nick67

Been there. They have many hides but low quality and very old stock (some have mold). No veg tanned and no full grain hides.. If anyone else know where to source leather in Malaysia do let us know

Hi guys, I'm fairly new to leathercrafting and recently purchased some leather online locally. I was told I'm ordering "high quality full grain leather which is used in sofa manufacturing". When it arrived I was pretty disappointed because it looked like some low grade top grain leather. I called the supplier but he insisted it was full grain so I'm pretty confused now. What made me think its top grain is that its finished and I cant see any pores on the leather at all, it doesn't absorb any form of moisture and that the top part peeled off in several places. Please take a look at the picture and let me know what you think. Could full grain leather really look like this?

Yes I agree with you that the raised effect looks very good. It never crossed my mind that there is another piece in between. Thanks for the information and explanation! Really generous with sharing your techniques and I respect you for that!

Real nice work you done there. I've got a question that may seem dumb but I cannot figure it out..Why the need for a filler layer in between the watch band? Why not just use a thicker piece folded over itself? It never occurred to me to use an extra piece as a filler in between. Is the filler only a smaller piece placed in the center or is it the same width as the watch band?

Are those all full grain leather under "genuine leather" section?

Hey there! Would you be able to let me know the exact location of these shops you are talking about?

What type of ink do you use?

Thanks for all the replies. I will look all of it up! What do you mean by fixing colors? Do you mean like spraying a coat of protectors (such as resolene) over the sharpie ink?

Thanks. I just spent the last hour or so checking out foil embossing. Seems like I need to purchase a machine for that. Kind of overkill for a one-off project. I didn't know that it's done that way. If anyone else have any idea how I could do it in another way (one off projects) do let me know

Hi guys, I am recently making a simple sleeve for my cards. I came across another member's post and wanted to achieve the same effect as his work: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=68164 I am having trouble finding out how he did that. I searched the forums and googled for a couple of days with little result. A few threads suggested that they have used sharpies with success. I went ahead and picked up a silver color permanent sharpie and tried on a scrap piece of veg tan leather. I allowed it to dry for a few hours, but later I tried rubbing it gently and the color smeared all over. I also came across a website which suggested I used a heating tool to burn the leather. Was wondering if I could use those soldering tool to burn the leather? Though, I would much prefer to have the silver colored effect as shown in the link above than a burnt effect. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks for reading guys!

Thanks! I'll definitely check out those magazines!

When I got home and opened up my purchase, I knew right away that he sold me some rubbish. Just touching the leather gives me the feeling that it is of bad quality. Some of the pieces actually stained my hands and some flakes just keep rubbing off. I just need to find a way to make my own diamond awl.

I really appreciate you taking your time explaining things to me. I guess I have to throw away most of the scraps I bought. It looks like it's been in storage for a very very long time. Thanks for the tip on making my own awl. I will try that out soon! Hey there thanks for your reply! Yeah, I guess I will try my hands at making my own tools for now. The craft shop I went to is not well stocked with proper tools for leather working. There's a hardware shop very near to where I am. Now I just got to search for DIY tools tutorials.

Managed to get some snaps of the items, but not the best quality as I used my handphone. The flesh side of the leather square The grain side The side As mentioned, the above square is stiff and dry like a cardboard. My rag after wiping off the leather (it was white before) The stitching wheel The stitching punch and needle Some piece of scrap, they're all like this and some even has mould on them. Another question I have in mind is the thread. I realized that some of them are round and some of them flat. Are there any pros and cons to either? Thank you all for taking the time to reply me.

Hi, I'm Nick from Malaysia, Recently been interested in picking up leather crafting as a hobby. After searching for a long time, I finally found a craft store which sells leather crafting items (there aren't many around and this is the only supplier I manage to find). I went there to pick up some basic leather working tools but I think I might be cheated. Leather The store owner (who claims to be a leather crafter in his younger days) suggested I buy squares of leather instead of a whole cut to get some practice on. Then, he brings me a bag of scraps which he says will be worth every penny of mine. When I got home, I realized the leather squares(about 2mm) which I bought were very stiff and feels very dry. The flesh side is quite fuzzy and the whole thing feels like a cardboard. I have never touched an unfinished leather before so I am not sure if this leather is still usable. Are leathers supposed to be stiff and very dry to the touch? If not, is there anything I could do to save it? On to the bag of scraps, all the pieces were bent, creased badly and dusty, I tried cleaning with a damp cloth but it seems the top layer of the grain came off in flakes and the cloth picked up the brown color of the hide. Is this normal? Overstitch wheel I picked up an overstitch wheel and asked for 6/7 spi. When I got home and tried it out, I actually counted 11 spi. The stitching marks were so close to each other! Is 11spi usable for leather crafting? Needles I am aware that leather craft needles are blunt. But the ones I got was sharp to the feel (They didn't have the blunt ones). Could this still be used for stitching? Awl I asked for a diamond awl to make the stitching holes, but the store owner told me to use a "stitching punch" instead. It's round and quite small, but if paired with the 11spi overstitch wheel, the spacing between each stitch is almost gone. I'd love to get some feedback from the LW community on the above issues, and any suggestions as to what improvements I could make. I feel so upset as I was looking forward to get into this hobby, but being cheated makes me feel like quitting before I even started.