Dunluce

Olena, I am planning to make my first bag for my wife and I would like it to be something along these lines (if it is half as good as yours I will be pleased). I am working out my own pattern at the minute, but could I just ask you what type and weight of leather did you use?

Dwight, Perfectly explained. Thankyou.

Hmm. Another question about belts and another that may seem obvious to some! Why line a belt? I have read that you can line with suede to prevent a belt slipping around but that isn't something I have ever found a problem. Another reason I can think of is to prevent wear on the trouser, so would you line with the skin side of veg tan towards the cloth? I am about to make a belt with 4mm bridle; is it worth lining it?

On a slightly different note but still about stitching and in particular hand stitching, I have made several belts and am about to make my first one with decorative stitiching the whole way around. My question is; suppose a belt is 4ft long that equates to 8ft of stitching and going by the general rule that you need four times as much thread that gives arounf 24ft of thread. Would most people stitch a belt is stitch in several goes?

It may be obvious but what is a CCW belt?

14oz plus 7oz (if the fold is skived down to half width) plus 10oz keeper equates to about a half inch or 13mm. That's a lot to get you awl through and stitch.

That is a lovely bag and the stitching really sets it off. Judging by the look of it you have obviously made a few bags in the past. With this in mind could I ask (as someone who is relatively new to leather work and who is having to teach myself) how do you go about designing a bag like this? I would love to make something like this for my wife but. Wallets, card holders and belts etc are relatively easy to get an understanding og but I look at items like this and haven't really a clue where to start.

Yes that make sense. While we are on the subject of belts is there a typical keeper thickness. I was using 4mm bridle and used a cut off to make the keeper. Although I skived the ends down it was still very hard to sew in to the belt end.

I have completed my first couple of belts for my sister and brother-in-law using some bridle and they have come out really well. I read somewhere that people sometimes puch oval holes in belts as this allows the tongue to lie flatter at the buckle. I suppose the same effect could be produced by using bigger holes which I wouldn't like the look of. My idea was to gouge some from the back of the holes so it is a conical shape i.e. wider at the back of the belt than the front which should allow the tongue to lie flatter. Any thoughts about this? Would doing this create problems in that the front of the hole would be weaker and maybe become mishapen or crease?

I have looked at some of the leathercraft books on the Goods Japan site and they look very colourful and detailed. In addition they a lot of them show how to make modern looking leather goods unlike most of the english language books I see. However, being in Japanese, All the detail in the explanations is lost which I would find invaluable. Does anyone know if there are any english lanuage versions or similar available?

I recently bought myself an adjustable creaser and want to use it to put crease lines at the edge of a couple of belts I want to make. As I haven't used one before I have a couple of questions. I have read you heat them up to give a betterline; how hot do you heat them? I suppose the best way of describing is by touch. Should it be hot enough you cannot hold the tip or that you can hold it for a few seconds? Also does it work better on certain types of leather (I am considering using English Bridle). Any other tips on using them would be much appreciated.

Hmmmm, but if I make a belt with one hole before Christmas will it still fit after???

I know this doesn't look anything very special but it has taken about 10 practise straps to get me to the point where, although I am not fully satisified with it, I am happy to put one on my wrist. My idea behind only putting one hole is that it is a strap made by me and for me; I have made it from 2.5mm natural veg tan dyed black with a 0.9mm kid lining. For anyone like me who is a relative beginner I would recommend practising straps as your cutting, stitching and edging etc have to be precise or mistakes really will stand out. I found the edging quite hard to get to grips with, I originally tried burishing but although it gave me a nice edge it discoloured the lining. Giardini were giving away some free samples so I tried their edge dye and found it really good. I will definately order some more. For anyone who is interested I tried several methods of applying the edging such as cotton buds, wool dauber, pencil, spatula and the Tandy Roller Pen. I definately found the roller pen the easiest and neatest.

I used: 0.8mm Tiger thread John James Saddlers Harness needle - medium 6 stitich per inch pricking iron (as a beginner it was the only size I had)

FYI, I found another version of the roller for sale which looks like it might be more suitable for items where you have tight bends or corners http://elfitakorea.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/bearing-roller-for-coating.html

Thanks for the video. At around 36 minutes you say you put details of sanding etc on another video; have you got a link to this as I can't find it.

As a relative beginner I have been trying edge finish with mixed results and I have a few questions here I hope someone might have some experience with: Has anyone tried the roller pens for applying edge finish (such as that sold by Tandy), are they worth it, do they give a nice clean edge? What is the difference between Edge Kote and the more expensive dressing such as those sold by Fenice or Giardini? Has anyone tried the Eco-Flo Edge Flex as compared to the two named above (it seems to be cheaper to buy)

How would you do your edge here if you don't polish. Would you cut straight and then use edge kote?

I tried my first watch strap (all I can see is that wonky stitch) and have a couple of questions. I polished the strap with carauba wax and then a layer of leather sheen, would you put anything on the lining as it will be in contact with a wrist that can be sweaty. The slight discolouration of the lining where I have burnished it, is that acceptable or is there any way to prevent it?

That explains it perfectly and has given me food for thought. Thanks for taking time to reply

Just to be clear, when you say you edge back as much as possible do you mean as close to the stitching as possible? Is it with an edge beveller? When I tried using one it tended to lift ot crumple the suede slightly but maybe if I try stitching first that will make a difference/ What is the weight of the suede here, mine is very thin, about 0.6mm (1.5oz) By the way I went back and had a look at the photos of your slings/ Very nice!

So I experimented on a couple of sample pieces. I sanded the pigskin at an angle towards the middle of the edge and then bevelled the other side. After this I slicked the edge as normal. The first photo is with the edeg slicked and the second when i put some edge kote on. I don't think it came out too bad. I just wonder if it would stand up to the test of time

I am about to build my first bag. It will a messanger type bag and I thought it would look good to line the inside with some 0.6mm (1.5 oz) pig suede, however when I was trying it out on some test pieces i found it hard to get the edge right. I originally tried bevelling both sides but the suede just crumpled up. At present I have settled on sanding the suede edge at an angle and bevelling the other edge before trying to slick with some gum trag. It can stll leave the suede not looking too good but it seems to improve as it dries off. How would you finish off the edge? I imagine it must be the same process as for suede lined belts

Everyone, thanks for all the positive comments it really gives a bit of a boost

I am going to take lesson learned (slow down and take my time) and have another go.