lazybum

Nowadays i push the awl all the way through from BOTH sides. I find that if I don't do that, there will be bunching up of leather on the side that I don't push the awl from when I stitch, resulting in ugly stitching on that side. I push the awl all the way though so that I can achieve consistency easily. If you find your holes too big you can try buying a smaller sized awl blade.

Thanks for helping! I'm looking for unwelded ones as I need to be able to open and close them to attach them to things.

Hi i'm looking for oval rings around 1 inch long that look like this: I need them to be non welded. Anybody knows where to find them? bagfittings.hk has them but their stuff are incredibly expensive.

Yeah ive thought of that but the stitching path will still be haywire Thinner leather is fine, its the thicker leather that is the problem. Once you are off by a small angle your hole may just end up very far off.

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately I don't have a drill press. I've tried carefully pushing the awl through the leather and "fishing" for it one the other side of the groove. Worked pretty ok so far, just a lot more tedious.

Very nice and clean mate! Definitely has a feminine look that will suit your wife.

Yeap the thing about the thread getting worn was also an issue that I was thinking about. But you're right that the damage done is usually negligible except at the ends near the needles. However, I do notice that for white thread, they do become dirtier looking towards the end of your stitching if you do it at one go! Anyway thanks for the input! That was just about the answer that I was looking for

So you break up the stitching when you require more than an arm span worth of thread? My concern with breaking up the stitching was that it might not look as neat since there will be more back stitches along the stitch line. Maybe im just being too picky

Hi Just wondering, when you guys stitch fairly long distances, like around the border of a wallet, do you break up the stitching or do you do it at one go with a single long thread? Because my issue with stitching it all at one shot is that the thread needed is incredibly long, hence often getting tangled or caught onto the stuff around me.

You've got the same initials as me! Looks pretty good to me too

wow this looks fun Any idea if there are any other drawbacks besides the smell? I suppose it will hold the color better than regular dyes?

I bought one of the horse hide from springfield. I find that the color is pretty uneven, but you can always use that kind of texturing to your advantage I suppose. Like someone said, it also came pretty dry. The grain side on mine wasn't really "furry" though.They are hard rolled and pretty stiff. Haven't used them yet though. Still thinking about how to make use of the color texture. Will probably be using them as a shell for my next wallet project or something.

All right thanks for the help! Will take note!

I don't know, but apparently some people use beeswax +neatsfoot oil baked together as their finish. I guess it depends on how you define "finish". In my books the finish is meant to give the leather some protection as well as resistance against water. Beeswax does the job so I consider it as a finish i guess. To be honest im using beeswax mostly because I don't have access to the mainstream finishes yet . I don't consider the my stuff finished though since I don't apply a lot of beeswax (they clump together if you apply too much without baking them with oil first), but its the least I could do for now. Im not too familiar with the mainstream finishes. I'm only speaking based on my read ups and observations so far. But I ive come to think that some resistance is good for the "aging" process, even if it slows it down. Ive been surfing some forums where people post their "aged" leather items and im not exactly impressed with how some of the completely unfinished leathers aged, especially those which had come into contact with water. They look splotchy and the patina is all "jumbled" up, for a lack of a better word. Those leather items that had some kind of finish seemed to always look better aged. But then again maybe the leather on those are just superior I don't know if neat lac and such will slow down the aging process drastically, but ive read that the beeswax method gives quite a natural looking "finish". I reckon pure beeswax won't do much to inhibit the aging. Perhaps this is where I shall stop my amateur ravings and let the experts step in For what its worth, most of the established makers seem to apply some sort of finish to all their products, so I would play safe and do the same. But thats just me

Hi reddevil here's is my take tbh, when people ask for natural finish, I think they really just mean that they do not want the product to be dyed or given an extra heavy and glossy finish. You see most of them are just following the up and coming trend of having an "item that ages" (not sure where it originated from, but i think redmoon is very largely responsible for it). What they want is their product to start out in its natural color and develop a patina over time. Many of them have the impression that for a product to be able to drastically age like that over time, it has to be "unfinished", which is not true, because a protective finish won't really hinder the product from showing its aging characteristics, aside from damage from contact with water. If you look at redmoon's leather products, they are all given a finish, even those undyed ones. I believe that is what most of your customers want anyway. Most of them who ask for no finish are likely to have been inspired by redmoon. I may be wrong, but this is as much as I have gathered from my research so far. If I were you, I would go ahead and apply the finish. While I admit that i'm a follower of this "aging leather" trend, I personally prefer my natural leather items to be given a light coat of beeswax as a finish. Gives it a kind of "glow" to the leather in my opinion. Truly unfinished leather sometimes can look a bit dull.

Yes im not too sure why the holes are so big. I believe its machine stitched anyway. I am too having a problem finding jump rings that are look sturdy enough. Sadly ohiotravelbag doesn't seem to stock rings like that.

Oh actually it looks like its just bent in Overlooked this picture: I think I was expecting too much haha @Leatherbum yeap its by a japanese maker. Gotta admit im quite a fan these jap makers' stuff. I can't read japanese either but you can always try doing some searches at the english rakuten site if you're interested in their stuff. I enjoy browsing through their products every now and then.

Yeah was thinking of doing that but worried about the durability. Since it can be pried open using pliers it might just come out by itself.

Any ideas of how to get that ring in like that? I was thinking of using those jump rings, perhaps a thicker variety than usual, but am afraid that they will come apart easily. Will probably solder them close to prevent this. Any other ideas?

Just wondering if anyone tried the vice grip pliers from ohiotravelbag? (T-1239). It looks like they work similar to the press n snap. Its pretty cheap, costs around 50 bucks including the line 24 dies. Im thinking of ordering one

Ok thanks! What about when gluing grain side to grain side? Do you guys use contact cement as well? It doesn't seem to work very well since both surfaces are smooth.

ok thanks ill ask around at my local hardware store

Hi thanks for the complement! I meant smaller holes as in I not pushing the awl all the way through the leather so that the awl doesn't make such a big hole. Because it seems like the thread is pulling the hole apart at the thinner portions, making the stitching seems wider and fuller. On the thicker portions, the tension of the thread does not pull the hole apart that much, hence the less full looking stitches. Ive tried tugging less tightly at the thinner portions, but it only seems to make the stitching there look even more full. Which is why I suspect smaller holes might work. Anyway I think ill figure it out in a couple more practice projects. Regarding your method, are you able to do that when stitching 10oz worth of leather together? Even after sharpening my awl it seems impossible to have so much control over it to do that. Maybe I really need to get one of those douglas's awls

Hi may I know where can i find the concho adapter screws in ohiotravelbag's catalog? I see a lot of suitable looking ones but im not too sure which has the right threading The chicago screw heads that came with the conchos are too big and cant be used to convert the concho into a line 24 snap. The snap won't close. Ive seen screws with the right threading in my local hardware shop but they're all too long. I would like something that is 1/4" and shorter in length. I know there are the concho adapters from tandy but they come with washers and female parts that I don't need. So im looking for the screws only. Hopefully its cheaper.