Highlands858

Attached are pictures of my new Getaround Binder. I will be using it to keep business cards and presentation materials organized. I designed it myself. Dyes are black, walnut, and chocolate. Finished it with Tan-Kote. Comments and criticism welcome : ) https://ibb.co/dXGo1k https://ibb.co/nnsiZ5 https://ibb.co/gPU81k https://ibb.co/mUGAE5

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Seems like every time I burnish the edges of my work they get all stained and dirtied up a different color than just raw leather before I use edge kote on them. That's all good as long as I'm using black edge kote, but what if I want to burnish my edges and clear coat them as raw leather? I don't know if it's the glue seeping out from between the layers of leather, or excess dye from somewhere, or if my belt sander or burnishing tools are just getting dirtier with time. Anyone else run into this problem?

Thanks guys!

I'm making a belt sheath for a knife with a really wide guard. What is the simplest way to attach the sheath to a belt without having that guard get in the way all the time? Thanks!

So I've been tasked with making a book cover with a ribbon bookmark attached to it. I was thinking about weaving it through the spine of the cover for some effect, but I wanted to check in and see if anyone else has any cool ideas on how they'd do it. Thanks!

Question regarding watch straps: Where can I buy one of those small metal tubes that fits inside the band on the attachment side? You can see the hole it would fit into on the right side of this band:

Hey all. I'd like to make a notebook with a rough "tree bark" look to it, but I don't have any experience tooling or carving leather. I'd like to get my leather texture to look something like the picture I attached. Any tips?

What's the difference between an inlay, and underlay, and an overlay? I thought an inlay was when the leather window sits on top of the exotic. Thanks in advance!

Comments and especially criticism welcomed. I'm a terrible photographer.

Just saw this new tutorial. Where can I find the size "seam tape" used here? Thanks, Luke

Thank you all for the sound advice. Next time I'll use scissors or shears to cut my pigskin. I like the idea of using 2-3 oz as a backing for my next belt, but the amount of stitching I'm doing on this current one is killing me. Is stitching really needed for a belt like this, or is it mostly decorative? Thanks for any and all responses.

So I had to cut some lining for my first belt. It's really thin pigskin lining, and I thought I could just cut it with a razor and metal ruler, but it seems like it works away from me the further I go from my starting point. Seems like I cut a curved piece of lining leather, and that's not what I wanted. What's the best way to cut thin lining leather?

Thanks for the advice and input. I glue the interior into place when the wallet is open, just folded enough so that the edges of the interior and the back line up. I think I'm going to experiment with the size of my interior and possibly buy some thinner lining material to see if that changes things.

I've been using cardboard to make some wallet templates recently, but it doesn't seem to be holding up too well. What do y'all use to make your templates? I want something that's flat, hard on the edges, and easy to cut. Does poster board work? Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

I've made about five wallets now, mostly the same style. The first things people seem to say when they check my wallets out are: A. The wallet doesn't open up the whole way (doesn't lay flat.) B. The wallet interior doesn't separate enough from the wallet back to get the bills out. I've heard from a couple of different people that wallets aren't designed to lay flat or open up the whole way, but since lots of people are commenting that they'd rather the wallet opened all the way, is there a style I can move toward to make wallets for those people? About getting the bills out, I use 2-3 oz. tooling leather for my wallet guts, usually just two layers including the long interior piece that gets stitched onto the wallet back. The bills are hard to get out both before and after any cards go into the wallet. Works fine for me, but the interior just isn't as "flappy" as a store-bought wallet would be, it seems. Is this a problem with materials, construction, design, conditioning, "wearing in," or what? Any tips for getting the wallet to flap open more easily? Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

I have a law enforcement friend who wants a wallet with a double ID window, one on each side. I'm interested in possibly making something like this for myself as well (not with a double window, just one.) I'm new to wallets, but I'm trying to learn. I don't like the look of plastic over an ID card on a hand-made custom wallet, but if that's necessary then I'd like to know how to go about getting the plastic and attaching it. I guess I'm basically asking for ideas of how to achieve the result I want, which is a hand made, hand-stitched wallet made to display an ID without taking it out. Anyone ever made anything like this? Do you have pictures or tips? Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Thanks for the quick responses. The U-shaped notch on the bottom of the fold is a great tip. I'll need to pick up some thinner leather in the next couple of days for my next attempt. Just a couple more quick questions: What type of thread should I be using to stitch the wallet guts together? If I plan to stitch the wallet back instead of lacing it, what's the best way to go all the way around the corners of the wallet so the stitch lines meet up? I'm not really happy with how the corners look in general. Maybe when I get some thinner leather they'll be easier to curl around the edges of the wallet and stitch together. Anyone have pictures or a tutorial of how to stitch wallet backs? Thanks again, Luke

