DavidL

When I say best I am talking the most world renown leather workers. Im asking because after I have covered the basics of leather working to the point where I have "peaked" I would want to work with the best. What I understand there are a few masters in Japan, Europe and an ex hermes worker with a course (10 grand!) in america. Do any of you have any leads or personal contacts to other skilled craftsman, whether they are in USA, UK, Japan or else where. Seems like you need to personally show up to their doorstep, however I don't have that type of money.

I was looking at a hermes making of video and the craftsman says there are 5 pieces of leather in the handle. From the video it looked like 2 outer layer pieces, two softer material (chrome tan) and a rubber insert. It made me think what they added in-between the lining What materials would you add or remove and why (price, availability, leather characteristics) In bag padding to stiffen or add shape: leather that was split off thin veg tan stiffer chrome tan kangaroo chrome Bags to add soft padding like the straps on backpacks. Foam padding Spongy tumbled like leather wool

dixons are a good option. I got an older regular model for 40-50 dollars for an inch and a half model, it had to be thinned. Dixon slimline may be the closest new stock (I don't have one to test), dixon does allow customization I hear. The closest would be a vintage dixon iron if you can get a good deal.

I get what your saying. Its a bit complex, however I'm pretty positive a 5th grader can do it. If you do the calculations wrong the bag would be scrapped. When your dealing with something that isn't a square gusset its not as easy as length + double height. You also have to account for thickness of leather and the curve (could be 10cm diameter radius curve or 2 cm diam. radius curve, both will have different lengths) One calculation with math then one more time by physically doing it by hand. It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds to do a calculation, for a pattern you can use as long as you like. In my opinion leather working is an all around effort of designing, pattern making and actually making the product as close to the design as possible.

For leather piping : Find out how thick you want the leather insert or rubber insert to be, both can be bought somewhere online. Measure the diameter and multiply by 3.14 to get the circumference. Then add the extra length for the leather that will be glued together, 10-20mm or more depending on the look and thickness of stitching ( so that it wont be so close to the edge or too far). Measure the extra distance needed because of the thickness of the leather by multiplying the thickness of the leather by 3.14. Most of the time the leather is less than 2 ounces and more like .2 or .4mm and doesnt need to be factored in. For a 3cm diameter insert, multiply 3 by 3.14 = 9.52cm Add the extra length, say 14mm which would make it 7mm past the ends, because it counts for the top and bottom piece. 9.52cm + .14cm = 9.66 cm for a 3cm diameter thick insert of .5 ounce leather and has a 7mm allowance. The numbers are an estimate and you may have to tweak it somewhat to get it exactly how you want it. Other ways you can do it is by wrapping tape or leather that you will be using around, marking it with pencil and then measure it for a rough estimate. Or use extra leather and trim it to size after it is glued. Can be butt stitched too.

I read through a few general leather working books and haven't come across any instructions on how to find the gusset length on bags with emphasized rounded corners. Most bags don't have too much of a rounded corners, on some bags the corners round off more and cause the gusset to become longer. Both the curve of the corner and thickness of the leather make it difficult to find out the correct length of the gusset for a proper fit. The way I find works is to figure out the length and height of the bag first. In a 90 degree corner bag with a gusset, you would calculate the gusset by length + double the height. With the emphasized curved gusset bag the length would be a little bit shorter. In a square corner bag with height of 20 cm and length of 30 cm the gusset will be Length + Height + Height = 70cm gusset length. Give or take a few mm for thicker leather A corner radius of 5 cm diameter for the curved corner bag with the same dimensions height 20cm, length 30cm. To find the length of the gusset: Length - double the diameter of the corner radius + height + height + (diameter X 3.14 then divided the total by 2) = length of gusset. 30cm - 10cm + 17.5cm + 17.5cm + (5 X 3.14 divided by 2) = 67.85 cm To take it a step further to include the added length to the gusset by using 9 ounce leather: Thickness of leather X 3.14 divided by 2 3.6mm X 3.14 divided by 2 = .6cm If you choose to keep using the same radius curve but different lengths: 10 cm diameter: subtract double the diameter + (3.14 X diameter divide by 2) -10 - 10 + (3.14 X 10 divided by 2) = -4.3cm off the length Gusset length.pdf

edit: The formula is 3.14 X thickness of leather to find the extra length for the pattern.

