I gave the leather making stuff a try and found that Tandy Leather is a great place to start. Making sheaths is a good time. Tandy has a couple of books that talk about basic leather work that are pretty good. I got good info from The Art Of Hand Sewing Leather Book. They will let you read them in the store as well if you only find a few parts helpful. Learning the saddle stich is key. Water based dye's don't work well for me. Let any dye's dry completely before working with the leather. Use sharp tools to cut the leather.

I probably have about $50 in tools invested (not including drill press which I already had). A nice size spool of thread costs about $25 and a leather shoulder (7oz-9oz) I get on sale at Tandy for about $30-$40 depending on the size etc. I use a drill press to make the holes for stitching. I also use this on kydex so it's a great investment.

I waited quite a long time to try out leather and I wish I had done it sooner. It's way more fun than kydex and it just looks better on certain knives.

Give it a try. Jeff answered a few questions I had as well when I started. He is a great guy as you know.

Ron