Glendon

Looks like you've got your answer, but I'll pull out my old boy scout training and add my two cents. You should be able to hold a sheet of paper on edge and slide your blade right through it. If the blade resists, or you notice the pressure you're putting on the blade, it's not sharp enough. On something as easy as paper, a good sharp blade should just glide.

Glad to help. And Mike had a good idea. The next time you're in a department store, bring a measuring tape and look at some of the kids accessories. I should have thought of that.

Well if you don't have a stitching groover, use a ruler and a scratch awl to get a grove the correct distance from the edge. Then take your overstitch wheel and line up one point of it right at the very top of the groove you made. If you put the point at the very top of each part of the bag, the overstitch wheel will make sure your holes line up.

For that age, I would probobly go with a classic little clutch purse with a strap. Seems to be what little girls fall in love with. Something like this pattern: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=36853

Thanks for the information you two. awharness: Yes I'm familar with Watherhouse Leather in Littleton and G-N in Hudson. Unfortunately, I have a physical disability that prevents me from driving. It's one of the main reasons I live in the city. So wouldn't be able to run out to a physical location, even if it was a few miles out. I'll go ahead and e-mail or call W&C.

Hi all, I have been thinking about getting in touch with W&C for a first order. I have been very happy with the retail suppliers, but I thought I would see what I can really get direct. I was going to e-mail them and ask about swatches / samples, but then I thought I would pop in here and see if I can get a little information ahead of time so I know what they will and won't do. Could someone who has gotten samples from W&C tell me what the experience was like? Do they charge for samples? Do they tend to expect a first order at the same time? Thanks in advance.

I don't think what you're describing is common. I haven't used high quality sides, but I get Herman Oak strips from Springfield pretty regularly. They're not what I'd call soft. Springfield does carry something that I think is similar to what you're talking about. http://springfieldleather.com/25864/Side%2CSoft-Veg-Tan%2C12-17sqft/ I'm thinking soft handed veg-tan is one of those specialty items.

Not that I've seen. There are setters that will handle most rivets but snap and grommet setters are very specific.

Curious about that myself. Interesting simple design. One little thing. You need to check the settings on your camera. The time stamp says 2005.

As Chancey said, a little common sense goes a long way. Same thinking applies to all tools. If you really want to make sure that it is safe, the main thing that comes to mind is to get or make a stand that the heat gun can be set on in case your BF ever needs to set it down ready to use. I'm thinking a wire stand similar to what are used with soldering irons.

Thanks for the effort. Unfortunately that's just an introduction to one of the expensive reports out there. I'll probobly have to hit the business library and try this the old fashioned way.

Basically what I'd love is an estimate of the size of the luggage and bag industry in overall sales and some rough growth and loss trends. I do subscribe to the Leathercrafters and Saddlers Journal. I'll go back through a few issues and see what I can find. If you're curious, what I'm working on is essentially an internship program for high school and college students interested in manufacturing or skilled trade work. I'm looking at two main product lines. One is a set of packs, bags, and pouches for people with disabilities. Leather sling bags (very helpful backpack design but they are always too small or cheaply made, good ones are hard to find), wheelchair backpacks, forearm crutch pouches. The other product line i intend to base off intern designs for basic leather goods, wallets, belts, notebook covers, and the like in small batch production. There are a lot of internship agencies that work in industries like computer science and technology like Year Up, but the U.S. could use a similar model for skilled labor. Long term, I figure if I can get it up and running with leather goods, it could work with woodworking and other high labor cost / low material cost manufacturing as well.

Ya, that was my main complaint as well. I don't see a way to arrange that hardware so that it could be comfortable. Either pull the straps out to the sides where the handle attachments are like you said, or put everything on top of the bag so what hits your body is just leather. Or perhaps put the D ring inside the bag and feed the latches through a slot in the back of the bag. I can think of a few ways that would be better then what they did and wouldn't be much more work.

Hi all, I'm in the process of putting together a business plan to look at how viable a leather goods business idea I have is. I don't want to go crazy with numbers, but I would like to put in a basic snapshot of the industry. I know some people on this forum have already done business plans, so I was wondering if anyone could point me to some reports or data sources you found helpful? The only one I have been able to get my hands on are some census records: http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/products/p316991.htm http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/def/d316999.htm Everything else I've seen are either historical sources from the early 1900s or whitepapers that companies are asking $100s or $1,000s for and are really designed more for large scale manufacturers.

