Petewon

Hi David, to work out the length of the leather I will just trim it down to fit my last punch hole, if that makes sense. I usually just bruise the leather all the way down the edge with a bit of pressure on the iron, work out where the last stictch should fall and then trim the end of the leather. Again as I said on an earler post, I find it easier to over compensate and have that margin for error.

Thanks Thank you. I just kind of make them up as I'm working on them. I have a rough idea of what I want to do before I start but never put it to paper as such.

Hi folks, I've just finsihed this little project, It was more of an experiment with button covering and coin pockets if anything. I picked up a few do's and dont's whilst working on it. I ordered what looked like red and its more of a pink. Another for my mother I think.

Very nice work. I bet that edge took a while, it looks superb.

Beatiful work. The knife looks great too, I love that pattarn on back edge between the handle.

Yeah the back stitch can be a propblem if you dont punch perfectly vertical. You also need to make sure the edge is perfectly verticle, if its not verticle and your punch is, your stitch it will not be parralell with the edge. I use either a 45mm roller cutter or Olfa BTC1 to cut my edges now. I find it easier to get 90 degree edge with these.

I dont see a problem with that. What thread is it? Are you punching all the way through or using an awl?

Yeah I found it to be a lot of upholstery stuff but I did manage to get a few bits and bobs. I was more interested in natural looking thicker leathers at the time so wouldnt mind popping back down to see if they have anything thinner for wallets. Cheers for the link, I've been meaning to get down to Northampton for a while. I'd be intersted to see some pics of your stitching. Might be able to lend a few pointers, not that mines great but it's allways good to get some input.

Hi Dave, If the edge is really rough I'll start with a P240 and move down to a P400. Ninety nine percent of the time though I don't need anything too coarse so will just go straight for the P400.

Haha even colder up here in Newcastle Yeah I've had a few samples from AAcrack but never placed and order. I wasn't sure on the prices. I live about 3 mile from LePrevo so can get in and look at the leather in person, which is allways nice. I got a nice black calf hide from there yesterday for £20. Have you been to Neumanns in Bury? I popped in last year to see what they had and it's definatly worth a look depending on what you are after. http://www.neumannleathers.com/

Yeah Im in the UK.

Ahh I see. Its just sanded then painted. The paint applied with a round awl. It takes around 3 coats with sanding between each application.

David when you mention edge roller do yo mean the craftool type rollers like the one below? I've been considering one of these but not sure if they are any good.

I'll dig them out and photograph them tomorrow when the light is better. To be honest I was after more of a lime green but I was well happy with this when it arrived. I've just picked up a lovely black calfskin today, I think it will look nice with the green. Thanks. No it's all hand cut and stitched.

Thanks. I've just looked and it doesnt seem to be listed on the website. I'll upload a pic of the swatch card if any use?

Thanks. yeah I'm in the UK at it means something quite different. I'll bear that in mind for the future.

Ha small world indeed. I'm pleased they are working out for you, bit of a bargain in my opinion.

No problem. I have placed a few orders with them and have found them great. I buy either Liege Main or sully depending on the colour I needed. The sully are a touch brighter in colour but seem a fraction thicker. Enjoy

Thanks, the leather is bought from Alran in France. Yes the piece in the middle just sits behind the pockets. I have skived it down a bit as not to add too much bulk. And yeah the liner is just there for asthetics, Id doesnt add any thickness to the wallet. The paint on the pocket edges is just one I mixed up from some Giardini paints.

Yeah I find the Giardini paint really good. It's a lot cheaper over here than Fenice. Its around £7 for 250ml. I'm also using them tips, they work grat for what I need.

Amazing, every bit of it. I love the design.

Thats really smart. The Chromexcel looks great with the goat. How do you find the Giardini? I love the stuff. What are you using for that fine crease between the edge and stitch?

Thanks. I dont turn the top, I just skive the back layer towards the top a little and attach a second strip to give the appearance of it being turned. Although I probably should be turning it I just find it much easier this way. I like to be able to trim the top edge after it is attached to get it as straight as possible and I also find it easier to edge paint on a flat/square edge. The front panel is one layer but its actually facing backwards, I use a narrower strip of leather, skived down which overlaps (sits behind) the pockets by about an inch. This adds strength to the centre section (between the pockets) and also looks a lot better when looking inside the wallet. Quite hard to explain but I've added some pictures below. Funny enough I just worked this out myeslf and it seemed an odd way to do it but looked good. I've just picked up a few books on wallet making and they used exactly the same process. I was quite pleased with myself Here is a link to the Au Chinois, this is UK based so not sure if they ship US. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sajou-Vintage-Style-Fil-au-Chinoise-Waxed-Linen-Thread-Capsules-Modern-Colours-/281259776112?var=&hash=item417c639870 Thnak you Thor. I've had a few people ask 'why the gap?'. No real reason except for it gives me larger scope for error. I've not been doing this very long and still learning, I dont use any templates for my work, everything is measured and cut as I'm doing it so I tend to cut things bigger (so I can trim down) or leave a few gaps where stitches should join to give me that buffer for error. I really need to spend a bit time drawing up some tempates, I think it would speed things up a lot.

Thanks.Yeah it's just a thin nylon fabric. Its a bit of a pain to line but I think it looks a lot better than just the back of the leather. It's realy cheap too so I picked up quite a few different colours.

Thanks for the comments folks. I really like using bright/contasting colours. I think I might try mixing some with veg next.