flagshipsupply

A little gum trag buff at the end, but otherwise that's it. W & C buck brown harness is just about the prettiest leather there is in my two bit opinion.

@Rockoboy A healthy volume of wine makes the world go round.

Whipped out this handy little sheath for my Bahco Laplander folding saw. Leather is 5oz. Wickett & Craig Buck Brown Harness for the pouch, and 12oz. Buck Brown Harness for the belt loop. Saddle stitched and brass easy set rivets for added strength. Cheers, -Matt

Sick!! Love that blue stitching. What thread did you use? Ritza Tiger makes a nice deep like that that I've been dying to use on a project. Doing a run of black belts soon. May use it on a few of those now that I know how nice it looks. So is the piece on the stump the rig itself? I'm trying to visualize how it all fits together on the shoulder. Either way, great looking set. Cheers

@Rossr Nice!!

@Rohn Real nice! Super innovative design for the loop. Love that lacing. Been wanting to try it on some projects. Can you recommend any books / resources for lace stitching guidance? Cheers - Matt

@YinTx Real nice work! I think you managed to pull off a rather nice celtic cross to boot. But I REALLY dig that scroll work in the center! Cheers - Matt

@Mjolnir Woah thats a sick clam man. Don't think I've ever seen one with such a wide throat! Is that Oak? I've always seen them hinged. Are you worried about the stress that the screws will take opening and closing? Clams this nice usually go for $180 & up - https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/tools/products/foldable-french-stitching-clam-110-cm

@Mattsbagger @fredk Thanks a bunch

Made an axe loop for my father-in-law to ad an axe to his belt rig. This is the 4th or so of these I have made. The first being for my own axe. Material is 1 1/2" W&C Harness Strap Process is as follows: - Cut pieces to length - Mark out holes with template ( just a little cardstock template I made for myself) - Bevel & Slick edges - Punch Holes - Stitch Axe loop closed - Skive Belt Loop Ends - Set & Peen copper rivets - Gel Antique - Beeswax & Buff finish - Donzo!! Thanks - Matt

@Big Sioux Saddlery What do you think the reason is that their leather is softer by nature? Something having to do with tanning process? Or the quality hides they use? Etc.

I have been crafting with veg tan for about 6 years now, & I haven't seen leather crack when bent a single once!! This is a very bizarre occurrence from my perspective. The only thing I can think of is that the leather may have been extremely old sitting around in Tandy's dry warehouses for years before it hit the shelves. Or just a fluke.

@BESON I use W&C's 12-15oz buck brown harness for all my heavy custom work belts, so I end up ordering several hides a year. I order direct from the tannery though. W&C separates their hides into 3 categories: Special / Utility / Standard Standard is the highest grade, carrying a guarantee of little to no bites or scars, where Special has not been screened for blemishes at all. The pricing difference in pricing between Standard & Special is usually $4-5 per sq. foot. So you definitely pay for the guarantee of no blemishes. I don't care about blemishes for my purposes because I'm making rugged belts. So I take the cost savings on the Specials. Having said all of that though, it's important to note that the leather is of the same quality & standards in terms of it's inherent structural quality regardless. It is also important that you understand what harness leather is and how it is made. Harness leather is hot stuffed with wax & oils and then polished with a special proprietary machine that rolls the top grain surface and brings the waxes and oils to the surface to create the sheen that is indicative of harness leather. It is not a gentle process. But then again harness is not a leather intended for gentle use. It is rugged and hardy. If you want guaranteed uniform surface quality Standard English Bridle hides will be nothing short of perfection. My guess is that the online retailer you ordered from is selling Special sides to increase their margins. Their claim that it is "Top Quality" isn't necessarily wrong, its just not the best that W&C makes. Hope that helps! - Matt

