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Hey, this is really cool. I'm a minimal-shoe person myself. For closed shoes I've been sticking to Vivobarefoot and Lems but with summer coming I'm going to try making some sandals. If you search Amazon for "soletech" there are a few sheets of rubber soling material for sale. I have them wishlisted because they come in a few colors. I've also heard of people recycling old car/truck tires.

I'm glad I could help! I go to the tools menu, then hole punches, then "LC Diamond Hole Punch PRO." The half-mm ones are listed separately at the bottom of the page.

That bag is a vintage Coach Willis. Here is a side view.

Keep in mind they have punches in half-mm increments as well. You could try the 3.5 if you can't decide between the 3 and the 4. http://www.leathercrafttools.com/shouhin.jsp?id=3836 http://www.leathercrafttools.com/shouhin.jsp?id=3839 I have punches from LCT and love them. Shipping is surprisingly fast as well with the middle option ("registered small packet").

This is incredibly helpful and the photo examples are beautiful. Thanks for sharing your work and experience! I like the idea of attaching the dee rings to the back, but in that case I would have to use a chain strap, which I wouldn't want to do. For the closure, I was thinking a simple turnlock. I found an example of a bag similar to your second example in a way, but where the dee rings pierce the front and back at the top of the bag. This is a little more complicated visually, but I like the idea. Thanks again for your advice--I'm going to keep mulling this over.

This would be an everyday purse. Medium in size--around 12" wide by 9" high by 3" deep or so. No books, just everyday carry type stuff (wallet, phone, keys, sunglasses, small odds-and-ends pouch) plus a 12-ounce bottle of water.

I want to make a flap-style shoulder bag, but unlike the bags where the strap attaches to the gusset, I want a single loop strap attached to the top of the bag. It would be modeled (in style, not in craftsmanship!) on the Hermes Constance (pictured), where the simple strap can either be doubled up to wear on the shoulder or worn at a single thickness messenger-style. I've never owned any bag like this, much less a Constance, and I was wondering if there are any particular aspects of the construction I need to keep in mind to be sure the bag does not tip over when it is opened while being carried, for example. It also seems like the clasp would have to be fairly strong to handle the stress of the way the bag would be carried--but maybe I'm overthinking this? I know that messenger bags with a top handle usually have a reinforcing strip on the inside of the bag under the handle, so I would definitely do that, but was just wondering if there's anything else I'm overlooking. I'll prototype first, but still want to try to think it through as much as I can before getting started on the pattern/design.

I just got the sample I ordered from the Lekoza site. Looks like good stuff and I really appreciate the color swatches as a reference for future orders. This is definitely wider than the 0.8mm Tiger thread. Just eyeballing it it looks like it could be half again as wide as the Tiger thread, so that'd make it 1.2.

That's beautiful; I think the decision to add the welts was a good one. Thanks for the meticulous photos and the pattern! I may try my hand at a similar bag.

I know what I was trying to say, and I think Ambassador also made this point, is that the tone of the article, which purports to be objective but is clearly biased, is a turn-off. It would be one thing if you acknowledged that both veg tan and chrome tan had their pros and cons, but said that you personally prefer veg tan for your products and that's why you use it. It's another to put forth a slanted article as objective fact. You are driving away potential customers who are turned off by infomercial-type presentations.

I'm new too, but I've spent about $200 or so in tools and they've been great for my first few projects. I decided I didn't want to get the cheapest tools and upgrade later, I wanted to spend a little bit more on better (but not necessarily top-of-the-line) tools and materials. Here's what I would suggest, keep in mind I am a beginner! eBay: John James needles, $7.50 (I got size 2 but could have gone with one size larger) Tiger thread, $6.95 Hunk o'beeswax, $0.99 Stitching pony, $29 Amazon: Al Stohlman's The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, $10.06 Wing divider, $13.25 Maul, $18.19 LeatherCraftTools.com (be sure to pay for registered shipping, it's only a few dollars more): 6-pc diamond chisels, $43.47 3-pc edge bevelers, $39.18 (I don't have this but wish I did--I've been making do with a cuticle remover!) Skiver, $18.83 (I don't have this either, and have considered getting a callus shaver to use as a makeshift skiver until my next LCT order) Hardware store: contact cement utility knife (you can also use this to carefully cut out a strip between two round holes, instead of using an oblong punch for your belt buckles) metal ruler/square rubber or plastic mallet if you don't get the maul You will also want a surface to cut on--I use a self-healing mat from my sewing kit--and a surface to pound on such as a big log, or a granite slab with a cutting board or similar on top so you don't damage your hole punch and chisels. A rotary cutter comes in handy when making straight cuts on thinner leather. I had one already from sewing, along with a quilter's ruler, which is great for measuring if you aren't working from a pattern. A lot of sewing stuff is handy for leather too. I used Ian Atkinson's patterns and video tutorial to make a wallet. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it helped me understand the construction to follow along with him.

