Reegesc

Thanks y'all. Hope it helps and please post a pic of your version. Would love to see it.

Exactly, and you would think with Hermes being a French company and all that "Let them eat cake" would still ring true. That said, making saddles ain't what it used to be either. Edit: I've already begun using that image link. What a clever idea.

Ha, yeah, that wasn't their best depiction for that model, was it? I wonder if they would knock $5 off the price? Or would they reply "Add $10 for smooth corners"?

Wallet interiors are one of those things that look easy but are anything but easy when you get into it. That's why there is a brisk business in the ready made wallet interiors industry. I'm guessing you won't be satisfied with anything other than the one you have your mind set on, but here's one offered by the good folks at Springfield leather that is sort of in the same range as yours. Pricey little devils aren't they? Well, they aren't easy for Springfield to make either.

Thanks for the kudos kind folks. If you've ever thought about making a Kelly Bag but figured it was too difficult, think again. Not as hard as you might think. I've put together a "construction discussion" (not a tutorial mind you) that goes over the general points and includes a schematic with enough information that you could make your own pattern, just for fair use educational purposes. You can find it over in the Patterns and Templates section -- "The Sorta Kelly Bag". Gene Kelly, of course. Or were you just pulling my leg? Thanks man. The lining is a silk fabric I found at Joanns. Thanks Mike. Well Dang, that would be a handy link. Thanks, I will definitely be using that in the future! The prices and the demand....it's mind boogling. Nothing else comes to mind that is as insane as the price of a Kelly Bag. I take that back. Bitcoin maybe. Danngit, I forgot to have kids. No kids, no Grandchildren. Mmm...actually, I'm ok with that.

Very nice!

Here's a construction description of the "Sorta Kelly Bag", my interpretation of the iconic Kelly Bag. This isn't a step-by-step tutorial, but more of a general guide for the intermediate leatherworker and a rough schematic with enough information to make your own pattern .Sorta Kelly Bag.pdf

