DavidL

stumbled on http://elfitakorea.blogspot.ae/2014/03/perforative-puch-press.html a small manual clicker press that can cut small dies and also larger dies too with repositioning. For those who have used dies before on manual clicker does this seem right for 2/3 leather, kangaroo chrome tan and veg? The handle in no where close to the size of weavers handle, but i suppose this is for finer leather.They also have a mallet which can be put over the entire die and be struck- is this manual operation strong enough to cut through leather veg tan. Pricing is a bit much for a small cutting area, yet the price is cheaper than a shop press converted die cutter and more convenient - plus it is looks well made

if i was to try this i would draw it out on an entire sheet of paper then transfer it to the belt.

Contacted East coast leather, hopefully a reply saying they have kangaroo in stock for a good price will be sent.

Any one receive craft grade kangaroo leather from packer leather? quoted me around 12 dollars a square foot if i factor in shipping and export fee for a large order(4-5) without duties. Is this the going rate for kangaroo leather. Each hide is 6 square feet, maybe more, maybe less. 12 a sq foot is for the craft leather and I'm hoping it doesn't have too many scratches on the leather and unusable spots. Would anyone that purchased the craft kangaroo leather say that it is worth the money? I've spotted another seller on ebay selling kangaroo hides but the quality could be worse. http://www.ebay.ca/sch/outthere09/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= How many sq feet would this be? Looks to be 8-9 or would that be 6 sq feet like the size of packer leather?

I was actually talking about the small boxes to put the wallet in. LOL. Never knew that these envelopes aren't free from the post office. I think I will buy a bunch of padded envelopes instead.

b- looks the best to me. Enlarging the font slightly in magpie by a fraction and change the font of quality goods to helvetica for a contrast and put it one size smaller and in bold. The words quality goods in helvetica will look bolder than the brand name magpie which without seeing the actual products are probably crafty type items hinted by the handwritten type font and the name Magpie. The logo is very important and should be memorable. The second batch of logos look more professional than crafty and will suit your target audience. Same opinion as the last paragraph, slightly decrease the size of the font for quality goods and also compressing it downwards. I would suggest also kerning(space out the letters) the word british so that the eye doesn't look at the large space in between the words. Last thought is that quality goods/ quality british goods should not be the first thing the viewer sees when they see the logo, it should be magpie, that could mean that you can find a font that brings it out more (a classy decretive font can do). Use to take a class in graphic design. Good luck.

Im in need of a packages that i can use to put my wallet in for better look, instead of putting it bare into a shipping package (fedex, or usps standard yellow packages). I am considering gift wrapping with wrapping paper and tying it up with some string too. The best case scenario is that i find a supplier online that sells small packages in bulk (thick paper stock) but so far I have no luck finding it. I've also considered calling a company that does pamphlets and paper printing but the charge is too high for a small quality. Anyone willing to share?

apparently theres a myth of 10 foot kangaroo. Imagine the size of that hide

You would probably be interested in pricking irons, they provide a slanted stitch and look the most appealing imo. If you are really interested in doing it right from the beginning and not having to rebut this is what i would recommend. - Good sewing awl - best investment for your money - depends on the stitches per inch (length of stitches) which size you buy. I do 7 stitches per inch and 9 spi both with 30mm awl(vergez blanchard)- dixon is also on par with vergez blanchard, but bob douglas has the best awls available for $27 blade only. pricking iron - vergez blanchard are the best hands down - but cost the most $109 for a small iron and over 200 for a large iron. No other brand compares. Old vintage pricking irons can match the modern vergez. overstitch wheel- bruce johnson has the best overstitch wheels, all vintage tools Knife of some kind - Round knife, japanese utility knife, clicker knife... You would probably be able to get away with an average knife and sharpen it up how you prefer since you are a chef. I prefer japanese utility knifes vs round knifes (however I haven't used one before) easier to sharpen. Thread - linen thread, poly thread, ramie thread - a lot of brands available Theres a bunch more but you will be able to figure it out. here are some links- fineleatherworking goodsjapan leathercraftools bruce johnson sheridan leather

