johnv474

You want metal on metal, definitely. If you have nothing else, lie hammer on its side and pound against the side of the head.

Tandy or Osborne sell 1" but in a western-style font. Cheapest option: search Craigslist or Ebay for letterpress printing dies,

Thia could also be wax that has migrated to the surface. Somw new leather will have a waxy coating, eg in shoe repair, because it protects the leather until the final cleaning and buffing. A shoeshine brush or a soft cloth may be enough to remove it through buffing, or use a leather cleaner. That looks just like what I found on a lot of bulk leather/suede we bought (including on Horween and expensive English suedes, not low-quality materials). It was removed with little effort. A car polisher with a soft bonnet on it could save some elbow grease.

I do not make purses but for sturdiness I would call a shoe repair supply house and buy a sheet of thin soling material, which is like a heavy rubber, or use 'crepe' midsoling which is a foam rubber. Because they are used on shoe/boot repair, they are compatible with leather, adhesives, etc.

Ideally, thread will fill the hole created by the awl/needle, for structural reasons and for weather resistance. Thickness of the thread is affected by hole size, strength desired, aesthetics (people consider a higher stitch per inch to look 'finer', proportion to size of the good, etc.). Needle size is affected by the needle's strength, thread used (to fit in the eye). Thread choice is affected by desired properties: cotton is cheap but weak, linen is traditional and has some 'flex', nylon is synthetic and often stronger than linen but susceptible to UV damage over time, polyester is expensive, strong, and UV resistant. Synthetics are hard on the fingers if handsewing and stretch over time. Some customers prefer traditional threads if they do reenactment, etc. There is a debate about whether you want thread too strong--you may prefer a seam to break than for leather to tear.

How about trimming with a rolling razor like people use for cutting paper, as in scrapbooking? It's a circular razor blade so does not drag. Option 2: round knife or head knife, and roll along your straightedge. You are not pulling so the leather will not stretch nearly as much. Option 3: use a razor scraper or chisel (as in woodworking) and just tap straight down... just for the corners, after cutting the rest how you have been. Option 4: a 90 degree belt punch, though I'm not sure that exists.

If you use more than about 6 oz, simplify the pattern. A complex pattern double-gusset lined bag with several pockets out of 5-6 oz may way 5 lbs or more, empty. This is enough for some people to complain about how heavy it is. I remember reading reviews about Saddleback bags where weight was brought up in a critical way.

Neat idea and design. A plague doctor costume also sounds like a great idea.

How long after scrubbing with water has it been? Those areas may have been scrubbed less/more. I have sometimes been surprised that I had matte areas after putting on wax or other treatments. Often I just had to polish the area with a soft cloth, focusing more on speed than pressure. I asked about the time that has passed because there could be either be a water stain, or that area may still be wetter than the areas around it (which should even out over time).

It's difficult to burnish Chromexcel because it is combination-tanned, so it goes through both chrome tanning and also vegetable tanning. That helps it have traits of both... however it becomes softer/floppier than veg-tan so does not burnish easily. If you can clamp the pieces together near the edge you may be able to hold it steady enough to get some effect. I usually just just use some gum trag and maybe a little beeswax, but my result is velvety smooth, not glossy slick. It may be simpler to do what many do and simply dye the edges.

I agree with you; if that is their reasoning, they should call it that. I think those same buyers would be more likely to post negative reviews if they were charged to return an item that didn't meet unrealistic expectations. Again, I don't know their reasoning. I'm drawing from meetings where I've heard this type of misguided justification.

I second what camano ridge said. On my first visit I was given a tour and a free catalog. I could have spent all day browsing there!

I wouldn't be surprised if the handling fee acted to offset the higher returns from buyers of small quantities. End-purchasers are more finnicky than, say, a store that buys a stack of hides at a time. -JV474

I think this bag looks neat. Here are a few details that you might find useful. Wherever you have a bend, you want to leave an allowance for the thickness of the leather. Otherwise, you will have an interior less than 1" deep (for example), and things such as rivet holes may not be aligned. Speaking of rivets, do you plan on sewing this together along with the rivets? If so, then you could have fewer on the back. If this is a design choice, great. Rivets would mostly be needed, strength-wise, at the top corners and perhaps on the belt straps. Lastly, if the belt straps were loops, like a teacup handle, then when it was being used the person's belt would not be rubbing the joint between the belt strap and the back of the bag. To attach them, you would rivet the top first, then rivet the bottom. All in all if it's 4-5 oz it should be plenty strong for anything you could fit in it. Best of luck!

You could probably just buy sole leather and have it split. Sole leather is mostly leather that has been compressed under a glazing jack (glass roller), as I understand it. I might have some of the terminology off. Wickett and Craig offers many custom options when ordering their leather (such as free splitting, or extra treatments during the tanning process). Maybe they have sole leather, or could run it under a jack for you.

If it is not cracked then you can make quite a lot of difference with very few products. I would recommend first cleaning with saddle soap or Lexol cleaner. Cleaning twice wouldn't hurt, as either of these will impart some moisture, which is what you are after. Then I would recommend applying either Lexol Conditioner or any of the oils you have read about on this forum--in other words, just about any plant or animal oil. Common ones include neatsfoot oil, extra virgin olive oil, almond oil, flax oil, cod liver oil, etc. oiling the leather will tend to make it softer, darker (moisture), and much more flexible. Leat each light coat soak in for an hour or overnight. A few light coats beat one heavy coat. Lastly, getting some waxes in/on it will help also. Beeswax is very common, and found in many of the conditioners. Lanolin or pine tar pitch will aid in future weather-resistance. Many, many products exist, and I would probably use a combination of them. I recommend avoiding petroleum products, though I know some people will use baby oil in a pinch, but olive oil is cheap enough. Since leather is animal skin, about anything you can apply to your own hands to moisturize them will work on leather as well. Oil, wax, glycerin, Vitamin E, lanolin, etc. I have even tried lard, coconut oil, and about anything I could find, as experiments. They all worked well enough. Don't over oil, and be gentle with it until those products have soaked in. I bet 2-3 light coats of saddle soap, and of an oil, and of a wax (Fiebing's Atom Wax is quite easy to use and looks nice), will get you some usable leather. Feel free to post pictures before/after in case someone finds this thread while searching.

