Mijo

Sorry, that should be July 21st and 22nd not April...

depends on the size of the dog. I use 10/11 oz latigo leather for small dog harnesses and leads, these are for dogs that range in size from 10 - 15 pounds. If I making collars for the same size dog I split the latigo leather by slightly less than half and make them double sided, so that the over all thickness is slightly less than 10/11 oz. If I were making collars for larger breeds (i.e. pitties, rotties, etc.) I would be more inclined to use a heavier weight latigo. I'm interest in hearing what weight leather other people are using for their dog collars / leads.

This weekend (April 21st and 22nd) is the Renegade Craft Fair (RCF) in San Francisco, http://www.renegadecraft.com/sanfrancisco-info . Just wanted to let people know about it, since I know there are forum members in Northern CA. If anyone participated in the RCF in Austin or Brooklyn earlier this year, i'd be interested in hearing how it went. I went (but was not a vendor) to the SF RCF last year and it seemed like it would be worthwhile as it was packed with people. Awhile back I spoke with two vendors that sold at the SF RCF last year and they said they did pretty well last year and were planning on doing it again in 2012, one of them makes leather products (i.e. wallets, belts, etc.) and the other one makes wood ties. my wife (who owns the business I make small leather dog products for) split a booth with a friend to help reduce the overall cost of doing this event. I spoke with some other local dog product manufacturers recently, who did the show last year and they stated that it was just "okay". My main interest in doing this show was to get the word out on my wife's company as her products are already in many of the local dog boutiques in the city, I'm not expecting to do a lot of sales. Our sales are substantially higher for events that cater specifically to canines or pets in general. If there are any forum members that will be attending the event, please PM and I'll give you my wife's company name and where our booth will be. It would be nice to meet some forum members, in the flesh and talk shop. I'm only going to be there on Saturday, as I have business travel on Sunday (for my day job).

This is a very interesting thread, one that i've been following since it was originally posted. I'm in the same boat as Chief, in that I tend to under value the cost of labor / craftsmanship that goes into the products that I make, when calculating the price at retail. And just like chief, I'm fine with it as I know (and have already seen) that the more products I make the better I get at it (i.e. develope a better work flow, reduce the amount of time to make each item, etc.). I've already seen a significant reduction in the time it takes to make one of my newer products, dog bag holder / holster, just by changing the order in which I do things. I've calculated the cost of labor for each type of the product that I make and while it isn't consistent for the various products I make (i.e. dog collars, harnesses, leads, couplers, ID tags, etc.) it does range from $10 - $20 / hour. As I find more efficient ways to make the same products quicker (without sacrificing quality) more of the sales for that product will cover the cost of the labor, given that the cost of supplies remains the same. This gives me motivation / incentive to find more ways to streamline my processes and be able to make the same products at a faster rate. I tend to price my products based not on what it actually costs (i.e. supplies, overhead, labor) but on what my competitors are charging for similar products, or what my immediate / local market will support. I love this forum and these types of threads, where members can discuss important issues in a civil manner and share thoughts and ideas.

I make rolled leashes every now and then when requested but I've never actually made a rolled collar before. I've been contemplating making one just for the heck of it as it would be just a slight modification to a rolled leash, i.e. swapping the bolt snap for a buckle / strap keeper on one end and replacing the leash handle for a strap end w/ eyelets on the other end. I used the instructions for Handle #10, 11 & 12 from The Art of Making Leather Cases v3 as a guide for making rolled leashes. Handle 10 provides a basic pattern for what each end of the strap should look like and I tweaked it to suit my needs. One thing that I did completely different from the book was that I split the leather between where the bolt snap and the handle start (rolled portion of the strap). I did this b/c the leather within the rolled section had to be pretty thin in order to be rolled and it didn't seem strong enough in the unrolled sections to be doubled up onto itself for the handle and bolt snap. I saddle stitch the rolled leashes which I actually thought would take more time. My rolled leashes are noticeably heavier than my regular leashes so it's natural to asume that the same would be true for a collar. I make dog accessories for small dogs so a heavy collar is not desirable, which is why I haven't made a rolled collar yet. I hope this helps and good luck...

Squid, thanks for the feedback. i've been sitting on a pound of the barabours linen thread for several months, as i'm working through the rest of some prewaxed thread that i had previously purchased. The prewaxed thread is a lot more costly than unwaxed linen but i had some reservations about waxing the thread myself.

i'm not a fan of conchos or bling on collars but I like the 4th collar out of the bunch.

I was using the Tandy lacing pony and I agree it's crappy. I recently started using Sheridan leather's colt stitcher and it's a major step up, IMHO. It's jaws are wide, thick and well made. Even better it has a wood screw clamp that affixes to any table, which provides better ergonomics than the lacing pony. It's the best $65 I've spent.

I'm in the city but I not all that "experienced". I'm self taught and all I make are small dog collars / harness and leads, I don't do any tooling.

I checked out your etsy and the two collars posted are very nice. I really like the collar with the feathers / wings, your tooling looks great to me (but I myself don't do any tooling so I'm not the best judge of what good tooling is). I think your edges look very good too.

