Leathercrafting Creations: PYC

[corter]

heres a couple bXc's i did this weekend with chains

and a couple snap wallets i made for friends, i changed the design up a bit to make the lower piece under the card slots a bit wider to stick out, makes it easy to use

[unlucky]

Hi, I make a lot of stuff from horsehide (butts and quarters, not cordovan), belts, wallets, card cases, guitar straps, etc. If anybody's interested check out my photobucket page and get a hold of me. I love to do custom work, and I never charge until I've made it and sent pictures.

http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg197/unlucky62/

[tyang]

corter's chains are the bomb...

[Coldsnap]

Whats the best way to cut down a belt? I need an inch cut off one of my belts at the end. Is it sorta a no no to bring in someone else creation to a leather shop and ask them to cut it down?

[rome1]

that bxc is outta this world! such a nice color!

[beatle]

Corter - as I said before...RM has some serious competition....beautiful wallet

[fadingblue]

Corter, how do you fully dye a piece of leather?

I've seen some stuff that is only dyed on one side (I'm guessing the dye is like brushed on or whatever) but it doesn't look as nice or that it would hold the color as well as the fully dyed one

[corter]

fading: just dye it on both sides. some companies make the whole piece and then dip it, i think it's called garment dying or something. i just brush on dye on one side, then brush it on the other.

coldsnap: use an exacto or utility knife if you're comfortable with it...thats what i use. then just wet the end a little and slick it down, if it's not dyed then it should look perfect.

thanks rome and beatle! i'll have new pictures soon, i'm doing a long wallet/matching check book for my aunt this week and those should be pretty cool.

[nino]

I lost weight and my belts are too long. Would you leatherheads suggest punching extra holes, or shortening the belt at the buckle end? I think shortening the belt at the buckle end would be more elegant a solution.

If thats the route I go Im going to my local Tandy shop and pick up:

An exacto knife

an edge beveler

a punch for the screws on the buckle end

edge dressing

a 'slicker'?

Ive done some reading but I still dont understand what a slicker is and what its role is. It apparently happens between the beveling and edge dressing steps.

Also, how should I cut the groove for the buckle's prong. I was thinking punching two holes and then cutting out the part between them.

My apologies if this has been covered before but I didnt see this in reading the various leather threads. Oh, and great thread!

[corter]

nah dude, you only need an exacto and a punch. if you're cutting the belt at the buckle, what you cut won't be visable. save yourself $20 and just slick the edges with the side of a sharpie marker and some water. all slicking does is smooth the edges and fibers, if it's a dyed belt you might not even need to do that. wet the raw edge a bit, wait a minute till it's dried and just a bit moist, then rub it with the side of the marker. it'll turn shiney...and slicked. no need for edge dressing, use some wax rom a candle or just leave it...and a slicker is simply a piece of plastic.

if you want to bevel, go ahead, but its a skill that takes a bunch of time to master, and really wont make much visual difference on the back of a belt anyways.

[corter]

heres a couple things i've made lately, i've been playing with dying and layering dyes, and as always trying to make my stitching look machine done without owning a machine. Big pics for detail!

(color's off on these last 2)

[B-Dawg]

very sexy corter^. these are my second and third belts after the dior replica. the first one i made for myself from 14oz leather. that stuff is a bitch. i broke 4 needles sewing it. these pics are before i burnished the edges and added my initials and "fslc" stamp (stands for footstones leathercraft. long story, but suffice to say that the name footstones came to me in a highly amusing dream). the leather also got a little lower quality towards one end, so i udes that for the buckle end since the other end covers it up. the second one is for my girlfriend. hers turned out better as mine was the guinea pig for this type of belt for me. it is also lighter leather by a bit so it was easier to work with.

these pics are also pre-oiling.

[40ozprophet]

coin picture = sex

[nino]

nah dude, you only need an exacto and a punch. if you're cutting the belt at the buckle, what you cut won't be visable. save yourself $20 and just slick the edges with the side of a sharpie marker and some water. all slicking does is smooth the edges and fibers, if it's a dyed belt you might not even need to do that. wet the raw edge a bit, wait a minute till it's dried and just a bit moist, then rub it with the side of the marker. it'll turn shiney...and slicked. no need for edge dressing, use some wax rom a candle or just leave it...and a slicker is simply a piece of plastic.

if you want to bevel, go ahead, but its a skill that takes a bunch of time to master, and really wont make much visual difference on the back of a belt anyways.

Right on, thanks Corter. About the groove for the buckle's prong, what is the best way to cut that?

[corter]

punch 2 holes and cut out the middle, that's what I do

[beatle]

Perfection........................

[m1sterko]

how are you keeping that coin in there?

[dibadiba]

how are you keeping that coin in there?

if by chance he's using the same kind of coins I use, it comes with a screw and you simply screw it in from the other side and it screws into the coin

[corter]

nope....magic

[mrpenguin354]

Just a heads up, but Tandy's is having another sale for the month of April. I just skimmed the section, but there's some sewing stuff for sale if anyone's looking for tools.

EDIT

Lots of kit stuff too. Found these, make your own Visvims anyone?

[corter]

here's a new one:

finally someone that didnt want black detailing! it's a mid w. a snap and 5 cardholders, brown and black layered dyes and glazes on the detail.

[dibadiba]

hey corter I got a question about the cardholder area. I'm trying to make a wallet for my girlfriend, and from that last pic you posted it looks like you just cut a strip of leather for each additional card. however, how do you stop each additional card from going all the way down to the bottom, if you sorta follow what I mean?

[Lars]

hey corter I got a question about the cardholder area. I'm trying to make a wallet for my girlfriend, and from that last pic you posted it looks like you just cut a strip of leather for each additional card. however, how do you stop each additional card from going all the way down to the bottom, if you sorta follow what I mean?

Start with the top piece and work your way down. Just stitch the bottom of each piece of leather and it will keep the cards from going all the way down.

All slots but the bottom one should have kind of a "T" shape to avoid having to layer all that leather.

[corter]

ya it goes down after the next piece starts

[dibadiba]

Start with the top piece and work your way down. Just stitch the bottom of each piece of leather and it will keep the cards from going all the way down.

All slots but the bottom one should have kind of a "T" shape to avoid having to layer all that leather.

ahh thanks, I think I follow. That was the problem I've had with some other stuff i've made. layering it just made it look messy, I guess a hidden strip (the 'T') shape would fix that. thanks

[Qwest905]

damn that's nice corter....lol only if i knew u had brown i would have got that. That's different from the mahogany you have, right?

[corter]

um, theres some mahogany, some light brown, and some black in there. i'm really trying to learn how to layer stains and get depth in the color.

[hamburga]

This is my first attempt at anything. I put neatsfoot oil on it, but I haven't tanned it. Been using for about a week.

[vahid]

can any recommend a good how-to book on leathercrafting?

there are several on the tandy website but you know about judging by cover ...

[corter]

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