Can the straps be shorter, connected by hardware? Three or four 6' belts with buckles would be stronger than a glued, skived joint in my estimation. They would also be multi-purpose if there were holes to adjust lengths. Must the straps be a uniform thickness? If not, a splice made by weaving could work. Imagine three roles of 1/8" holes, parallel to the strap length, with 3/16" leather lacing criss-crossing and being braided in and out, extending an inchbor two past the joint. Aesthetically, maybe not beautiful but in conjunctin with or in addition to stitching, the joint may no longer be much of a weak point. Lastly, how about using a slice of rawhide? Skive joints--the longer the better, cut rawhide to fit skived section, drill/poke 3-4 rows of holes parallel to strap length, going beyond skived section about 1-2", then cement all three layers together and stitch. If the rawhide holes are a bit oversized, the cement will bond with itself as well. However you cut it, as described the straps would all have one point of failure. A second layer would allow you to stagger joints and give a backup in case of failure. Any piece of leather can have a weak spot. The nylon webbing as backing or a central layer would be a good idea to resist stretch. Of course, the typical guidance about cutting strap from the near the animal's spine and parallel to it, applies. Making the straps as wide as possible will help, too. 2" straps would be about 33% stronger than 1.5" straps, for example. For water-reistance, an oiled leather may be in order. A couple light treatments with oil and a few light treatments with Dr. Huberd's Boot Grease will have water beading up like it had Rain-X on it. Huberd's is mostly beeswax and pine tar pitch. Maybe some of those give you some ideas.

Also, what if the end of the cursive e ended with a pen lift-off effect, similar to the pen touching-down effect at the beginning of the M? If a calligraphy pen here held at the angle in the font, leading to the thins and thicks, the end of the e would be thinning.

If you use the cursive-style font, I suggest reworking the p. As illustrated, that letter cannot be written fluidly by hand. Either attach a stem on the left that leads to the downstroke, or revise it so it could be written by hand. I think that is one reason it has received comments. Also, I think the p and g should descend the same amount, with similar negative shapes in the curves and loops. The all-caps font is fine, and has a more formal touch. The spacing between the letters should be such that they feel to be equidistant, which means they will not be. Lastly, I do not recommend having Magpie and Leather next to each other in the name, unless you want people to ask if your goods are made from magpie leather. Overall, I applaud the efforts, and suggest some refinements before making the final choice. Either could be a good start. -JV474

Do you mean water buffalo, or bison? Often the term buffalo is used for both. -JV474

A local supplier (Landwerlen Leather) here in Indiana has some seconds, but getting a specific color is hit-and-miss. I have bought Phantom Rust and a chestnut, among others. However, the prices is $6 per pound (yes, that's right). I will be visiting again soon, and would be willing to look. Any particular brown you are looking for? Springfield Leather in MO also carries Horween, at 9.50-10 per sq ft, not seconds. -JV474

Landwerlen Leather Co. in Indianapolis carries water buffalo. From what I've seen, it was 8+ oz., but they may be able to split it. This is an old-time shop that does not have a Web presence; you will need to call, but they are great to work with. -JV474

The answer will depend on the quality of the leather and your standards for suitability. Some people like leather with markings, scars, etc., and some people want leather as consistent as vinyl. I just rolled out a 23 sq ft hide, and used a 4" x 4.5" glass burnisher as a guide. I counted 95 usable pieces without using belly or bottom edges of the hide. Without knowing the exact dimensions of your pieces, I would guesstimate 30-40 wallets as you described could be made from it... with some leather left over. For estimating purposes, I would assume 1 sq ft of hide per wallet, though, so the yield should be higher than budgeted. 20 ft hide, at least 20 wallets.

Many of the books will give guidance, but there are no rules. Obviously, the thicker, the stronger... but also the heavier and stiffer. Most leather is sold as a range, because it may not be perfectly uniform. 1 oz is equal to 1/64", so 8 oz. would be 1/8" thick, to give an idea. A guideline for your items might be: belt, 6-16 oz. saddle bags, 6-8 oz. wallets, 2-6 oz. belt buckles covered in leather, 2-5 oz. iPad cover, 3-6 oz. book covers, 2-8 oz. These are my opinion of what I would consider thin to thick for that type of item. I tend to prefer thicker items, however, so others may disagree.

The product is a side of Harness leather called Old World Russet. It appeared on the desktop version of the site but not on the mobile version. I also saw a "super thick double shoulder (maybe bend) described as approximately 1/4" thick. 24 oz would be 3/8" and 20 oz 7/16". Also, only on desktop version of site. I am not an expert on adhesives either, especially by itself. I find rubber cement to be for temporary purposes and contact/Barge cement to be pretty permanent--but flexing a lot (as in a belt) would test the best of them. I wonder what shoemakers use in such situations. For that matter, I wonder where they get their thickest sole leather. I have seem some extra-thick Weaver straps at the local farm store, but I think they were carefully laminated and were just straps, not large sections. If the link doesn't work, it said 16 oz or so, which is still less than what you were looking for. Do you mind my asking what type of product it is for? That might draw in others with more specific knowledge, or help find an idea that would work. -JV474