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The wire one looks like an old fashioned paper bills spike for a desk. The last one looks better. I prefer a large area on the end of the arm for my hats to hang on. You used to get special hat hanging hooks which had a big ball on the end A table tennis ball with a slot cut in it slipped over that arm would do the job. The t-t ball could be spray painted before fitting. It helps stop a crease or dinge forming in the hat material Old style hat hook;
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I've seen many discussing stitch groovers and if they should or shouldn't be used, including on this forum. But none of the threads really give me an answer to when this would be of concern. Currently, when I make cartridge belts (even if I only made 3) I use a groover for everything. My groover is sharpened a bit differently so that it cuts a shallower groove than most off the shelf groovers. I then use a modeling tool to burnish in the groove to make it deeper. This is the method I find gives the most crisp looking results. If my workpiece is over 7-8 oz, I use this type of burnished groove for decorative lines too as I find it looks cleaner than a creased line. Lined belts, as I've mentioned in another thread, can be made two ways. The ones I have made are fully stitched through to hold the loops. I groove a zigzag pattern on the back of it to protect the thread holding the loops. This is where my first question comes up. Is this a bad idea? Since the grooves go across the belt and not along it, I'm thinking this could cause a possible weakspot. Note that the grooves do not go fully across the back, only where the loop stitches sit. With the liner in place, the workpiece corresponds to 15-16 oz leather. My second concern is regarding holsters. A holster is folded and naturally wants to spring outwards. I groove both sides for the stitch, both on belts and holsters. This is where I'm concerned a second weakpoint might form as the grooves, both for stitches and decorations, go across the tension and not along it. The holsters I make are heavy Mexican double loop holsters made of 10-11 oz leather. The holsters are not lined. As a reenactor I need to be able to walk around a lot without wearing out the stitches, which is why I prefer to groove both sides. Long story short, In terms of aesthetics, I am much happier with burnished grooves for both stitches and decoration than I am with creases, Especially the way they darken when dye is applied, which creases do not. But am I playing a risky game or am I good to go?
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You might get better results if you search Google for "Asian water buffalo". Japanese water buffalo are also called Asian water buffalo.
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Is the needle synchroniser working ok? Some servo/synchronisers don't work when using a speed reducer.
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I'll be surprised if a domestic machine will handle that (although some of the old Singer cast iron ones might). The Jaguar is listed as a lightweight machine and the so-called "walking feet" that domestic machines use is a far cry from a proper walking foot. I reckon it will struggle with more than a couple of layers.
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I didn't put this in for sale because I don't own it or possess it at the moment. But there is an American straight needle available in Southwest Michigan. My understanding is that it either sews or is very near to sewing. It would end up being at most a few hundred dollars. If anyone's interested in discussing further send me a message. For more explanation it's part of a deal that I might do but have absolutely no room or need for an American straight needle.
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Nice tooling, the bee looks very good.
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The last one is obviously a lot more work but looks very classy. The second one looks cheap and nasty (stamping is ok, but the wire.....not so much).
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hello! can anyone please give me any ideas on how and where can I buy Japanese water buffalo hides? Was trying to find some hide suppliers or tanneries in Japan, but Google was not so helpful in this. advice and suggestions you could give would be much appreciated
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Thank you, I just tried that but it was still too large. I have a lot of machine images and other items to share so that I can utilise the expertise of the group. I think I will need to find an app to change the pixels? Thank you for taking the time to reply, it is much appreciated
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I am new here also, but I suggest edit the pics to lower resolution. Sometimes, for me, the easiest way is to choose to email them, that tends to reduce the file size for email. I email them to myself save them, then post them on a forum.
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Hello again. One more question: Is anyone familiar with the Adler 4-10 industrial sewing machine? I am searching already for some time but there is nowhere any information. Jianis
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I am having trouble uploading images, they are standard Jpeg but saying they are too large? Is there another way to share an image? Thank you
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To me, absolutely NO. They are not custom made but production line made. Custom made is to your requirements. Whether it is customizing a car, motorcycle, EDC bag or boots, the item is made and/or altered to the customer's requirements Obviously these boots do fit that description. I'd send them back and get a full refund for both the cost and sending them back and threaten legal action forthwith
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My plan is to double up in areas so would be around 3mm in key areas, aswell as armour inside to the shoulders, elbow and back
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Can someone explain to me how a custom boot is made "by volume"? What does that mean, exactly? I had "custom" riding boots made that were too tight in the toes to wear, and the soles are much narrower then the drawn outlines of each foot, and the reasoning given to me was "the bootmakers use a formula and build the boots by volume". Does that make sense somehow?
