Tugadude

Very cool! Did you put the bladder inside? If so, how did you deal with the stem?

Welcome!

I wouldn't stick a needle into the hole. It has a very sharp edge to it and messing with it might dull it. The trouble could be the tool or it could be the leather. What specific leather did you purchase?

Welcome back! I also am in construction as is my wife and we are both busy. Being blessed, we are trying to support those not as fortunate during these times. Nice job on the bag!

I think you meant someone else as I have no video.

Just when I thought I'd heard every idea you come up with a great one! Gonna try it for sure.

I asked that this attached thread be made for just this reason. It helps sort out the differences.

You've gotten a lot of solid advice. The only thing I will add is encouragement. They look nicer than I expected from your first post. Your stitching looks good to me. Are you adding a welt? Reason I ask is I couldn't see edges clearly and one sheath in particular looked thin to me. Keep working and learning!

Arturo, thanks for linking that thread! It is what I hoped it would be, a quick reference. Yes, the round chisel can be helpful as discussed above. Round holes and beefy thread looks decent. Or use them for the turned bags as YinTX suggests.

Nigel visits here at times. Hopefully he will tell us more about it. I'm interested!

Very cool and well-executed!

http://www.juliuskoch.com/products/sewing-thread.php

Just for grins I went onto the internet and typed 'Alligator Watch Strap' into the search bar and found an unbelievable amount of them. I imagine the same would happen If I chose to type in 'Crocodile'. It seems to me the market is already covered. I'm not trying to dissuade you from your endeavor, but you have to be realistic. If you are trying to break into a market that already has a plethora of choices, how are you going to do that? I guess that's what you are here to figure out. I don't have any answers except to say that in business, when you are selling something similar to many others, you have to find other ways to differentiate yourself. That might be in service, for example. Maybe you can offer quick turnaround time on orders. Perhaps customization isn't available in alligator straps and you begin to provide the opportunity for purchasers to have a say in how they are made. You give a choice of buckle, for example, both color and style. You offer a deployment-style as an upgrade perhaps. Ask yourself this question, "why would someone want to buy from me and not the other hundred companies offering a similar product". Answer that and you are closer to discovering your niche.

You might try PMing some of these folks to see if they have anthing. Looks like the vendor is out of business.

The thread topic says scratch awl, just so you know. If your awl matches the width of the pricking iron, then that is the biggest hole you'll get. If it is wider, then you need to make sure you don't open the hole too much and consistency is important. But remember awls should not be sharp the whole blade length. The tip should be very sharp but then the blade is more polished, not razor sharp. This is so the awl expands the hole, stretches it really. After stitching it will close up somewhat, returning to the original size or close to it. Tapping the stitches with a smooth hammer also helps. I suggest you read Nigel Armitages essay in this thread for more info.

What a nice offer! Very generous of you. I also recommend, if you haven't yet, to go to youtube and look at videos by Nigel Armitage. Nigel has some on wallet making that address your question. He also sells a great download with all sorts of wallet templates, for little money.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone that can offer constructive criticism is welcome to have at it. If you see something and wish to comment, so long as you are trying to be helpful there should be no issue. I'm sure you can do some things with leather aside from tooling. So have fun!

I believe there are some watch strap templates here on the forum. There is a section dedicated to templates. I will look for that and other stuff that might help. Here's one thread...Look for the .pdf in one of the posts. Did you try googling 'Watch Strap Templates'? I did and found tons of information. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xwatch+strap+templates.TRS0&_nkw=watch+strap+templates&_sacat=0

Thanks! He was my oldest daughter's cat. He lived his whole life with us, which was unfortunately too short. The most loving cat, back when we still received the newspaper he would climb up my back and lay on my shoulders, like a neck warmer. I miss him terribly. Even though he was a rescue cat and the agency promised he was clean, he contracted feline leukemia somewhere along the way. That photo wasn't staged. He jumped in my daughter's bag and peeked out. Glad I had my phone handy to get a pic.

Glad your health is better! Sorry to hear of your issues. You've been missed. Great work as always.

I absolutely love that. Nice work! I am so impressed by the variety of talents around here.

YinTx, your work impresses as always. Simple, clean, just classy. Anyone would be proud to carry that. And I mean simple in the best way, not that it was simple to make, but a clean, uncluttered design. And you used a creaser on the pockets which is one of my "likes".

Welcome. There are lots of helpful folks here. If there is a certain issue you want to improve, just ask and you'll gets lots of helpful advice. We're all still learning! I know I am.

Tandy has their hands full... FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: TLF), the world's largest specialty retailer of leather and leathercraft related items, announced today that, as anticipated, the Company received notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff on February 18, 2020, indicating that, unless the Company timely requests a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the "Panel"), the Company's common stock would be subject to suspension and delisting from Nasdaq due to the Company's continued non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the "Rule"). The Rule requires Nasdaq issuers to timely file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The Company has not yet filed its Forms 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2019 (collectively, the "Forms 10-Q") with the SEC and therefore remains non-compliant. The Company plans to request a hearing before the Panel to appeal the determination of the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff. This request will stay any suspension or delisting action for 15 days after the date of the request. In accordance with the procedures set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rules, the Company intends to request a further stay of any suspension or delisting action by Nasdaq pending the hearing. At the hearing, the Company will request the continued listing of its securities on Nasdaq pending the Company's compliance with the Rule. The Panel has the discretion to grant the Company an extension to comply with the Rule of up to 360 days from the due date of the first Form 10-Q, or August 10, 2020. The Company is taking definitive steps to file the Forms 10-Q as soon as practicable. However, there can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company's request for continued listing pending the hearing or grant any extension of time to comply with the Rule. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to regain compliance with the Rule within any extension of time that may be granted to the Company by the Panel.

I wonder if one of these would be a solution for some folks that need portable storage and don't have massive amounts of tools to keep organized. $20.00 at Harbor Freight ain't bad.