NVLeatherWorx

Wow! That turned out real nice. You did that little bag some serious justice. Now, for a more serious note: If you purchased the pattern from the source that I quoted make sure that you don't post that pattern here and that you don't offer it for sale to anyone either. Your purchase of that book and the patterns was for your use to make and sell the finished products; their policies clearly prohibit the sale and transfer of any of the contents to others and Tandy will make it an issue as they do troll these forums through various employees and other associates who are also members here. It is only fair to say that the downloadable files aren't expensive at all so there is no reason why anyone who wants the patterns can't purchase them. Don't put yourself at risk of finding a lawsuit against you, ain't worth it.

The main thing here is what is your intention or direction? Do you plan on making a few items here and there and selling them at local fairs/shows and even dabble in the Etsy market or are you planning on getting serious about it and putting your stuff out there for more of a global exposure and maybe even see if some local shops/stores would carry your products? If you plan on local and not going too deep into it then go to the lower side of things; if you are looking more on a global scale and maybe some brick & mortar then you need to price just like any other professional business. And for those who think that labor is cheap and that doing it all by hand should be on the lower scale of things, try it out sometime and see how cheap it is. Hand-sewn is the best result if you are looking at creating a serious and long lasting product, regardless of what all the "Cowboy" and "Adler" and "Tippman" people think and I have many repairs of machine sewn merchandise to prove that. And I can also tell you that it wasn't cheap for the customer to get the repair because I do this for a living and have done it by hand for over 40 years due to the fact that a machine can't create the best, most durable stitch on leather products. If you value your labor, or that of anyone else, as cheap then you shouldn't be investing your time in making things for other people, regardless of which direction you take to market and retail. Be careful how you look at things and how you relate them to our overall industry and the skills and experience of those of us who can do this in our sleep.

I will agree that we are fractured and I will also offer up that it has been growing for some time, but the past 8 years have seen the largest growth in that fracture and you can't deny it. You might not agree with that statement and it is because the truth sometimes hurts very bad, but the end result is that it is still the truth and you can't deny the truth. It is the path down the road towards what much of Europe and other nations have done over their time and the growth of the "social welfare and handout" programs to a point where they become equal to a working class wage, on top of the idea that you can provide healthcare to everyone for nothing and those who break their backs every day on a hard labor job will pay for your life, is why the United States voted the way they did this week. It got to the point where people just said, "enough is enough" and basically put forth a mandate for something different. And the most missed fact from this weeks election is that it wasn't only Republicans who went out there and said that enough was enough, there was a very large number of Independents and Democrats who jumped on that bandwagon as well and they come from the ranks that put the current people in office only to be let down by them; betrayal can change the common man's way of thinking and karma is a you know what.

And don't forget, that in order to garner that equal wage for equal work you also need to have the same tenure as your counterparts because their wage at the moment surely includes performance increases and annual increases. Don't think just because you start working today in a department that has 10 other people doing the same work that you all started fresh on the same day; get your head out of your fifth point of contact and get with reality because I am sure that someone on that team has been there a number of years and EARNED the wage that they are getting today.

And this is where all of those online outlets (Etsy, Bonanza, and the likes) create that very issue because they are loaded with "stores/shops" that have all of this handmade and artfully crafted crap that would embarrass the living you know what out of the majority of us here within this community yet we also find ourselves evaluated against that same crap even though the customer can physically see the difference in quality of craftsmanship and a true passion from us to produce a truly worthy product. And the worst of them are those who work only with pre-fabricated kits and couldn't cut a piece of leather if was attached to their hind end. Hoping to not create a thinking process among those who are new to this trade but everyone needs to be critically honest with themselves and look at what they produce and put out there for sale on the open marketplaces or even through your local vendor shows. When you give it your best look and harshest evaluation, if the result is that you know that your skills need more work and refinement then you should not be trying to hit the market right now. Instead, practice your skills, learn from the sources of information available to you (which includes right here), and post your works for critique. When you start getting solid praise and the ever popular "oh wow!" then you can start thinking about putting yourself out there. This is the same reality that every business planning process goes through and sometimes the timing just ain't right.

