LatigoAmigo

Very nice. I extracted these from your link (they don't always survive time). Thanks for sharing. .

Maybe this belongs on Facebook, but it has little relevance here. When I'm looking for leather work and leather worker's activity, this is not what I expect to find unless, of course, you are playing gut bucket bass in the band.

Oil-tanned leather is also drum dyed.

Wow, this is fabulous for a first bag, you are off to a great start in leather working. It's obvious that you have other talents as well, because your zipper installation, seams and edges look professional. Job well done.

Ventilation is a must! Some of the toxins put off by the objects cut/engraved by the laser can impair your health, and even take your life. This from the instructions for installing a Zing laser cutter (by EpilogLaser):

Somehow this conversation reminds me of a time at a crafts fair where a leather belt maker offered an assortment of belts with "free" buckles. So I asked him for my free buckle. "Oh," he said, "you have to buy a belt first." So much for free.

But don't you think that might help keep them in business? Don't we all want more and larger sales? Just askin'...

Nice to know how to shop smarter. Thanks for the tip.

That and a little dumb luck, but don't let it slow you down.

Different parts of the hide host different amounts of stretch. The shoulders and back tend not to stretch as much as the belly. Other considerations include the type of hide, the way the hide is tanned (veg-tan vs chrome-tan), and its weight (thickness). Maybe pre-stretching the piece before cutting would help.

I think the reason for the high cost, since you ordered a hide, is due to the shape of the package, which is non-standard.

Can you be more clear? Not sure what this is... maybe a vice and a hammer?

I use a bench-mounted press that I purchased at Campbell-Randall for $125. It has a twist handle which helps to sense the pressure on the snap/rivet as it is being set. I like it a lot and would highly recommend it. http://www.campbell-randall.com/product/italian-twist-press-no-3

My guess is that it is not the snap setter, but that the post is too long, and when compressed, pushes back into the head of the snap. You are using snaps with "short" posts, but you might try a little experimentation and trim the post down even more to see if that works. Because, what else could it be?

A possibility might be inside of a clothes dryer, using a sweater drying rack. I use this setup for drying leather finishes all the time. Works great.

Maybe you could try it out and report back. Cottonseed oil is not so common around here, so it might be up to you to give it a shot.

Since cottonseed has been around as long as the wild west, do you think someone may have tried this before? When I was a kid, one of my friends used olive oil instead of Neatsfoot oil on his baseball glove, and the thing turned the most awful gray color. I think that vegetable oils have a shelf-life that may affect their performance. But don't let me discourage what you want to try, I could certainly be wrong about this oil.

Oops, I didn't see the 2" part, however the 2" is carried in their catalog.

How about Ohio Travel Bag? This info can be found on page 404 of their current catalog.

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Sounds great. Where do you buy this stuff? Does it go by any other names?

This is from the Horween Leather website: CHROMEXCEL® Chromexcel is the original pull-up leather; using time honored techniques and formulas that were developed nearly 100 years ago. Chromexcel is still produced in the United States using a bark retannage from a proprietary recipe, and then genuine hot stuffed with our secret blend of natural oils and greases. Chromexcel is characterized by a rich pull-up in full aniline, hand rubbed finishes. Made to this day with old world craftsmanship, modern Chromexcel carries on a long history of superior comfort and durability. And if that is not confusing enough... ESSEX Essex is a vegetable tanned side leather that utilizes the same traditional tanning extracts as our Genuine Shell Cordovan. Essex, and its waxed versions, Dublin and Derby, took us nearly three years to develop and perfect. This tannage is marked by a high oil content and ages beautifully over time. The Essex family of leather is very versatile and can be used in a wide variety of products. And then there's this, from the Maverick Leather website: Latigo leather is best described by our friends over at The Tannery Row: “Horween Latigo is a combination tan that blends the durability of a chrome tan base with a heavy veg re-tan to create an unfinished, natural look that’s excellent for molding. It holds embosses well, retains molded shapes and has both full and corrected grain versions.”

Just know that you are not alone. Zippers can be very challenging.

You will also want to order a small funnel to fill them with.

And I'm sure it will look just fine. To apply Edge Kote (or any dyes), I found an item that keeps the dye from running onto the surface of your project. It is Montana Black Empty Marker 3 mm Chisel that I got from Amazon. Works great. I use it for Edge Kote, which is water based, and also for spirit based dyes. Does not work so well with the edge paints mentioned above.