johnv474

Tallow is rendered. I don't know if beef fat would work the same.

Look up "blind eyelets", which are eyelets set within the leather (often used on shoes). The eyelets are attached to a thin liner materials that could be a strip of cloth.

You can skip the needle if you want. Take two paper twist tie, strip off the paper to expose the bare wire. Bend in half and twist to leave you with a tiny loop at one end. Feed your thread through that "eye" and hold the two loose ends together (your "needle point" to feed through the holes. If you don't have waxed thread, use white dental floss, which is usually nylon. It's an inexpensive way to keep your boots going, and will save the shoe repair bill.

Mom says her business cards are getting ruined in her purse, so I made her this. It's about ready to polish and give to her. Leather- 3-4 Oz maroon calf. Lining: 1-2 Oz black garment. 7 spi with #69 black nylon thread, hand stitched twice. -JV474

Trying to create a checklist like this will end up landing you with a shop that looks good, irrespective of skill, integrity, and loyalty. On paper, Best Buy looks good, when it comes to square footage, lighting, number of brands represented, etc., and yet. In your case, the machinery will depend a lot on what you want to do, what the bags would look like, what construction steps are required, and standards/consistency required. Ask how long they've been in business with these owners, and since starting. Ask how long they have been doing business with their existing customers. Ask how many long their employees have been with them.

(Sorry for formatting--always lumps paragraphs into one). Lay out strip of black. Use roller/brush/spray adhesive over entire surface. Lay masking tape parallel to edge on black leather. Fold one edge of black leather toward tape (your guide line), and press. Remove tape. Apply adhesive to red. Apply red along tape line (just slightly in to adjust for black to be folded again. Apply adhesive to edge of red. Fold same black over again to stick to red. Now do both folds on other side of black (possibly cutting off excess first). Ready to sew by itself then glue to tan... or if sewn through tan, then glue that first before sewing.

Glue or cement all the way to edge. Sand smooth, especially moving along leather (not across so you don't pull pieces apart). Apply burnishing ink. Burnish. Speed is required to melt waxes.

The music and video quality are outstanding. The project and craftsmanship are excellent, and inspiring.

A combination of heat, moisture, and pressure does it, hence the steam iron idea. Some people lay a towel over the leather. In any case, keep the iron set on low so you don't wine up with a big piece of crispy bacon (like boiled leather).

I have some #69 nylon Rice #8128 Neon Pink / Hot Pink thread at the store. A spool is $4.25 plus whatever postage costs. Sending you a PM.

You aren't missing anything from this list. There are tools that can make certain aspects easier or more consistent, but often additional tools are purchased when what is needed is practice. That said, you do not currently have anything to hold your pieces while you stitch. If you are broke, use a hardback book. If you have some spare time, take two pieces of 1x4 lumber about 2 ft long, attach a door hinge along the 4" part, andglue a few pieces of 2"x4" leather at the other end, then hold between your knees to hold your pieces while sewing. Much of what you need to get started is just a razor knife, ruler, an awl, needles, and thread. Good results can be achieved with just these basics.

They can be sold as preproduction samples/prototypes, without any makers mark, for instance, at a discounted rate. "Factory seconds" sort of thing.

FrankfordLeather.com has an online catalog I believe. Landwerlen sells similar products but does not have a Web store. You may want to look at "Crepe sheets" on their site, which are a type of aerated/foam rubber-type material in various densities and thicknesses. 6 iron is 1/8".

Dye one color, say, cherry red or chestnut. Take another color that is several shades darker, mahogany perhaps. Use a long haired round paintbrush about 1/2" diameter, give or take. Brush across the darker dye, varying pressure and not going in a straight line. Repeat with another application, possibly another shade (or less diluted dye) after the first has dried. A flat paintbrush could be used as well for wider sections, applied lightly. Use darker shades, not black usually (looks fake).More advanced methods include the types of woodgraining done to restore antique car dashboards, but that is much more involved and requires custom templates and some tinkering.I've played around with both some, but just to test the concept, not on finished goods. PS dry brushing can help spread the dye and give the grained effect as well.