I can't comment on the accuracy of what you've written, but I can say that the whole thing seems biased and skewed towards veg tan and that, in turn, would make me skeptical as a novice buyer. I'm happy to be informed about a product's properties, but I don't want to be told what attributes I should prefer. For example, some people may like a more uniform color treatment or a consistent finish that will not patina over time. People may not like the idea of a product that scratches easily or that they have to clean and treat for weather resistance. Putting those biases in your descriptions is a little alienating. A more balanced and neutral list would point out the properties of both and emphasize that different leathers are appropriate for different applications. You can still say you work with veg tan for X, Y, and Z reasons but try to avoid putting down chrome tan in the process.

I'm very happy with my one order from leathercrafttools. I paid for the middle shipping option, the registered small packet. It was delivered one week to the day from when I ordered. The same day, I ordered from Goods Japan, paying a little extra for Priority shipping. It is going on two weeks and hasn't arrived--I haven't even gotten a shipping confirmation, though when I inquired, she insured me the package was shipped. Would definitely recommend leathercrafttools.

I think I like it without the pleats! Great color choices too. Is that a fabric lining?

I do appreciate that because it's exactly the kind of info I hadn't considered. Saves me from getting snaps I won't use or throwing good money after bad to try to set them. As for chisels, I got a set of six (2- and 6-prong in 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 mm) from leathercrafttools.com. They shipped fast (at my door exactly a week from when I placed the order) and seem really great. I made a small key fob to test them out and they were a dream to use. I'm still considering whether to splurge on tiger thread or not, it just seems so expensive compared to other threads.

Thanks guys. Sounds like I should stick to one or two types of snap so I don't need to get a bunch of tools too. I'm quickly learning how expensive it can be to get started with leather. :/ I did buy the Tandy kit with a setter and Li(g)ne 20 snaps, and I'll probably eventually get some glove snaps for lighter work. Don't worry about 25b, he got upset in another thread when he said Seiwa and Craft Sha tools were made in China and someone said they are in fact made in Japan. But I'm glad he brought it up here because it led me to this interesting Wikipedia article on ligne/line as used for buttons and snaps.

Thanks, that's good to know. I used to have one in my pedicure kit but I got rid of it. Now I'm kicking myself. I did just discover that a cuticle remover works as an edge beveler in a pinch...

Hear me out. I was in the skiver section of a site that sells leather tools and in with the purpose-built skivers was a German pedicure tool--a corn/callus shaver. That got me thinking. Tweezerman makes a callus shaver that's readily available in the U.S. at Sally Beauty stores, and you can get replacement blades easily. It's under $6, so a bargain compared to Tandy's. I'm just starting out and already $200+ deep in tools, so I'd rather save wherever possible. Any reason this won't work for light skiving along the edges of leather? It's a bit creepy to think about this way but shaving down a callus is basically skiving your foot...

These guys are using the same photo. http://www.edroman.com/customshop/style/guitars_leather.htm

Here is a pattern for you. In the thread there are also images from someone who made the wallet. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=59038

I just tested out the masking tape trick to mark glue lines on the pieces I'd cut out for the wallet. In addition to marking the line, of course it also masks off the glue line so I can keep a thin and even edge. Definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that" tricks and I think it will do nicely! What I will probably do for stitches is to mask a stitch line and draw on stitch positions to bore through with my awl. The wallet is just for practice while I wait on my tools from Japan so it's OK if my stitching is uneven.

Do you know if you can pick it up to avoid shipping costs? I live just a few miles up the road.

Brilliant!

The leather marker is a good idea for marking a line. I'll look into picking something like that up. It still seems though that the overstitch wheel won't be usable on these leathers and I'll have to wait for the chisels. I love the idea of filing down a fork to make my own, but I'm useless at metalworking and don't have the tools. It's always about the tools! Thanks both for your suggestions.

I am a beginner. I bought a bunch of scrap leather to start working with so I don't make my mistakes on the good stuff. There is a mixture of different weights and finishes in the pile, very little of which (just a strip here or there) is veg tan. Some of it has a textured surface (embossed design, or pebbled/shrunken) and when I go to mark a stitch line or the stitches themselves, the mark simply doesn't show up. Especially on the darker colors. So using a fid or overstitch wheel is all but impossible on some of this stuff, and I was wondering what people do in this situation. I have a white marking pencil for fabric, but even that doesn't show up. I managed to cut out all the pieces for a wallet out of thin leather, which has a saffiano type texture, but I cut my losses when I realized it would be nearly impossible to assemble if I can't mark a line or stitch positions. I am currently working with wing dividers and a crappy stitch wheel from a cheap sewing kit. I have a nice set of overstitch wheels and diamond chisels coming from Japan, but it will be at least another week or two.