Leathercrafting Creations: PYC

[lazybum]

I find that while linen thread may show some signs of fraying and bristling a bit over time, this seems to eventually disappear mysteriously after a period of usage. I think that the wax used for the thread is quite important. I had much better results with my block of "handsewing wax" that I got from japan over pure beeswax. Got to start making my own shoemaker's wax once I run out of it.

Anyway, a custom denim inlaid long wallet completed some time ago.

Edited December 20, 2011 by lazybum

[unlucky]

I use bonded polyester in my sewing machines. I get it from Ferdco who gets it from American & Efrid. The stuff Ferdo sells is UV treated so it doesn't lose it's color. It comes coated with some silky material (I'm not sure what it is) that makes it glide through machines. Some saddle makers prefer nylon thread in their 441 clones and Adlers. I've tried nylon, and it doesn't work nearly as well as bonded poly in my old machines. The stuff can be used for hand-stitching and works great. I like 346 on the outside of a wallet and 277 or 207 for the interior. Since it's coated, it doesn't need to be waxed.

[Cain]

Stupid question maybe: do any of you guys make lifting belts? A real niche product, but lifters pay a lot for quality custom lifting belts. I have had my handmade Swedish belt for years, and it is still going strong .

[raWorkshop]

I switched to sharp corners on this sliding bifold.

[hollowsleather]

Did a special mid for a friend with some Horween Latigo. Really awesome grain on this stuff:

[JAW]

That looks really nice hollows, been considering picking up some of the horween latigo. Its got a really unique look. Wallet looks great!

-Jon

[zissou]

God, my forearms and hands are killing me! Believe it or not, but I've had to make stuff up through last night to be sent Express today. It's officially the last minute to send stuff in time for Xmas, so I think I will take tonight off...

[lazybum]

Billfold with coin pocket on the outside

[hollowsleather]

Very nice, Lazybum. Reminds me of Goro.

What tannery makes the veg tan that you're using? It looks really nice.

[hollowsleather]

I made a new wallet for my lady for Christmas:

Natural Horween Chromexcel Cow outside, Natural Chromexcel Horsehide inside.

More here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollowsleather/

[ranonranonarat]

your lady is lucky nicholas! beautiful wallet!

[lucaas]

Nicholas,

I've handled chromexcel cowhide once before and it's like very flappy for my liking. How about the horsehide chromexcel? Is it like more stiffer than the cowhide ?

[TheBlackGoat]

Nice pocket shaping Mr hollows!!!!!!

[Shhhhh]

cool wallet and wow i love tat color! how many oz leather is tat? where'd u get tat kinda leather? i hope u will tell me how i can get some leather as i'd like to make a wallet for my gf... she's always asking me to make her somethin... duh.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Shhhhh

[ReadLeo]

People, i admire your work. And truly you all inspire to start leather crafting.

I want to start but I live in Jakarta and i have no idea where to get tools and leather..

I do occasional trips to Singapore and was hoping someone from OGL, itsjustNC, or lazybum to give me info on where to get such stuff there.. Please, good sirs? *puppy eyes*

And just props for Corter, Hollows, and Blackgoat. Their works fueled my desire to make leather. If anything, i wish i can become as good as you guys.

If any of you guys reply.. Much appreciated and i promise to post my first craft here!

I've nearly read this thread from the start and will probably do so again just to get a feel of what leathercrafting will be.. Thanks again people! And sad to see this thread is rather.. Still.. At the moment.

[ranonranonarat]

if you read the thread from the start you would have probably known where to purchase the tools and leather...

[hollowsleather]

cool wallet and wow i love tat color! how many oz leather is tat? where'd u get tat kinda leather? i hope u will tell me how i can get some leather as i'd like to make a wallet for my gf... she's always asking me to make her somethin... duh.

The outside of the wallet is 4oz, the inside is around 3oz, both from Horween tannery.

Re: horsehide temper, it's a little firmer and quite a bit waxier than normal CXL cow. Still much more flexible than veg tan, though.

[ItsJustNC]

I want to start but I live in Jakarta and i have no idea where to get tools and leather..

