Fullmetalsam

This is magnificient work ! I've been thinking about such a project and have a pretty good idea of the work involved What keeps me from going forward with it is that I'm worried about the "weatherproofing" of the bags... Like you, Dan, I've only been working with Veg Tan leather and I never did anything that would really have to be used outside (or couldn't be hidden in a pocket or under a coat). From your usage of the bags up to now (and the products you've used (neatsfoot and mink oil))... how would they turn out if they were caught in the rain ???

Glad my comments helped you out As for that hourly rate, you'll figure it out, but don't be shy about pushing it up a little. It always depends when and how you sell, but I've learned that if your products look good enough, people are ready to buy at a higher price than what I was thinking. The only exception here is if you sell online (Etsy, eBay and the such) - you'll have to get a couple of sales and feedback before people will "trust" you. Good Luck !

Your stuff looks pretty good ! But, I'm having a hard time understanding why you're so anxious about your "talent" or "experience". If people are willing to pay for what you're doing, who cares how it look ??? A quick tour on Etsy will make you understand that even if it looks "less than perfect", people are still happy to buy it. About pricing, you'll find that everyone has their own view on this. My own opinion is that I'll never sell below what it costs me to make the item... regardless of the fact that there is a millions other similar item on the net with lower prices. It's a side business afterall, so there's no point to waste my time on something that's not gonna be worth while. The "cost" of my item takes into account the material I use (leather, dye, thread, hardware, everything) as well as the time it took for me to do it (for which I give myself a "salary" at a rate per hour). If I feel the price could be higher, then I add to that cost and I can truly call that profit. It might be difficult to calculate the time it will take you to make something specific in the beginning. What I usually did in those cases is that I would take the time to make a prototype of sort... just to make sure I was able to do it and to understand how much time I would be spending on the project. The customer are also willing to wait if you're going to have something to show them, even if it's just a quick and dirty prototype... it's giving them an idea of what the finished item will look like. Then I would come up with the final price and if the customer doesn't like it and doesn't buy... I'd put the prototype on the shop at a clearance price and it usually sold pretty quickly. So no wasted time, no risk : )

Depending on the item, I might... I'll probably pay the same in shipping if I buy from the company and that's if that company even ships to Canada. it's all about rarity on our side of the border, if that's the only way we can get our hands on something, we won't care too much on the shipping (some are willing to pay more than others mind you, but still, you get the point). But you're missing the point, why exactly do Canadians have to pay the "full shipping" price and US get free shipping ??? Shipping said item to the US probably isn't free, like stevieboy7 mentioned, it must cost you like 5-10$... so why can't you offer 26$-31$ shipping to Canadians ??? I was looking at some of your tools (namely the colt stitcher and osborne punches), but I'm Canadian... so I'll contact you based on your answer.

It looks incredible !!! I've been meaning to build a chess table and was researching a chess set that would look good with it... your idea is so much better, doing the pieces in leather !!! Thank you so much for sharing

Cool case ! But I wanted to chime in on the pricing thing as well I'm with Kwelna on this - to me, it's the underselling your work that doesn't make any sense. Regardless of the tools and/or machines at your disposal - you should charge a price that will cover your costs (and the time you took to make the item is one of those costs)... there's no point in selling otherwise... at least to me. Thing here is that CareyB is trying to enter a well established market (cue cases) where they are some pretty strong competition which have doing this for a long long time and are experience in making cue case and have the appropriate tools to do the job well and quick. But even then - I'm pretty sure Nigel Armitage doesn't price his goods as if they were machine stitch... he's known for hand stitching everything and he prices accordingly. It's not because a machine could do a better and/or quicker job that you should take that into account when pricing your work.

It 's a pretty nice bag - very well executed ! On pricing, while I agree with what Electrathon said, unless you've got 10 of those limed up right now for you to "test the waters" and come up with the "real price" people will be willing to pay for this item... I say, pricing based on man-hour is a pretty good start point. At least, you know you're paying yourself adequately for the work that you've put in. If you do me more and get better at it, or acquire some new tools/machine and shave a little or a lot from the time required to make that first bag... just keep the price the same. If you've done more bags, it's because they are selling and if they are selling them people are willing to buy them at that price point... it's a no brainer - reducing costs should mean more money in your pockets. If it's not selling at all, the this become a whole other question - but regardles, I'm of the ones that believe you shouldn't undersell your work... ever! You're creating or "feeding" expectations that everything can be acquired cheap even if it's quality work. That's a perception we all have to work against if we want to make our craft "worth it" money-wise.

Love the design on this. BK also have a few very intricate ones for basket weave... but sadly as Treed said, it's hard to find a more traditional one which is going to fit with other item which have a "standard" basketweave.

If you do - post back here... I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones looking for it.

Maybe Keplert has put a finger on it. To answer his question - it was a stamp from the original "deluxe" kit. I'll have it replaced by my local tandy and see if I have the same problem. I agreed with you Rohn until this happened - but I have to admit, I'm curious to see a BK stamp so I can understand why everybody says they are so much better.

that's the first thing I looked at - Tandy Pro line (since I would get the stamp sooner (being in Canada and everything))... but I only see "floral style" related stamps (camo, veiner, bar/backgrounders, flower centers/seeders) - no basket weave. Do you guys in the US have access to "more" pro stamps from Tandy ???

That's something else I was thinking about - i was trying out a new (heavier maul) this time and I guess I went with the same force I used with my lighter maul. The leather was "cased" - but it was hard to work with.... I'm trying to go through a bad batch. But then again, I never thought the stamp was gonna bend. If the handle is truly perpendicular to the stamp - then regardless of the force (talking about a human hitting that stamp with a tooling maul - not with a hydraulic 20 ton press) used, the thing shouldn't bend. I was expecting the top of the handle to "mushroom" first, but not bend.

Electrathon... thanks for the list, but ... ... can't seem to find a website for Bob Beard (the domain robertbeardtools.com is closed/parked) ... Chuck Smith is currently moving his workshop and not taking any orders (at least from what I can gather from his facebook page) ... can't seem to find the proper basket weave stamp from Hackbarth or HTA OK - maybe I'm just too accustomed to ordering online and send an email or get on the phone and see if these guys can come up with what I need.

... similar in size and design to crafttool X511 http://www.tandyleatherfactory.ca/en-cad/home/department/leather-stamps/6511-00.aspx I've finally understood yesterday why everybody is saying that the tandy tools are crap... I've been doing a traditional basketweave pattern for an item that goes with a Sam Browne belt (with basketweave).... and while I was tooling, the stamp "handle" was bending with each hit. I had to hit the handle with my mallet on my workbench to straighten it out to be able to finish tooling. Needless to say, I'm not using this stamp anymore... but then again, I need it since I know I'll have to make this pattern again. Where can I find a stamp that I know will last me for years to come (will not bend), but has the correct design to match the basketweave found on a Sam Browne Belt ??? I've looked over to Barry King Tools... and the "Bar" Basket Stamp seems similar, but I'm a bit put off by the fact that the "lines" on the part that are going under the center piece of the basket stamp are less defined or present when compared to the crafttool stamp. If that's my only alternative, I won't mind much and buy it... but I'd like to know if there are any other alternative. Thanks for your help!

Same here. Would love to hear from some other canadian leather worker. Being in Canada the shipping on the US tannery is killing us (for small orders)... so I do get my leather from Tandy as well.