Workshop Notes

Why Wolf Creek (and why Cross Plains)
I grew up in southern middle Tennessee around craft and woods. The name Wolf Creek comes from a community close to my hometown and from an old country store tied to the place. I still live in Tennessee, a bit farther north — and every piece of leather I sell is handmade by me in Cross Plains.This started as a workshop hobby and turned into a real side of my life. I keep a day job; the leather work has to earn its keep before I can change that. I... Read more...
Why Wickett & Craig (tradition, and how they tan)
I don’t switch tanneries for fun. I use Wickett & Craig because the leather works for holsters and wallets — and because the story behind it is real.   They’ve been vegetable-tanning since 1867. Today they’re in Curwensville, Pennsylvania, and they’re one of the last specialty veg tanneries still running in the U.S. The process is slow on purpose: hides spend time in yards with natural tannins (including bark extracts like Mimosa and Quebracho), then get finished over weeks — not hours. Wickett & Craig’s own line is that the... Read more...
What is veg-tan leather (and why I use it)
Most leather you bump into on Amazon is chrome-tanned — fast, cheap, and finished to look the same on day one and day one thousand. That’s fine for disposable gear. It’s not what I want on my belt.   Veg-tan (vegetable-tanned) leather is made with plant-based tannins — traditionally bark and wood extracts — instead of chromium salts. The process takes longer. The leather comes out firmer at first, then softens and darkens as you carry it. Scratches blend in. The color deepens. It starts looking like your gear.  ... Read more...