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Now, Introducing our featured customer this month - David Hauser from Dragonthorn Leatherworks!

Name: C. David Hauser

Address: 349 Leisure Acres Lane, Boone, NC 28607

Company Name: Dragonthorn Leatherworks

Website: http://dragonleather.net

How did you first get started in leather crafting? As a child I visited a high end jewelry

store with my Dad for a watch repair. Bored silly I started wandering around and saw a

display case with sheath knives. My eye caught one particular sheath that had the most

amazing burnished edges. I pulled my Dad over to see it and he suggested that I learn

how to do it. Now, this was back in like 1965 with no internet available…. I went home,

found an old leather jacket my Dad said I could use, found moms sewing needles and

thread and made my first sheath. Needless to say it looked pretty bad. Many years later I

ran a knife shop and had many customers requesting custom sheaths for their knives. I

somehow convinced the owner to let me do leatherwork on the side and he finally

bought the shop a Tippmann Boss and away we went. The sheaths turned out pretty

well and were a big hit at the shop. Move forward another 15 years and here we are…

What are some of your stories on leather crafting? Wow, so many… If I had to pick

one it would be after moving into our house in Boone, North Carolina.  I was cleaning up the garage

and noticed a blanket covering something under the stairs. The stairs up to my shop

have a really deep recess under them so you really cannot see what may be stored

under them. I got down on my belly and drug this stupid heavy blanket wrapped

something out, lifted off the old dusty blanket and to my surprise I discovered that I now

owned a 1910 Singer 29-4 leather patch stitcher! Many may not know about this

machine but it is like the original leather sewing machine. The interesting thing about it is

that the presser foot rotates 360 degrees. What a find. Have finally found all of the

manuals to rebuild it. Interestingly enough you can still get parts for them. Will be a nice

addition to my shop and most certainly a winter project.

What Tippmann Machine do you have? The Tippmann Boss

How long have you had your Tippmann BOSS?  I’ve had my Boss for at least 10 years.

How did you decide to purchase this machine? Honestly, I got really tired of

hand stitching in the knife shop. I was really fortunate that a good leather shop was only

about an hour away and I had been eyeing the electric machines for some time. They

got in a Boss and I fell in love with it. I convinced the owner of the knife shop that I

worked in that I could make sheaths quicker with it and give the customers something to

gaze at while I worked. I mean really, here’s a machine that gives you a perfect stitch

and only lays a stitch down when you pull the handle. Fast or slow, it’s your call… one

stitch at a time. Have since bought an electric for long stitch runs but the Boss is my

daily “go to.”

Do you recommend any accessories? Most certainly. Everyone should at least have

the Wooden Cobbler Bench that’s made for the Boss and the Flatbed Attachment to

start. Since the initial purchase of the Boss, I have also gotten the LED light, various pressor feet (that I’ve modified), multiple bobbins and needles, got to have lots of needles…

Any tips or tricks you recommend for this machine? Be very very patient! It

takes time to learn how to use the Boss properly. I have added a 3/4 “ split key ring to the

thread guide to ensure the thread does not get caught up wrapped around something it

shouldn’t. Make absolutely sure you keep it oiled but just as important is to not oil it too

much. Always clean any excess oil off of the presser foot shaft, presser foot, needle, etc.

Especially when stitching vegetable tanned leather. While stitching make sure you keep

a steady rhythm and always make sure that your upstroke is strong and complete.

Before starting a stitch on an actual project always do a set of practice stitches using the

same leather and same number of layers of the same leather. Other than that practice,

practice, practice.

What do you enjoy most about leather crafting? I like the design and engineering

aspects as much as the construction itself. Many of the projects we have completed

folks say couldn’t be done. We really love the customer feedback after they have

received the finished product. It’s really nice to hear the words, perfect, just what I

wanted, bespoke, a true craftsman… makes you feel that you’re doing something

special. As we only do one off custom leatherwork we do consider ourselves true artists

and high end craftsmen.

What else should we know about your leather crafting experience? I’ve been

messing with leather since I was 9 years old. Professionally it’s been about 15

years. The only way to get really good at it is to keep working at it, know that

from time to time you are going to screw something up and sometimes you can

fix it, sometimes you can’t and have to do it all over again. If you’re going to do it

professionally , it's probably best to get good at one particular thing (sheaths,

holsters, belts, etc.) We have not taken that advice and specialize in nothing but

high end custom projects of about anything. However, with pure custom work

comes high end cost. We consider every project pretty much a one off.  A

customer may want an item they have seen on our website but we always end up

modifying it in some manner.

What is your favorite item that you have made with your machine? That’s a bit

of a tough one. I think it would have to be the PCS line we manufacture (PCS

stands for Personal Carry System). Basically, take everything out of your pockets

(if you’re a guy) and let us make a leather PCS that carries it all. There is a lot of

talk right now about EDC (every day carry). The original EDC was pockets. We

take your stuff and package it into high end leather pockets for pockets…

Now for some fun questions:

What is your favorite dessert? Not enough room here but I’d say peach cobbler

What is your favorite song? Stevie Ray Vaughn’s acoustic version of “Life by the drop”

If you could choose where to live, would it be the beach or the mountains? Definitely the

mountains. I live in the North Carolina mountains in Boone, NC, it’s my little slice of

heaven.

Do you have any other hobbies? Love blues guitar, messing with my 2004 VW R32 and

driving it on curvy mountain roads of course.

Thank you for joining us for this newsletter.

Sincerely,

Rachel Fogarty

Tippmann Industrial

1-866-286-8046

newsletter@tippmannindustrial.com