R.B.

Can't beat yourself up over media. 10 customers that find you on their own are worth 100 customers that find you via blogs/print/etc. If you think about your customers and what they want successfully, the coverage will follow for sure.

Thankfully things are chugging along really well at the moment, I think though I might have come across a little bit downbeat about it all, the way I see it all that frustration just makes the elation more piquant and pronounced. At the end of the day I get to stand at my bench playing with shiny knives all day, any feeling of frustration generally doesn’t linger too long J

Anyway, good luck guys, ciao

Congrats fellas on the media mentions, blog posts and pictures in gq (damn!). Have to say I find the whole marketing/media stuff an absolute rollercoaster ride of frustration, anguish topped off every now and again with ecstatic elation when it pays off. It’s an interesting game for sure.

Great work guys.

Rb.

Thanks,

To be honest I just use straight beeswax on my thread and I’ve yet to really have any problems but after reading the carreducker post I am thinking of having a bash at the recipe ‘cause frankly they seem to know what they’re talking about. More than I do at least, ha.

ciao

Rb.

Hey,

Finally made something worth posting. Made for my little sisters 21st birthday, took me 40 odd hours, turned out fairly well and I learnt a ton from it. Probably won’t make anything similar again though, my fingers were burning for quite a few days afterwards.

Also with this talk of thread wax, have you seen this post by carreducker -> http://carreducker.blogspot.com/2011/09/thread-wax.html

Anyways, great work as usual guys, I rather enjoy meandering through this thread on a Saturday morning.

Ciao

I’m finally getting round to actually contributing a little bit. It’s a minimalist bi-fold wallet based off that one I posted quite a while back just with one or two changes. It’s made from veg tanned semi-aniline shoulder pared down and sewn at 9spi. I appreciate it’s not the usual style of stuff on this forum, but hey, leathers leather right? I also took quite a few photos whilst I made it that are complied as a gallery here in my journal. (if the link falls foul of the rules please don’t hesitate to remove it)

Anyways, have fun all, ciao

Btw, corter, great effort man!

Thanks for the video link itsjustnc, interesting tool. Wasn’t expecting it to be used like that, pulled towards you. Don’t think I will be swapping my knife for it any time soon but it’s always interesting to see the tools other people like to use. Thanks again, ciao

Interesting. Do they normally have a square cutting edge like that? I would expect a camber on the cutting edge for a blade that wide. Ive never seen them before though, yet alone being used… think I might have a little google search later tonight..

That’s for the info itsjustnc - btw nice work on that pouch/case a page back

Is that knife the repeater posted for cutting out patterns in the same vein as the exacto blades? It looks to me like a paring knife, I can’t imagine using a knife like that without a skew to cut out a pattern? I used swann & morton scalpels for quite a while but found that the blade flexed too much for me. I now use a piece of o1 tool steel with a 60 degree skew. I find I get a nice slicing action with it like that.

Btw Happy hooligan – that sewing machine looks a beast.

Began to read Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s "The Worst Journey in the World" today.. really enjoying it. Just got past the bit were they wake to find themselves on pack-ice that’s just split off from the barrier.. all written in the classic British nonchalant manner of the day.

Hey guys, been meaning to have a nice gander through this thread for what feels like a few days but turns out is a few weeks, the joys of work.

Corter, it’s really impressive what your doing, huge kudos.

As always it’s been really good a flick through your guys work. I’ll try get round to posting pictures of the stuff I’m making at the moment sometime soon-ish.

also.. maybe it might help someone, I’ve started to use lapping film to sharpen my tools and simply I don’t think I will be going back to my waterstones any time soon. Great stuff, can’t recommend it enough.

Hey theblackgoat, congrats man!

Defiantly post pictures of the machines and shop, love looking at workshop pictures.

tbg - casting your own hardware would be seriously cool. its something ive looked into but frankly its way down the road for me atm.

Information for informations sake though a friend did recommend the delft casting system to me, like sandcasting but using clay. Meant to be really suitable for small timers like me who doesnt want to invest too much space/money into the operation.

anyways tgb - best of luck with it and please post pictures of the outcome! ciao

Poly800rock, thanks

Blackgoat, nice logo/branding and good name, blackarce, I like that. As for placing the branding, for me it just comes down to sticking it where it fits best visually as a graphical element. I think if you feel it’s possibly tasteless on the outside don’t do it ‘cause frankly in my eyes for the sake of branding it’s not worth it. I get your conundrum though, I find stamping/branding does take better to the thicker denser leather rather than the thin gauge stuff used on the inside your fellas wallets too.

Corter, nice & interesting work as always. Great photos as always, I do think the colour of the light/feel of the photos really suits your stuff.

hey, thanks man

I thought it was handstitched but all this talk of machines got me double guessing myself , great work though mate! They found themselves a good home?

