Tugadude

You have gotten some great advice, pretty much the ways I was going to describe. Try Springfield Leather for rivets, decorative and otherwise. They stock a large variety. They also are a great resource if you are into making jewelry. They will also provide a catalog if you like hard copies of stuff. Some of us still do! By doing turned-out bags and using fasteners such as rivets, you can accomplish a lot without showing stitches. Glues are also effective, depending upon what you are doing. Good luck!

The overall design you are trying to achieve would be helpful. When I think of a traditional doctor bag, I picture this.Not much round here. I doubt the "darts" are necessary but skiving is helpful when doing any sort of radius. I have made several turned out leather mail bag briefcases and never cut any "darts" nor did I need to skive. I used 4/5 oz. on the majority of them. This style bag only curves when closed.

I watched the video and thought it was great. He says up front that the idea was shown to him years ago. He proceeds to show how it works, how it is made and demonstrates how you use it, all for free. JLS, I think you went way overboard criticizing this guy. Just my opinion.

Different ways to approach the problem. In addition to the advice above I would add wet forming. Would not work with all leather but certainly would with vegetable tanned. By moulding the wet leather around the flashlight it should make for a literal glove-tight fit. What I would do to " fix" your pouch is simply add another row of stitching. That would remove some of the slack. Add it between the light and pen or whatever that is. Won't hurt the appearance at all, IMHO.

Nice work. I get what you are saying but believe me, once you get the technique down even a belt like that is not as big a deal as it seems. When I started stitching, even a watch strap was an ordeal. All of a sudden I could whip out a watch band or small wallet so fast it kind of bugged me. What I mean is that I really love to sit at the pony with a cup of coffee and some music and lose myself in the process. What used to be a half-hour became 15 minutes. Please understand I'm not humble bragging, I'm just trying to say that when I hear folks complain about large stitching projects I can't help but wonder whether they are doing something that is making their job more difficult. For example, I remember reading a post where a fellow was complaining about his fingers hurting so bad he had to stop stitching. Another said he was having to use pliers to pull his need through on every stitch. I believe in both instances, they were doing something that contributed to their difficulties. Holes should be big enough to allow the needles to pass through with little effort. If they don't, try smaller needles or larger holes. Common sense. I have reached for pliers when stitching but probably on every third project and only once or maybe twice on that project. I also wear leather sleeves on my pinky fingers to keep my fingers from getting sore when pulling thread snug. Other than that, no issues. Didn't mean to go on a rant, but I guess I'm disappointed that your belt turned out so nicely and you are considering never attempting another one.

Did you attempt to speak with someone at Buckleguy?

Stitching chisels certainly can be used as a conventional pricking iron and some pricking irons can behave like a chisel. For that matter, a kitchen fork could suffice so long as the times weren't bent. If the leather is quite thin, the C.S. Osborne and Blanchard pricking irons will cut all the way through. The thing to watch out for is that their teeth are tapered and in thicker leather, by the time they would penetrate, they would leave a gigantic hole that will not close up properly. Same holds true for awls. Controlling the depth with which you push the awl through the leather will provide consistency but if you only stab part-way through on some and all the way through on others, you will have odd-sized holes and irregular stitching. So there is a lot going on and a lot to be aware of, hence the fact that in order to get really good at saddle stitching you have to work out the details. Then repeat them!

I found this information in the product description. So apparently they intend on them not being "too sharp"... The Amy Roke pricking irons are all hand polished to allow the teeth to pierce the leather really easily and slide out without and issues. They also have a carefully tested design to not cut through the leather too sharply but rather create a nice rounded opening. This helps ensure as you stitch the thread doesn't pull out leather fibers. Also, the picture shows to my eye a sort of blunt finishing, almost rounded.

Agreed.

If you need 1,000 pieces, Alibaba has them. They sell them cheap, but you would still be into it for several hundred dollars. I've seen different makes at Tandy and Springfield Leather, but not solid brass that I know of. You might try Buckle Guy. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Money-Clipper-Parts-Solid-Brass-Spring_60577514588.html

Great video, thanks for sharing. Quality craftsmanship for sure. On the adhesive, I see you appear to be using a glue. Next time, try a contact cement and I believe you will get better results. Apply to both pieces, allow to dry on the surface and then press together and I think you will be happy.

