AndersenLeather

If you intend to punch the iron all the way through the leather then i'm afraid you bought the wrong tool. As @Tugadude said this is not what the amy roke pricking iron is intended for. They are like the old pricking irons which are only ment to mark the leather. What you should have bought is sometimes described as a hybrid pricking iron. These are sharp and able to punch all the way through. Wuta and kevin lee and almost all of the highend chinese pricking iron are like hybrids.

http://reddit.com/r/leathercraft

When looking at their webpage they only sell junk locks. The only places I have found that sells nice brass locks are Abbey england and this company: https://abasfashionaccessories.com/collections/key-locks

You can find it here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Classic-leather-briefcase-with-accordion-gusset/ On my blog you can find the same and much more http://andersenleather.blogspot.com/ the locks are from http://abbeyengland.com/

Yes I wrote it I’m glad it helped you. It sure helps me remember what I did. I have also changed steps and techniques as you learn something new every time you make one. I have just made the templates in acrylic with holes for everything so that will speed up the process. I work slow so I think I’m closer to 60 hours if not more. 30hours is fast!

You did a really good job on that. I'm impressed that it only took you one week to make. How many hours a day did you work on it?

I just took a picture of the bag while its being held:

Thanks. Yes the closure is both good looking and practical Thanks a lot. The bar is what holds the bag closed. The bag does lean a bit but as the bag is not that thick it is not problem at all. Yes making the blog post takes a long time but it makes it so much easier to make another bag at a later point. The leather is 1,4-1,6 mm ( 3,5-4 oz) and the lining is 1-1,2mm (2,5-3 oz)

I made this music bag. It was a lot of fun and as this was my first bag with a lining I learned alot about that. For the complete build go here: andersenleather.blogspot.com

They use a number of threads... unless the use a sewing machine

This is one way to do it: andersenleather.blogspot.com/2015/10/burnish.html The trick is to burnish the very edge of the edge before dyeing the edge. I also use a felt marker. A wool dauber should only be used if the edge is the same color as the leather.

I also think it is a matter of making the best use of the leather. On this briefcase which cost 4500 euro I really don’t get why they did it.

I dyed the leather myself.

I'm not sure I understand your question completely. Most of the bends are made by cutting a single slit around halfway through the leather. These slits only works when you bend the leather outwards (bending so that the grain side of the leather comes closer together) Only two bends was made using a groover. This was where the bend had to be inwards (bending so that the flesh side of the leather comes closer together) Also I did not wet the leather at all.

I used a 3,2 mm italian double bend. It is not a bridle but a normal veg tan completely undyed. It is not at all waxy but very water absorbent.

If the gusset you try to make is the same as this one I don't think that you need to wet it at all. andersenleather.blogspot.com/2017/02/3-piece-gusset.html

There is no perfect size. It's all a matter of personal preference. Here is an excellent comparison of spi and thread thickness. https://www.reddit.com/r/Leathercraft/comments/4vzgk4/visual_representation_of_thread_sizes_and/ Why do you want blanchard pricking irons? Compared to other brands they are expensive and poorly finished. Wuta pricking gets good reviews and cost only a fraction of blanchard: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wuta-3-38mm-Pricking-Irons-Leather-Stitching-Lacing-Hole-Punch-Chisel-/152231727460? Amy roke is at the very top with a finish that blanchard can only dream of: https://www.atelieramyroke.com/pricking-iron a hybrid between a pricking iron and stitching chisel: http://www.crimsonhides.com/craft-tools.html I'm not saying that blanchards are bad irons but I would never buy them.

I would recommend these cheap pricking irons. http://www.ebay.com/itm/381844508945?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=650844991809&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT $15 is well below $200 so even if you dont like them you haven't lost much. here they cost a bit more but also have 3mm and 2,7 mm http://www.ebay.com/itm/182290339219?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=484831121068&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I wrote about them here: http://andersenleather.blogspot.com/2016/08/dont-waste-your-money-on-expensive.html

Of course it will not unravel 2 seconds after it has been cut. The question is how it will hold up to continious use. I still haven't seen anybody document this. It should be pretty straight forward.

Regarding some of the issues you had installing the lock here are some information that shows how set rivets: http://andersenleather.blogspot.com/2016/08/setting-rivet.html

Yes I also find it difficult to snap the lock with an empty bag. I dont think it makes a difference to have more than an single gusset. As you say it depends on how rigid the front of the bag is.

An excellent tip that many tutorials for some reason dont mention. This is not the first time you have mentioned how fast you wife is at sewing. I would love to see a video of her sewing a belt or anything else for that matter. Also is the size of the holes vs the size of the thread what you would normally use?

The fact that you think innovation only concerns the physical properties of the product proves that you have no idea what you are talking about.

Thank you for taking the time to make a video. I just made my second watch strap and know that is not as easy as it looks. Your finish and attention to detail is really good!

I have made a couple of sharpening jigs for round knifes before. This is version 3 and so far it works out great. It is not pretty as it was build with very limited tools. For a bit more information go here: http://andersenleather.blogspot.com/2016/08/round-knife-sharpening-jig-version-3.html