Old Blacksmith Skate Session

My blacksmith friend Eric came over today to show me his Japanese style chisels, which are a sweet design.

He did the little sun in the corner of a buckle from the scrap pile for a quick demonstration.  The messed up half finished palm tree is mine.  Didn't want Eric to get blamed for that!

It wasn't long before we got down to the serious stuff - riding the motorcycle and thrashin' the parking block.  Turns out we both used to be little skate rats back in the 80s.  I quit for a long time and just recently started skating again.  Eric stuck with it for a lot longer and is really good.  Oh yeah, and he's even better at blacksmithing - check out his website. 

Tiki dudes

I was out making buckles this morning and decided to forge out a few of these.  They are so much fun to make.  I'm going to use this motif for a bunch of new products...

Fireplace screen in its new home

New Product - Dog Tags

 

 

Dog Tags - check 'em out.  Whether you are going for the military look, you need a new key fob, you just sat down on the couch with an unopened beer and forgot the bottle opener, and Fido is right there at your feet, or you need something cool to dangle from your custom motorcycle ... we got you covered.  You can have all that an open a cold one at the same time. 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/90176517/dog-tag-metal-pendant-bottle-opener

http://www.etsy.com/listing/90176658/dog-tag-metal-pendant-bottle-opener

Doing Some Stamping

I have gotten a bunch of orders in lately for custom stamped buckles.  I was out in the shop today stamping a customer's initials into a buckle, so I thought I would do a few others while I was at it.

For the George Orwell fan:

This is my flypress.  It's such an awesome machine.  I use it all the time.

I have a ton of different jigs and tools I've made for it.  This is the setup I use for stamping.

Here is the setup I use for bending the buckles into shape.

It's pretty safe.  I've only had one accident with it so far.  A few years ago, I got my finger caught in between the handle and a ring I was bending and my nail popped off like the press was opening a can of soda.  At the ER the nurse kept asking, "Are you okay?  You look pale." and I was all "Really?  Well, I suppose it could have something to do with the fact that I just smashed my finger in an industrial press."  Good times.

Gypsy Woman Buckle

I really love this design.  There's just something so cool about classic American tattoo flash.  I like it so much that I told my wife if I can sell 50 of these buckles, I'm getting this design done on my left arm.  We'll see what happens. 

Tattoo Flash Buckles

It's been a long time since I've come out with any new buckles.  I just listed all kinds of stuff in my Etsy Store.  What do you think?  Lots more to come ....

When your leather belt falls apart, come get one of these bad boys

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65889865/industrial-belt-15-inch-snap-belt

All leather belts have a lifespan if you wear them every day.  Especially the craptastic factory made ones most people on Etsy are selling.  We used to sell those, too, but got tired of replacing them when our customers told us they had fallen apart a month later.  So we went back to the drawing board and created the toughest belt of them all.

Also, my next door neighbor is a cow named Pancho.  He's really smart and you can walk him around on a leash like a dog.  If you say his name, he moos back at you.  So cute.  Just sayin'.