jk215

Looks great. The color scheme is very Ettinger-esque!

Thanks! It is the regular white and 7-ply.

Thanks all! @veedub3 - Its good. I use Maine Thread a lot too because its cheap and easy to get but the Royalwood is much nicer. Its a lot smoother and more uniform.

Finished this guy up this afternoon. 3/4oz Hermann Oak with Royalwood thread.

You can get one from Campbell Randall its called the "BF110 Hot Glazing Station". Its like a soldering iron on steriods and you can buy different tips. You will then use the type of edge paint that fine leatherworking or Lekoza sells. It gives you that "rubber like" edge that is used in european style leather goods. I had the Campbell Randall station for a little while and it works great.

Hello All. Put together a simple one slot card holder pattern and tutorial video. The pattern will print out on 8.5 x 11 paper. The pattern is attached to this post if you just want to download. If you want to see the associated info (build along video / tools used) you can see that here on my website. Here is a photo of the finished card holder. Hm not sure why the attachment isnt showing up? Here is the direct link if its not there: TEMPLATE

"Sample sale"!

I use the CS Osborne draw gauge and basic Tandy strap cutter. Honestly, the cheap-o Tandy is my go to. The Draw gauge just feels awkward in my hand and if its not super sharp really sucks to use.

Its common to line the inside of the veg tan with something soft like lambskin or pigskin. You will see it done a lot with shoulder straps for backpacks or shoulder bags.

I havent tried any of the french calf yet so I cant comment on the quality. There is one or two other online shops like Fine Leatherworking, I think its called Lekoza, but it is equally expensive. I also used to buy from Hardtke and was sad to see their site down. I think they were moving locations a little while back. Im tempted to e-mail them to see if they are still in business.

I lined the jaws of my stitching horse with some old veg tan. I can make it very tight and dont get any creases.

Not sure but you can get D'annonay French Calf from their USA distrubutor: Amelia Corey (amelia.corey@charter.net) . There are a few different kinds to choose from and prices arent half bad.

At scale they are probably done on a "bell knife" skiving machine like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9DjcC3grgg

- Making sure all my tools were as sharp as possible. Especially before cutting anything intricate (lots of curves) or super thick. - Starting edgework before the pieces are even stitched together. Making sure each edge of each piece is clean and even. After gluing I do a rough sanding to clean up the newly formed edge. After stitching continue with the process. - Taking all the leatherworking "rules" with a grain of salt. I feel like a lot of people go by the book and never question whether or not that rule makes sense for the application. For example: getting criticzed for not having a deep stitching groove on a wallet made of 3 oz leather. When you stop to think about that for a second, the answer why presents itself pretty quickly.

Not sure by looking at that photo but since you are in europe Im sure you can find a suitable equivalent from AA Crack. They have tons of leather in that style.

Ive been using 3/4oz Crazy Horse leather from Zach White and it fits the bill perfectly. However, it is so hit or miss whether or not they have it in stock that I cant really rely on it for anything going forward. Like right now they are out of stock and dont know when or if they are getting any back in stock. There HAS to be another source for that stuff. I know "Crazy Horse" and "oil tanned" doesnt mean anything so Im open to any closely related options. It is a chrome tanned leather but has firm hand even at a lighter weight. Very similiar to a chromexcel just not as polished. The price is great in the $4.50/$4.75 /sqft range. Any leads are appreciated!

Hello all. Ive been looking around for a 7/8oz range oil tanned leather and been coming up empty. Ive been using the 5/5.5oz from Zach White and I really like it but need something a tiny bit heavier. Any help is appreciated!

I got samples from them but never pulled the trigger on a full order in fear of the shipping cost. They were very nice to deal with via e-mail though and the weinheimer sample was especially nice.

Guys this is 2015 and you need to advertise like its 2015. No radio, paper, or tv ads. Thats a giant waste of money in this niche. You NEED to be on any social network you can provide content for. Instagram is essential. Facebook business page is essential. Pinterest and Twitter are highly recommended. You need photos of your products where everyone eyes are right now.

Also contacted them recently about getting some templates cut and after an initial response I got nothing. Sucks because I really like working with them for my templates!

Also have used Black River Laser for almost all of my patterns. However last time no one replied to me when I needed to get an order done

Horween Dublin is completely finished already and doesnt need any kind of additional treatment or conditioner. The flesh side will be the same color (or close) to the front. Dublin not stiff at all due to the high oil content. It might stretch a little but should hold fine.

Im actually going to be giving this a go myself in the next few weeks. There are very few resources online and almost none that involve hand glazing. The only info you will find is about using a glazing jack like in the video above but thats not practical for small scale use. I tried locating a "glass rod" heavy enough to maybe mimic the action of a glazing jack but I dont think I could leverage enough pressure to be effective. So I settled for a glass burnisher from Tandy that I just got delivered. I know leatherworkers who do a lot of tooling use them to glaze the surface before casing. I think combining this action with some hand stuffing should make some really nice glazed leather. Im going to attempt hand hot stuffing with some waxes, tallows, oils and glazing after that. Ill try to remember to post my results. Good luck!

The main problem is not a lot of places carry high quality veg tan (ie. the english bridle you want to try out) in thinner sizes (4/5oz and below) that are in small quantities. Places like Wickett & Craig will split and re-finish your order to whatever thickness you want however you need to purchase a full side and its not cheap.

For sale is a side of standard (the top quality) Wickett & Craig natural veg tan size 2.5oz - 3oz. It was super hard for me to photograph the whole thing (small room / big cow) but you get the idea. The length from furthest points is about 70 inches long x 42 inches wide. The ruler in the photos is 48" long if that helps scale at all. I used a very small amount of this for some wallet interiors and card holders but dont plan on using any more in the near future. I paid $235 shipped and looking to get $190 shipped OBO.