big production- decent quality/high volume sale vs. high quality/ low volume sale is one to consider. Best case scenario is hitting - high volume/ high quality/ high price - cost less for materials(use less, cuts down on time)- this rarely happens you will NEVER hit best case scenario until you find someplace in the marketplace where your item has high value(in terms of quality and pricing) and popularity. Starting out price your items at the regular price that you want to sell your item - say $42 for a bi fold wallet that cost $13 in material plus- time/rent/skill The goal when starting your business is to establish your product into the market and to get many sales fast in the beginning so people at least have your product in mind. You can do this by discounting the wallet for $6 for a sale price of $36. Discounting your product too heavily say 20 dollars for a bifold and afterwards selling for $42 would effect your sales negatively, since the consumer already assumes that your product is low quality since it was sold at such a low price and now it is priced for over double with no apparent change in quality. Social media - Facebook, twitter, pintrest, contacting blogs and offer your product for them to write a review, tumblr, youtube stars, men/ women on youtube that are known for showing off products that they buy and share to their viewers. No matter if no one is active on those media sites keep posting, its worth the effort. Do NOT change the price of your product dramatically too quickly and too frequently unless there is a reasonable reason (leather price increase, quality of product changes) unless it is in a bundle or clearance sales. Changing price frequently will make the buyer suspicious. Make the product desired by people at a price above what they are willing to pay and then lower it to just slightly more than they are willing to pay and they may bite. May be best for high priced products that will go on sale once in 3 months. Sell 5-10 different and products - that are all different colours, different thread colours, different types of leathers. What this does is that it places in the mind of the consumer that the items being sold are not "craft" homemade items and are professional products- insuring that the photos are take professionally and highlight the key areas of the wallet. Unless the homemade craft look is what you are going for(high quantity, low price). If no product sells keep adding new products to the line every 4 weeks. If you are really desperate sell a few items of a kind and you can show it as sold out on your website (no one knows how many products were available and the consumer will think that the products are good since people are buying it). Open up your store and sell more item in more than one website. Make an item that sells for a huge amount of money that you do not have any intention of selling and put a lot of effort into the product and that it is actually worth the amount ( such as elephant wallet for 350 or ostrich leather wallet). The more information that the customer has the better, they will see that you have actual skill and that the skills will be transferred into the cheaper well priced wallets. For instance when I look at dream cars that I want to buy they go for 100 thousand- 500 thousand. When i look at a motorcycle at 15 grand that looks just as sleek at that split second I will have an urge to buy that motorcycle because comparatively the motorcycle is just as fast, looks just as good as the 100 thousand dollar car - bars do the same thing selling spirits - They have a 50 shot whiskey and 22 dollar for the second single shot of whiskey. People always want the best - but most can't have it - but if you offer a product with similar value but slightly inferior they will still feel they got a good deal, but in reality they just spent 22 bucks on a single shot. Sell products bundled with other peoples product - idk the official marketing term (doesn't really matter). Having both companies together will only help each other out. You may have to actively search and contact people. For instance you see someone who sells hand made wood business cards and has engravings for peoples companies and sells these to business that are big. Adding your product to his store will generate more exposure to you and possibly future partners that will get custom stamped wallets for the coworkers as a gift. Pricing of products is very important - look at apple's pricing for instance. Every iPod has its own category.( guessing the price might be 20 dollars off_ Large capacity - iPod classic - $269 small portable - iPod nano $129- $169 muti media - iPod touch- $229- $299- $350 iphone 5s- business/ flagship iphone 5c student phone/ mass market IF a product is not selling make the item more desirable by clearancing the product, bundling with another product, giving it away as a free promotion (it wasn't selling anyways and this brings in potential future revenue for cheap, word of mouth and other people looking to also get a free product to not look at your line of goods). The prices of the iPods do not overlap (excluding the iPod classic). This enables people to be categorized by their demographic into a specific iPod class. Need less space for music, using for a run, strapped for cash - iPod nano. Loves to have a big music collection, keeps movies and needs tons of space - iPod classic. Needs all around music player- decent amount of space, touch screen - iPod touch. So what does that mean to you then? Sell your products at different price ranges to hit specific audiences. Young crowd that just likes to compulsively buy and has a bad credit rating - sell cheap products that can be made quick and fast and of decent quality in relation to price. You wouldn't mind buying a pair of sandals for 10 bucks if they looked ok and looked like they could last a year. Taking all that information - I didn't hit all the areas, but is a general overview and set up a mock store platform. compare to your competitor and price accordingly. Most useful thing if you take anything out from this rant is to pretend you really want to buy a wallet and need one. Pretend you are a teenager looking for the next trendy wallet - look at forums/blogs and see what people are buying, emulate the style and sell for cheaper than the brand name. Pretend you are the person that wants quality handmade goods (most people on this forum are in this category). Make something that those people will want to buy. Pretend you are a pretentious highly bred CEO who wants the most expensive, exotic and best made item and price an item for that person. Trying to hit all demographic of people. Find what works and if something is not working fix it, alter it, change it, or remove it. Making a business work is like playing poker, know when to make a move, when to just hold on, when something doesn't work react to it, think like the other person and you will always beat the other player. In business it is just like in poker sometimes things go your way sometimes it doesn't even if you played it out the best it could possibly be. Cheap card wallets - price to make $6 ($4 dollar vegtan per sq, thread, dye, finish(optional))- hits the mass population High volume- low price- sale price $15- 20 depending on complexity and amount of card slots/ features - preferably flashy, red and black, orange thread, green thread, purple leather - this group of people tend to buy what looks best - regardless of where its made, how it is made, type of leather. Mostly impulse buyers. Your cheap card wallet - but in a higher quality leather - hits a more mature audience that prefers things made in canada/us, hand stitched, American leather- promote highly on these things on your website or in the info box that the viewer will see when they click on the item. Pricing - $24-28 Bifold wallet cheap easy to make and fast to make. Same as cheap card wallet but priced slightly higher. Pricing $30-35 Bifold in better quality leather. pricing $45-50 Highest quality leather, most detail - hand tooled, hand dyed. $100-300. Random piece of information- the brand abercrombie and fitch and nike town ( a division of nike) do not make a single dime of profit at their largest stores, they actually lose money. Nike has a store in NY that has a few stories, if they sold 25 percent of their inventory in 4 months it still wouldn't even be a fraction of what they have to pay staff and to run the store. They use the store as a 3D billboard which you can walk into and try on the products and a reminder for people of nike as a top brand since people will walk past the store every day. Thats all the info that I have stored in my brain. Disclamer- I am in the process to start up a store and these are not proven by my own self. If you do this and don't make any sales don't blame me for it. All this information comes from watching a bunch of T.V, Dragons den, my father was a business man and his father was a business man and so on- having the mind for business,ect( i know this makes me sound shady, but thats total transparency and honesty. I took a high school marketing course and did well and also took a course in university. I dropped out of university to try my hand at leather working to start a business, since I believe I have the knowledge in my mind and if you look hard enough you will see the dots and you can connect them and make sense of why people buy, how, what works and what doesn't- comes with experience and trial and error. If you made it to this part of the post good for you. And sorry for the disorganization and overall bad english - its not my strong point. NOW GO MAKE some hard earn money.