I think personally the best way would be to sharpen the tip to 1.5cm away from the tip The rest of the blade wont be cutting leather unless you choose to cut it similar to how a draw gauge cuts leather. That way you can use a flat sharpening stone.

Im not sure if thats a clicker knife or a pull cut knife or something like that. Mine is much smaller in size. The Naniwa "chosera" are suppose to be top of the line somewhere around 150 USD for a high grit. I hear king is the cheaper alternative to Naniwa. Does 1k,6k, then green compound work as a sharp enough cutting edge? If not I was planning to get a chinese waterstone 12k as well for 25 dollars.

How are the Naniwa stones? Im contemplating getting a shapton pro 1k/ 5k or naniwa super stone (theres so many different ones I can't decide). Id like a Chosera but they are 150 for a stone. I have a similar blade that you have. Its a clicker knife, the curve doesnt dip down as far. The maker of my knife responded to my e mail and said to get a dowel and wrap sandpaper around it (600 grit which is I think 1-2k water stone). Another option for stones is a curved waterstone. The last way I can think of, which is what I ended up doing was to just sharpen the first couple cm of the blade with the stone. Eventually the curve will become more horizontal but at least can be reshaped with your naniwa to re establish the curve.

Thats what I have originally been doing, taking the leather and scratching a mark. Works good. When it comes down to designing the pattern and adding the tolerances its so much easier IMO to just do the equation I just figured out taking the total of double thickness X 3.14 will give you the same answer just a little shorter. 9 ounce leather extra length = (double thickness of leather) X 3.14 9 ounce leather extra length = 7.2mm X 3.14 = 22.6mm extra When it comes to doing something a bit more advanced like wrapping leather around a curved vase object the ability to be able to accurately create a pattern with a not too difficult equation comes in handy. Saves a lot of trial and error. Instead of wrapping leather which is difficult to do especially if its thick and if the object has a lot of curves like a vase. You can just tape up the entire vase, cut straight down the middle, transfer the tape design to paper and use a scratch compass and add 22.6mm to the design.

)1:09 How does this company get the leather piece near the end frame to be made with what looks to be a single piece of leather. Maybe if the leather is thinned down to .1 or .2mm then they could be made with a single piece no seams. Or would you think that they cut it one piece and the plastic piece that creates the shape of the end piece has a snap that would clip together at the bottom catching the excess leather into the enclosure?

)1:09 How does this company get the leather piece near the end frame to be made with what looks to be a single piece of leather. Maybe if the leather is thinned down to .1 or .2mm then they could be made with a single piece no seams.

Vachetta is from Spain. I personally don't know which tannery . Suppose to be one of the best vegetable tanned leathers used in luxury brands. The price is probably really high though might be worth it if you need really high quality. Wickett and Craig is from USA, used by louis vuitton. Reasonable prices. Shipping by UPS Air cost somewhere near 5 or 10 percent for bond fees and a few other fees that aren't too much plus shipping costs. Most of these fees can be waived if you call UPS to prepay by credit card all duties and taxes.