Ray, when I first picked up this hobby I was very interested in the history of leather crafting. I stumbled upon R.A. Salaman's Dictionary of Leather Working Tools, c.1700-1950 , which not only provides detailed explanation of the various tools used in the different trades but also really good historical information about each trade. I think you'll find a lot of answers to your questions within this book.

I make small dog collars, harness and leads. In terms of hardware you'll need; buckles, d-rings, rivets or screws (if your not going to hand sew and collars) and maybe eyelets (optional). If your going to make matching leads for your collars then you will also need snaps (either bolt, trigger or lever depending on your perference). In terms of tools you'll need; strap cutter (if you don't buy blanks), knife, punch (for the eyelets and buckle), hammer, end punch and a beveler. You don't necessarily need a oblong punch for the buckle, you could use the round punch (for the eyelets) and punch two holes and cut out the middle section between the holes. You could also eliminate the beveler, if your okay with the edges of your collars not being rounded off. If you don't want to purchase an end punch you could just use you knife and taper the end of the collars as well. As far as the actual leather for your collars, I use latigo and bridle. I hope this information helps...

Congrats on your sale! IMO you under charged for your collar. I know another forum member that also makes tooled dog collars and their collars go for almost double what you charged. Is your collar hand stitched? It looks like it is but I can't actually see the stitches in the picture.

Very nice, do you have a picture of it in use (loaded and being worn by someone)? I would have never guessed that there would be a market for that... Good luck!

Hub - If it turns out well and you make some additional ones, i'd be interested in purchasing one from you (depending on the price). I don't like the tandy lacing pony that I'm currently using and I can't seem to find a clamp on ebay.

I think that's exactly what stroker was saying, i used to do that myself before i bought a couple of oblong punches. If you get an oblong punch and it turns out that it's not long enough for what you need, you can always punch another hole which overlaps the first hole you punched. I end up doing this when i use a larger buckle or make a larger collar than what I normally make. Sometimes the tongue slot comes out a little crooked, when you over lap the oblong holes though.

Leatherman, i'd be interested in one of your burnishers with the "nipple" if it was made for a dremel rather than a drill press. ideally I would be using this burnisher for eyelets and tight areas. Also I'm interested in a dremel burnisher that can easily accomodate canvas, currently I'm wrapping strips of canvas and duct taping the ends to a dremel burnisher. Please let me know if you can make this custom dremel burnishers...

Can you also make maker stamps as well?

Thanks for all the input, I'll go with hand stitched or sewn when describing my products.

If I described my handstitched products as "saddle stitched " does that automatically imply that it's handstitched? Are there sewing machines that can saddle stitch (I'm not familiar enough with sewing machines)? Or would it be better to simply state that the products are hand stitched? I'm trying to be concise as possible when describing my products. Do you think the average person is going to understand the difference between a regular stitch and a saddle stitch? Or is that something that has to be explained to a customer so that they can appreciate the difference. Any input / opinions are greatly appreciated.

Spinner, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Welcome JanC, from another Bay Area resident. I've just started handsewing recently, so I'm pretty much still a noob myself, but the holes for your stitching really seem to stand out. I don't know if it's b/c your not using a stitch groover or maybe the needles your using are just too big or maybe it's the size of your thread but the holes look excessively large to me. Other than that it looks nice. As far as your question regarding cutting curves, I haven't done that myself so I'm no help at all. However, I just received a circle cutter from MisterArt (recommended by another forum member on another thread) which I planning on using to cut circles of leather. I was thinking that the circle cutter could also be used to cut rounded ends

I've been experimenting with two ply handstitched dog collars recently, before that I was just making single ply collars held together with screws. For both types of collars I start with either 9 - 11oz latigo or 8 - 9oz bridle and split it if I making the 2 ply. The 2 ply handstitched definitely takes more work and planning, and it's debatable if it's worth it, but IMO it looks nicer. Some customers have commented that the one ply collars might by too rough for their dog but my nearly hairless chihuahua doesn't seem bothered by it. I posted a bow tie collar in the critique thread if you want to check it and ask me something more specific?

I ordered a set of custom alphabet / number stamps from Infinity Stamps earlier this year and while they were very expensive, it was well worth what I paid. In addition to the alphabet and number stamps, I also order some characters (i.e. &, -, etc.) which I believe were $20 - $30 for each character. If you check out Infinity's website the price listed for aphabet stamps is stamps used for metal stamping, not leather. The cost for leather alphabet stamps is actually more b/c they are deeper. When I ordered my custom set they gave me a 10% discount on the total order. They were also very easy to work with, provided multiple proofs for approval. I'm extremely satisified with the stamps they made and i'll definately use them again.

Thank you for the drill and dremel burnishers, they are an essential tool and i use them regularly. Just like JET4, I was also thinking about ordering a back up set b/c the tip of my holster burnisher broke when I accidently dropped it on the floor a couple of weeks ago. I hope ED bumps this thread, if and when he starts to make burnishers...