Leathercrafting Creations: PYC

[dubcbadass]

is there any chance that a complete leather newb with a lot of spare time on his hands could cook up a wallet, reign, belt and a pair of moccasins (a la arrow ankle boots) in the span of a summer? if so, how would you recommend this newb get an intro into this sort of leather work (books, videos, etc.)? could all these items be made out of one side like this or would that be under/overkill? is this even the raw material that said newb would be looking for? any easy leatherworking tools/starter kits available anywhere that come highly recommended by you leather whizzes? thx for all the pron and info in this thread (still reading it) and any answers in advance. sorry if any of this was covered elsewhere.

[Obbigood]

is there any chance that a complete leather newb with a lot of spare time on his hands could cook up a wallet, reign, belt and a pair of moccasins (a la arrow ankle boots) in the span of a summer? if so, how would you recommend this newb get an intro into this sort of leather work (books, videos, etc.)? could all these items be made out of one side like this or would that be under/overkill? is this even the raw material that said newb would be looking for? any easy leatherworking tools/starter kits available anywhere that come highly recommended by you leather whizzes? thx for all the pron and info in this thread (still reading it) and any answers in advance. sorry if any of this was covered elsewhere.

The leather you linked is very thick (10 to 12oz), it is not really suitable for wallet (unless you want a real thick and big wallet) If you wanna make wallets, try looking for leathers 6oz and below.

To learn the craft, I'd recommend learning from someone, from a school or something. I think the web offers quite a vast variety of stuff for leathercrafting, although personally, I dont get my stuff online, but you can try.

Hope this helps

[zissou]

dubc- take a 35 minute drive up to Lauderhill and hit the Tandy Leather shop. They'll have a ton of how-to books, all the supplies you'd need, starter kits, and they often have free classes. Have fun!

7161 W Oakland Park Blvd

Lauderhill , FL 33313

Phone: 954-572-5488

Fax: 954-572-5485

Toll Free: 888-845-0005

[dubcbadass]

@zissou - must spread, but thanks a ton for the advice. i don't have regular access to a car nor really time to get up there, but i am gonna hunt for a store in miami proper. looks like there is one called florida leather supply on the (in)famous calle ocho (8th street) but no info on the interwebz about it. at the very least, checking it out will e a cultural experience.

[zissou]

^No problem! Just get some stuff and start messing around. Don't expect to make something amazing right away.

And, thanks, ranon and thinfinn! I think I'll make myself a natural belt, just to watch it age...

[red120]

Testing out some color combinations...

top to bottom,

nickel on black

antique nickel on natural

pewter on oxblood

brass on british tan

antique brass on cordovan

last one looks great.. how's a finish like this wear?

[zissou]

thanks. On the leather or the buckle? I'm pretty sure the buckle is lacquered, so it might not change at all. As for the leather? Dunno. The leather to the right of the buckle is reflecting a fair amount of light, though. Center of the buckle is most accurate. I was thinking of making myself a washed cordovan belt soon, though. For what it's worth, I have a black belt that hasn't changed much over the past year.

[corter]

Hypebeast wallet?

[Guest I LOVE LFC]

Haha, great stuff!

[Marshall Deming]

my keys.

leather solution for detatchable key systems

[ihatebrianwilliams]

one day...

all kidding aside this is kind of a cool story, guy, mystery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leatherman_(vagabond)

[Obbigood]

Made this for beautiful_Freak (Mr. Samurai), he loves his Samurai denim so much that he wishes to commemorate his Samurai collections.

Made of 6oz veg tan.

[ihatebrianwilliams]

I bought an iPhone case a couple years ago. Really nice design. Great company. But I wanted to make my own.

This is the one I copied.

It saw starting to fall apart a little at the stress points so I restitched it with a 5 core linen thread.

and the liner was coming apart.

So I made one with a small adjustment. The belt clip on the original is really neat. It can be worn vertical horizontal and on a diagonal. I always worn mine in the horizontal position but sometimes I would want to straddle a belt loop.

[Marshall Deming]

That case is slick.