Silverwingit, I found when the leather is stitched flesh side to flesh side, exactly like how a shirt is sewn along the sides, that along curves there doesnt need to be any adjustments. Your right about the a piece of leather wrapped around a cylinder it needs to be thicker, my first post had incorrect answers. What I was trying to do was try to find the correct length to for a specific piece of leather to wrap around a round object. I also wanted to be able to do this straight from Adobe illustrator without physically testing, until prototypes are made. For people that are interested. It is complicated at first. the length around the circle = pi times diameter. To find the extra distance of the leather add double the thickness. pi times diameter + ( 9 ounce X 2) = total length for 9 ounce leather to wrap around object A 90 mm diameter cylinder pi= 3.14 9 ounce X 2 = 7.2mm PI X (Diameter of cylinder) + double thickness of leather = Total length of leather to wrap around cylinder Plug in Pi, diameter of cylinder in mm + double thickness of leather into the equation Add the numbers in the brackets first then multiply by 3.14 3.14 X (90mm + 7.2mm)= 305mm =30.5cm I think to get a completely flush butt stitch around a cylinder that you could just wrap it around the object with the piece of leather and mark it on the overlap. Or you could use the formula above and it will either be exactly right or a bit smaller and from there you could sand equally on the flesh side slowly to get it fit flush.

alright w.e. Im a member of a bunch of forums and this is the only one that I have problems with. Age gap thing I guess.

Should of known I was dealing with a psychopath..

sorry, I got Wickett and craig and HO mixed up.

They shipped me another hide free of charge and let me keep the unusable hide - Its unsellable anyways.. Roughly 70- 100 mosquito bites just on a 1 square foot piece. Total was 13 square foot and most of it was covered. When it comes to their selections of leathers, a lot of it I personally wouldn't touch . The exception probably being the H/O leather, Horweens and the suedes if I had to choose. The goods that are bottled, tools ect are okay though. The Hermann oak can be bought one hide at a time from the tannery and the price is gets cheaper than SLC. Horween is also cheaper to buy from the factory. Manufacturer > Retailer. A business owner will always get the most profit for there inventory as they can. So it may end up cheaper for them to take a gamble and put C quality hides into "B" shipments and hopefully they don't request a refund. The same concept is with mail in rebates, they say they will give you 10 dollars in cash back if you mail in the request form, get a envelope, stamp and then take the time to send it. Most people are too busy for it, forget, or they don't want to spend the time to do that. Very similar to what SLC is doing, it could just be coincidental though. Its hard to believe a company that size has trouble training staff that large holes in leathers aren't sellable and 200+ mosquito bites is not A quality leather. If they sold you a bad hide they probably know it unless they just throw them into the shipping crates without giving them a once over. I could be wrong, to me a large portion of customer has to be people that aren't on this forum, that aren't getting their work critiqued or asking about different techniques. Then a good amount are regular buyers from this forum, and others are buying from other stores, hide house, waterhouse, RJF, ebay or straight from the tannery.

I've been to villages in asia and seen the poverty and corruption there.. Workers get low pay and the health and wellbeing of the workers are at the bottom of the list. Have you been to 3rd world countries its not pleasant. Not bashing anyone, but the company is good for what it is, catering to every day craftsmen - the equivalent to home depot for home improvement just that leather is a raw material that is difficult to get same quality. The people on this forum I wouldn't say are non discerning craftsman, probably the opposite considering they actively searched out this forum. People that do events for kids, or for the campsite, things like that quality isn't a huge concern, marks scratches, brands they wont bother returning it in. In cases like warranties the majority don't get the item fixed (if we are talking about cheap electronics or something thats not worth the hassle). The same goes for mail in rebates the company knows that less than 50 percent will go through the mailing process to get a 5 dollar rebate (they forget, or are busy). If you own a business and quality and reliability is what you want its a no brainer to just buy straight from the source and cut out the middle man. If you want one or two hides and questionable quality then springfield leather is your place. The fact that they do replace it no questions asked is great and makes it better for the customer. They employ a similar strategy like the mail in rebate, they know first hand that the item being shipped out isn't the best quality sometimes and they know that whatever percent 30, 40, 60 percent may call in to get it replaced. Whether they do it knowingly is a different story I can take a picture of the hide if you want, I assure you it has at least 200 mosquito bites. Not unexpected that out of 4000 sq feet a few are at the D range. In a tannery they sort them out A,B and special. SLC gets tannery run which is an assortment of hides. If I was in that position I would insist that a majority are A and B as its nearly impossible for then to all be perfect. Plus they obviously don't throw out the leather, instead probably group the C and D in the B category, which is where you get people saying they have holes in their leathers or in my case mosquito bites. From what I got from the owner kevin after I inquired if I could get lower pricing for bulk order he told me that the pricing was relatively good for the price he buys them at, he also says in order for me to get the same pricing that he gets at his store I would have to order the tannery minimum order which was 4000 sq feet from brazil. Anyone can figure out another persons business model to a certain degree. Mc donalds, nike, ect you can find their form 10 k online entailing most general information.

