Tugadude

First of all, like anything, you get better with practice. Knowing how much edge coat to put on the spatula is key to getting good results. Personally I'd rather put less on and have to touch up light spots than use more and have to wipe off. I use wooden sticks, sort of like popsicle sticks and they work for me. I've also had good results with short, stiff brushes. Tandy also sells a "pen" type of applicator. Never tried it, but it probably is worth checking out. There is a "touch" that is acquired over time. When you develop it, it just flows and you don't have to mess with cleaning up misplaced paint.

Pictures would help. We can better assess the situation by seeing the edges ourselves.

JLS, the owner of Springfield has more than 40 years experience in the leather business. Call him if you aren't satisfied. You took a great deal of time speculating as to what the problem is. I can assure you they are top notch and deal with professionals as well as hobbyists. Their store is very nice and the folks I've dealt with are off the charts nice and helpful. Many others on this forum agree. I'd call them before questioning their competence, but that's just me. And I mean speak with the owner or a supervisor. They'll be happy to help. Once, I had a question about a particular project I was working on and the person helping me took me in the back where they make finished goods. She introduced me to a nice young man who literally stopped what he was doing and grabbed a couple of pieces of leather to show me the technique I needed to know. He was happy to help, smile and all. Sorry your experience wasn't better, but give them a chance to fix it.

Not as trendy, but you could cut this into shapes and glue/sew to the bottom of the mocs. Maybe cut in a foot shape?

Is this what you mean..... By the looks of it, the rubber grips are all connected, is that right?

"I could stitch in shorter sections but that will cause the stitching to br uneven do I'd rather not. Thoughts" I don't agree, multiple lengths will not lead to the stitching being uneven. It would, however, lead to start/stop points as described above. Those should not be overly noticeable. Plan the points of transition out so as to make them happen in areas not as visible when wearing. For example, well away from the pointed end. If you put one near the buckle, it gets covered by the pointed end when worn. BTW, many folks use no more than 6 feet or less at a time. I've used more and it is possible, but tedious for sure.

The way you described casing the leather was not going to give you good results. There are numerous threads describing methods of casing which will help. Also, I've been in Michaels and never bought any leather there but didn't notice any junk either. It might help to tell us exactly what you bought. Could be the type doesn't lend itself to tooling, not all leather does, of course. Do you have a product description or item code?

Tandy has classes. If there is one near you give them a look.

Mike, I've purchased mainly chromexel leathers, culatta and various sides of finished leather. All have been great IMHO. If you visit them they also have a bin chock full of remnants, perfect for small articles. Love scrounging through it. I really like the buffalo culatta. They typically stock it in black, maroon and a distressed version. Made a briefcase out of it and believe it was perfect.

Welcome! You might want to list a location to your profile. After this thread, nobody will know what your location is. Helps when we might want to suggest a local dealer for you, and you might wish to connect up with other Kentuckians. Good luck, it is a great website.

Springfield Leather sells much of their leather by the square foot. Check them out. They also sell wallet backs, premade interiors, etc.

Nice stuff! Very clean and professional, all the details are spot-on. I don't do much tooling personally, but seeing such nice work makes me want to learn. Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54776&hl=%2Bbifold+%2Btemplate You can obviously modify the template to suit your needs. Try modifying the shape of slots for example. Add additional slots, change direction of the slots, lots of room for personalization and creativity. Good luck.

Try to look for sales. Right now Tandy has some decent tooling leather on sale. I agree 3-4 oz. works well for wallets. Depending on firmness of the leather, I can sometimes go thinner. Also, a very generous forum member posted a nice wallet templare awhile ago. It is for a bifold and features a type of card slot you might appreciate. It is cut like a "T", in order to keep edge thickness uniform and thinner. Good place to start if you don't have your own pattern. You can easily find the post in the template area. Believe the posters name is Ducjes or similar.

Check out their membership too. You can do some quick math to make sure, but if you buy a decent amount of stuff, it more than pays for itself. Another good supplier is Springfield Leather. Too far to drive but they have new flat shipping rates which are good. They are particularly nice and helpful and frequently run good sales. Their Finesse tool line has some decent quality punches for cheap.

Tandy has stitching chisels that are affordable and do the job.

Looks great and there was a lot of work involved. One suggestion would be on the shoulder pad. Next time you might use a wing divider or stitching groover to scribe a line for your stitching. You ended up with rounded corners on the leather and rectangular lines of stitching. Do one or the other but they should match. A divider or groover will follow the curves and help your stitching match the shape of the pad.

Common sense tells me two layers glued and stitched. I would add nylon webbing in the center if you want ultimate strength.

Couple things. First, no, I seldom put a stitching channel on the backside. In fact, they are unnecessary and can lead to issues such as you described. I understand the benefits in having the thread protected from wear, but they can also force the stitching to flatten out and lose the nice angles. Next time make sure you are keeping the awl 100% level to keep the backside straight. Also, are you certain that you didn't get out of order with your needles? Happens to all of us sometimes. That could cause the irregularities. Btw, I use the same chisels sometimes. Love 'em.

Which Tandy chisel are you using? They make at least three that I know of, two of which I use all of the time and they are great. Tandy had added some very nice tools recently such as their fine diamond chisels. Hard for me to see details because of a lack of contrast, but your work looks excellent to me. Maybe show a close up of an area that you are dissatisfied with. Otherwise, why change a thing?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lemo-5Pcs-Working-Hand-leather-Edge-Skiving-DIY-tool-Keen-Edge-Beveler-Wholesal-/161717054264?hash=item25a7166b38:g:gJAAAOSw~OdVZX3D Don't know if they would work, but they look promising.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=27754 Try this link. http://diyfunprojects.com/?tag=making-a-leather-tobacco-pouch Or this one. Try Google. There are videos posted to Youtube that might be helpful.

Try this link. Guy's company catalog is listed below under Korean tool makers... https://www.reddit.com/r/Leathercraft/comments/3i2kmt/돌도끼_dol_dokki_tools_catalog_also_general/

Never ordered from them, but I have been in the store numerous times as I travel there for business. Great store and even greater, helpful staff.

Several companies make 5mm irons. Google it.