertoire.

 

 

Do you remember Craig from "F395 Photography" a few posts

back? He and his crew did the great tintype photo of Mr. Legendary

Leather and Sugar N. Spice. He had asked Mr. Legendary Leather

if he could make a sheath for his Swiss Army Knife that was heavily

used in his craft. Now this wasn't for just any Swiss Army Knife . . .

I'm sure you are all familiar with the 'gadget pocketknife', however

Craig's knife was so thick and had more gadgets than a cowboy

would know what to do with! Mr. Legendary Leather complied and

Craig was very happy with his new sheath. He took it home and

showed the missus. She was so taken with it that she wanted

to know if Mr. Legendary Leather could create somethin' to

hold her prized salon scissors.

 

 

Now Mr. Legendary Leather is hesitant when it comes to creatin'

a sheath or holster when he doesn't have the actual item to form

it to for a good fit. However, the Missus was able to get a pair

of salon scissors from her hair stylist that were very similar to

the measurements required for this type of sheath.

 

All in all, the Legendary Leather Clan breathed a sigh of relief when

they received word that the sheath fit the scissors and Craig's missus

was happy with the result. Now that is truly a one-of-a-kind item!

 

Many thanks to hair stylist Maria for the loan of her salon scissors!



TIMES ARE A-CHANGIN' . . .

Have you ever come across somethin' you crafted years ago and

want to give it a facelift? I suppose in a way, it would be like renovatin'.

 

 

 

Many years ago, Mr. Legendary Leather created this bowie knife.

Back then, his leather work was very primitive and he created

this sheath for that fine lookin' bowie. However, he recently

decided he wanted a different look for the sheath.

 

 

 

He ended up carving this beauty. Two totally different looks

for the same knife, both fitting into the cowboy genre, yet one

more refined than the other . . . can one use the word

'refined' in the same sentence as 'cowboy'?

 

As he does with most of his old discards, Mr. Legendary Leather

sold the old primitive sheath to make money that would go

toward his next leather project . . . and I wonder what that might be!



WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Brand, maker's mark, or cartouche (if'n you want to be fancy about it).

All words used to define an artisian's signature on his work.

When working with leather, it's hard to put a defining mark that

will identify the creator. Mr. Legendary Leather used to burn his

initials into the leather knowing he would have to wait awhile

for somethin' more professional lookin' since brands can be expensive.

 

 

It all started two years ago when the Sinistral Kid wanted Mr. Legendary

Leather to make a holster to match one that he already had. The

Sinistral Kid welcomed Mr. Legendary Leather to add his "cartouche"

to the band on the front of the replica. Cartouche? Mr. Legendary

Leather hadn't even thought about signing his creations prior to that day.

 

 

Two years later, after signing many leather creations by burning his initials

into the leather, Mr. Legendary Leather saved his money and created his unique

autograph. Since, his leather creations include all sizes, it was difficult to decide on the

dimensions of the brand. Small enough to fit on the tiniest of knife sheaths, or larger -

as not to be dwarfed by the size of a gun holster?

 

 

 

 

Ultimately a medium size was chosen since the bulk of Mr.

Legendary Leather's designs are knife sheaths.

 

Coincidently, Sinistral Kid stopped by the tent while the Legendary

Leather Clan was vending at "Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly"

last month. We were mighty excited to tell Sinistral Kid that

Mr. Legendary Leather was now the proud owner of his own brand.

Sinistral was disappointed to find out that it could not be added

to his holster that Mr. Legendary Leather reproduced. The brand

needs to be stamped on before the staining processs.

 

Many thanks to the Sinistral Kid for inspiring Mr. Legendary

Leather's creation of a unique cartouche!

RECREATING VINTAGE IMAGES . . .

Howdy All!

Well, the Legendary Leather Clan has recooperated from another

adventurous vending event at the 'Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly'

with The Cowboys in Norco. We met up with old friends and made

a few new ones to boot.

 

Mr. Legendary Leather was particularly excited about a new vendor

to this event. F/395 Photography specializes in tintypes and ambrotypes,

recreating the vintage look of  'photography' in the mid 1800's.

 

 

Mr. Legendary Leather and Sugar N. Spice had a great time posing

for their photo. The processs requires detailed timing . . . including

standing still for at least 15 seconds. This seemed like a life time

for Mr. Legendary Leather who couldn't stop swaying once the

words "don't move" were spoken. And yes, this photo is on metal.

 

Much thanks to Craig and his crew who were very friendly and

mighty accommodating to the Legendary Leather Clan!

http://www.f395photography.com/

 

Interested in learning more about photography in the 1800's?

http://www.photorestorics.com/article-314.html

 



DEFINITELY ONE-OF-A-KIND . . .

Howdy folks! Yes, it's been a mighty long time since the Missus has updated

you on the latest from Mr. Legendary Leather. The Legendary Leather Clan has

passed through some mighty important milestones as of late. WesternSpice,

who has now become "Sugar N. Spice" (yes, she's now a full-fledged SASS

member), celebrated her 18th birthday and graduated from high school soon after.

 

Now that the celebratin' has calmed down a bit, Mr. Legendary Leather

is back at the drawin' board with another custom request. Mr. I. B. Creative

 presented Mr. Legendary Leather with a mighty fine lookin' knife and sheath set.

 

 

Mighty fine lookin' indeed. However, Mr. I. B. wanted a different look

for the sheath as he was going to give it as a gift to a friend. His detailed description

of what he wanted was a bit out of the ordinary . . . even for Mr. Legendary Leather.

 

 

What in the world?! I'm right there with y'all on this one. It reminds me

of a paved street. However, some of you may have already guessed what

this actually is . . . yup . . . you ain't mistakin' . . . it's stingray skin!

Mr. I. B. had a unique idea on how he wanted this used in the new sheath.

 

 

 

Using the stingray skin as an inlay within an arrow design, Mr. Legendary

Leather was able to turn Mr. I. B. Creative's idea into reality.

 

 

 

I'm sure you would agree that this is ultimately the most unique medium

that Mr. Legendary Leather has ever worked with.

 

A mighty fine thanks to Mr. I. B. Creative for allowing Mr. Legendary

Leather to bring your vision to life. Enjoy!