DJole

Nice work! It's always nice to see something come back to life again. I did something similar to a family artifact: a leather Masonic sword case, about 100 years old or so. The leather is in great condition...but the original stitching had pretty much all rotted out. That took a LOT of stitching-- about 4 hours worth! But the new stitching will very likely last another century (or more, since it's Ritza synthetic thread).

Hey, I can see your house from my house! Well...not really, but on a clear day, I can see the Olympic mountains off in the distance. You've picked one of the driest spots of Western Washington to settle in, which I'm guessing was part of the attraction! Welcome (again?) to the forum!

Random related fact: My great-great grandfather was a Civil War veteran who joined and fought in a Wisconsin regiment only a few years after moving to the USA from Norway. (I doubt he joined up to either "save the Union" or to "free the slaves" as many pundits have claimed the war was about.) Many men (and a few women) fought for many reasons in that war. It's too bad that many people assign the Confederate battle flag the meaning of pro-slavery, when that isn't truly accurate. After all, legal slavery existed in the USA under the earlier US flags... so technically whatever flag the US used in the early 1800s was "pro-slavery," yet those flags don't have the same reputation. But as for the swastika, it wasn't actually hijacked from Buddhist monks. Yes, the swastika is part of Buddhist culture, and it is located on many Buddhist temples (many in Korea, for example, which freaks out Americans and other Westerners who are unaware of the symbol's past history in Asia). The swastika is also part of prehistoric European history, the first examples found in 12,000 year old artifacts in the Ukraine. It is also found in medieval contexts. Hitler and his goons took a nearly universal symbol with millenia of history behind it and assigned it a new meaning. That Nazi context, unfortunately, is the meaning that has stuck with modern Westerners. Getting back to leather -- that wallet has seen a lot of use! Do the rivets make the wallet "stick" in the pockets or slide out? Here's my first wallet, which I still use: <http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Wallet/wallet.htm>

Perhaps these folks down in California have what you need? <https://www.fineleatherworking.com/leather-tools/>

Ha! Well done! A very imaginative use of those zippers!

Try looking at the main book on this Amazon page-- maybe it has what you need. --> Title= The Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques and Projects Then look at the "see also" books at the bottom of the page. https://www.amazon.com/Leatherworking-Handbook-Illustrated-Sourcebook-Techniques/dp/1844034747

To be cost effective, it looks like you just need some smaller "sampler" spools of different sizes to test. Over at Rocky Mountain Leather Supply (https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/supplies) you can purchase a "small" spool of 0.6MM RITZA "Tiger" (25m in length) for $6.75. (Buy 5, get one free, too!) That is the same for the .8 and 1.0 and 1.2 thread. A good variety of different colors is offered, and shipping is free. I have purchased from them in the past, and they run a good store. You can also get the full spool for 30 dollars if you want it.

UK or USA, or even down in Oz, the leather and irons should work just the same! 1) what irons are you using (maker and size)? 2) What kind of leather is it, and how thick? Is it veg tan or chrome tan? 3) Your question is unclear -- are you asking about what surface to use your irons on (like a plastic cutting board, or a block of wood)?

Welcome to the forum! You may find it useful to change the settings on your account to show your location, so questions you have about suppliers and so on can focus on European sources.

Welcome to a fellow Evergreen stater, over on the Dry Side! With the current state "lockdown" you'll have even more time to work on your kit!

Hi Bryan -- to direct people to help you out, you should, up in the title of your post, include what machine you are using. Otherwise, you'll confuse hand stitchers, like me!

maybe Brettun's Village, up in Maine, USA, will work for you. Along with full hides, they also sell smaller pieces, both by the piece and by the pound: <https://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/leather-panels/> You don't seem to be interested in learning about tooling, which means that you don't need to worry about tooling leather. I've picked up some tooling bellies at Tandy for 10 dollars apiece, once -- it's possible to get some good deals, but if you're looking for leather RIGHT NOW then you have to take what you can find right now.

Yours is much nicer than mine! I just slapped some together without bothering to put any kind of closure on them. But keeping the irons protected is a great idea.

Those are questions which come up a lot! There are few definitive answers, since there are a lot of variables (the leather itself, as well as its thickness, temperature, humidity, etc.) Some basic guidelines: 1) If you have the leather correctly cased, then a project of the size you have there shouldn't need re-wetting, unless you are a very slow, meticulous tooler! If you have a larger project, you basically have to pay attention to the leather -- when you first began tooling, and then many minutes later, is it still working the same? If not, then re-wetting may be called for. Many people re-wet with a sponge, or a spritzer, part way through a project. 2) If you need to stop for a while (hours, or next day), there are a variety of things many people do to keep the moisture content. I'll briefly mention a few of the ways I remember some people keep the leather wet: place into a sealed ziploc bag; or covered with plastic wrap. I have no expertise on this topic, so for best results you should locate the threads where people actually describe what they do. Find them by searching the forum for specific key terms like "re-wetting" or "casing leather."

It takes some practice to learn to "walk" the beveller, instead of "stamping" with it. Make sure your leather is cased correctly, and then use a light touch with the mallet, blending the strokes by overlapping them. Easy to write how it's done...but the muscles and the eyes have to learn it, over time! And if the recipient likes it, even if you cringe at the flaws, then it's a win. ;-)

I really like the curvy outline to the design that doesn't follow the rectangular contours of the case itself. That's a really good design!

Maybe Rocky Mountain Leather Supply has something similar to that. I checked their website -- they don't seem to have the Vachetta you want, but they have a list of European tanneries they get leather from: https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/view-all-leather You can, of course, contact them directly and ask for assistance. They're pretty helpful folks there, and they run a good shop.

If you are looking at PDF files, you should be able to open them directly in a web browser, without needing Adobe products. I know that I can open and read PDF files using Google Chrome, for example. I can also print from

The butterfly color was a serendipitous experience -- it's a striking combination with that red.

Round boxes are tough work, but you did a nice job here! Extra points for bravely using that lighter colored thread which makes all the stitching pop.

Good work there! Nothing improves stitching like spending time stitching!

Good work there! Nice attention to little details, nice stitching-- it will hard not to keep that piece for your very own! Unless, of course, it is your own now. ;-)

The person you gave it to LOST IT? How do you just "lose" a bag? I can't... even...just... Well, we can only hope that another person found it and realizes what it is, rather than a 20 dollar generic bag from generic store.

Gotta love that dual pivot for best placement! Happy stitching!

Good, careful work, and it looks great! ! I really like the color of that blue thread on the black leather.