The Frugal Leather Craftsman

Status
Not open for further replies.
Well said.
Agreed. Especially the part about convenience.

I could get by without the majority of my tools, but speed and convenience become important when you've got more than a couple of sheaths in queue.
The quality isn't based on having the best tools, but rather, on the experience and skill of the craftsman.

This is turning into a fantastic thread. [emoji106]
 
Going to be out of pocket for a few days, family in town, but I want to express my thanks for all the good feedback so far. I feel much better knowing that more than just myself are interested in going "backwards" and simplifying instead of complicating our lives. Its harder work yes, but oh so much more gratifying. Way more. :D
 
I'm done with this for a little while, or ever.

Its become painfully obvious that I'm not going in the right direction with this, ruffled too many feathers, and getting walled at every turn.

I tried to let beginners know that you dont need thousands, or even hundreds of dollars in tools to make good leather projects, but evidently that is wrong. You do need them according to the pro's, all besides myself.

Sorry I wasted so much time, I hope someday to reintroduce this plan and not get so much flack, in the meantime go spend spend spend!
 
Dwayne ,

I've sat back from this eager to learn .
But...... in a strange way the Pro's look at things differently than the likes of me , and I suspect you as well .
" Time is money " in any business and I fully understand that anything that saves time and or eliminates wastage is money in the bank in more ways than one .
My meager leatherwork is done on the smell of an oily rag when it comes to tools and equipment .
I have no need or desire to have a fully equipped leather workshop . All my stuff fits in a box that I can easily lift down from where its stored on top of a cupboard .
This is a hobby that gives me immense amounts of pleasure and a lot of the reason of that is that it can be done sitting at my kitchen table or in front of the TV in the evenings .
Your idea was brilliant in my opinion , but has deviated from its original intent . We need to get away from this is what the pro's think and get back to the basics of simplicity .
How you cut the leather for example is immaterial , cut it with what you have , it doesn't matter what you cut it with as long as you cut it to the right shape .
I'm sorry that you have come to the point of throwing your hands in the air , but I do understand .
I learnt my very basic skills from a couple of tutorials here and more importantly , " Trial and error "


Ken

Edit - this is a good place , and its full of good people , with more knowledge than you can poke a stick at , it would be a shame to see that knowledge locked up and not passed on .
 
Last edited:
This truly saddens me. I've seen this squabble rear its head on more than one occasion. I've no idea what started it, who's more at fault or how long it has been going on, I just get the feeling it has continued for much longer than I have been lurking around here. As I continue on for a minute, I only hope no one sees it as me speaking out of turn as I harbor no ill will towards anyone.
As I see it, there is no 1 right way to do things, only what we each find to work best for ourselves individually. Paul works almost exclusively with high end fixed blade sheaths while Gary only does folder sheaths; Dave never dyes any of his sheaths while Anthony likes bright color contrasts; Dwayne works with leather while Kiah works with kydex; Paul appreciates his high end round knives while Dwayne appreciates the simplicity of his utility knife.... see where I'm going with this? We each have our own unique skill sets, experience and even obligations outside the craft that dictate our paths. How boring would it truly be if we were all same?
I believe I can speak for everyone when I say we all look up to and respect those here that are sharing the knowledge of the craft. Dwayne, Paul, Dave, Gary, and the list goes on. As a rule, we won't imitate a single individual, but rather take from the techniques of all our mentors.
Dwayne, I wish you the best in whatever you decide. If you do take a hiatus, you will be missed and I will eagerly anticipate your return so I may once again continue to learn through your experience.

Chris
 
I'm done with this for a little while, or ever.

Its become painfully obvious that I'm not going in the right direction with this, ruffled too many feathers, and getting walled at every turn.

I tried to let beginners know that you don't need thousands, or even hundreds of dollars in tools to make good leather projects, but evidently that is wrong. You do need them according to the pro's, all besides myself.

Sorry I wasted so much time, I hope someday to reintroduce this plan and not get so much flack, in the meantime go spend spend spend!

Dwayne the sheath I got from you is as good or better than any other leather sheath I have ever owned. Maybe you could put a little something together over in the Rat forum where people wouldn't get so upset (since most of us own at least one of your sheaths). I think they are afraid you will teach people to make "professional" sheaths with common tools then they are out of business which imo is pretty darn petty.
 
You know, I'm really sorry that Dwayne took my post in the other thread as a personal afront to him. It actually was labeled in advance as non-confrontaional. It had much less to do with Dwayne and his methods and much more to do with more efficient and productive ways to get things done.

Like Dwayne, I manage to stay pretty busy and can put my time to more productive use than a childish back and forth here on the forum. Therefore, I will not answer any more questions, or offer any advice here on the forums. I will, however, respond to emails, NOT private messages, but emails and phone calls if you have questions or need MY help. My contact information is and always has been in my sig line below.

@PatrickKnight, If you even read my posts, I'm wondering how you came to the conclusion that I was upset, or I'm afraid I'll be "put out of business". I am very happy you are pleased with your sheath and I hope you and your friends buy even more from Dwayne, but Dwayne and I serve completely different clienteles and I don't believe we even compete a little bit for business.

Best Regards,

Paul
 
Last edited:
So concludes another episode of As The Knife Swivels.

We now return you to your regular programming:
Look what I made! with 300 views and no comments.
 
I was definitely looking forward to an opportunity to learn and have been checking for updates daily.