First of all, I'm seriously Embarrassed to post this up. I kept telling myself I should have made a second wallet before posting it up and asking for advice, but I think asking for advice is the best way to learn. Primarily I'm concerned with design flaws. I didn't spend much time on the stitching, dyeing, or any "finishing" of this piece. My method of construction: Cut the wallet back and dyed it. Cut the corners off so they'd meet up nicely (I thought) after I bent the edges and stitched them. Also cut the 90 degree corner on the top and bottom where the wallet would folder, so it would fold better. Cut the pigskin back, fold, and pockets to size. Then glued the tops and corners of every piece so it would hold every card and dollar just right, and the sizing seemed just right as well. It was right around here when I was feeling pretty good about the project. Why had I been so scared of trying a wallet? Why hadn't I tried one sooner? It all seemed to line up just right. After this I glued the pigskin back to the wallet back, which I seem to have sized and glued correctly. Carved the stitching grooves into the wallet back, marked holes, and made holes through both the wallet back and the pigskin it was glued to. Stitched the wallet guts together. I only stitched the fold end together (so only twenty or so stitches in all), and I didn't glue before stitching in order to make sure I could adjust as I stitched. I actually ended up trimming lots of edges as a result. Used normal cloth thread. Thread Suggestions? From this point on, the wallet guts (card holders) and the piece that holds the money against the wallet back will be called "the fold." Anyone who know the specific name of this part of the wallet, please let it be known to me. Glued the edges of the wallet fold (now stitched to the card holders) to the back of the wallet (On the left, right, and bottom edges of both the fold and the back). Left enough space for the wallet to fold in half (I thought.) Went through the fold's edges (now glued to the wallet back) with an awl. Wallet back and lining had had holes put in it already. I felt like the the wallet's fold needed it as well. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/607/wallet003.jpg/ In this first picture you can see unrounded corners and stitch lines that don't meet up. Should I be putting linings over the edges of my wallet, or is there some other way to facilitate rounding the edges? I like the simplicity of the wallet back curling back to grab onto itself (over the wallet guts), but is there a way to give it a finished look if I do so? http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/wallet012.jpg/ Folded the edges of the wallet over the pigskin, and stitched. Here's where I felt I really went wrong. When you're going wrong design-wise it's hard to keep going technique-wise. That's part of the reason why this project hasn't been finished. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/84/wallet019.jpg/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/268/wallet021.jpg/ By the way, I'm using 4-5oz leather for the wallet back, and the wallet guts were sold to me as a sheet of pigskin "lining leather" straight from Tandy. I've made some projects from the 4-5ox leather, but nothing I've had to fold over itself like this.

What website are you guys ordering from? Thanks.

Sorry to bring this post back up top, but what paint did you use to get the white on those shields? Thanks, Luke

I've only ever used Tanner's Bond Contact Cement. Thanks for the sanding tip on the edges. I really should have tried hand sanding when I realized it wasn't coming together as well as I'd like. The caiman is probably three to four ounces.

Just a couple of things I've made for myself recently. Still have a lot of learning to do. The Glock holster works well and fits me comfortably, but I had some trouble burnishing the edges of the shark. Pulling my stitches tight through the sharkskin also king of made the skark flare out from the cowhide. Stitching too tight? Stitch line too close to the edge? Opinions welcome. The mag pouch (my first fully finished one) works well enough, but the fit and finish could have been much better. I tried some new casing/molding techniques when I was making it, and overall I'm happy with the results. It's much easier to mold an exotic than I thought it would be. I'm getting great retention on the holster, and the mag pouch remains tight. The taser holster turned out way better than I expected. I decided to attach a layer of caimen as an afterthought, after dyeing and molding the leather (before stitching.) I have all this caimen I've never used, and wanted to experiment with it. The extra layer of skin gives this holster some rigidity. It attaches with a clip. I couldn't attach another picture of the back. I just pulled my stitches tight over the lumps and bumps of the caiman (no grooving or scoring), and it turned out just fine. This thing is way more lightweight and low-profile than the one I did about a year ago when I was just starting. I've gone running several times wearing it, and it doesn't ever get in the way. Interested in any and all feedback. I really want to get better at fit and finish (edges, finishes, etc.) I just switched my dyes over from water to oil, and haven't made anything yet. Any input on design, stitching, fit and finish, pretty much anything, would be appreciated. Thanks, Luke

Hey there. I've got a small piece of gator/croc type leather I want to stitch onto another piece of leather as a lining. The shape of the piece means I'll need to stitch diagonally across the humps and bumps of the croc leather. Are there any tips for stitching over the bumps? Should I score the lining piece so the thread sinks into the bump, or what? Thanks for any and all comments.