johnv474

Harry, Thank you for sharing that link. I had read about these in some traditional leatherwork books and wanted to try some, but knew of no suppliers. I feared they could be obsolete. I am pleased to find out I was wrong on that point. Cheers

Once you get the rhythm down and have your holes made, or at least marked, then an inch a minute is a pretty good pace. It's possible to sew faster with the holes premade but the total time may be no faster. It's a good target to aim for. Obviously if someone is stitching 9 stitches per inch, this pace becomes more difficult but at 5-7 it's realistic. I try to get each step down to one second intervals: aim awl, stab, insert, pull, insert, pull, tighten, etc. I try not to rush and to move smoothly.

You could try using a little white paper glue like Elmers or Fienings leathercradt cement. I have used a more expensive edge treatment that leaves a bit of sheen but I swear it looks, smells, and acts like those glues.

Where I work sells it (a shoe findings warehouse). To be fair to other vendors, Frankfort and Southern Leather also sell it. Our shop is Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis 317-636-8300 (no website). For as much as you should need it shouldn't cost much to get you some cut and dropped in the mail.

Not to revive a 4-year old thread, but if others stumble across this post like I did then here is a photo of all the Pro Dyes next to each other. The color charts are not accurate. Instagram picture from Landwerlen - Pro Dyes

If the idea is to make something that will squeak by then why bother making the stitching holes smaller? The only improvement is aesthetic (not that that's bad). That thread will be out of proportion for anything under about 10 stitches per inch. The reasons are not purely aesthetics. You have a piano wire and you wrap it around a block of cheese and pull. Now do the same with a thick rope and the same cheese. There's a reason seatbelts are not 1/2" wide, even though we have materials strong enough to not break.

You can buy perforating bar stock You can buy 1/16" hole punches shaped like a pencil, or just the tubes for a rotary punch. These are threaded. Mount them in a piece or wood or grind/epoxy the four punches together and voila, a square, repeatable pattern. Expect the leather to tear through all over the place if you get to 3mm and lower unless you back the leather with a tear-resistant textile. All those holes makes it like the edge of a postage stamp.

Use the bars of glycerin saddle soap. Also, saddle soap is soap and is water-soluble. You can clean up the edges and stitching by cleaning, eg with a damp sponge or brush.

You can always dye with a soak-in penetrating dye using a damp sponge and then airbrushing. Or apply a heavy protective coat to protect the airbrushed dye from damage. Or dip dye and then use airbrush for special effects. Or saturate your leather with alcohol, such as in a baking pan, so it can continue to soak up alcohol while you spray it. Possibly, casing the leather using dish soap and water, would be worth attempting. Part of the snag is how much airbrushed dye is dry before it hits the surface. Therefore, not absorbed, plus eventually clocks subsequent dye from penetrating. I would also skip any water-based dye and skip the regular line of dyes and skip to the pro dyes.

The V slot approach with elastic is the correct choice. Elastic is available up to about 12 inches wide that only stretches in one direction, and is made and used specifically for this. You can try to stretch but if the amount to stretch is more than about 1/2" it will take a long time and several things can go wrong... and if you don't have the proper stretcher then things can definitely go wrong.

The dark areas are probably just oils and dirt from your hands. The sanding removed that, and some of the materials, and took smooth leather and made it fuzzier. Surely it had some sort of sealant or coating originally. Save yourself the fuss and just buy one of those kits that are used for changing the color of shoes. Find a shoe repair shop and ask. You want a surface coating type of dye (think: paint), not a soak-in type of dye. Pick the color that is closest, and follow the instructions. Then buy a clearcoat such as acrylic resolene. Angelus is one brand that makes these types of paint products and Tarrago Self Shone Shoe Dye kits are the ones I had in mind. Wood-n-Stuff also makes a product called Leather Refinish that works well. Any of these are easy enough to touch up if they get dirty in the future.

Are you looking for a better result or just to save money? The leather looks scorched. You have spent this thread trying to figure out how to not spend money. Learning to burnish or skive is nearly free. In the alternative, you can bind by hand and sew with your machine, or by hand, with any thickness of leather you like. Or just use one of the many nearly free edge paints or treatments, or make your own.

Also, Dawn dish soap (blue) is pretty good at cutting oil. Rub enough for there to be a lather. It's quite difficult to remove oil from over-oiled leather but little by little it can help. If I could risk it, I would fill a bucket like I was going to wash a car, except using Dawn. Dip, work up a good lather while in the bucket, then rinse with a hose and hang/lay out to dry.

All leather will give a little, and form and stretch while under tension or pressure, especially with added moisture and heat. Body heat/perspiration is one factor that contributes to this. On one hand, it is what allows leather to "break in" and fit just right... but aesthetically can make something look less new. My suggestion (speculation) would be that firmer leathers, cut from the butt (best) or shoulder (2nd best) would help. However you may want the inner layer to be somewhat softer so it is more comfortable to the wearer. Also, it seems that leathers that contain much oil or conditioner tend to stretch a bit more so I'd try to stick with drier leathers. It shouldn't have much stretch while you are handling/cutting your leather. Again, I'm speculating but I hope it helps.