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How much to charge for your leather goods?
chuck123wapati replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
it couldn't have taken over 15 minutes to make that plain 115 dollar belt shown on the site, with almost no technical leather knowledge or experience. pre dyed pre cut strap and a clicker press. -
How much to charge for your leather goods?
TomE replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
I am enjoying the collective wisdom and experiences of the commenters (commentators?) in this thread. Lots of good insights. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. -
TomE changed their profile photo
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How much to charge for your leather goods?
Frodo replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
it takes a total of apex 3 hours to make a belt materals to make a belt are 20 for the leather 10 for consumables that $30 if you bend over for the pressure and sell your belts for $40 you are accepting $3.33 an hour for your labor and zero for your overhead You will not be in business long -
How much to charge for your leather goods?
Tugadude replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
I could be wrong but I don't think the sort of folks that will pay $175.00 for a leather belt are shopping at Harbor Freight. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I do think we need to be realistic. There's a fairly well-known leather wallet maker who apparently sells a lot of product and to me, the pricing is well above the value. I'm not going to give any more details because it isn't important who it is, just that it is an example. But, and there's always a but, he has cultivated a following of sorts, a customer base and he likely gets repeat business and word of mouth referrals. His product is certainly unique. I can imagine when you pull the wallet out, some will ask about it. I would never criticize him for his pricing. He makes a product, puts a price on it and then the consumer evaluates it and purchases it. Both are happy. Works for me. Now, if the person were to buy the product and find that it wasn't what they expected and/or they felt mislead or something, now we have a problem. That doesn't seem to be the case. There always are and will always be companies that successfully sell a product for way more than makes sense. Rolex is one, Hermes is another. Not picking on them, they just came to mind. -
How much to charge for your leather goods?
ToddW replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
its all about price and what they want.. if they want a nice product that is expensive.. they will shop around.. If they are looking for something cool and special, they will shop around.. if its something simple, they will just go to Amazon and buy it expecting to throw it away if its breaks.. Kinda like Harbor Freight and tools.. I have bought a many of $9 grinders on special expecting to through it away.. Crappy Chinese tool?? Yes.. did I buy it knowing its a crappy product? Yes.. Could I have bought a Dewalt?? Yes.. People view of nice is also very wide.. as a Leather worker, you know what nice is.. the average consumer doesn't know top grain, full grain.. pot metal hardware, stainless hardware.. All they know is if it looks good to them.. -
these are really cool there are many things you could use them for
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It's a trivial thing, and doesn't at all make a machine work better, but I'd appreciate any pointers for sourcing rosette-headed pins for replacing a Singer badge. My plan A is just filing down some copper rivets, but I'd love to find real ones. (Yeah, I'm easily amused.) Thanks! Rick
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How much to charge for your leather goods?
chuck123wapati replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
lol yea they do but now the new way is to look at reviews which could or couldn't be accurate as we have all seen, or you can google any dozens of best whatever for 2023 sites written and driven by college types who do nothing but create blogs for products to attach links that pay their wages for working at home(sitting on their asses). Most are copy and pasted blurbs from the products own sites while the writer has absolutely no real life experience of the product. And you can do this for hours or until you puke without actually learning a damn thing about the product, finally giving up and just buying something usually because the shipping is free. I feel the internet has been taken over by mega conglomerates that drive most searches right back to their products. -
How much to charge for your leather goods?
ToddW replied to GrampaJoel's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
This whole website thing is a lot like our discussions on quality of leather work.. As an old IT guy, anyone can put up a web page and use WIX, WordPress, etc.. The actual framework for web pages are common.. its the photography, video, copy/writing.. that make the difference whether something sells or not. You can take a great product and take crappy pictures and people think you have a crappy product. Photography is all about lighting and staging the product. After that, you need to know about SEO so people can find you.. Very few people have all the skills to do that (photography, webpage, write copy, tell a story).. and understand how you actually create traffic to your website. It is A LOT of work.. influencers, youtube, facebook Instagram, Tictok, etc.. that is a young mans sport.. I have spent a ton of money on product pictures and what I call "in the wild" picture of people with the bag. Buyers don't spend anytime trying to figure it out.. I had a small tool bag that didn't sell at all that I thought was cool.. Once I started putting pictures of it holding 6 boxes of shot gun sells..another with a trailer hitch and ratchet straps, golf shoes in it, tools in it... it started to sell.. the website is your store and has to tell them what all you can do with the bag.. there is a black magic to it.. its hard and expensive..