I do occasional trips to Singapore and was hoping someone from OGL, itsjustNC, or lazybum to give me info on where to get such stuff there.. Please, good sirs? *puppy eyes*

Haha, i don't know about the rest but personally, i find that theres almost no leather supplies for tools in Singapore. I think you're better off sourcing around Jakarta. Worst case scenario, Theres always the option to order online. Tandy leather recently opened a branch in Australia. New South Wales. Minto, So the shipping shouldn't be so taxing on you.

[ReadLeo]

I know you guys always go around telling to check out the 'local leather crafting store'-so to speak- but as far as i know there are barely any of those here..

And i have no experience with buying things online.. maybe this will be a start..

Thanks for the replies anyways good sirs!

[Shhhhh]

The outside of the wallet is 4oz, the inside is around 3oz, both from Horween tannery.

Re: horsehide temper, it's a little firmer and quite a bit waxier than normal CXL cow. Still much more flexible than veg tan, though.

thanx hollowsleather! i hope i will pull thru... i haven't get anythin concrete to start with yet.. haha.. currently i'm reading this thread from page 1! very nice and u guys are brilliant!

[ItsJustNC]

I know you guys always go around telling to check out the 'local leather crafting store'-so to speak- but as far as i know there are barely any of those here..

And i have no experience with buying things online.. maybe this will be a start..

Thanks for the replies anyways good sirs!

Elizabeth, Jl. Otto Iskandar Dinata 520, ☎ +62 22 5201125. Leather handicrafts, including shoes, bags and other accessories. Well-known local shoe and leather craft outlets are centred in the Cibaduyut area.

There ya go. Looks promising. Just a quick google search and this is what i got. Its in Bandung.

[bored_n_lazy]

yea, it'll be die cut in all probability. Here's the final design with everything tweaked and final- I used Edge Kote to show the lines, but please pardon my lack of experience with the stuff- don't really like it.

folded up, it's very slim (has a dozen cards and 5 bills in it)

The only stitching is an interior welt

detail shots. It's kind of round still, because it's just been made. However, the design is made to flatten as you use it and mold really well to your body quickly with the placement of the layers and folds.

Last, the pocket curve took me a while to get, but it's perfect now- the curve extends over the fold on top, and what that does is tuck the welt perfectly in the center fold when shut, almost feeling like the wallet is closing itself. The curve also adds strength & structure, on top of being protective and covering the whole card while still allowing easy access. The pockets are not tight at all- almost pouch like, where you could stuff the wallet with 30 cards if you want. However, if you only use a few cards, the wallet molds itself shut in a couple days use.

Sorry for blabbering, I feel like I've come out of hibernation with this one- really proud of it!

What's up with this? http://shop.ugmonk.com/product/premium-leather-wallet

[ReadLeo]

Whoa.. I think i know where that is.. Thank you very much nc! Thank you! Too bad i got this in fo late.. Just got back from Bandung a couple of days ago

Thanks you very much good sir!

Edited December 30, 2011 by ReadLeo

[lazybum]

I want to start but I live in Jakarta and i have no idea where to get tools and leather..

I do occasional trips to Singapore and was hoping someone from OGL, itsjustNC, or lazybum to give me info on where to get such stuff there.. Please, good sirs? *puppy eyes*

Trust me you will have much better luck finding those stuff in indonesia. Hell I believe Indonesia even have its own tanneries. Singapore is like a desert for leathercrafting resources. You can try contacting your local workshops like voyej, santalum, cocoline etc and see if they want to share their sources.

[lazybum]

Very nice, Lazybum. Reminds me of Goro.

What tannery makes the veg tan that you're using? It looks really nice.

Thanks. I'm using leather from the good ol' W&C.

By the way just wondering do you get your horween stuff direct from horween? If you do what is the size of your usual orders like? Because i've heard about how horween does not care much for small hobbyists, and i'm wondering if they will bother to entertain orders of 1-2 sides.

[lucaas]

lazybum

indeed Indonesia has lots of tanneries, but the quality (as far as I researched like a year ago) of their natural vegetable tanned is still not like what i'm looking for. quality in here like the color of "Natural", the scent of it, and the firmness.

anyway, trying to help about the horween, you might want to try the horween distributor in China (listed on the web), he got several Shell Cordovan if you're looking for it. but the service to be honest is a little bit off. also He usually has MOQ of 5 sheets of shell.