You know you're hooked on this stuff when you look at something leather and think "I like the design, but that's not how I'd do it". All in all I like the design of this bag, but I hate the strap securement system, and I'm not crazy about the handle or the stitching pattern on the handle straps. Though I am going to borrow the strap pad design I think.

They're pretty good. The belt book is much more diverse in designs. It has the Sheridan styles, but also a good section on geometrics and landscape designs. The Lucky 7 wallet pattern selection is pretty much Sheridan, Sheridan, and more Sheridan.

I would say 4 to 6 oz for watch straps. Any thinner and sweat might effect strength over time. Any thicker and it would get in the way. I wouldn't want something as thick as 8 - 9 oz around my wrist day in and day out. Cuffs you can go almost as thick as you want. I've made a lot of them out of belt cut-offs.

You don't start small do you? That's quite a project. I would strongly suggest buying a copy of "The Art of Making Leather Cases". You're looking at a minimum of 10 patterns / pieces, main back, main front, main gusset, handle, shoulder straps, buckle straps, buckle tab, pocket front, pocket back, pocket gusset. You would make the two different pocket styles separately from the main pack and then sew them on. After designing the patterns, you would cut out the leather parts. Then sew together. It's doable, but you'd have to learn a lot along the way. One post with instructions wouldn't do it. If you''re serious about this, where I would start is to figure out the measurements you want and create paper templates of all the major parts. That would give you an idea of how much leather you would need and the kind of project you're getting into.

Yep, there really is only one problem I've found with the wooden strap cutter. With smaller scraps, it can be tricky to keep a solid grip on the handle. I'm thinking the pistol grip on the metal draw gauges would make those jobs easier.

Question. Does anyone have any experience with roller presses like Accucut or Ellison presses? They advertise that they can supposedly die cut leather, though I'm not sure how thick they can actually handle. I'm thinking that if they can handle up to 5-6 oz, they might be an economical alternative to a clicker. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Personally, what you're charging there feels a tad low. Here's a formula I found awhile back from Etsy. So using your example, here's what I get. Say $1,00 in materials to be conservative. $20 per hour labor. $1 + $5 = $6 wholesale x 2 = $12 retail That would be about $38,400 per year if you were doing this full time. That wouldn't be what you pull down though because it isn't taking into account design time, shipping time, sales and marketing time, and everything else. This is why leather bags can reach $400 plus so easily. Leather is actually relatively cheap. It's labor cost that pushes the price up. You can of course drop your retail price on smalls since you don't need a 100% mark up. $8.50 $9 might be a more reasonable price, but I wouldn't drop below wholesale. Give yourself a fair hourly wage. What I like to do is take the profit I'd make if i sold something at a price, and calculate it out to see what I'd make if I did that full time. If that number seems reasonable, go ahead. Materials + Labor + Expenses + Profit = Wholesale x 2 = Retail

I personally have a disability that makes it difficult to stand for any period of time, so my bench is standard desk height 30". A lot of people say that you get better control when standing, but if you are comfortable and have experience working on a stool, then I'd probobly stick with 36".

I used to do those walking sticks years ago when I was a scout. Great fun project. What we used for walking sticks were wooden closet rods. Try going to the manager of your local big box home supply store. You might be able to score a pile free or on the cheap. Of course we did the typical 3 part pocket knife sheaths. I still make those from time to time when old friends come to me after the first sheath they made at 11 finally falls apart at the lacing. Don't know if that would work for your kids, but it's another idea. Another possability are braided bracelets. If you don't know it yet, you can learn the mystery braid from one of the free Tandy videos. Get some scrap and cut the blanks yourself if you like. Then you can let the kids go to town after a quick lesson.

Winterbear is probobly on the right track. If you got it from a shoe maker, there is a good chance that it is some type of oil tan or latigo. Can't really tell from the photo, but looks like it is something in the medium thickness, 4 to 6 oz, something around there. That's what I'd typically think of as bag leather.

The Art Of Making Leather Cases by Al Stohlman. It's a 3 book series that take you from basic things like belt pouches all the way up to golf bags. Work a couple of those projects, and she should be able to figure out how to make anything. Some of the projects, and many of the art styles are out of date, but it sounds like your daughter can handle that part.