One alternative to a miter joint is to put an L-shaped trim piece, and sew straight into it from two sides. It is twice the number of stitches but is easier than sewing at a consistent 45 degree angle.

It would be nice to see the end result of the stitching in that video. I'll have to imitate it to see.

OP, you missed one by about a week on ebay. They still show up from time to time.

Leather is in the process of drying out all the time, so having it stacked flat in an otherwise climate-controlled environment a la root cellar, not in direct contact with wet walls or ground, and it should stay in good shape for a long time. The outermost layers would protect the inner layers. For true long-term storage, you'd be looking at museum-type or library rare collections stuff, such as Renaissance Wax, British Museum Leather Dressing, or the like, humidity-controlled environments, and air filtration. This goes beyond most prepper-type caches. I might simply roll up several hides and insert into 4-6" PVC pipes, then use PVC caps cemented on the ends to protect against moisture loss, then stack on pallets in the cellar. Keep the PVC out of direct sunlight and it doesn't break down quickly.

If the leather is very oily, giving it very much sheen is difficult, so go easy on adding oil and use polish/wax. Work boots don't shine up like dress shoes partly for this reason, but a subtle sheen can be obtained. Shoe polish/wax has harder waxes than beeswax, and can have higher luster. You may want to try some neutral Kiwi polish, working from heavy pressure during application to lighter pressure to buff.

It's not easy to align the holes, but it is definitely not impossible. I'm not concerned about the difference in angle since any part of the hole not opened by the awl is cemented anyway. I'll have to look for your old thread. I hit enter but my paragraphs aren't appearing. Ugh. I've been having success with Maine Thread in 0.030 and 0.040 thicknesses at 5 spi and an Osborne #43 awl. 4-5 cord linen would be about the same. You know where it looks really good? When you use two different shades of thread as a detail that allows you to explain the virtues of hand sewn goods while also being proof that the item was, in fact, sewn by hand.

OTB is a great supplier in a great town. I regularly refer people to them for specialty items we can't keep in stock.

Smooth or with a tread? Solid or foam? Look for shoe repair supply houses. An 18"x18" piece of generic rubber soling should cost about 9 bucks plus shipping. That would be considered a quarter sheet, where a half sheet is about 18"x36". Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis will ship out just one piece if needed. In fairness, I'm associated.

Hardbat Leather Goods, with a logo of a chrome or stone carved bat sculpture, hanging upside down with wings in--wings spread is too dark. Then you can have the Hardbat Dark line for any darkish projects, Hardbat Spirit line for earthy/native-style projects, and Hardbat eLite, for thinner fashion-type accessories, and other lines for other themes. The name sounds like a surname, but is distinctive enough to help with Web searches. Curiously, the term Hardbat refers to a style of table tennis where the rackets do not have pips, so there is a coincidental tie-in.

One way to make the stitches slant: while the front and back pieces are still separate, use a stitching fork to create your holes on each. Yes, this means that the holes on the back will be the opposite slant as the ones on the front. Don't worry about that. Apply your glue to each, then carefully connect them. Pushpins can help align the holes. When you go to stitch, use a smallish diamond awl with the awl blade vertical, then insert through the center of the aligned holes. Insert rear needle, then bring the second needle up behind the first to form a cross. Insert second needle at the TOP of the stitch, so it goes above the loop created by the 1st needle. Pull the 2nd needle up and away, and the 1st needle down and toward you. When stitching away from you, form a cross with the second needle closer to you, and insert the second needle in the bottom, and under the loop formed by the first needle. This is the closest I've found to identical stitches front and back, both slanted.

I would imagine they have been used extensively in various ways. Our ancestors used whatever was available. Besides the ubiquitous bone folder, I have also seen creasers.