I think the machine looks a beast and I imagine a god send for long lengths of strapping, still shocked it has the capability to do ¾†…fuck. Im also really impressed a company has the bollocks to make a modern machines handcranked too; I like that. I just think it would look much better in literally any other colour. I don’t know about you guys but I go to some fair lengths not to have a colour like that appear on my tools. To finish it that colour in my eyes is just bizarre (as I reread that its clear that its like im reading a book by its cover, but still). Anyways like you I’m still enchanted by the old awl and needles plus there’s many many tools and machines I want before a sewing machine. Best of luck selling it though if you do indeed decide to sell.

Regarding the edges I had shitty hole punch lying around that I took a file to, I then cut the edge one semi circle at a time. Frankly though the cutting edge on the tool is already starting to crumble; shit steel. I have seen in a few old tool books that they use to make irons with a crinkle edge for cutting out long lengths of edge decoration but sadly these days we aren’t as bless with the range of tools available as they were a 150 years ago. Crazy really.

Anyways, thanks for the link, real interesting machines. ciao

Nice wallets theblackgoat, were they stitched on that machine you posted yesterday? they look handstitched and I don’t see any clear presser foot marks…

Bizarre choice of colour for a machine though, too close to the colour of rust for my sensibilities. Do you know if it was a factory finish?

Hey,

Happy new year everyone, been following the thread quite closely since my last post and the work some of you guys have posted has been as inspiring as ever (+ making me feel a little lazy).

Anyway I got quite embarrassed over the Christmas holidays meeting people and not having anything I’ve made on me to show so I decided make myself a pared down bifold out of some soft 1mm calf that I had around and a strip of goat. Its not fully finished as I haven’t summoned up the bollocks to burnish the edges yet but I’ve been carrying it around for the last few days and it suits my needs and taste fairly well. The handstitching is at 9spi this time using linen thread and whilst I’ve got no real interest of getting into the wallet game it’s been an interesting project.

Keep up the good work, ciao

I watched the final epi of the trip a few days back, bizarre subtle reserved (yet utterly captivating) ending to a bizarre subtle series. Any you guys manage to watch a few episodes? What did you end up making of it?

jigrushable, from my point of view defiantly stick up a few images, its always good to have a gander at other peoples work!

Corter, Scasi, yet again, nice work!

keep it up, ciao

Hey,

There’s some nice work going on in this thread as always!. Jigrushable, nice work! The leather you’ve used for it, veg or chrome tanned? Also it sounds like a nice collection of machines you’ve got! Blacap – the stitching in that last picture looks super tidy!

Anyways, I don’t know about you guys but my favourite activity in the whole leatherworking thing is prototyping and working on new stuff. I’ve been thinking about this little case/pouch thing for a fair while and I finally got round to bashing out the first prototype; handstitched at 8spi and a fair proportion of it hand pared. Proportions are a bit off, it’s slightly bigger than it should be and I didn’t do enough paring but I learnt a ton of stuff from it.

Anyways, keep up the inspiring work all, ciao

FranklinCosgrove, didn’t know about the keyhole, defiantly cool stuff. I remember reading in one of my books that he did a fair bit of restyling/remodelling but ive always wondered why, considering his training, he didn’t get to bash out a building or at least a tomb or something.

Anyway, for anyone interested, this website ( http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-costanza) has a few nice photos of the tomb of costanza from the image a few posts up. Maybe it’s the lens but I think the proportions are a little bit nicer in piranesi’s representation.

Yer, phoneshop was good, looking forward to s2.

Tyro1 – would be interested to hear once you’ve watched a few (epi 3 and beyond) how much of it you think is scripted. I’m really undecided if all the stuff they are revealing about their characters is all totally fictitious or not, I imagine if it’s is in some way a self portrait of their characters its probably exaggerated, but still.. bizarre and ballsy to stick it out there. Also the start of epi 3 (I think 3) coogan with the paper, wtf.

yer. agreed. wasnt into series 1 when that ex-hollyoaks girl was the lodger/love interest but since laura haddock arrived i do seem to be watching it alot more. the bbc are on point though at the moment, esp considering all the great stuff bbc4 are pumping out.

I don't care if none of Piranesi's work actually existed. It's still amazing.

im a big fan of piranesi. My favourite in the prison series is number 3, the round tower; that stair case around the outside of the tower would be amazing in real life.

i think though my favourite piranesi is the etching of the tomb of costanza, easily better looking in the etching than any photos ive seen but i love the proportions, shapes of that place.

Probably only poignant for the uk people, but have you guys been watching coogan & brydon’s “the trip†on bbc2? Impressions and the “funny bits†are satisfactory etc but the whole coogan self-character assassination thing going on is brutal, but at least for me captivating. I know it’s lightly scripted and all that but literally I cannot think of anther actor/comedian/lady gaga t-bagger that would have the bollocks to let a portrayal of themselves out like that. Either way, for a program where literally nothing of real interest happens, easily one of the best tv programs on this year.

/\ had ironman and supreme clientele on yesturday.. great albums. mid day sunday though...