And that is the reason why we end up with all of our migrant workers (who, for the larger part, are illegally here as well) so how do we handle this issue? If it were me, I would put it out there that it is high time that EVERYONE contribute to the betterment of our nation, economy, and the our global standing because if we don't all WORK together on making us what we once were, we will find ourselves so fractured and unable to take care of ourselves that we will cease to exist as independent people. And yes, the younger generation, for the most part, needs to get off that "I'm entitled" mentality and get a bit dirty for a change. And this above statement can be applied to every nation on this planet without even having to alter it.

That is Classified. I see gun control as another method of keeping the law abiding citizen under wraps but as a retired special missions operator and a VERY experienced person in the field of firearms my philosophy on gun control is as simple as ensuring that you hit your target with the first round and never giving your opponent the opportunity to try and repay you for the "gift" that you just gave him. I have yet to receive any returns. Now, to the topic at hand. There was a time when the concealed fanny pack was very popular and the shoulder holster was right there with it but those slowly disappeared and you found everyone was using an SOB holster (which also lost its popularity and declined in use). Now days you find just about every thing that you can dream of to carry a weapon but I like that, it keeps the bad guy guessing on who is and who isn't armed. Here in Nevada we do the open carry thing which I just love to take advantage of as I have no problem letting everyone who may be thinking about doing something stupid that it might not be what you want to do right now because I will have you thinking differently if you follow up on your idiotic thoughts. If you are dead set on making her a purse, and that is what she wants, then you would probably be better off going with an easy access pocket that is available from the exterior of the main bag (very much what I described to you earlier). If you do it with veg-tan then I would go no less than 6 to 7 oz. in weight for the front and back and you could go as low as a 5 to 6 oz. for the gusset. If you use the veg-tan then you don't need worry about the bag stiffener as the leather itself is more than sturdy enough to hold up to the weight of the weapon, unless she is going to carry an air-cooled mini gun of course, then I would recommend a new truck with a mount in the bed making it easier to handle and employ. I would not recommend that you line it either unless you have to make some interior pockets on the outer walls of the purse (lining makes it easier to create the pockets and liner assembly as one piece before you attach it to the main panel). The look of welts (yes, that would be piping) is neat but if you use veg-tan it really isn't necessary as you will sort of end up with a welt look anyway. I will check my image database to see if I can find a good picture of what I am talking about and will send it off to you. The difficulty with welts when using the thicker veg-tan is that you have to stitch the gusset with the bag turned inside out, once you have it all stitched up you have to turn it back to the right side out and that is very difficult and you won't get the corners or rounds back to the shape that they should be; doesn't create a problem when you are using the fashion leathers though but then you have to use stiffeners and other stuff that you wouldn't normally use. To answer your question about the bag stiffener, it is basically nothing more than a thick cardboard which is probably about 1mm thick (sorry for the metric term but it is closer to that than anything else). Hope this helps with your questions.

@Rublackett From the image that you provided you pretty much hit the idea of where you should be going already. As stated though you may want to consider a lighter weight (thinner) leather which will allow it to form a bit easier around the device itself. Don't apologize for your stitching; we all started out the same way so no worries. As you continue to work with leather and stitch more things together you will find that your skills will improve quickly and before you know it you won't even remember the beginning days of your journey. Good luck with your continued development and journey in the leather working world and keep us informed of how things go, even if it is another project.