[ReadLeo]

Hmm thanks for the tip lazybum.. I did that with voyej but they weren't telling me everything hehe.. I'll try being more specific with them and ask the other workshops as well. Thanks again for the tip good sir!

I think i found myself a place to buy the leather.. I don't know if it's worth the price though.. around US$2/ft and i need to buy a minimum of two hides where a hide is around 10-20ft.. But I'm more concerned about finding the tools rather than the leather..

Thanks again for everything!

[lazybum]

lazybum

indeed Indonesia has lots of tanneries, but the quality (as far as I researched like a year ago) of their natural vegetable tanned is still not like what i'm looking for. quality in here like the color of "Natural", the scent of it, and the firmness.

anyway, trying to help about the horween, you might want to try the horween distributor in China (listed on the web), he got several Shell Cordovan if you're looking for it. but the service to be honest is a little bit off. also He usually has MOQ of 5 sheets of shell.

Yes that was what I thought. I bought some "imported" leather from a US supplier when I first started out, which I suspect were sourced from asian countries such as indonesia. I thought they were not bad, but after making my first US tanned leather purchase, I never looked back. The quality is on a whole different level. In fact, the 15 odd sq ft of leftover "imported" leather from my first batch has been just sitting in my room ever since. I just can't seem to make anything with that leather without the bugging feeling that all my workmanship and efforts are gonna go to naught.

Anyway thanks for the heads up on the china supplier. I might take a look, although i'm not specifically looking into shell, but more of horween leather in general. Either way their minimum order seems to large for me.

Hmm thanks for the tip lazybum.. I did that with voyej but they weren't telling me everything hehe.. I'll try being more specific with them and ask the other workshops as well. Thanks again for the tip good sir!

I think i found myself a place to buy the leather.. I don't know if it's worth the price though.. around US$2/ft and i need to buy a minimum of two hides where a hide is around 10-20ft.. But I'm more concerned about finding the tools rather than the leather..

Thanks again for everything!

Having said the above, they are probably good enough for practice, since you seem to be starting out anyway. 2USD/sq ft seems pretty reasonable. In fact you can call it dirt cheap if you compare that to what US suppliers are charging.

[lucaas]

readleo

???

try to look more clearly on our local forum, i think I already answered your question.

Yes that was what I thought. I bought some "imported" leather from a US supplier when I first started out, which I suspect were sourced from asian countries such as indonesia. I thought they were not bad, but after making my first US tanned leather purchase, I never looked back. The quality is on a whole different level. In fact, the 15 odd sq ft of leftover "imported" leather from my first batch has been just sitting in my room ever since. I just can't seem to make anything with that leather without the bugging feeling that all my workmanship and efforts are gonna go to naught.

Anyway thanks for the heads up on the china supplier. I might take a look, although i'm not specifically looking into shell, but more of horween leather in general. Either way their minimum order seems to large for me.

exactly the same feeling! I also never looked back since the quality of US vegetable tanned is what I'm looking for. I guess the weather, process, chemical, etc are the main ingredients to produce good quality veg-tan.

About horween in general, you might want to contact John horween for assistance, but yeah sometimes he reply quick, but sometimes not. also try Maverick if you're looking for CXL just like Ray told in here.

[hollowsleather]

Thanks. I'm using leather from the good ol' W&C.

By the way just wondering do you get your horween stuff direct from horween? If you do what is the size of your usual orders like? Because i've heard about how horween does not care much for small hobbyists, and i'm wondering if they will bother to entertain orders of 1-2 sides.

Yeah I order direct from Horween. I'm typically never getting more than a few sides at a time. They do take small orders, but can be slow with turnaround sometimes. They also have really nice price breaks for quantity, but I'm never feeling confident enough to get that many.

W&C is a customer service dream come true, don't expect it to go that smoothly with Horween, but it's not so bad.

...I still find myself correcting my posts for capitalization, even though I know that it's going to end up all lowercase...