Sona Report post Posted January 20, 2014 This is a belt for a friend. She bought like 1 new belt/year, because she was used to this standart-crap-belts which started to disintegrate after about 10 to 11 months.... so the Plan of her husband was to give her a lasting belt she could enjoy "a little longer" and which looks better than the stuff before. I used some 2mm veg tanned cowhide lined with about 1,5mm, so the backside of those rivet-like pyramids would scratch her pants and would be visible plus a nickel plated brass buckle, handstitched all the way around. (I know that the stichting line isn´t perfect.... but I am just waiting for my pricking irons to arrive! Hope they´ll come soon) Hope you like it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MonicaJacobson Report post Posted January 23, 2014 I don't know why I didn't see this before. Very nice! I'm sure she'll enjoy having a real belt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fd3615 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 NIce, how did you secure the lining? is it a rolled edge? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sona Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Yeah, she was really happy when she got it, so I think I did a good job ^^. The lining is just stitched on the backside.and I colored and polished the edge. So no rolled edge here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capretta Report post Posted January 24, 2014 I found my pricking irons good but before I got them if I was stitching very thick stuff id mark out the spots with a ruler and go to town with a cordless drill and a tiny drill bit. It made short work of the leather and depending what thickness string you were stitching with it looked fine imo. Itd certainly save you some time if you are pushing a awl throuh by hand.. that would be murder! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt S Report post Posted January 24, 2014 if you are pushing a awl throuh by hand.. that would be murder! Not if the awl is properly sharpened and polished. Can be surprisingly fast once you get into it. Admittedly damp or poor quality leather make it a little trickier. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capretta Report post Posted January 24, 2014 Hmm, maybe, in the pouch I was making the leather wasnt great quality but was probably around 75mm thick. Would you still use an awl for that? I would have been there all day, no matter how sharp it was and the drill only took me a minute. I would've thouht the only critisism would have been the holes would be ragged but I used a good sharp bit and I didnt notice any real dramas. I guess time will tell how it wears. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fd3615 Report post Posted January 24, 2014 I haven't noticed any reduction in strength for drilling stitching holes. Now that I have a sewing machine.. I'll rarely use anything else... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigR Report post Posted January 25, 2014 I have a ? about the pouch that was 75mm thick--I'm one of those stick in the mud silverbacks who are resisting the change to metric with all my might---yes I'm in the USA---but doesn't 75mm translate to 3.11 inches? Possibly the pouch was 7.5mm? With the price of leather here I can't imagine making anything that thick! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sona Report post Posted January 26, 2014 I stitched about 12 mm (~ 1/2 inch) without any real trouble. It took a bit longer than 3 mil, right, but it didn´t take that much longer. And it was just a awl i used. So I´d just dislike to drill my stitching holes, but that´s kind of an old discussion I guess. But I also wonder, what kind of pouch you´ve made where you got to stitch 75mm..... besides the price it sounds like a weird construktion to me. Just correct me, if I am wrong... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capretta Report post Posted January 26, 2014 Pahaha okok, you guys seem to have a better grasp of the metric system than I do. Youre right I meant 7.5 mm of course. And you say you happily awl 12mm ? I will have to check some youtubes because I just couldnt imagine it with my technique. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sona Report post Posted January 26, 2014 "Happily" isn´t the right word, but it worked quite good. As I said, it took a bit more time and effort, but it worked out (http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=50790&hl=%2Bstick+%2Bbag The edge of that bag is like 2 Layers of ~3,5mm and 2 layers of ~2,5mm. So that´s the thing i am talking about) You just have to be sure to keep your awl real (!) sharp and polished! And on this project, I used a little bit of beeswax, which let the awl slide through the leather easier. But of course it is more exciting to have thinner edges to stich ^^. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capretta Report post Posted January 27, 2014 nevermind, i found out how to sharpen my awl. ive been doing it wrong! http://sciencefocus.com/qa/whats-sharpest-object-ever-created Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