One thing that is cool about the Kelly Bag (other than the extreme state of disbelief it elicits every time you see a price tag on one) is its name --- "<Insert Name> Bag". In this case it was my wife's birthday present and thus it's a "Suzy Bag". She'll never use it though and I knew that before making it. Too formal for her...I don't know what you call my wife's tastes. You would think that after 30 years of marriage I would have a handle on it. NOPE. I gave up a long time ago surprising her with handmade gifts and instead surprise myself with the occasional success on something that at first looks very difficult and then pass it off as a present. I don't care if she doesn't use it since all I'm going for is "It looks great!" anyway. Yes she would say that (and does) even if it doesn't look great. I have a cool wife. So it turns out that the hardest part of making a "Suzy Bag" is finding the hardware! Man, for a bag that is the envy of every newly rich Chinese female on the planet and is in such high demand that it has a robust and brazen online replica industry you would think that it would be so ubiquitous you could pick up a set at WalMart any time you felt like it including 4 am while pulling the all nighter, just hours before the deadline. FAT CHANCE! I searched every swinging bag hardware vendor I could find. NADA. I even contacted all 15 online counterfeit vendors to see if they would help a brutha out. They saw right through my birthday sob story. Why didn't I also ask them for counterfeit goods selling tips while I was it? Take a hike pal. If you're not in a hurry and the type that plans ahead, there's a sketchy Chinese vendor. I ordered a set because even though it's on the other side of the planet and the only shipping option is free China Post, well you order it regardless if it never shows up because it feels like you're moving the project forward and you've got someone to blame if it doesn't work out. You win either way. If you're lucky you'll find a one-off listing on ETSY. I got lucky and snagged the only one available in the finish I didn't want and from a vendor I actually begged to ship it after four days and nothing happening on her end. Yes, of course I checked with Ohio Bag, the vendor that disappoints with just about every visit...a time travel visit back to 1992 or heck even the 70s. I think the last time I placed an order with them they had just gotten the news about this interwebs thing and declared it a craze that wasn't going to last, but they'll give it a shot by putting their catalog online -- a catalog with pictures but no prices -- and a downloadable pricing booklet -- a booklet with prices but no pictures. Once you cross triangulated model numbers to pricing, then you called your order in to one of the customer service reps standing by to take your order. Reminds me of the mail order days, back when shopping was an adventure and you didn't mind it taking two months to receive your goods because by then you forgot you ordered anything and it was this big surprise when it showed up. Whatever. Here in the new good old days, fast and cheap and don't tell me no is the norm. Coming up this short on this hardware was both exasperating and ridiculous and I was running out of time. Even though I started this project four weeks prior to the wife's birthday, I'll be damned if I didn't find a way to put myself in a time crunch with just a handful of days and an all-nighter before her birthday. This was my third attempt on the bag, getting more skilled, creative, and anxious by the day. DAMMIT! Somebody out there somewhere has this hardware!!!! WHERE IS IT?!?!?! Then I had an AHA! moment. Ok, that's a lie. It was actually a DOH! moment. "What if..., I speculated, "What if it isn't called what I've been searching the interwebs for? " My mind began to pick up the logic breadcrumbs. " What if..." I further reasoned, "What if my search term was the equivalent of a ginormous Las Vegas style neon sign with blinking waterfall arrows synced to cascading letters that spelled out " COME AND SUE ME HERMES --I'M SELLING KELLY BAG HARDWARE FOR COUNTERFEITERS RIGHT HERE." Well, you would call it something other than "Kelly Bag Hardware" now wouldn't you? "Kelly Bag Hardware"??? God I'm an idiot. I headed straight for Ohio Bag but this time I was going to manually slog through ever swinging catalog item that it could be listed under: "Lock" (609 entries", "Clasp" (134 ), "Closure" (43), "Clip" 128", "Clamp (17), "Catch" (399), Hasp" (39), Latch" (383). If I have to, I'll search "Whatchacallit", "Thingamajig", "Dohickey"...even "Chingadero". I grabbed a beer and settled in for the long haul. And whataya know?!?!? Searched "Lock" and there it was on the very first page, fourth row. THANK YA JESUS! Their nod-nod, wink-wink term was "Turn Lock". Well, yeah, ok, sure...it's a turn lock. A turn lock with an EXTRAORDINARLY long protruding shaft. A turn lock that also comes with strap hardware just in case....oh, I dunno...like say, you might want to stack two straps on it?? Or you maybe you have flap hole in mind? Why wouldn't we throw some hardware in to cover that design idea.....ya know just on the off chance your own original and imaginative bag design calls for something like that. It got even better. Under "Customers Purchased" Section, there were four more sets! Polished chrome, double plated gold, triple plated gold, double plated nickel, plain gold. I was so excited and happy I bought one of each . Here's a couple model numbers: P-2908-GOLD and P-2908-NIC The hardware showed up the day before Suzy's birthday and with the all nighter I finished the bag and delivered just in time. "You made this?" <Geez...! A puff of steam rises from my head> "Yess-sss. Do you know what it is?" "A purse?" <Geez...!> "Of course it's a purse, Suz. Do you know what kind of purse it is?!?" "A croc purse?" <Up-all-night blank stare. A little more steam rises from my head.> "It looks great."

Thank you for the nice comments everyone. There are a few terrific tips I forgot to include in the tutorial and it's been bugging the heck out of me to share these. I tried twice to update the tutorial but I cannot control my editing urge to just rewrite the whole thing and go down every rabbit hole I can think of. So, I'm leaving the tutorial as is and have added an Addendum which you can download from the original post. While I was at it I uploaded a demonstration video on YouTube but have also embedded in the original post for this thread. ' Thanks again for your interest and hope to see some examples and interpretations from y'all soon. EDIT: Well danggit the original post is locked down. I don't know why they do that. It makes it impossible to update tutorials in any sensible way. Im going to ask for special permission from .....who is it that runs this place anyway? Joann? I've sent her I don't how many messages and she hasn't answered a single one. Ok, that's probably like three messages but still. Whatever... Here's the addendum and the video. How To Make Coin Conchos Addendum.pdf

No kidding. I can see where that would be a fun and rewarding hobby. Actually, hardly anyone has seen this bike Probably no more than a dozen people other than neighbors. I live in the Dallas area and the best time to ride is late late night. It's much cooler, there's no traffic out or people so I let my dog off leash and we cruise around the churches and school parking lots. The police get a big kick out of it though. lol Actually, i'd like to sell it and build another one..but this time .an ebike. But how do you get in touch with those Silicon Valley rich boys? I think they're my target market as its money they have and cool they lack and Burning Man is right around the corner. Hey, maybe you can help with this idea. What I would like rig up is a system where all the lights and battery packs tie back to an ignition switch with a key. Any thoughts come to mind on something like that?

