billybopp

If you can't find an exact match, thick leather can work pretty well. I've used that trick with odd-shaped studs and stuff in the past. Bill

Remember the Alamo. Forget the movie. Other than the nice leathers that a few characters were wearing.

It occurs to me that there might be so few resources about leather bags because there are a TON of books about bags in general, some of which include leather. The design techniques for leather are not so different from fabric, and construction techniques using garment and other thin leathers are not so different. It's only when you start looking at certain types of leather and certain styles of bag/case that things start getting different. It may be worth looking at some of THOSE resources! Just a thought ... Bill

I don't know about you guys, but my belts have all been shrinking steadily since I was in my mid 20's.

Agreed with Glendon on the books, and the videos. I'd add Arthur Porter to the youtube list, specifically for bag making. Bill

It looks good to me. Sometimes simple is best! Bill

The first one or two are hardest. Keep notes about how you did things, and figure out what you would do differently next time .. both in terms of design and process. You may find it helpful to make a paper or cardboard mockup before you begin cutting leather. Before long, you'll figure out how to change the design to suit your own needs and style. After that, you may even want to try your own design! Bill

The handles look a little shorter than some, but that's not terribly important to their function so long as they are long enough that you don't whack your fingers while holding them. Different types do vary a bit in spacing between tines, width of tines and depth of tines, but that would be more of a problem if too big than too small when you are using an awl. Ummmm.... What kind (size) of awl are you using? Bill

I have a round knife, but haven't used it too much yet .. for cutting nor skiving. It seems to do OK for both jobs, but I have a hard time controlling it which probably means nothing more than I need to practice. I've also been eyeing up Lisa Sorrell's skiving knives. They aren't fancy, but I'd bet they're well made and of good metal. Now .. Wonder if they work OK with cheese?? Bill

I have made a few messenger bags similar to this ... Using Nigel Armitage's design as a starting point and then modifying it as needed. For mine, I used 7oz for the front, back, and straps and then 4oz for the one-piece gusset. I wanted the bag to be overall a little stiffer than it would have been with all 4oz, but 7oz proved to be a bit much for me to try to work around the corners. One o' these days I'll upload pictures of these. Hope that helps

Check out this thread ... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=60483 The answers that you seek may be there. Bill

Hmmm. I'm thinking that the cheese knives sound like a gouda idea! And if we combine that with the wine that we drink in order to use the corks as awl backers, we're pretty darn close to having a party! ( but if any o' the folks that live in the big square states offer to bring cow chips to the party, do NOT partake. They are NOT really what we out east call chips and most certainly nothing like English chips ) Bill

From http://brucejohnsonleather.com/links-resources/leather-tool-makers-history/ : HF Osborne - started in the tool business with his brother CS Osborne. In 1877 or so he left and established his own company. In 1905 he sold his business to CS Osborne.

BTW .. The single line creasers are really groovy tools. I have a couple and love 'em. Bill

Looks great to me!

Personally ... I like this style in fox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNHXFviVb8I

It might be helpful to find some pics of what you want to achieve and post them on here. It would be much easier to help you then. Bill

OOHHHH.... Do the Rush 2112 cover!!

I love the mask. That's awesome! But white leather dye totally sucks ... Worse than useless. That is the path to heartbreak and pain. I have tried a few types and found nothing but disappointment. If you need white, go with white acrylic paint. Bill

Clean and organized? A clean and organized workshop? A sure sign of a sick mind if you ask me. Bill

I do get spell check in LW.Net ( as a matter of fact, it does not like LW.Net ). Fortunately, I will not be typing anything about underwater inspections, and am therefor unlikely to offend anybody here. Bill.

Spell checkers can certainly have problems of their own. Many years ago, I was consulting with a civil engineering firm, and heard this story from some of their people. They were preparing a bid for some work on a large bridge, and turned the typing of the formal proposal over to a temp secretary. The last thing that she did was to run a spell check before sending the proposal out. Well, that nearly resulted in a sexual harassment suit by the government agency taking those proposals. It seems that the spell checker felt that "Underwater Inspection" should really be "Underwear Inspection", and changed every single instance. Yup. Spell checkers are interesting. Bill

Maybe blue leather ... From Babe, the blue ox.

Welcome aboard sbpark. All good advice above, but don't forget that there are other tools that you'll need as well, many of which you may already have around the house. I'll second barry king tools. They are good and will last a lifetime. You'll need a surface to tool on. A big slab of granite or marble works great, and can often be found cheap if not free from the scrap pile of a local countertop place. I found mine on a trash pile at a house that was being renovated, and covered the bottom with a big piece of felt so that it won't scratch my table. You'll need hole punches for strap ends and belt buckles if you are using them. You'll need a cutting board or poundo board for punching holes, etc. You'll need a knife, long straight edge and probably cutting surface for cutting leather. A utility knife with the best blades you can find works well and isn't expensive. The same goes for an x-acto knife. I use a 4ft aluminum straight edge with a cork backing to help guide my cuts. The cork backing helps prevent the straight edge from sliding around. I also use a huge self-healing cutting mat that's really nice. You'll want honing and sharpening supplies for your cutting tools to keep them in good shape. Even the nice sharp disposable blades can be improved with a little honing and stropping. A square of some sort can be very helpful in laying out designs and cuts. You'll need edger/bevelers, and burnishing tools and supplies. Check out this post for a great tutorial on finishing edges http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101 You'll need dyes, thinners, antique dyes, and finishes along with their respective supplies such as daubers, rags and brushes, and disposable gloves. A good place to start with guitar straps is with a pre-made template. They are a great help and confidence builder. Some good ones can be found at http://www.blackriverlaser.com/ There are a lot of other items that can be helpful that you can often find lying around the house, such as bottle and jar lids for helping make rounded cuts. Bottles and jars are good to have around for thinned dyes, etc too. Here are a few pictures of straps that I've made using a blackriverlaser template. Hope that helps! Bill

One thing to bear in mind in the Chevy vs. Ford debate is the companies' differing philosophies regarding upgrades and "improvements". I don't know if they still work this way, but traditionally Ford would launch a new design or re-design with new body style, and most of the drive-train new, and then incrementally make small design changes and improvements as necessary. So, if you happen to bought one of those in the first year or two were likely to have any and all kinds of problems. After that, they were pretty stable and good. GM, on the other hand would launch body, engine, transmission and other components individually every couple of years, so you could end up with a vehicle with engine troubles, or transmission troubles, but everything else good. Bill