Just figured out the answer. It may not be exact. From the few samples I made I came to these conclusions: when stitched grain to grain side the you do not have to add extra length. Stitching around a round object you have to add the double the thickness of leather to the diameter and then multiply by pi to find circumference to get the correct length of leather.

Perimeter of the piece below is 61cm not including the top piece because its not connected to the single piece rectangle that will wrap all the way around the bag. How long should the rectangle piece be to match up with the 61 cm side piece. ----- If I wrap a piece of 9 ounce leather around a perfect cylinder that is 40 cm in length a 9 ounce leather of the exact circumference of the cylinder won't wrap around and meet together. On the other hand light weight fabric will probably meet up nicely. In the example above the only part that the rectangle has to be adjusted longer is the semi circle curve on the bottom section of the side, it may be exactly the same length as the actual perimeter of the piece because its stitched flesh to flesh not wrapped around. Would I add the thickness of 2 pieces of leather to the diameter so that it will calculate the extra bulk that the leather adds to the circumference. I know there are variables because the leather may be really stiff and thicker and thinner in some areas by an ounce or two. 40 + 7.2mm and then find the perimeter of the total piece? 40cm + 7.2mm = 40.72cm = 127.8cm compared to the 125.6cm of the cylinder circumference. For the first question: For the rectangle to just add the extra distance for the semi circle = 66.26cm compared to 61.13 cm. (3.6mm (9 ounce leather) X 2 divided by 10) = .72cm (9cm = diameter) 9cm + .72cm X 3.14 = 30.5 divided by 2 because it is a semi circle = 15.26 +23.5 + 23.5 = 66.26 any one have any ideas, I'm stumped. Untitled-1.pdf

I haven't perfected this type of folding yet. The way I find works best is if the leather is thinned 50 percent by hand skiving with a skife on the upper portion of the line and the bottom portion. It is almost always better to use a inner piece like 1-2 ounce vegetable tan, chrome or thick canvas that is the exact same size as the paper template so that the larger piece has something to curve around. Shoe makers use adhesive backed linen tape or something similar to that to just outline the line and so that the piece has strength. From the picture I can see you are cutting too close to the edge. The more cuts you make the more it will allow the piece to curve ( space them evenly). The corners can also be pleated to create a seamless corner. Extra attention when skiving the corners should be done.

Would this work with rc60 steel? Once the blade goes dull for a leather knife would you touch it up with the finest stone you have or green compound and from time to time use a 12k stone.

Wallet looks great. I like the inner compartment, looks like it can fit at least 10 cards. One thing I noticed with a lot of sellers on etsy are that they stitch in 4-5 Stitches per inch. The larger the stitch the more emphasis there is on it, making it look less machine stitched, but still not too noticeable or off putting at the same time. When the wallet is stitched 7SPI and .6mm it gives the wallet a less for lack of a better word "crowded" feel because the thread is thicker than machine stitching and is a lot of stitches considering some wallets are made .4mm thread or smaller and 7 SPI. A good pairing would be .6mm and 5 SPI, giving it a rugged look. I own fil au chinois thread and to be honest its not worth the money unless you are doing 150 dollar watch bands or sell bags for 500 plus. A machine thread like gutterman, serafil or another brand in the correct thickness would work just as well. The thread wouldn't have any impact to any buyers at that price. High quality rivets would make a stronger impact.