[dubcbadass]

I went out today with my bz for a romantic day trip and stopped in at the craft store on the way home. I picked up a punch, a bag of scrap latigo leather, a needle, a mallet-driven punch set, and some waxed thread and got to work when I got home. All were Tandy Leather brand. Seems like decent enough stuff to cut my teeth on. Now gotta work out some nicer leather and a few more tools which I now see will make life much easier.

Here is what I came up with:

A little card case (cards go in horizontally in this picture):

Back:

Front:

For perspective:

And, a question for the real leather people out there, when you are stitching, do you punch every hole with a punch or do you use an awl or something and punch as you go along? I have a revolving scissors-type punch that I used for rubber somewhere at my parent's house and wondering if that would make life easier than tapping every hole with the mallet.

Some expert how-tos or pictures of the process would be amazing. I know some of this stuff is trade secrets, but anything would be a help!

[zissou]

Nice first try! On thinner leather like what you used, you'd be better off using a sharp awl to make the holes then stitch with needles, or use a lockstitching awl. I pre-punch the holes on thicker leather like on the belt below.

I spent part of my weekend making two identical oxblood belts.

[Obbigood]

And, a question for the real leather people out there, when you are stitching, do you punch every hole with a punch or do you use an awl or something and punch as you go along? I have a revolving scissors-type punch that I used for rubber somewhere at my parent's house and wondering if that would make life easier than tapping every hole with the mallet.

Some expert how-tos or pictures of the process would be amazing. I know some of this stuff is trade secrets, but anything would be a help!

Nice first try!

You need to punch holes and use awl together to get finer results. Punching holes alone will not guarantee you good stitching process later, and using awl alone will not gives you good line-up of holes too. These holes quality will determine your stitching work later apart from your stitching skills.

Mallet for punching is recommended.

There is no trade secrets, no shortcuts, just pure effort and process to make the craft looks nice. Try a few more items, you should be able to find out the jist of it

[zissou]

If any of you were thinking about getting into leather crafting, now's the time. I just got a flier from Tandy saying that 'Everything is Half Off' this month.

[corter]

wow, really? that's insane.

[Marshall Deming]

I was just there yesterday. It is awesome. Elk is three dollars a foot. I spent about 300 to make my jacket and at these prices i could do it for about 120. I picked up two 20 ft hides. I also grabbed some premium 10oz veg tan. The next order I have to fill will incorporate both cow and elk.

[hollowsleather]

I was really happy with how this set turned out.

[Obbigood]

Couple of items made, theme is black/white python skin.

Hip pouch

iPhone Leather casing

Belt clip

[Obbigood]

Can't resist to hold of posting, just completed this mid wallet in veg tan leather and felt that it is very satisfying. I really like this piece of work, and it is machine-stitched, very exquisite and neat.

Took some pics of the short wallets, so might as well post them too.

Colours in Black, Tan and Cherry Red.

[Marshall Deming]

Made of 6oz. latigo and oily utility side from Tandy.

10oz. veg tan and elk.

The new owner. Not my motorcycle. I still pedal. I'm pretty jealous that this pack isn't for me. It is an awesome combination. The elk is super tough and super soft, almost mind bogglingly so.

[ThinFinn]

^awesome work there...outta rep for today!

[Marshall Deming]

thanks for all the respect thinfinn.

I just started a tumblr.

mdleather.tumblr.com

[Obbigood]

Some updates for the week, made some ladies items.

Drea Lambskin Purse

Sheila Red Purse

Illusion Veg Tan Purse

Hair-on-Hide Black Leather Bracelet

[corter]

Obbi: Do you make those, or do the people in your company make em? just wondering what work is yours, some of the stuff you posted recently looks machine stitched and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on sewing leather if you've done it yourself.

a couple things from the past week. My computer died, so I'm limited to using my roomate's for a while:

All black e'rythang

Pencil Case:

I've got a few other things that I'm going to post soon from this week, I can't right now because of computer issues.

Marshal- awesome stuff mate, it's on another level after seeing the quality of your work in person.

[177itch]

my right cheek couldn't take my corter in khakis. so i threw this together to get me through the summer.

[chris_n]

looks awesome ! is beveling easy?