@Thor Unless you are a U.S. citizen living abroad who was once a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (and there are many out there who are very close friends of mine who served with me) you can't equate the European version of how LE and military work as our systems are drastically different. You mentioned that there are some units that don't come home for months at a time, I am assuming that you were referring to Law Enforcement units? Not here in the U.S. my friend, they pretty much come home to their wife and kids (if that is what they have) every night and give them hugs and kisses; of my 24 years of active military service which had me deployed around the world constantly I pretty much had about 5 years of time (combined home time) with my wife and family members and I challenge any LEO to live that way if they haven't experienced such a thing before. It is true that several LEO's have had military service in their lives but they all completed their initial obligations (which is 8 years now) before becoming a police officer and they made the change because they didn't want to continue the life of being away from the families that the military brings with it. Yes, we volunteer for the service and we can elect not to reenlist when that time comes but the majority of those who do volunteer for the military actually look to it as a lifetime career (contrary to what you indicated) and do so willingly because it is a higher calling and it is also a fact that each one of us who made that commitment understood that it was more dangerous than anything else we could do in our lives. It takes people like us to stand up for the rest of the nation, regardless of which nation it is, in order to allow those who wish to live a life of bare minimum achievement and contribution to society; if not us, who else is going to give their life for other peoples freedoms? I spent half of the current life that I have lived putting my butt on the line for my country, its people, and those of other foreign nations and their people (all of Europe for example) in the hopes of sparing them from eventual destruction or attack by another unfriendly nation; I started this life by patrolling a piece of border line that was called the "Iron Curtain" and I did that until the day that it fell and we saw some reunification in Europe and every day that I was on that fenceline/border trace my body was a target in the scope of a soldier from the other side and I knew that, so ask yourself if you could do that same job knowing that you were one simple trigger squeeze away from further existence and then equate that to knowing that you are pretty much sure to go home every night to your wife and kids and tell me where they are the same. They are not, and it does make a big difference in the levels of sacrifice, as well as recognition, of those who know that every day they are alive could be their last versus being pretty much assured that you will go home at the end of your shift (unless someone gets real lucky and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, which the odds are not very great of happening to you). Sorry if it sounds harsh but myself, and others who have given like I have, should be recognized differently for what we have sacrificed and I have several LE friends who feel that same way who have never been in the military because they all admit that they could most likely not handle it as easily as what they do everyday and the thought that you can kiss the wife and kids goodbye in the morning may be the last time you see ever see them again, every time you do it. The psychological impact alone on a soldier is far greater than that on a police officer or paramedic; we see the worst effects of armed conflict and the horrors far outweigh anything I have seen on the outside, and I have seen some pretty nasty results out here but nothing compared to what a roadside bomb can do your best friends; 17 times over 7 years alone.

The question that I posed was is there a real market for it? It isn't a surprise to find that there are offerings out there but that doesn't mean that the market actually exists to support it. And, after looking at the products offered via the links that you provided, I can safely say that two of them don't even use real leather (not the term Fashion Leather) and the one that clearly indicates the use of top grain leather appears to be quite shoddy at best. One thing that also stood out with each one was that these could be made to order with a hefty minimum quantity required, which indicates to me that these are not a common item but can be fulfilled if requested. So, unless the OP is intending to invest in the purchase of thousands of thumb drives and then covering them in leather for the purpose of creating a global outlet for them my original reply pretty much stands. Is there a market out there for them and is it worth the time and money. Besides, the OP is looking to see if there is a pattern (or patterns) for such a thing when it only takes 5 minutes to create one based on the available memory stick that is in his possession. Since my original response to the OP I have designed a cover/pouch for each of the thumb drives that I personally own (and I have 7, all different is design) plus one each for my FireFly portable drive, my Seagate portable drive, and two other expansion devices; the entire process only took me about 15 minutes so it isn't really necessary to look beyond what sits right in front of us. It takes only a few seconds to formulate a design for your own use and that is pretty much what the OP was indicating the purpose was for. When you look at the original image provided and compare that to what is found at any one of the links provided within the replies you can see that the OP pretty much already achieved the same basic results. My recommendation would be to refine the design that has been made to create the final look that is being sought.

