JustinPHL

i just made a latigo belt for two of my friends, and just realized that the buckle end was from the shoulders, and the end were bellies, explaining why it got soft. Is there a recommended part that belts are made of? I'm assuming the bends?

Ive only ever made belts out of backs.

Corter youre going to have to change your "Leather and Cloth" tagline soon!!

My bottlehook is holding up good. Definitley comes in handy.

Shitty weather means plenty of time for working! Another card wallet Chromexcel outer and veg tan inner.

Saturday morning card wallet.

Natural Iphone slip case aged about a month. Weird stain right in the middle lol.

So whats the deal with getting nice edges while working with Chromexcel? Is it all in the inital cuts being absolutely precise? I normally size my interior pieces a little bigger than outer and trim to fit. Veg tan is WAY more forgiving than this stuff because I can just wet sand any unevenness afterwards.

hollows, the quality is superb. everything looks so even and pristine.

Agreed. Your stitching and detail is unbelievable!

Was browsing the Hypebeast Leather Goods thread and came across this site http://www.lewoc.com/. Looks pretty..... familiar...

Top grade shell is almost $90/sqft. The fanciest veg tan costs $9/sqft.

Well that answers that then. I think Id throw myself off a bridge if I messed up a shell piece...

http://badowers.com/shop/cordovan-card-holder/

$170? Is that a bit excessive or is Cordovan really that expensive?

What kind of thread (brands, sizes, whatever) are you guys into? So far Ive only bought from Maine Thread and Im not sure what else is out there. Ideally it would be suited well for wallets and other smaller pieces.

This is the first simple minimal bill-fold I just finished and need some help if any of you have a minute.

1) How do you guys keep the back of your stitches so neat? It seems like even if I manage to get the back looking straight it still looks real choppy and junky (see 2nd picture for reference).

2) In my 3rd picture I have my billfold sitting in my lacing pony. How am I supposed to place the piece into the jaws so I can stitch the sides correctly? As you can see I cant just smash the rest of the bill-fold into that area. Do I just have to buy a real deal stitching pony?

Any other help and pointers would be great. Making things is awesome even if I mess them up all the time!

awesome bag dominion!

Lightleak, imagine the pockets are cut into "T" shapes, then layered, so they do stack in the middle but not on the edges where you sew.

I just cut a couple pieces of paper to try that out.. genius!

To anyone making wallets. Are you splitting your own leather down to 3-4oz or buying it at that size? Almost done a learning batch on some real low grade 2-3oz but I seldomly come across anything high grade in that range.

Im going to try my first bi-fold wallet this weekend. Is the inside long piece cut the same length as the outside piece or a little smaller? Ive been looking for a tutorial or template to follow but cant find a basic one.

holy mother of belts....

Anyone have any tips on keeping belt holes/slots properly aligned when punching? The slot I make with the oblong punch was just slightly crooked on my last 2 belts and it really bothers me.

@jaw - That last wallet looks awesome! Love that brown on the inside.

I got it from Wickett & Craig. Im just going to have to get to the hardware store and by a really long straight edge. Ive been trying to do this with a couple of 12" rulers and some string and its not working out great.

what method do you guys use to square up your hide? bought my first half back and had a tough time making a straight edge (and keeping it). my belt strap come out wavy and its frustrating!

Took a couple minutes to make a new camera strap out of some belt scrap. Reused the old strap hardware except for a couple pieces that wouldnt fit. 10/12oz was way thicker than the original strap.

Good lord thats a lot of belts!

@Corter -Do you just use a standard draw gauge for all those? If so how often do you change blades doing that volume?

Made my first belt today. Still kind of shaky on the draw gauge for some reason. English bridle 10-12oz cut to 1 1/4 set with copper rivets.

Whats up everyone new guy here. Been working with leather for a couple months now. This thread is very inspirational. Made a little case for my USB flash drive last night. Its a scrap of 8-10 veg tan dyed brown and wet formed. Sewed without a stitching horse which was.... interesting.