DJole

Welcome, Simmental! 1) Three layers is too many. You're probably going to have to do this in two or three passes. Here's one possible way to do it, which will take some time: (1) make the holes on the top layer; (2) set the top layer on the next layer, and go over the holes again, MARKING them on the lower layer, (3) Remove top layer, and finish the holes on the 2nd layer. (4) Repeat, using TOP layer and bottom layer. All the holes should line up just fine now-- but you have to be very careful when lining the pieces up. 2) Have you polished those irons? The cheaper ones will often need a lot of polishing before they stop sticking in the leather. 3) You could indeed use the irons to mark and then finish the job with the awl. That's the traditional way, and I think that's how Neil Armitage, an expert British leatherworker, does it. Prepare to spend a day or two watching his videos on handstitching, on YouTube: <https://www.armitageleather.com/online-classes> But in any case, you'll need to spend some time practicing, so set aside your project for a while (I know, it's tough!) and work on stitching until you're not fighting it anymore (and thus ruining projects).

Card holder wallet: bifold, two layers of leather with two pockets. Can be decorated (stamped or tooled) but not necessary, can be colored. Pre-cut and pre-punched with the help of a nice volunteer! Could be used to teach edge treatments (sanding, burnishing). Luggage or backpack tags. Neckerchief slide loops (if the troop or pack uses them).

All that happy dye! ;-) They were having a great time, and this looks like a nice product! Black and white are the difficult dyes, and it seems Fenice has got those figured out.

Welcome to the forum! We have a LOT of people with much helpful information about leather working. There are certain areas here dedicated to machine sewing, if that is your main interest. If you can't find them, ask a moderator to direct you!

Slick, polished work, with a good eye for the details... and the color choice is just fine. Maybe it's not your personal color scheme, but it's still nice design work.

That could be an interesting use for the scraps of exotic leather (python, ostrich, etc.) that are too small for anything else!

I use the Toluene-free Barge cement. (I located it on Amazon: "Barge All-Purpose TF Cement Rubber, Leather, Wood, Glass, Metal Glue 2 oz") I think using it in a well-ventilated space is still a good idea. I don't think I've ever actually tried the "real" stuff before.

Hopefully they can find somebody in the company who is comfortable enough in English to correspond with you. I suspect that they do very little business in the English speaking world.

So busy admiring the knives I almost forgot there was leather there, too! Nice houses for those blades!

I believe I misunderstood your request, and I apologize for sending you on a wild chase! I don't see what you are actually looking for there at Goods Japan, either. Rocky Mountain Leather Supply has a Round Dent punch, like you want: https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/pricking-irons-chisels-awls/products/ks-blade-punch-round-dent-punch-pricking-irons?variant=12116078985336 But the smallest available size is 2.7 mm, like Mike02130 warns in the previous post.

Yes, I see some available at Goods Japan, in 1 mm, 1.5 mm, and 2 mm: https://www.goodsjapan.com/leathercraft-supplies/pricking-irons They're a good company -- I got my current stitching chisels from them and they are good quality.

Excellent! But I don't know if the leather dye will work on the hair...

I have a roll of double sided tape I got from a local hobby/craft store (in the cards/scrapbooking section). Brand is Scor-Tape, the width I chose was 1/8 inch. No drying time necessary, no mess, easy to position where I needed it to hold down ribbon pockets before sewing.

it's a bold design element produced by serendipity! you should make it, for sure.

Are you looking for historical buckles rather than modern buckles?

No pictures of this big ol' slab of rock?

Luddites... Seriously, though, I use BOTH methods-- digital and analog -- to make templates. and projects. Sometimes, it's just fun to play with the tools!

That's the best solution-- by doing this, you skip the messiness of working with dye, and you get a uniform, deep black.

Looks like somebody there at Tandy is paying attention!

Welcome to the forum! Paint: sits on top of the leather, subject to scraping off from surface wear and can crack if the leather is bent. Can easily do pieces with a variety of colors, since they won't bleed into each other. Dye: absorbed into the leather rather than sitting on the surface. Mostly mono-tint pieces, but other effects like antiquing are possible. it is possible to "paint" with dye, but it's a painstaking process. So it depends-- it's a choice of aesthetics and also a choice of wear/use conditions. If they're going to see rough outdoor use, I would go with dye.

Like Rahere stated, this really looks like a job for a laser engraving service. That's what I did for this project: <http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Walpurgis Wallet/WalpurgisWallet.htm> I looked at the design (show below as turned into a vector graphic), and said to myself "Tooling is not the way to go for this!" So for 13 dollars, I had it engraved onto the leather, and I had the shop use their laser to cut the project from the hide, too. It turned out very nice.

Stitching Needles are another rabbit hole to disappear down! Not all needles are the same -- Harness needles are rounded, less sharp than glovers' needles, for example. You don't push harness needles through leather to make holes, like a cloth sewing needle, so they don't need to be sharp. John James needles get consistent recommendations, and I must concur -- they are good quality. The difficulty is knowing which ones to get-- per their website, they offer the following for Saddlers Harness needles: 25 Saddlers Harness needles in paper envelope. Size 1 54mm length x 1.02mm diameter Size 2 54mm length x 1.02mm diameter Size 3 54mm length x 1.02mm diameter Size 4 48mm length x 0.86mm diameter Size 18 (1/0) 57.5mm length x 1.09mm diameter Size 17 (2/0) 59.5mm length x 1.42mm diameter Size 16 (3/0) 61.5mm length x 1.63mm diameter And now the beginner is hopelessly confused -- why so many? which ones do I need? what thread thickness do I need? flat braided or round twisted? polyester or linen? etc. It depends on the project: what weight or thickness of leather, which also dictates thread thickness and stitch spacing. Then you can figure out what needle would work. People (not me!) who specialize in sheathes and holsters can help you figure out those variables if you ask on the forum.

I like the attention paid to reinforcement. A nice clean piece-- I'd be proud to own that myself!

They have hardware that other places don't have, yet they don't seem to come up quickly on web searches. I stumbled across them a few months back, and I was glad to hear they had what you needed.

Try Ning bags in Hawaii: <https://www.ningbags.com/collections/purse-feet>