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Its not perfect, but then it was designed as a prototype! I wanted to make a lined bi-fold with a coin purse, as i always have more metal money than paper! The edges need finishing and i need to give it a coat or two of leather balsam. I'm not overly happy with the closing mechanism as its a bit fiddly in use. However, i am definitely improving in the stitching arena. I have been using this for a day and though it does have flaws i'm really pleased. Thought its better to actually use it for a bit before designing any alterations. Its made from 2mm veg tan Columbo side (from LePrevo) dyed with a coat of Eco-flo Briar Brown - stitched with linen thread and lined with a nice purple satin. I wanted to make the wallet without any metal hardware, and this is the result.

actually i'm not! i work for the company that makes the toys! and thank you all for the kind words.

Dwight - how did you know his exact sizes? thats exactly right - he only ever wears the same brand of jeans and only ever buys the same size, and so has convinced himself the label is correct! Thanks all for the suggestions - some really good solutions. I had already settled on the idea of removing the back centre section - i had done some tooling that is less than great, so this is a good chance to replace it with something much better! adam

After putting a lot of work into a belt for a friend, i was a bit put out to discover he has been kidding himself about is waist size. He tried the belt, which is definitely the size he thought he was , only to find he can't fasten it! So rather than throw it away, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on good ways to extend a belt? thanks Adam

I bought some veg tooling bellies for practicing on, and one of them has a large patch at one end where the grain has been lost during the tanning process. Looks almost like its been ripped off. As this end is pretty useless I was wondering if there is any way to improve the look so that i could use the leather for something other than bin filler? adam

well then complain to your regional advertising standards commission....thats what they are there for! I work in the UK advertising industry, and things like that are simply not allowed. Its misrepresenting the product and misleading the consumer. Stick up for your rights and give the advertisers a wake up call. adam

In a shameless bid to try improve my videos view stats, i thought i would introduce one of my other hobbies aside from leathercrafting. I sometimes dabble in the art of stop frame animation...and after a short hiatus getting my leather bug well and truly ingrained, i was suddenly fired up to create a new animation in response to a competition call for videos expressing your hopes fr a forthcoming software update.....i know - very sad! But as i use the software daily in my real work, i could not resist the opportunity to revive the "Yorkshire Cyberman" enjoy... Yorkshire Cyberman CS6 adam

I just bought my first piece of "proper" leather from Le Prevo last week. Because i'm a noob i was worried about getting the right leather, so i rang them up and spent 15 minutes chatting to the guy who selects the leather for your order. I didn't catch his name but he was a brilliant source of advice. The leather i bought arrived a few days later and its really nice stuff. I learned so much from those few minutes talking that i would recommend Le Prevo to any one! adam

Yesterday i made a prototype pocket penny pouch which i hope with a little bit of tweaking will become a viable little product. Today i managed to finish off stitching the suede strip around my wallet ready for folding inside to make the rolled edges (a la KK's tutorial) - now i need to fix the guts in place and choose a nice shiny satin liner...hmmm red or purple or blue?

oh well - it still looks really cool. Your customers got a great treasure sack there!

looks great - any chance we could see it with something else in shot to give it some scale? adam

Ahh - thanks Sylvia...language - the root cause of most of the worlds troubles! i tried the method as shown on the videos and am very happy with the results. If its good enough for Dunhill and Hermes to drag it across a couple of times then thats good enough for me! I can see what you're getting at with the hair drier, Chavez- i just cant be that bothered! As for buying waxed thread, Unioncraft - well if you can nip out to a local shop when you need it thats great, but where i live i need to buy it online if i want waxed, and that costs extra postage and takes ages to arrive. I can easily buy unwaxed linen thread in many more colours than the waxed ones. Now they can be waxed too. adam

oh! as simple as that! i'll be damned. great videos - can beat seeing real craftsmen plying their skills. Thanks for the links. And speaking as a video editor the editing on the Dunhill video was superb as well.

after reading on the forum many times that people wax their own thread using Beeswax, i decided to give it a try. So often i have read " pass the thread through a block of beeswax" - sounds simple enough. Trouble is my beeswax is solid as a rock! How on earth does anyone pass a needle and thread through this stuff? I tried melting a small amount in a pot and dipping the thread in it but that just becomes a congealed and tangled lump...by the time i had untangled it, most of the beeswax had dropped off. Please can someone tell me how this is done? adam

wow! flight case and missile launcher...intriguing combination. great looking piece. I hope when i get some more experience and make my case it comes out looking that good.

