Benjalatte

Thanks, Thor! Great to have a name for them, and especially good to know where to find them, were I so inclined. I looked and looked, but I think I was focused on all the wrong traits about it. Thanks again. Cheers, Ben

Hey Forum, I watched a video recently where a leatherworker used a form cutter to press wallet inserts out of a sheet of leather. His work was superb. I'm not sure of the rules of linking to a youtube video here, but if you search for "Leodis Leather Making a Handmade Leather Wallet", you'll see what I mean at about 0:55. It's like a cookie cutter attached to a block of wood. It's then driven into the leather to press-out the insert shape using what I think is a snap press, though a modified drill press would work. Looks like a good way to save time, create uniform products and prevent errors. My questions are; does anyone know where to find these? Better yet, has anyone ever tried custom making something like this? Could it cut things larger than inserts, like say the wallet outer? In my head, it's just tin ribbon bent to the desired shape and then attached to a board by any number of means (I think I'd solder inlets or punch out tabs and then screw it to the block). It may or may not require sharpening, though I'd assume that the rigidity and thickness of the leather dictates that. I also might be underestimating how well pressure alone could cut through 3oz +/- veg tan. What do you guys think? Cheers, Ben

Thanks, Halitech; I enjoyed checking out your work. Nice tooling. I'm not sure I understand the tip about cutting the inserts like Ts, though it sounds very interesting. Would I just cut about a 1/4" along the stitch line of the pockets, except for the top, thus only stitching-in the top parts of the inserts? Thanks for the feedback and the tips! I do appreciate it. Cheers, Ben

Hi Forum, This is my first post. Great site with tons of helpful information. I'm new to leatherwork and have been having a blast. I've just made my first wallet, hopefully a gift for my brother in law. This is the third item I've made, and I guess I'm ready for a bit of feedback. I worked on making it a bit rustic looking. I wanted it to age well and have raw sides and edges without being too finished. I sanded the edges lightly to soften them. It's colored with tandy cheap-o dye which stiffened the leather terribly, but the color came out right (mixed tan and brown). Neatsfoot softened it nicely and it's got a good feel to it now. Then, I put Carnauba wax on as a final coat and just buffed the ever loving wind out of it. The stamps look crooked in the pictures, but they're really not. Something about the way the light catches the ridges make them look offset, but they're straight to the eye. I had to build a plywood form apparatus to hold the stamps in place, for it took me dozens of tries to get them straight just by following scratch lines. Anyway, thanks for looking, and thanks for all your work and posted tips. Ben