Thats what I've heard about it, seems to be the most durable. Im curious about the chrome tanned leather strength and stretch if it is close to veg tan cow hide.

Has anyone on this forum had a chance to try out kangaroo leather(veg or chrome) for making card wallets? I will probably end up testing a piece out, but would like to see what you think about kangaroo leather.

had a chance to play around with my dixon pricking iron #7. Now I understand the difference in price when compared to a vergez blanchard. The new dixon pricking irons are essentially unfinished pricking irons, almost like un sharpened awls you have to use a sharpening stone to slim down the blade. After you slim down the blades you have to sharpen the iron at 15 degrees, which in turn tapers the end of the prong. The last step is to take the iron and run it 90 degrees to the face of the stone to even out the prongs so that it hits flat on. If need be take a needle file and slim down in between the prong if any of them are a touch too large. In my opinion if you need an iron just to mess around with this is a cheap buy and will last a long time. The vergez is the finished more refined version of the modern dixon.

What type of things do you make with the leather? would mill tanned leather work well for wallets or more suitable for bags

Looking for a cheaper alternative to fil au chinois-$48 for 250m. Came up with crawford linen thread .Ramie Japanese thread. and a few others any know of one thats good quality

unfortunately, i need a press right at this moment which is too bad since they go 80-90 dollars cheaper on sale.

Gta area- but I'm moving to Ottawa after summer. How about you?

got an email from bearman saying 3 weeks till i would receive a handle and bob douglas awl are sold out too. Cant wait for a new awl.. my tip on my awl has a burr that gives a terrible gouge on the the backside.

did you weld a solid plate onto the press or lay it over the die? What type of cutting board/ clicker mat do you use? I'm also going to buy a press from Canadian tire since the dake press is impossible to find in Canada.

Im making a shop press clicker and need help from someone who has made one before and which metal can be used for the press. Will 10(maybe 20?) tons be enough to click 2-3 dies at a time from 2/3 (soft hand)or 3/4 -veg tan/ horween in one press w/ out prepositioning the press. What type of steel is used for the top of the press -thickness 3/4 inch? 1/2 inch? -cold steel? heard it is stronger cutting board underneath -Can the hard plastic cutting board material(poly) be used or is a clicker pad necessary so that the dies don't dull out? choose this sake because they are better quality than harbour freight brand or the motomaster canadian brand, but is more expensive than the 20 ton presses that are either a hit or a miss.

ah okay i thought it was carnauba cream that did that il add that to my next order

The back side of the leather I have has a lot of strands and looks unfinished. I do have atom wax which i tried and it ruins the backside of leather. What is your technique on keeping the strands patted down?

Received 2/3, 3/4 tooling leather (not herman oak) sample from springfield leather and will be going for the 2/3 as it has the softest hand.

a few samples are coming in but i left out herman oak and water house. I think I will order 2/3 tooling from springfield and request a sample from waterhouse for their kip. Then I can choose easily with all the leathers in front of me. Side note- how does these leathers sew? using a pricking iron, my 2/3 calf from zackwhite has trouble taking a good impression with the pricking iron, most likely because their is not enough flesh for the leather to make an impact.

still out of my reach by a far bit. Anyone get away with using an arbor press with an attachment plate on the rod or use the press with a die with a backing to it - can't remember the name but the back of the die is a solid rubber sheet. I heard it is possible to use a press but can't spend cash on it unless it will work for sure.