The bags that I made were cut from 6 to 7 oz. veg-tan so as to provide the strength and rigidity that was needed to hold up against the weight. The interior elements were all cut from various other weights (thinner of course) as they needed to be flexible and pliable. If you were to go to thinner materials or those of the chrome tanned variety that are much more pliable then you will be wanting to use bag stiffeners everywhere you can to "prop up" the weight of the weapon. If I were the one making the purse and using the more pliable chrome tanned leathers then I would stitch the assembly lines with the bag turned inside out; never been a fan of a welt of any kind as it offers two sides for potential failure versus just the one if stitched in a standard fashion. That is just my personal preference (and I don't use machines either; it is all done by hand using the saddle stitch so that I can guarantee that it won't fail anytime soon).

Is there even enough of a market for such a thing that one would commit the time and energy to designing one and then investing the money and time into materials and the making of it? If there is then you would be the father of the design because I am not aware of anyone else who has done such a thing. I do know that there are some small pouches around that could also be used to carry a USB stick but not aware of any "covers" so to speak.

@CaptQuirk - I do recall that Tandy had a pattern posted on their Leathercraft Library site about a year ago (maybe a bit longer) that you could purchase and download. If I recall correctly it was designed around one of their standard purse models from a few years ago (very similar in design to their Revival handbag) and that the "carry feature" was nothing more than another divider panel that was inserted into the main compartment that would separate the firearm from the rest of the contents of the bag. This "concealed" compartment was to the very back of the bag (closest to the carriers body). The versions that I designed were modeled in very similar styles to the common shoulder bags that you see everywhere and I put the concealed pocket on the exterior of the bag (again, closest to the carriers body) with the opening set so that the person could just reach into the bag and get their gun. I used a French clasp styled closure for the pocket opening (two of them to ensure that it didn't just fall open) and made sure that there was bit of a lip (so to speak) that would prevent the weapon from just sliding out of the pocket if it had come open. The hardest part was actually giving the clients the interior features of the actual purse; the damn carry section was easy compared to the rest of it. @HBAR - Your little story there about the bag your wife got just proves my point and if she had to pay full price for it I can guarantee that she wouldn't have. It is bad enough that she received a piece of garbage at a highly discounted price and now has a worthless bag sitting around. I participated in a recent show (about a month ago now) where there was one of those groups set up (it was in fact Damsels in Defense) and found out that the two young ladies who were operating it were nothing more than franchise owners for the line; they didn't know squat about the reality of owning a weapon, how to use it properly, the concepts behind the true methods and art of concealment, nor anything about ANY of the product that they were marketing; they only knew what the corporate program gave them in the books and manuals. I have many, many years in hands-on experience related to weapons, their employment, how to conceal them, how to retain them, and even achieved certification levels as an instructor in these areas (to include self defense and unarmed defensive tactics at the LE level) and every time I see one of these groups out there I can't do anything but laugh to point that my body aches for a week afterwards. This is a truly under-served market and these groups are doing nothing more than hurting this demographic even more than they would be if you just did nothing.

Did a couple about 2 years ago but dropped them from my offerings as nobody wanted to pay for a concealed carry purse that would last, they would rather buy those cheaply made purses that will develop issues within a few months. Now when I am at a show and one of those "damsels in defense" booths is around I just sit there and watch how they are all drawn to the "carry bags" like a moth to a light. Even get a few questions from some of the moth's when they stop and ask if I could repair an older purse that they purchased from one of those "defense specialists" and I kindly decline to do the work on the grounds that my little fix isn't going to stop the problem and it should be repaired by the people who put you in it in the first place. Don't even have any of the patterns anymore.

I too would recommend the Hide House in Napa, CA for that type of leather. They have a very broad selection of leathers and they do supply fashion designers which appears right up your alley.

