battlemunky

That ain't looking too bad on the backside. Are you using a scribe line on the back too?

Yep, bad angle with the iron. If you are using an awl you can aim for the scribe line on the exit side to help control that but its hard to do with the irons. You could always make a jig but even that isn't 100%. Multi layer is tough to keep straight when punching. A teensy bit off on the "in" side can be a huge distance away from the line on the "out" side. Similar to shooting. Somebody else will come along shortly and let us both know a simple and efficient way to keep it from ever happening again.

Yeah, with talents like we see on here and out in the other reaches of the interwebs it is hard to even THINK of being good enough to even post something. I do it for the fun and the utility or else I'd have to sell all my tools and take up drinking.

Looks good!

Holy cow, that is super cool and I have no idea how they did it! You are correct, that IS incredible.

Beautiful work!

I bought Armitage's wallet pack. It isn't templates per se' but they are all built off of a similar set of panels and then you can tailor it to make whatever style and type you want. It is a damn fine packet for me and taught me more than I figured it would. JLS Leather has some free templates but I don't recall seeing one for a six slot or a cowboy wallet.

See, there is no point in arguing it. It isn't an opinion. It is a fact that lockstitching is not as durable as saddle stitching. Again, you are presented with fact in the spirit of trying to educate you and you are completely unwilling to accept it for whatever reason. You wanted a competition to see who would win in durability. I gave you the competition by analysis and yet you still refuse to accept it. I don't know what else can be done aside from setting aside multiple decades to monitor a lockstitched item vs a saddlestitched item of equivalent build and materials. If I had the time and inclination I'd do just this just so I could show you. I don't have that kind of time however so until you can prove otherwise with some analysis that is superior to the evidence I put forth above (and that an entire industry agrees on) I guess you can just continue to debate in spite of evidence to the contrary. I really wish you'd stop asking for input if you aren't going to at least admit you know next to nothing and try a little harder. I only have a few years doing this but you are also being told the same thing I am telling you by hundreds of years of combined experience yet you do not yield. Being wrong and adhering to your point still is not charming or demonstrative of being resolute or something if that is what you are trying to go for.

This is false. The binder is only as strong as the stitch used. Not only are you using a lockstitch but the lockstitches you have presented for criticism thus far have been jumbled and bumbled and for every jumble and bumble there is, that is a weak spot, not stronger because there is more thread present. In the event you find some humility and increase your quality as suggested by everyone here who has commented on everything you've put forward for comment, you may increase your durability to a point that it can last as long as other lockstitched items but properly saddle stitched leather will win every time. You can literally break a saddle stitched item in several spots and it'll maintain it's integrity. Keep in mind also that this is before we've added a drop of cement which will literally destroy your piece if torn apart it bonds so well; adding saddle stitching on top of a properly cemented piece will make it last for decades and maybe even centuries. You do you though. I know where I'd put my money.

Please see the attached image and then also please don't speak as if you are an expert when it is clear you are very ignorant. You are using a lockstitch. Saddle stitching is ridiculously stronger than lockstitches. Try and learn before exerting "pride" in place of wisdom.

No, no it's not honest. It is the least honest thing I've ever said on this forum, saying I'd buy anything from you in it's current state of....whatever you consider sellable goods. Also, I wouldn't say being able to set up and use a sewing machine and using it well enough to make a high quality item are the same thing. Again, I think you are punking us all. I've been on this forum for almost 3 years now and until you came along I haven't felt any hostility or ill will coming from anyone else. Now, anytime I see your name in a thread or a reply I know there will be something negative or some low key passive-aggressive, and even racist now, spew. I hope you will get your ego in check and try to actually contribute one of these days.

You are wasting your time guys.....he isn't interested in anything but arguing and trying to have people tell him prices/criticize other's prices. Disagree with him, you are a bully. Try to help him, you are ignored. Try to tell him he needs some tools or supplies and you get called a douchebag forum troll. Tell him what he wants to hear. Allow me to illustrate: I'd give $60 US for those shoes, regardless of market or brand and maybe $20 or so more if they are "rustic". Maybe if they have some crooked and weak sewing, I'd go as high as $83.50, unless the seller has to justify buying a machine he had no idea how to use, then $84 even. Now if they had some shoddily sewn nylon edge piping that was used to hide inept edge work, that's a whole different story, at least $85.

That is too funny! At least over here in America $100 air compressor works well enough. I have the one from Harbor Freight which isn't anywhere close to what I would call good, but is completely sufficient for airbrushing. It was $54 and can blow up to 100 psi. I also use it around 20 psi because my airbrush (also Harbor Freight) says that's what it is rated for. It literally took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to use it and from there it is like most things, the more you use it the better you get at it. There are expensive models with quiet electric compressors but I paid about 1/5th of those for this particular setup and for the novice it is working fine. By the time it dies I'll likely have gotten good enough at it where I'll buy the next level up from there.

Thank you for the pics as well as the question. Keep them coming and keep up the good work! I can't wait to see this when it's done.

I know nothing about embossing leather but clearly you know a good bit. Your stuff is amazing @ABHandmade and being your first human face, you have set the bar pretty high for yourself (and anyone else who tries this). Super cool, I can't wait to see what you do for finish.

Turned out pretty darn cool!

You have a few options: Go to youtube and watch some videos on skiving. It isn't what I'd call beginner stuff and the learning curve is low but skill level is a tad higher, not to mention your knife needs to be sharp like a light saber. Skiving is basically thinning the leather out. It intimidates the crap out of me. Live with the thickness. I have a few pretty thick wallets and they aren't that bad unless you are going for the minimalist thing. Putting cards in it seems to help even though it adds thickness. Find thinner leather and replace your T slots with thinner leather saving the thicker leather for the outer shell. I wish I had more wisdom but the good thing about that is there is a ton of it here on the forum, just give it a little bit and someone may have better advice. Be patient though, it looks like you are off to a great start in the right direction and if you are anything like me you're dying to put that wallet together. Best of luck and keep putting up pictures.

Damn. <-- all I got left to say.

Those rivet heads can be your point of reference and then scale the strapping off of them. I don't think there is a "wrong" here.

April? Great! I'm quitting....Been at it 3 years and can't touch that level. Some folks have the knack I reckon! Looks really good! I hope you are enjoying it as much as your works look like you do. Welcome to the forum. It's a pretty good place to be and if you aren't super chatty, it is still a hellacious reference.

Yeah man, I really like the airbrush the more I use it. I do miss the penetration but the evenness can't be argued and is a really fair trade imo. It is a pain to clean all the time. Maybe if I was more efficient with going out to dye things in batches of like color it'd be different but I'm usually doing odd things or experimenting and end up with vastly different colors which require cleaning in between, not to mention the final cleaning. It cleans easy enough, just a lot of small parts and time running the alcohol through it all, etc.

Maybe 3 years now?

I think it's beautiful and your getting the ratio on the pancaking looks about where you want it. The only think I see is that the belt loops look a bit small, but I'm sure you measured it so I don't mean to be insulting by asking.

I think that leather would easily hold 9 lbs. It is all on your stitching at that point. Use a big enough thread that won't tear through the leather and has a good tensile strength (most .8~1.0 mm nylon bonded thread should be at or around 50 lbs tensile strength). I'd also think about buffalo. It's strong as hell and soft too. A relatively thick piece (8-10 oz) is quite supple and it'd likely last far after the kids are grown.

You mean that is kinda makes the skin in the window puff out some, right? I think both look rather good but can totally see there being an application for each.