I did skive but not to taper or thin the leather to get it to form fit, rather, I skived off excess material underneath where it had gathered and wrinkled, the nose and the two rear corners. I said earlier than I had glued it, but 20+ pneumatic staples suggest otherwise. I did get it soaking wet and stretched the heck out of it to get it to form fit. It was also a 2-3 oz and not 3-4 oz as stated earlier. It helped A LOT that the saddle was the shape that it is. The big triangle wide butt saddles that I settled on because they are more comfortable , there is no way I could have wet formed fit those dudes. I didn't even try. Just cut darts and let the rough end drag. Just a guess, but Chrome tan is probably the cause of not getting a neat form fit. You can stretch the heck out of veg tan as all the hide pounders know all too well. But after all the rigamarole of changing seats, I changed the seat AGAIN just days ago and this time back to the original seat from a year ago. The infamous seat that started this whole project off as just going to recover a seat. I loved the color of the seat in the photo so I just took a sander to the original seat and got it back to a sort of veg tan look. Problem solved. And yes I did indeed make leather boxes for those battery packs AND added another light assembly to the front and that was leather boxed too. What does it look like with all those lights on? Like this: Bike Lights.mp4

I just recovered a used seat. Carefully remove the the old covering so as to not remove the foam padding underneath. Then wet form with a piece of 3-4 oz Veg Tan and glue it underneath the plastic seat base. I also applied saddle soap to get a waxy finish. While the seat looks terrific, it wasn't very comfortable. So I swapped it out (again) with a wide butt seat that I recovered (again). I think I'm slowly working my way up to something like this. :

I'm sorry TLP. I know you're just trying to help, but your suggestions are just plain wrong and I want to assure my tutorial readers that the soldering tools, supplies and processes as described in the tutorial will yield perfectly acceptable and STRONG coin conchos. Apparently micro torches have improved over the past several years. Just to demonstrate, I chose the largest coin in my inventory, a vintage UK Penny which is about as big of a coin there is. It's essentially identical in size and weight to a US Walking Liberty Half Dollar. Using only my Harbor Freight Micro Torch, the solder flowed and created that solder joint in the picture in 38 seconds. And look at how nice that solder joint turned out. That's as good as it gets for a coin concho solder joint. I agree that you should not use soft plumbing solder to make coin conchos. Soft plumbing solder, otherwise known as lead solder, has a much lower melting temp and is indeed a soft solder with a low tensile strength. Fortunately, you won't find lead solder at Home Depot or any other regular retail outfit. Ever since it was regulated out of plumbing service, all that is available for sale is no lead solder which has a much higher melting temp and far greater tensile strength. The plumbing solder I have is Oatey's Safe Flo Solder, a run of the mill Home Depot retail item. It has a tensile strength rating of 5,900 psi. To put that in perspective, a standard scuba tank is rated at at 3,000 psi which means that the force required to make the Oatey solder joint fail is more than the force required to blow up a scuba tank. I've made many conchos as described in the tutorial and have never had one fail because the joint wasn't strong enough. Conchos are mostly used for decoration anyway and the fact is you don't even need to solder decorative conchos. E6000 glue will work just fine. That stuff is crazy strong and flexible bond. I should have put that in the tutorial as well. I use E6000 a lot. A Pickling Pot? If I had a dedicated metal working studio, yeah, I'd have a pickling pot. But for the average Joe who makes a few conchos here and there, it's overkill. But to each his own. Personally, I have no problems cleaning and polishing without pickling. Note that the exposed side of a concho doesn't have flux applied to it. But I will say this for those of you who would like to try pickling, it's a little more involved than just whipping up a batch of vinegar and salt. You need to educate yourself on the chemical reactions with different metals. It's an acid and you need to be careful working with it and properly disposing etc.