@alpha2 Yeah definitely, I mean the same principals of business finance apply to any retail / manufacturing model across the board. ROI & accurately calculated Profit Margins are the bottom line in determining whether a model is viable. Even if the numbers line up, the variable is sales - can you rely on the fact that there will be a consistent market demanding your goods/services? Is there a never ending stream of people out there who care about the difference between a "genuine leather" composite belt from Wallmart, and a top grain 12 oz. english bridal belt with good hardware? No - there isn't. But there are a few - a handful in each town maybe. And more & more consumers are getting fed up with low quality products and throw away culture in general. So there is a fairly decent opportunity for the retailer/maker to produce marketing aimed at educating and converting would be customers, but again, production costs can climb high very fast. For a small maker that can jimmy rig his own burnisher (I actually rigged mine out of an old dryer motor ), build his own website, produce his own marketing content, and afford to build a unique regional model slow & steady, the middle ground might be able to work. But its definitely a long haul project i think. Not a get rich quick scheme by any means. So in the end, I'm right there with you. I work a full time day job, and work on craft as my side hustle. At best I build a brand known for quality over the long term while having fun with my hobby. At worst, I keep making rad leather gear and give it away to friends & family as gifts. Either way I'm having fun. Green woodworking revolves around working wood while it still green (not dry yet), almost exclusively with simple hand tools. Axes, adzes, knife, drawknife, spokeshave, etc. Some guys get as fancy as making an entire windsor chair using basic tools and greenwood! Me & my pals mainly carve spoons. Sitting around in the woods with axes & knives, fire & beers talking craft and making shavings can be a pretty fun time. -Matt

@alpha2 - This has me pondering and philosphizin'. Sounds like wisdom from experience. So I'm hoping you can expound on this a bit. I started my leather working journey because of belts. I couldn't find a decent belt at retail. Anywhere. I've always been a diy maker kind of guy, so I got it in my head to make one myself.....if only i knew that would lead me into the bottomless pit that is leather craft. Fast forward 6 years, and I have my own decently equipped leather shop. Several well received small batch runs of heavy work belts, & a few dozen custom sheaths & holsters under my 'belt' (pun intended).....and now I too have several local retailers asking me to develop a belt line to keep in stock. A glimmer of light at the end of the bottomless pit!! Alas....perhaps a chance at sustaining this wacky hobby of mine. I figured...hmmm, ok couldnt hurt to churn out belts in my free time after work...a little extra cash? Maybe a viable venture in sight? After analyzing my process, I realized that the primary inefficiency was in skiving. It took me so long to skive my buckle ends with that silly little tandy pro skiver. So i finally snagged a proper 8" splitter / skiver to streamline the process. Now I can sail through those skives with precision results and easily whip out runs of belts. It's still super hard to plan for standard sizing needs though. Still, so many people come to me with the same narrative - " I cant find a good solid belt that gets better with time like my dad's did " - I cant help but feeling like there is a niche market to fill there. But then again, I am still very green in my leather career. So is there really no middle ground on belts between custom one-offs and full on automated strap cutting / edge beveling /burnishing? - Matt

Mmmmmm...that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the words of wisdom @mikesc

@Dwight Wow - That's a super innovative storage solution. Thanks for sharing. Its giving me some great ideas. Right now I'm keeping my rolled hides on OSB storage shelves, and my scraps in a big cardboard box. But now that I'm hearing that cardboard will leech acids and dry out the leather I might build a small closet like this! I'm curious, does anyone know if there is an ideal moisture level for leather storage? Sort of like how cigars store best in a humidor otherwise they dry out...can leather get too dry as it ages?

Thanks @Matt S - My intuition was wrong! I figured that cutting perpendicular to the spine would minimize stretch. Does that mean that all hides are stronger or "less stretchy" head to tail Vs. side to side?

Hi all - I added custom heavy duty work belts to my product list a year ago. So far I have been cutting my own blanks using 12-15oz Wickett & Craig Harness sides, cut lengthwise obviously. This heavy harness leather has worked out very well for thick sturdy work belts. Recently though, I thought I'd try out Wicket't's 10-12oz English bridal double bend for casual belts. This cut is marketed toward belt makers as increasing yield and eliminating un-usable square footage. Ok, my question for all the wise leather guru's out there is: In your experience, when using double bends, does it matter whether the straps are cut across the width of the hide, ie: perpendicular across the "backbone" ? Or lengthwise parallel to the backbone? At first I figured that straps cut across the width would capitalize on the natural curve of the hide as it grows on the steer. But it seems like I might get a better yield if I cut lengthwise. I hope this question makes sense. Thanks!