Leathercrafting Creations: PYC

[corter]

beveling's real easy if you just use an edger, though some people use a straight blade which is hard.

mitch, looks great! you should slick the edges, it'll really polish the piece up

[Obbigood]

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.

Oh...you can actually see the which craft by which craftmen on my website (on sig.)

You are right Nowadays, we have started to make stuff using machine sewing, I'm sure it is quite obvious for experienced artisan like yourself, Eric.

Personally, I cant do machine sewing.

[corter]

Do any of you guys have trouble with your hands? I rarely cut myself, but I have a lot of stiffness in my fingers and get dry cracks a lot. At first I didn't worry about it too much, but at this point in the game I'd like to start taking care of my hands more. Just wondering if it's my choice of tools/lack of care/dry skin genes, or something else.

[chris_n]

i wear rubber gloves. keeps my hands from drying out and keeps the goods clean while i work on them.

[corter]

I've tried that a couple times, it's great for keeping dye off your hands and keeps the blood off your product, but it actually hinders the healing process for me when it comes to cuts and stuff, scabs wouldn't stay dry and would take forever/crack again. I also ended up rubbing through them on my cutting hand from moving the knife around for detailing and stuff, which sucks. I've got a feeling the answer's going to be "don't work as much", which isn't really an option for me

[chris_n]

yeah... when i have scabs and such --using gloves sucks. the gloves i use are quite thick, purple ones, they are designed to be layered on top of thinner latex gloves.

used in surgery etc.

[Obbigood]

yes, we have harden finger tips, esp on the index finger and the thumb. I guess this is the 'occupation hazard' which is inevitable to leathercraft. Like wat you guys have said, wearing gloves can be one method to solve this, but most of the time, I like to feel the leather when working on it. Just me

There is a kind of 'holder' for fingers when working with needles, commonly use by tailor themselves. I guess it's main function is to assist in pushing the needle through holes on tough area. I have seen it few times in local stores for tailoring, maybe you can try it?

I'm not going to propose for you to work less, Eric Please show us more of your creation. I have to confess, I have been following your 100 day project diligently

[Marshall Deming]

Work smart not hard. Use more of your mind and less of your muscles. Be conscious of what you are straining and experiment with different techniques to alleviate the pain. My pains are mostly in my left hand from bracing the leather while my right hand comes in with the all. A lot of my bigger work like backpacks are loosely punched with an awl as I go. I am putting too much lateral force on my fingers and jamming them against themselves.

Your fingertips will become tough and callus but it is easy to strain your muscles from bracing or pinching the needle too hard. Be conscious of these pains and don't over abuse any one area. Try to distribute the pressures.

The concept of working smart was taught to me by two brothers from mexico who are the back bone of the paving and excavating crew I work for. We pave municipal roads and big box parking lots but its a tight crew. There are only seven of us.

The second most important thing they taught me is how essential watermelon is when working in extreme heat. It keeps you hydrated and fed. Watermelon, yogurt and granola is a meal for winners. It hits all the apex's of flavor and texture.

[the Repeater]

I'm surprised you guys don't have a stitching bench w/ foot controlled clamp!

Vaseline or Burt's Bees hand salve.

[corter]

haha, yea, I've debated a stitching bench, however I won't be able to fit one in my rv when I leave, so I've decided against it. Holding and sewing's not so big of a problem, is a lot more the cutting and awl work that kills me. Thanks for the tip on the Burt's Bee's, I just picked some up and I'm going to try it tonight.

Marshal, I think you're right on the work smart, but I've gotta work hard to get done all that I have to do. I've got callouses galore, I think it's muscles (tendons, I don't think we have muscles in our hands) and joints I've gotta watch out for. I've also got arthritis in my family, so I've really gotta watch it.

[hollowsleather]

I do a lot of hand exercises to keep the cramps away, and the calluses take care of themselves. Skewering yourself and bleeding on a project suuuuucks so much though.

