sean_afk

Very cool and so glad we were able to make even a small impact on your work.

Thanks Sean

 

Mostly made with the wonderful tools you supply.

 

VB 9 spi irons

VB awl

JJ needles

Fil Au 435 in ecru

This looks great!

Hey. First time posting a pic

 

Saddle stitched 9spi

 

 

 

Nice! Was the inside shell as well or just the outside?

My shell wallet after about 4 months of use

 

 

What do you guys use for cutting the leather? I've been using a Stanley knife but I think it's time to upgrade. 

Full disclosure: we sell tools

Any quality knife you can resharpen will do.  Something with a tip for stopping on corners on straight cuts is helpful.

I used to use an xacto and a rotary cutter before switching to what I use now.

Having to resharpen your primary cutter can be a pain but it's good practice (and more forgiving) to sharpening paring and head knives.

If that's not your bag then xacto and rotary cutter with disposable blades are definitely the way to go.

My 2 slippers broke in succession recently, so I decided to make a replacement for myself that hopefully won’t break as fast. It's my first ever piece of footwear, hence the design is kind of a guestimation. Feels quite comfotable so far, but only time will tell if I've got it right.

 

 

 

Very nice! Curious about the bottoms, are the soles stitched all the way through?

Recently finished up this cxl horse double gusset tote-thing:

 

 

great job!  

The rivets were just a hair too long and I set them anyway disfiguring a bunch in the process. After finishing I realized I needed some spacers and de-riveted and put back together. Ugh live and learn.

Great tote!

Don't know if you've ever considered copper rivets but they can be cut to size and are very sturdy to boot.

Awesome as always! Question for you (or anyone else out there). How do you work out first drafts/prototypes when creating larger, more leather consuming items? Construct with paper or go straight to some cheap leather?

I have paper patterns for every piece that I cut- that functions as a 1st mockup of sorts. If it's a new design I actually built the entire thing in felt first. I like felt because it's cheap but also has thickness similar to leather so it's easier to see how the piece will go. It's also easier to adjust sizing too. Vinyl or other thicker material would probably also do fine in a pinch.

I always, always discover something in building a piece for the first time that could be changed to make things better so I usually build the first piece (or first few) in a cheap leather or use the final material but give it family.

You mentioned that the pricking iron is also referred to as the pinking irons. Pinking irons are actually different tools. They are used to decorate leather by cutting different shapes into the leather.

Thanks!! I'll edit the post to make the correction. Will also check out that book too, sounds interesting.

I use a 2.5mm pricking iron from Craftsha Japan and artificial sinew that I split and spun.

Just posted a pricking iron basics on our blog for anyone interested in seeing a step by step. There's of course a lot more to it in terms of fine tuning than what we covered but this will hopefully get you through basic use and avoid dulling the tool teeth.

Using Pricking Irons

By the way, how do you guys use the cheap, low grade leather?

Depending on the leather stiffness you can also glue a stack of them together to make molds. (for zippered wallets, formed cases, etc.)

Especially useful if you don't have woodworking tools to make a wooden form.

Thanks for the response. Any leather that you would recommend? It's confusing sometimes trying to select different leathers, especially over the phone.

If you're ordering directly from Horween, anything on this page that is waxy or smooth would work. But something that has been finished so as not to take scratches easily. Some chromexcel takes a ding when you breathe on it heavy. Unless of course you're going for distressed, then pick anything.

http://horween.com/leathers/full-tannage-list/

From Tandy, a bit harder to recommend something since there's a lot of different ways to go. From a pure functionality standpoint though anything categorized as upholstery or garment will work.

You also probably will want hard or medium temper to keep the shape of the bag so it doesn't flop over like the canvas ones.

Lastly, if you're going to turn this bag (sew inverted and then pull inside out) then you'll also to consider whether fold lines matter. I know that some pull-up leathers (like some chromexcels) keep some of the wrinkle lines from turning. It doesn't look bad imho but is a very different look than a flat smooth surface.

Hope that didn't confuse things more.

i went to tandy today to purchase some leather for some belts and wasn't thrilled with the leather selection for a bag. the only leathers that seemed like they would maybe work was the "stoned oil cowhide" or the "kodiak oil-tanned cowsides", however the crew at tandy told me that it the oil would leech or bleed onto garments, stuff in the bag, etc...

Both of the leathers you mentioned are indeed oily and might leech onto the inside. You could line the bag with something else like pigskin or lamb but otherwise I'd look into another type of leather.

Also fyi- totes take a huge amount of leather so pick something that isn't too thick (or expensive for that matter). Doing a 14x15 tote 5 inches deep is about 6 square feet and if you're doing a single piece construction like a t-bottom that means a 3'x2' piece plus pockets, reinforcements and straps.

That said, I like making totes, they're very straightforward and, depending on construction, not too much sewing.

Tried my hand at a gusseted wallet. It has a clear pocket on one side and two card holders + a larger section on the other side. Second pic is a bit blurry at the top but shows the inside.

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.

edit:This is true for Chromexcel but also other difficult leathers (like calf) as well.

Not enough consistent pressure on the straight edge your cutting against is usually what makes for uneven cuts, especially at the beginning and end of the cut. You can see little 'wings' if you aren't holding down the leather.

Really holding the tool 90 degrees is obviously also key but I'll do two passes to cut rather than exert more pressure on the tool because when your hand is really tense, dexterity goes out the window (try holding a pen as hard as you can and writing something).

Other than that, super sharp tools and sanding. Hope this helps.

First time post in this thread but a long time reader. Started leatherworking a little while back but am still trying to find my style.

Here's bill fold that I did. Simple, hand-stitched and finished on both sides.