One point on the belt end to think about. If you begin by putting a round hole in the exact middle of the belt, then work backwards down each side, you will end up with a perfect outcome. As it is, when you simply go around the point of the belt as if it is a curve, it can end up looking wonky. Nigel Armitage discusses this in relation to corners and calls the round hole a "hinge" for the thread, where it changes direction. Otherwise, people often struggle with stitch spacing when they approach the corner. Well, to me a belt is similar. I always try to begin at the point of the belt with a round hole and then work backwards. I do this on watch straps too. I think it provides a professional look. Try it and see if you agree. Borrowed this pic from Nigel's facebook page. This shows one way of doing it. You may notice the "corner" stitches are a tad longer, they don't have to be, but it looks even and attractive.

The 3.5mm used 0.8mm and the 2.5 used 0.6mm

I like the results from these. If you want to buy wait until they go on sale or invest in the membership to get a discount.

I have the same make iron but the spacing is closer. Actually I have one same size as yours and I have used it on turned bags where the stitching really isn't seen. The card case is done in 0.8 if I remember correctly.

This one I thought benefitted from accentuating the thread. It is an iPad cover.

Just took a crappy pic of some items to show variation. The chisels were 2.5 and 3.0 Tandy Craftool diamond type, the black ones. The red thread is 1.0mm and the white is 0.6mm on the natural veg tan and 0.8mm on the razor cover. I think the simulated alligator wallet ( my current daily wallet) is Tandy waxed awl thread, comes in a large spool and is three strand. I actually like it and it is reasonably priced. Bad pic, sorry for that, but hopefully helpful.

1.0 mm thread is somewhat large for most small items. My sweet spot seems to be 0.8mm for typical wallets, etc. and 0.6 for small items where I want a more refined look or to detract attention from the stitching. On some stuff I want the stitching to be proud, on others I want the item to get the attention. I like .6mm with around 9 spi and 0.8 at 7 spi.

A little bigger. https://www.amazon.com/Large-Polished-Stainless-Steel-Rivets/dp/B079SKF4ZZ/ref=pd_bxgy_201_2/142-1048622-4715216?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079SKF4ZZ&pd_rd_r=5ddd4996-259c-11e9-9e3c-7da984d71310&pd_rd_w=iw6MG&pd_rd_wg=XYFss&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=AJJBBXB3M1YEA2XBH7DS&psc=1&refRID=AJJBBXB3M1YEA2XBH7DS

like these? https://www.amazon.com/Small-Polished-Stainless-Steel-Rivets/dp/B079SGBPSB/ref=asc_df_B079SGBPSB/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242071853242&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17609245364163686173&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022816&hvtargid=pla-421081630737&psc=1

I think the look of the black and brown wallet would be improved by going with a closer stitch spacing. To me they are too long and too flat. It is accentuated since the white thread contrasts starkly with the black and brown. Regarding consistency, that is just it, you need to be consistent meaning pulling the threads the same tension along with maintaining proper needle priority. Same motion over and over with the same amount of tug. Sounds easy, but obviously it isn't. We all struggle at times getting the back to look as good as the front. Both Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson address that issue in their various youtube videos. Check them out.

You are welcome. You will enjoy his work. Made immediate improvement in my own stitching and I still go back for refreshers.

You are off to a fine start! My only comments would be with regard to the stitching. I think the stitching should be closer to the edge. You can put it where you have it, but convention is to keep it closer to the edge. Compare to other wallets posted here and see what you think. In the end, it is your wallet so please yourself. It appears you lost the needle priority on your stitching in a few places. Recommend you study the work of Nigel Armitage on youtube.com. He is a great teacher and will help you understand the stitch better so that you know what to do with the needles in order to have consistent, aesthetically-pleasing stitches. But in general, good work and keep it up!

Watch Nigel Armitage's review videos on his youtube channel. He demonstrates nearly all of the popular chisels and irons, discusses pros and cons, which thread size matches best, etc.. He also demonstrates how to go through several layers with chisels by punching them one at a time then aligning them. One of the posters above mentioned this as a limitation of chisels, but it doesn't have to be.

Springfield Leather has stamps that depict the 4 suits, Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds. I've seen other card-related stamps, but a quick google search didn't yield much. You might also search for conchos.