I keep this thing by my desk:

Dirt cheap and effective

[chris_n]

there are plenty of muscles in your hands. i think what eric meant was not many muscles extend fully through the tips of your fingers. that's mainly tendon.

[corter]

yea, I meant fingers with the muscle comment. whatever it is- they hurt a lot sometimes.

[hollowsleather]

[corter]

macbook pro sleeve:

[corter]

here's the second laptop sleeve I did today, it's the same color as the first- just lit by lamp instead of sun:

[cLavin]

Corter try and use more of your body with your hand movements, the cuts and etc will happen regardless but the muscle, tendon, and connective tissue can receive much less stress if you work from your core.

Just remember the strongest punch starts in your feet. It only gets so strong from traveling all the way up to the hand and gaining the combined effort of the rest of the body.

[Obbigood]

[coleslawyum]

There are a few things I can suggest:

- Use hammers that are properly weighted so you don't have to use so much force.

- Absolutely use a stitching pony, especially one that rotates. Saves a lot of energy with your hands.

- Work slower. Don't ever force a needle into a hole. Re-punch with the awl and then try again. This helps from skewering your fingers.

- I always tape my fingers where the joints are to help fight against friction.

I try to segment my project into a few days. When I finish with one segment, I'm done for the day:

- Clicking, then carving if needed.

- Stamping takes about 3 days depending on size.

- Finishing.

- Stitching. Then final finishing.

This way i never kill myself over a project.

[corter]

Here's my new belt. it's 13oz belt strapping with a 3oz. veg. tanned lining, and I've gotta say I was surprised at how little time the stitching actually took. I think this is one of my favorite pieces, I'm going to be very proud to wear it

[coleslawyum]

Corter, i am always amazed at how neat your stitching is. Great work!

Been, awhile since I made anything, but got a bit of time to work on some carving. Here are some close ups of two different projects:

Every once in a while I check out this thread again and I'm inspired by all the work everyone is doing.

Thank you everyone for posting.

[hollowsleather]

So much hotness here.

[GregoryH]

corter...make me an ipad case?

[zenii]

Not sure if this is exactly relevant but I am reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and as I was reading this particular passage it reminded me of this thread and I feel it's a pretty good description of a lot of people in this thread. (Or at least from the looks of your finished products, I've never actually seen any of you work, hah) Hope you guys enjoy:

Sometime look at a novice workman or a bad workman and compare his expression with that of a craftsman whose work you know is excellent and you'll see the difference. The craftsman isn't ever following a single line of instruction. He's making decisions as he goes along. For that reason he'll be absorbed and attentive to what he's doing even though he doesn't deliberately contrive this. His motions and the machine are in a kind of harmony. He isn't following any set of written instructions because the nature of the material at hand determines his thoughts and motions, which simultaneously change the nature of the material at hand. The material and his thoughts are changing together in a progression of changes until his mind's at rest at the same time the material's right.

Keep up the good work guys! I'm always excited to see what you guys pump out next.

[Obbigood]

Corter, i am always amazed at how neat your stitching is. Great work!

Been, awhile since I made anything, but got a bit of time to work on some carving. Here are some close ups of two different projects:

Every once in a while I check out this thread again and I'm inspired by all the work everyone is doing.

Thank you everyone for posting.

Superb! True mastercraft

[zissou]

Shit! ALF burned up the local Tandy shop!

[Marshall Deming]

that is wild! is that really your local shop? If so, I am sorry for your loss. It's so nice having a local tandy. I woudn't be this into leather if I didn't have a tandy 5 minutes down the road.

[corter]

corter...make me an ipad case?

sure thing! just shoot me an email.

[scasi]

Corter, i am always amazed at how neat your stitching is. Great work!

Been, awhile since I made anything, but got a bit of time to work on some carving. Here are some close ups of two different projects:

Every once in a while I check out this thread again and I'm inspired by all the work everyone is doing.

Thank you everyone for posting.

Superb craft, care to show the full work?

Looking forward!!!

[unlucky]

Here's one I made today - veg tanned horse butt stitched to chrome tanned front quarter horse.