Dang shame that some can't keep from craping on other's ideas and good will.
 
I don't understand the problem, here. I have read through Paul's recent posts and Dwayne's. Dwayne is giving his opinion and so is Paul. It is up to the reader to decide. Thank goodness we all have different styles and methods. It would be boring as hell to think there is only one way of doing things.

As someone who does not frequent this subforum, perhaps I am simply unaware of any underlying personality conflicts.
 
No worries Rick, I have been talking with more than a few people including a couple of my old mentors and most all of them agree what the problem is. I've been giving away what a few people have been selling, tutorials.

Taking money out of their hands as far as we can figure.

I feel much better knowing its not personal, its monetary.

I'm going to give it a cool down, and with a few added disclaimers so I dont get sued, I'll continue the series of Frugal Leathercrafter tutorials. I just need to talk to a lawyer first to make sure I'm not crossing any lines in doing so. Luckily I have a few as customers, its a good thing. Also to stop some of this hate mail, some acolytes and followers are a little rabid in protecting their favorite maker. :(

Its a "wonderful" age we live in isn't it? :confused:
 
Dwayne

Are you doing more tutorials than what I'm seeing on the forums? I am having a hard time imagining where the hate mail is coming from... or why anyone would feel threatened by your tutorials. This doesn't make sense... the internet is full of free tutorials... some are good, some not. Folks will pay to get detailed tutorials from makers they admire/respect. Unless you are in some way directly profiting from another maker's commercial property(DVD's, Downloads, etc...) I can't see the problem. People will obviously react and defend the maker they identify with, if they feel they are(wrongly) being attacked. If that is the case, there is not much you can do aside from taking a hard/honest look at yourself and if you feel they are justified, tone down the aggression and carry on with productive interaction. I was guilty of allowing myself to get personal with a well known maker on the open forums. I got a lot of hate mail. Although I felt justified in the "fight", I had to be honest about my interaction with this person. I sucked it up, and got back on track... and feel much better about my positioning.

I don't know why but I killed some time going through the last few months of posts/threads in this forum. I am seeing quite the opposite, honestly. A sort of "up-rise" against conventional leathercraft or professionals. It is a funny realization for me, as I would seem to fall on the "rebellion" side. Unfortunately(or perhaps fortunately), I lack patriotism toward any specific team.

If this is specifically about you and Paul... I would not want to see either of you removing yourselves from open forum conversations because of it.

Again... I am an "outsider" to Sheaths and Such... BUT also a fresh perspective.

Yours, truly confused.
Rick
 
Last edited:
No worries Rick, I have been talking with more than a few people including a couple of my old mentors and most all of them agree what the problem is. I've been giving away what a few people have been selling, tutorials.

Taking money out of their hands as far as we can figure.

I feel much better knowing its not personal, its monetary.

I'm going to give it a cool down, and with a few added disclaimers so I dont get sued, I'll continue the series of Frugal Leathercrafter tutorials. I just need to talk to a lawyer first to make sure I'm not crossing any lines in doing so. Luckily I have a few as customers, its a good thing. Also to stop some of this hate mail, some acolytes and followers are a little rabid in protecting their favorite maker. :(

Its a "wonderful" age we live in isn't it? :confused:

First of all, Dwayne, I don't know who your current "Mentors" are. Sandy comes to mind, but he's the only one I can think of who is still around. Any way, back to point.

You and your free tutorials (where are they?) are not taking one red cent out of my pocket. The Dvds in which I demonstrate my methods and techniques are the sole property of the producer and any meaningful money made is his. I have posted here information contained in the DVDs free of charge on numerous occasions. I keep a full set or two of the DVDs on hand in my shop which I loan free of charge to anyone I feel is serious about improving their leather craft. In addition, I have posted several photo tutorials or links for access here free of charge, with the latest being fairly early in your "Frugal" thread. I have posted numerous times that I welcome from individuals seeking help, advice or information, via phone call, emails etc. and I have my full contact information at the bottom of each and every post. So you and your mentors and "several others" are dead wrong on that "losing money" count.

Now a little philosophy. I believe that leather craft or any skill that can be taught is best served by learning the basics or foundation from one single source at first. In other words pick a direction you want to go, hobbyist, casual maker, semi professional or full time professional and pick who, in your opinion, best fits your category and then learn all you can from that one source. In my opinion, trying to listen to multiple teachers fosters confusion is generally counterproductive in the long run. Once you have established a good foundation, then you start adding bits and pieces from other sources to round out what becomes "your own style". Obviously in an open forum when two or more different views are shared it's up to the individual to pick the direction he or she wants to go. That's as it should be. That's all I have done….just present my side and in spite of me stating up front it is not intended confrontational, just my opinion, and you packed up your toys and headed home.

When I posted that I would not be answering any questions etc. on the open forum any more, I hope it was also clearly understood that I will post current events and nonsense, but I will only answer questions, offer advice and any other help I can via email or phone FREE OF CHARGE.

Just had a little memory flash. Remember when Omega (Strigamort then) asked you about dying techniques, and you went into great detail explaining how hard you worked to get that knowledge and would not be "intimidated" into passing it on???

"Your glad it's monetary and not personal." With me, Dwayne it's neither. I already explained that you are not costing me any money, and believe me I stay busy enough to not have time to let this affect me on a personal level other than the brief time it takes me to type this.

With Thoughtful Respect,

Paul
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top