CMGalvin

That's the funny thing, I see the separate pieces and most of them are stitched straight across. To me that just screams opportunity to add a unique design element. I'm a sucker for details only seen by the owner.

I wasn't finding a topic on it already. But I had a question around bag and purse design that I was curious on. This centers on bags in particular that have a fold over flap, and not ones that zip or close at the top. Is there a reason why you would make the back and flap two separate pieces? The designs I've made myself have all kept the back and flap as one single piece. But I see many that are two. Is this just to accommodate using smaller cuts of leather? Thanks, Charlie

I tend to cut out the outside of the pattern line. It will be easier to sand and trim down while burnishing if necessary. I think the important part is mostly that you are consistent between pattern pieces.

Fortunately, I'm not underwater in matching the price. My initial estimate for my labor was a lot higher than the time it actually took me. I know I can buy a more expensive piece of leather now and still keep the project profitable. My issue now is matching the leather characteristics. For this reorder I am looking to find a leather that has the appropriate characteristics and that I can order more of on a regular basis. A low price is nice, but consistency is what I'm shooting for.

Back in December I got an order from the company my wife works for for 40 belts. The belts were more cosmetic than functional, and are part of a running costume. Mostly they needed to be a medium brown, lightweight and not feel like they'd fall apart like a Wal-Mart belt. And hold up being on a sweaty runner. I bought a couple of sides at Tandy in their ever changing pile of "Utility" sides. This pile doesn't seem to have a specific rhyme or reason as to the type of tannage, style or consistency. The belts wound up being a really big hit, and sold out much faster than the company imagined. They even managed to sell out before the event they originally planned them for. Which brings my dilemma, they need to order more. At least need to make 40 more, but need to find a supply of leather if the demand continues. Since the initial purchase I have not been able to find anything similar in Tandy's utility sides. I even checked the Tandy in a different state while traveling last month. I have since picked up a more of an upholstery side from Tandy and ordered a side from Hide House. I'm finding both are too soft and have more of a garment feel to them. I need the leather to be 3-4 oz, predyed to a medium brown. The leather that worked great feels sturdier like a veg tan, and when I cut into it, the edge still feels keen. The belts I'm cutting are 2.5" wide, then I'm putting a 1" wide strip from both ends so the belt essentially looks like a big X, 1" strap on top, 1.5" on bottom and then a 2.5" segment in the center. I'm finding that with the other softer leathers using a strap cutter just twists it around and my edges don't stay a nice straight line. In the photo the light leathers are the original ones I used, the other is the Tandy upholstery leather. The second is just an example of how the leather holds on its own. Is there a specific leather I should best be looking for? Or requesting? A decent supplier? I had some issues with Hide House getting the leather to me, which I will be calling and trying to work out. Most importantly is finding the right leather. Thanks, Charlie

I'm working with a 4-5 oz piece of leather that is about 16"x16". I wet the piece yesterday evening, and let it sit for a few hours before putting it in a bag an into the fridge. At the time it still seemed wetter than I'd necessarily want. It wasn't sopping wet, but wasn't close to returned to the natural color either. Is that normal for almost 4 hours of sitting? I sealed the bag and put it in the fridge just before bed. This morning I removed the piece from the fridge around 8 am, now 5 and a half hours later it still feels too wet to tool. Am I getting too eager and just need to continue to be patient? Is there a ballpark window that I can know what kind of timeframe I should start my casing for when I would like to be ready to tool? I know there is an aspect of feeling this out, but still would like to have an idea of whether I missed the mark completely or have a guide post to know I'm on the right path. Thanks, Charlie

Great post! A friend of mine kept saying that I needed to use antique on my work, but had been wondering why it looked just like a basic dye when I applied it directly. Glad I found this before trying it on anything more than test pieces. Thanks to who ever pinned this for the rest of us.

I really like the shapes of the gear window. Great looking piece overall!

Great tool block as well!

Looking good! I had a similar idea pop into my head last night. Yours gives me some good ideas on how to go about my design. Thanks for sharing!