Find yourself a source for W & C or HO and you won't regret paying a bit more for it as it is the finest on this planet. The Tandy leathers are also NOT tanned the same as what we know to be vegetable-tanned as they are tanned outside of the U.S. with a modified formula (that doesn't contain any real Oak tannins or other Oak related products) and include the use of animal urine to balance the pH of the water that is used (which isn't really high quality either when it comes to particles, etc.). Not to mention, Tandy pretty much gets the lowest priced hides to start with so you know that from the start you are not going to get a quality piece of leather. If you are serious about putting out a high quality product, you have to start with a high quality material; and then treat is with respect and dignity through your skills. You can use that Tandy stuff for anything that will never see the light of day or be designed to be a "show off" piece.

From the looks of it (based on the image of course) it looks like there was a blemish on the hide that wasn't obvious (similar to a bruise) that doesn't allow equal and consistent penetration of the coloring agent. The Oak Leaf sides and double shoulders are guaranteed to provide at least one area each so it isn't a surprise; the Craftsman Oak products are loaded with blemishes, hidden and obvious. I can't see this one getting much better at this point but you can give it a bit more of hide if you were to dye it a second time and maybe give it an application of leather balm with atom wax after it has dried. The leather balm will darken the leather but at this point it is about the only way to make anything useful out of this piece. Hang in there, everything has a way of working out for the better.

What grade of Tandy hide was it? Oak-Leaf? Craftsman Oak? Tandy's leather (sides, shoulders, etc.) have a tendency to contain invisible areas that result in uneven dye and/or stain penetration; basically has to do with the quality of the raw hide before tanning and the fact that they are not tanned in the same fashion as those that are tanned here in the U.S. tanneries. Tandy ships their hides out to South American tanneries that use a different formula (which, in some countries includes the use of animal urine) and the results are nowhere near what you get with a true Oak tanned formula. Everything you do to a raw hide will have an impact on it, good or bad, and the results when dyeing the leather will pretty much give away the true quality of the material. I have used some Tandy hides in the past and had nothing but issues with them when it came to getting a consistent color penetration; never have had that issue with a hide tanned here in the U.S. or from Europe (England and France).

Could not agree with you more on that TexasJack. A belt is meant to serve a purpose, other than just lookin' pretty. If it isn't capable of holding up the trousers and keeping them where they belong then it is nothing more than a decorative ribbon that should probably repurposed to tie a gift box shut.

EVERYONE is entitled to their opinions on products and other things so if you can't handle that fact then you need to find another outlet that allows one-sided views and opinions; becoming a member of Congress would probably be your best bet.

I have had belt buckles like this before on some dress belts and the bar ring is for attaching the loop end too with the running end going underneath it and passing through the belt loops on the inside so that it isn't visible to anyone. Not very functional though as you can't quite cinch them down as well as you can a traditional belt and buckle set because you have to work the running end around underneath the static end; more decorative looking than anything else in my opinion.

It isn't any worse than some of those other acrylic based products, just have to know how to use it. Nice place to let it out though; a thread that has been dead for over 8 years? NICE.

I have both of those Leather Projects books (got them a very long time ago while the ink was still relatively fresh). These books are available for purchase and download at Tandy's Leathercraft Library site (www.leathercraftlibrary.com).

Check out OTB (www.ohiotravelbag.com) or the Buckle Guy (www.buckleguy.com) and see what they have. I know OTB actually carries the Pull-the-DOT snaps and they were all black and kept their color.

The official designation for the Segma snap is Line 16. The 21 and 22 that OTB is sending to you relates to the length of the eyelet (this is the post that you set the stud onto); the 21 is 3/16" long and the 22 is 1/8" long (OTB lists it as 4/16" but we all know the math on that one). OTB has a wide array of snaps to choose from so if you ever order any of them in bulk pay close attention to the lengths of the posts. Even the Line 20 and Line 24 snaps from them can be customized to length which blows any of the other suppliers out of the water because they only send them out in one size configuration.