Kaff

Say I make an 8-strand braid. a ) I start off with four long strands which I run through the ring and start braiding the loop. Once I get to my desired length, I run all the 8 strands through the ring again and then braid back a few times. This would make the other end of the loop much more thick and it also makes the other end have twice the amount of strands through the ring. b )I start of with 8 long strands, tie them together and start braiding somewhere in the middle. Once the length is ok, on both ends, I take all the eight strands through the ring and braid back. More uniform this way. c ) I make a braid with an eye-loop at each end and make the ring go through them. Kinda similar to b ), except eye-loops as opposed to just strands going through the ring. What do you think has the best look/strength ratio? Also, have I understood correctly that when back braiding, it actually gets tighter and more strong if you apply tension to the loop? or will it eventually just come apart with enough force?

Thanks for the link! Making an eye-loop such as described in the link could be an option, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. If you look at the attached crude sketch I made, option 2 could be done using the instructions on the link. However, figure 1 illustrates what I'm really after - it would make the collar more light and the loop more round (making the collar more loose when no force in the leash) as opposed to the eye-loop's tendency to stick to an oval shape. I'm not even sure if option 1 is even doable - not to mention so it would endure the stress on the leash. If not, then I'll give option 2 a try. What do you think?

I'm trying to make a "semi-choke" (not sure if a correct term) collar for my dog. The idea is to make one slab of heavy duty leather with D-rings on each end, then a braided loop that goes through the D-rings and has a metal O-ring for the leash. The flat part of the collar is pretty straight forward, but the braided loop puzzles me. I've learned how to do a round braid starting from the O-ring, but now I also need to end the braid in the same O-ring to form a loop. It also needs have a certain amount of strength to it to withstand yanks and pulling if the dog doesn't want to cooperate . how do I do that?

Thanks for your comment reddevil76, I've seen your work and it's very similar to the style I'm aiming for. You're right about the cardslots, however the leather I'm working with is not exactly 5 oz but closer to 4 oz (1,5mm-18mm) and I don't feel like it's too thick with three cards - I like bulky heavyweight wallets, just a personal preference but not everyones cup of tea. With longwallets the thickness might become an issue. Anyways, I finished the prototype, and while the design will go back to the drawing board, it's not a complete failure. The stitching isn't all that bad as I foind some thinner (and sadly, synthetic) thread which is much easier to work with. Also all the things I designed it for fit inside, though they could use more room. I tried burnishing the edges with beeswax and a wooden axle I found, but can't seem to get that glossy finish. There's no glue on the seams so some of them do not burnish properly as they "crack" when opening/closing the wallet. Some pictures of my first leatherwork ever, not bad for a fist try but there's still plenty to learn.

Since I didn't recieve any answers to my previous post, I decided to try the "trial and error"-method . I spend a good day designing the wallet, since I didn't have any schematics nor did I wan't to use anyone elses, to make sure all the necessary items would actually fit in. As a mechanical engineer, I naturally made accurate CAD-drawings of each piece so I can print more templates or make modifications to them if the prototype sucks. I tried to make it as simple as possible, it now consists of 7 pieces of leather. I've now cut the pieces using a cheap ex-act-o -knife, which was a task in itself (note: shopping list) and made a few seams also. I have a hole-marker, that makes the holes about 3mm apart from each other. The first issue seems to be the thread (note: shopping list), I have bought waxed thread but I think it's too thick for my purpose - I took a piece of it apart, and it seems to be braided from 5 strands (twisted 2 + twisted 3) - I think I'll try to to separate the bundle of three strands from it and try how that goes. The thread thickness made the holes dangerously close to each other with 3mm spacing. I did one seam with 6mm spacing and that seemed to work better with the 5-strand thread, althogh started to "pull" the 4,25 oz leather. My conclusion : thick thread with 6mm spacing might work with more heavy leather, for this leather, I need thinner thread and 3mm spacing. The second issue is with my owl (note: shopping list), which is round (and cheap). I have now had to make the holes large enough for the thick thread to go through, and thay look awful on the finished stitch. A diamond shape owl might work better. So it seems this first piece is going to be somewhat a frankenstein, with all the different methods and equipment I'm testing but hopefully, I'll learn a bit in the process. I'm also going to finish this wallet to see if I need to make adjustments to version two. The whole wallet takes about a squarefeet of 4,25oz leather so it's not a too expencive prototype. Shopping list: - A diamond shaped owl - Thinner thread - MATERIALS FOR A STITCHING PONY!!