For anyone else browsing this thread, I moved one of these from a garage to a store. It took all of three young able-bodied men to tilt this machine onto the handtruck, and it took all three to push it up the ramp on a low trailer. Be sure it is strapped down well because they are heavy but also somewhat topheavy.

If you dampen it and bend it over the edge of a sturdy table or anvil, you can tap with a smooth faced hanmer to help set the crease.

I really like this idea. Thanks for sharing!

Alex, I saw the offer to help, but just in case you find it useful, there is a series of videos on Youtube by a guy named Andrew Wrigley. He makes a pair of dress shoes from scratch using only hand tools. The videos can be lengthy but I learned a lot. If you do make these shoes I'd love to see a devoted thread... no matter how they are turning out. We can all contribute and learn. -JohnV474

You can get pretty far on basic, inexpensive tools, because a big part of leathercraft is developing the skills you use and not just acquiring tools. To illustrate Eric Clapton can make a student beginner cheapo guitar sound pretty good, but a beginner can't make a $3000 guitar sound good. As a work surface, contact a local granite countertop installer. Usually you can get a free or near-free cutout from a sink. For cutting, a rotary knife is helpful. A good quality box cutter (with plenty of spare blades) works also. A clicky retractable snapoff razor knife can be a skiver. A McKay knife ($9) can be used for most cutting and some skiving. You can save up for a round/head knife ($60+) but there is a big learning curve. Shears work up until 6 iz if you buybgood ones like Gingher ($22). I find a small hawkbill knife, a thin skiving knife, and a knsfe for cutting rubber can cover most needs, and cost under $30 total. Xacto knives also are good and have many attachments. For stitching, the inexpensive stitch forks available online do a fine job, considering you can find a set for about $17. Cheaper is the awl haft with fixed blade made by Osborne, for about $10 online. For thread, it's hard to beat Maine thread for the price. 70 yards is about $7. Osborne needles should cost about $7 for a pack of 25. Size 2 is a good general purpose size unless you only do holsters. Hardware store contact cement is a good adhesive and readily available. Grocery sacks work for pattern material. This site has a wealth of patterns and tips. Many of the tools out there are dor decoration (tooling), for setting hardware or reinforcing (rivets etc), or for consistency (skiving, sewing machines, punches). A lot can be improvised or sewn, for example, instead of using rivets, etc. Hope this helps!

I like to use 6 oz for light/small bags, 8oz for medium and 9-10 for large or heavy bags. Here is a source for belt blanks that are inexpensive: https://www.ebay.com/str/landcoleathercraftsupply Fair disclosure, I know the guy, but get no benefit from mentioning him. He buys #1 leather and cuts the strips himself. He has sold a lot of them.

The main consideration I would have is that veg tan is both stiffer and typically thicker/stronger than upholstery or garment. So, if the two pieces were stressed, then either the seam or the loghter leather will give (tear or break) before the veg tan would. To beef that up, I might double over the garment leather and considering putting a reinforcement, like a strip of canvas or nylon, hidden in the seam.

First, I'll say that shoe and bootmaking is a big endeavor, and you certainly will not save money in making your own, unless you have lots of time and are willing to do most of it by hand. You will need lasts (forms) to work around that are in the size and style you want. Shoe-last-shop.com is one option. You will need a patching sewing machine, similar to a Singer 29k, for sewing the uppers together (or, do by hand). You will need knives for cutting and skiving, cements, etc. You will need either a McKay or a curved needle like a Landis 12 for sewing the uppers and soles together. (Or, do this by hand, like D W Frommer from thehcc.org). You will want sanding equipment (belt sander) in 24 to 120 grit, and about 2 more grits between. There's more. Check ebay and Craigslist for shoe repair equipment. Much of it overlaps with shoemaking equipment.

These look very well made. However check your local laws about selling--or even owning--these. In many places saps are illegal due to a very, ahem, colorful history of overuse by police departments. These can cause a person trouble.

There is a great book available free online called Handbook of Ornament, by Meyer. He was a professor of architecture, I think. The book is from the early 1900s and goes through the types of design / decoration people have used since ancient times to more modern. There are tons of illustrations of geometric (think: Middle Eastern mosaic tiles), animal, plant, etc., with explanations. From it I was able to invent a few patterns and invent a couple of crest/shield type designs.

Could you use a shear, like bookbinders use for cutting stacks of paper? You could set up a jig to hold the leather x distance from the blade, then cut through a stack of leather at once. You'd need to do that for each of the sides, or just feed a stack of belt strips 3.75" wide through it.