Perfect - thanks very much. Thats exactly the info i was after.

thanks McJeep - i have already downloaded that pattern but not got any printer ink! Hence asking about sizes! regards Adam

I want to have a go making a guitar strap for my dad, but i don't play guitar so have never had reason to hold one let alone study it! I've seen plenty of straps online for me to work out how i'm going to make it. (I'm gonna try a two parter with the thinner strap weaving through a series of slots) Can anyone tell me what the usual sizes are for the pieces i am describing? I can't really ask my dad as its a surprise and he lives too far away for me to make the trip to try grab a sneaky peak at any he might own. thanks adam

it could be affected by the thickness of the leather, the wetness of the leather...etc. I have made a couple of pouches using wooden forms for the moulding and found that the best way was to make a positive and negative form, with enough gap between the two to allow for the thickness of leather. You need the leather to be thoroughly soaked, and then be as gentle as you can stretching it with the formers. The formers need to be as smooth as possible because any grain. etc will be transferred to the leather. You can see the finished pouch here...My first wet form and some photos of the forms in action are on this thread forms in action (the one thing it doesnt show is that i also put a smooth plastic sheet on top of the larger piece and weighted it down to give a flatter surface as it was bowing slightly without it. adam

my wife bought me the Basic Tandy starter kit this christmas, and now i'm totally hooked. Tandy seem to have these kits on sale quite regularly, and whilst many on the forum whinge about the quality of the stamps, they have worked out fine for me as a beginner. You get a lot of stuff in the basic kit. Certainly enough to decide if the hobby is for you, and without overspending. Be prepared to start spending once you do get hooked, as leather is not cheap and each project you tackle will set you wondering what tool you could buy to accomplish the next task easier, neater, quicker, etc. Tandy also have lots of free how-to videos on their website, so you can watch beforehand and learn some of the tips and tricks. Just remember to keep your blades really sharp! adam

for those of you who live in bright areas, you could always shoot your photos outside and make use of the most efficient light source thats available - the Sky! Overcast days will give a more diffuse lighting, sunny days will give more stark shadows, but these can be overcome by using reflectors to bounce light into shaded areas. Ever seen Star Wars? The Death Star attack sequence as well as the models of the town Mos Eisley were all shot outside, making use of the sun as the light...just like reality.

I'll endorse this one Brent. I have been using the Calumet Portacube for the past three or four years to photograph my wife's sculpts for her website. You can see the results here Sculpted Bliss. The only shot we got a pro photographer on was the "film noir" set - as the model was just too big to light and shoot with my kit. The lighting is done with a homemade contraption - basically a free standing wooden frame that fits up the sides and over the top of the cube. I have two bayonet light fittings screwed to each side (six in total) and have daylight fluorescent lightbulbs in each. I also have another lamp attached to a magic arm so i can position it to the side of the camera and give a little more sparkle to the shots. I also use white foamboard hard up against the bulbs to direct as much light into the cube. Depending on the model, and the look we want, i don't always use all the lights. Shadows can help bring out the 3d aspects of the models. Some of the images have been taken with a Digital SLR (canon 350d) and some with a fujifilm f40d (little digi cam) - as long as a tripod is used, then you should get good pix. After shooting, i always optimise the images in Photoshop, adjusting the black and white levels, as well as adding a touch of sharpness using the Unsharp Mask tool. Then optimise the image for web use and the results are high quality images with very small file sizes. adam

I'll be using the waxed leather for the main stitching. I was thinking more for the subtle inner stuff like the credit card sleeves (i'm using recycled suede for these, so need to hem the tops). It'll probably look a bit neater if i use unwaxed. thanks

Is there any guidelines about when and when not to wax your threads? I can understand it for items that may get wet, but i'm thinking of hand stitching a wallet and was wondering if its recommended or not to wax the threads for hemming the internal pockets? adam

i'd wet the leather, then when almost dry try rolling it up tightly so the flesh side is on the outside of the roll. Do that a few times and you'll get some creases.