Hi! So I just ordered a set of tools to start leathercrafting. For ages I've been wanting to try and make a leather wallet and to some it may seem like a difficult first project, but I'm all about learning by doing and I don't feel like practicing on something pointless. If this doesn't come out the way I want, I'll take it as a learning experience (+ I got the materials cheap). My goal is to make a trifold wallet, featuring one bill pocket, one coin pocket with a button, 3-4 card slots and a random slot behind the coin pocket. The only material I have for this is about 2mm thick (I think that's 5oz..?) veg tanned leather, I've noticed that wallets are usually made out of different weight pieces, but I'll just go with this. First few (dumb) questions for you with more experience: 1. If I'm making a foldable piece out of two sewn together layers, can I just sew them flat and the leather will form to the folds over time, or do the folds need wetforming, stitching folded or anything like that? 2. Can I use a grooving tool on my stitches with 5oz leather, or will the groove make the material too thin? are there alternatives for protecting the thread with thinner leathers? 3. I didn't order glue since (and this might sound silly) the more "natural" the product will be, the more pleased I am with it. Do you think stitching a wallet without gluing the seams is just plain dumb? 4. When stitching the card-slots, how mutch space should there be between the card edge and the stitch in order for the card to have a good fit (not too loose, but not so tight the missus will break fingernails trying to rip the Visa out) That's it for now, hope you'll answer some of these. I'll post my progress here as soon as I get something done..

Thanks for the link, Claire, interesting stuff! The thing that differetiates my Seat from jos is the fact that the leather on mine is merely a cover whereas his leather is the component that keeps the saddle tensioned. I think I could get away with using lighter weight leather, but we'll see.

Thanks for your advice. I bought a few sqrft of 2mm (I think that's about 5oz..?) thick brown veg tanned leather, since I got it cheap, but I think that's not gonna cut it for the seat. The only way this leather could suit the seat is if a did a double layer, and I don't think that's smart. I think I'll practice my sewing, cutting and forming skills with this leather I got and later on boy proper weight leather, which, dirtclod, could very well be 9oz. I have a few ideas on what to do with this beautiful piece of leather, but time will tell if my skills are up for the task.

Anyone? I'm visiting my parents this weekend and they live in a small town full of traditional knifemakers, so I might get a good deal on some vegetable tanned bovine leather they use to make sheaths - would that kind of leather be suitable for a new seat? I might also buy some extra since I think it might be a versatile material for all sorts of projects, no?

Hi everyone! First a few words about me: My first post on the forums, and also my first leather-related restoration (attempt). I've been meaning to start leatherworks for ages, but just hadn't had the time in between building bicycles, motorcycles and amplifiers. I study mechanics at the University and ALWAYS have somekind of restoration/project going. I'm really drawn to all things old and just about a year or two ago I started to really appreciate leather. I like the fact that its organic, extremely durable and ages beautifully. Hopefully this topic will be a start of a new long lasting hobby. On to the subject: Not a motorcycle seat but close enough. I'm building a retro-themed bicycle from a few old mishandled bikes. A friend of mine bought an old mens commuterbike from the 80's from an auction a few weeks back and the bike had this intresting leather saddle on it. The saddle is branded "vomfeld's ,,Elegant'' " and is in very poor condition, but I just couldn't resist it, so now it's mine. It's hard to say wether this saddle is retro, vintage or even antique since I couldn't find much of the brand on the internet, mainly a couple of photos: An old broshure: And a picture of a vintage bike with a almost similar saddle: Judging byt he condition it's in I'd date it somewhere in the BC era , but it might be much younger if it's just been untreated for a long time. Here's how the actual saddle looks like (and excuse my phone-camera image quality): I've applied a coat of Mink oil before taking this shot, it's completely dry and distorted: There are a few tears on the sides: The frame was full of rust but not corroded to the point of no return: I've taken the frame apart, sandblasted all the bits and thinking about zinc plating them. The leather seems to be unsalvageable, no? If so, I'd like to hear some suggestions on what leather to buy if restoring this piece? If I'm going to use new leather anyway, I might as well form the saddle frame so that it's not that wide at the back (I know.. then it's not "restoring" but it might be a cool piece anyways). So what do you guys think? should I scrap the original piece of leather and start fresh with some cow hide for example? how about getting the shape right, I've read somewhere that soaking the leather, forcing it to the desired shape and letting it dry might do the trick?