Did some upgrades and mods to the Flatland Drifter as prep for her second riding season. Changed the seat, (again) , wrapped the handlebars, made new grips, changed the accent color to red., and added three tail lights. Upgraded to a rechargeable lithium battery system and made leather boxes for the battery packs (not shown -- just imagine really cool leather boxes then back off that a couple notches). Then I got real ambitous and repacked the hubs and ended up getting the tires all out of whack and had to have a bike mechanic fix it. But man she glides now....downhill and on flatland that is. Thinking about converting her to an ebike to save my dogs the embarrassment of me walking her up hills at the local bike park. Underneath the 5oz leather wrap is a portly steel tubing Huffy -- it weighs a frickin' ton.

I wasn't familiar with Zena and had to look her up. Google Brain knew what I was after and directed me to Xena: Warrior Princess. Yeah, I can see the connection.

Ok, here it is again with a couple more pics. My pattern omits the straps that connect the saddle to the belly, but that's easy enough to figure out. I've only made a few dog harnesses but through trial and error arrived at this version which worked well for what I was trying to accomplish. The main thing I learned from previous attempts was to make the harness from a single piece of leather and to wet mold it. This provided for a much better look and was far easier than piecing together multiple straps. It also provide me with a lot of real estate for embellishment. For adjustment reference, this pattern fits an averaged size female pit bull (19" tall, 40 lbs weight) . Dog Harness Pattern.pdf

Dog Harness Pattern.pdf

Haha...clever. You always say the nicest things.

Thanks! The rest of the materials were 5 oz Nubuck for the uppers (no lining), 4 oz Horween Veg Tan Horsehide for the insole and toe puff, 2 oz Kidskin for the eyelet reinforcement and boot rim. The heel counter was also 5 oz Nubuck. 1 mm thread Twin Eagle thread for the uppers and 1 mm Ritza Tiger thread for the side stitching,. Also discovered and used for the first time on this pair a "Jerk Awl" to do the side stiching (also called Jerk Needle, Hooked Needle). Man it's sooo much easier, faster and better looking to side stitch using that awl. Previously I had just been using needles (and long pliers) and then recently the speed stitcher. They don't hold a candle to a Jerk Awl.

Pair of Cupsole Chukkas I made for myself. The interesting part of this is the cupsole itself. These are rare as hen's teeth for the U.S. hobbyist to source and crazy expensive for no more than what they are (Etsy $25-$30, Brooklyn Shoe Supply $50). But I came up with a low cost solution that I'll share with you. I buy slip-on sneakers at Walmart and carefully remove the canvas uppers (tip, use a heat gun to loosen the glued parts). If you don't mind a little elbow grease, the Walmart method will yield good quality rubber cupsoles for $7 - $8.

I'm old enough to remember when "Made in Japan" was a derisive phrase that implied cheap crap. Today, what comes to mind when you see "Made in Japan"? High quality, right? “Made in China” no longer necessarily means cheap or knock-off, though that still exists. China has the expertise, the engineers, and the infrastructure to make quality products, and is doing so. It also has the necessary drivers: a growing middle class with buying power, and the desire to improve the “made in China” brand and compete head-to-head in the global market. Another two decades? Globalization fellas, get used to it. Money doesn't care what country it originates from.

I like to write and the thing about writing is that all you're really doing is tossing bait out there in the hopes of every now and then getting a grand compliment such as yours. Thank you very much, You may have just made my whole year.

This holster video has pretty good content, about as good as yours, but of course not anywhere near as generous (I think you have enough free pattern positive karma credits to last five lifetimes, but then again who knows what kind of deficit you racked up in the previous five?) Content and generosity aside, what makes this video so interesting is this guy's speech and accent. It's unlike any you've heard before, well at least for me and plenty of others commenting the same. Couple his accent with ..how do I describe it.?...an "aristocratic articulation delivered with a sonorous timbre". The guy is mesmerizing. Yeah, it's strange to me also just trying to describe it, but I could listen to this guy all day long.

I've said it before and I'm going to keep on saying it because it's important for the craft to have examples of truly original styles. "Gray, you have an original, unique style that's readily discernible in all your work. To my way of thinking, that is as impressive as the work itself. Actually......? it's more impressive. Not to impune anyone else's work, just saying it's a fairly rare thing to see." Have you considered a .licensing arrangement with Tandy? I'm serious. Their collection of 1964 same o' same o' is, well, lame and boring. PM me if you're amenable toward something like that. I can provide some info that could help in that regard.