YinTx

Absolutely stellar. Impeccable stitching, nice edges, well executed design! YinTx

Bikermutt and Aussie: Thanks for the compliments. RockyAussie, I am sure you are much more adept at installing liners than I may ever be. I wish I lived anywhere near you so I could come learn for a week or a year. Dun: I use a pricking iron to mark stitches, then an awl to complete the process. Pretty much really difficult to hammer a pricking chisel through all the layers the way the body of this bag is built, and I do prefer the construction quality of an awl to the chisels, although I have and do use both methods depending on what I am making. All stitches are saddle stitched. I don't use an awl to cut the cloth in the zipper or the liner, only to finish the hole in the leather. By necessity it will pierce the cloth, but I try to control the depth because I don't want to cut the cloth and affect the strength. Perhaps others with more experience can suggest a better way. It makes keeping the stitch pretty on the front very difficult, since the cloth affects the path of the thread. Hope this answers some of your questions... YinTx

Finally, after nearly a week of finessing the liner to fit and line up how I wanted, I have fitted it into the body of the bag. Open to hints on how to speed up the process of making a liner and installing it! YinTx

I must say... an engineering marvel to fit all that in such a compact space! YinTx

I purchased mine from the same place I believe. It is possibly the best $30 I have spent for leather tools, as *every* item I make touches this "tool" at least once as I cut, trim, etc. The 1/4" version has worked fine for about 2 years worth of use, on just one side. https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=36172&catid=705 YinTx

These edges are coated... YinTx

Is that not hand stitching thread? YinTx

That is an awesome coaster. Well done! YinTx

TexasCowboy62, Thank you. I saw something that looked like this, so I drew up a pattern on a napkin so to speak, and adapted it to fit the size of leather I had. I gave it a thin 2 oz veg tan leather backing to provide it some form. I suspect there are dozens of versions of this sort of thing floating about... YinTx

Troy, Thanks for that. And after 15 minutes of internet searching.... how to make your own Tallow! http://www.paleoplan.com/2011/12-02/make-your-own-tallow/ huh. so simple. why buy? YinTx

hah. Wiki to the rescue... I think Lard is from Pig, and Tallow from cow. Now, where to buy?

Wait, I just read that tallow is Lard! (see product description here: http://grasslandbeef.com/beef-tallow-5-gallon-bucket-ships-separately). Then I read you are mixing tallow with lard! So what the heck is it if it is not lard??? And where would you buy it in the states? Thanks for clearing up my confusion! YinTx

Yeah, it has a striking resemblance to the British Tan dye from Fiebengs, which you can see in my avatar. But, that's what the tanner called it.. so Bold it is! And thanks for the compliment! YinTx

I am not sure. It feels like a tumbled or dry milled leather (veg tan), but could very well be a chrome tan. nstarleather may be able to clarify. Regardless, it has a great hand to it, very supple. It is dyed throughout, looks nice. The 10 lb package he is selling has a LOT of leather in it: so far I have made 4 small purses, this clutch and still have plenty left over to do twice that and more. Some bits have scars you have to work around, some looks like belly, but there is plenty of good stuff in there as well. If he still has any left, its a nice color and interesting leather to work with. YinTx

CazaLopez, I don't plan to paint the edges on this one. Was concerned that the waxy finish on the leather might prevent the paint from holding. I have done some wallets with it, and the edges seem ok without burnishing or painting, so I am going with the warm fuzzy look on this one with the linen thread. Perhaps I'll do a test wallet with edge paint and use it for a while to see how it holds up in the future. For today, not a lot of progress as I was finishing up the orange clutch from the other post.. so only managed to complete the zipper pull. The day is still young tho... and I need a smaller set of end punches... YinTx

Just finished this little clutch using the "Bold Orange" leather by the pound being sold by NStarLeather. Only my second ever effort at box corner stitching.. must say I need more practice! And I think it is a more practical stitch for a firmer leather like bridle or veg tan.. but it's useable none the less. 2 oz Veg tan liner, beige edge coat, Coats Barbour 25/3 linen thread, 9SPI hand stitched. YinTx

Thanks for sharing the progress photos, it is really interesting to me to see how everyone approaches things differently. How do you like the pink Lin Cable? I had debated getting some for a particular project, but was concerned I might not use it on many other things... YinTx

JamesR, You are right, that is not cheap, but I can see that it would work very well.... I'll keep it in mind for a future buy... YinTx

Bit more... I know some feel that Riri is a bit over rated, but they work very well, and I do like that sparkle... Stitching zippers is one of my more challenging stitches: along with cloth lining, since they both always seem to mess with the lay of the stitch on both sides. I don't like cutting into the cloth too much with the awl or the irons, because I don't want to affect the integrity of it. This time not too bad.. but I really had to take my time with it. Also, tried an iron on the edges today, RockyAussie. No luck with this one.. it just turned black, and the fuzzies stayed. I'll try on some of my other leathers tho. YinTx

Thanks for the compliments, Bob and JLS. Near as I can tell, around 2350 stitches, give or take. I'm gettin some pretty tough fingers...forearms are burning, though. Takes a few days on ice to recover from each one of these... YinTx

Sorry it took so long for me to reply to this, alolio. The liner is duck cloth, and the leather is about a 4-5 oz. I really liked the color too, it is much better in person than in the photos. YinTx

Looks pretty good! I don't think I'd have been able to do that "quick," more like over a day or two! YinTx

A little progress today... along with a wayward stitch or two They really show up when you take a close-up photo! Not so noticeable from 1 foot away...just means I have to keep upping my game... maybe a bigger awl handle would help me... YinTx

RockyAussie, Thanks for the pointers. I will try them on the next item I make... don't want to foul this one up, since the body is already formed. Sadly no time to work on this one over the weekend... oh well, the week is coming! Also, I'm beginning to think that this is the "Dublin" leather from Horween... has a really nice, waxy feel to it, a firm temper, and a pull up character. Anyone know how I can really tell what it is? All I know is that it is Horween... YinTx

Well, my momma was a redhead... And thanks for the info and effort on getting chat up and going in the future! YinTx