Handstitched

@mason1800 It pays to know your own market.In the early days, most of my belts were around the 34 - 36" mark, but these days, my belts are much bigger, waist lines have grown...and grown. I still do the small belts, but my biggest seller for my market is around the 38 - 42" . I do assorted sizes, up to 45" , sometimes bigger than that. The colour that sells the most for my market, is black. Black goes with everything. I sell browns, tans etc, but they hang around for a long time. It may be different in your part of the world HS

@Kent79 You could always contact them? Get some info, send them some pics? http://www.pedersen-spares.com/ The logo looks the same on their company name ? HS

For standard belts , I have 100mm from the tip of the belt to the first hole, then 30mm apart thereafter . I always do 6 holes*.I use a # 5 hole (rotary) punch , not too big, not too small, also good for some 'trophy buckle' pins . Any others are custom made and according to the buckle specs. The measurement is taken from the the 3rd hole back. ( centre hole, Al Stohlman method) *I did put only 5 holes in once , but quite often the customer would ask for an extra hole, so 6 holes stayed. HS

Yep, that'll work My next purchase is a pair of good quality high leverage side cutters, less brute force...and swearing HS

I have had issues with old tube rivets before on old leather repairs, projects etc. Depending on the job,a nice sharp drill can be used...carefully, as already mentioned, but if you wish to speed things up a bit, I have also used a pair of sharp wire cutters , and in this case , to get in between the shell holders and the belt and cut them . It may take a bit of brute force ...and a few curse words, but they will cut. When you finally cut through, a piece of the rivet might ' ping' across the work bench, so mind your eyes. I have also noticed the using just the tips of the wire cutter blades and cutting the rivet about half way does help a bit. Good luck. HS

OOPS! My bad, don't always believe what you read I guess.( the heading) HS

I like that The 'herringbone' stitch adds a nice touch . Love the templates in the background (Don't worry about dyed hands, most days my hands are covered in black dye. My nails make me look like a 'goth' ) HS

Try this: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/8B-Cylinder-Bed-double-needle-industrial_60780182111.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normal_offer.d_title.49002730KKgqx6 Have a look at the pic, second from the left. It may well be a copy of a .....?? Look familiar? HS

@Constabulary The bottom half looks like a Pfaff, but the top left half is identical to my Seiko STW 28 B , guides , tensioners etc. . Strange. I'll keep looking HS

G'Day Frodo, I just had a look around myself, under the headings, ' Sam Browne Posts' , vintage military holsters, vintage bag clasps, military bag closures , but no luck . The Sam browne post comes up, but not the other bit. Perhaps modify a hand bag clasp? Or get a piece of brass plate, and make one? HS

G'Day, I've used this tool quite a few times now, its becoming quite handy, not just a ' museum piece' in my workshop. It fits snuggly and comfortably in the palm of my hand ( as the name suggests) and I've got small hands too , a good buy that HS

What size are the off cuts? I have made belts with off cuts of belt leather , make a billet & buckle end, attach each piece in between with ' D rings' to make a full length belt , some skiving may be invoked to fold the ends over. Perhaps decorate with concho's, spots , spikes, etc ? Ladies sometimes like the thin belts, blokes sometimes like the wider ones. Another idea, I have made one piece knife cases with belt off cuts too, with some thin leather on both sides to make an ' expandable' gusset. Machine sew or by hand. Sold heaps. I'll have to take a pic. HS

Aaaaaaanyway...... Back to the OP........again. @fredk You took me on a trip down memory lane. I also used a ( non retractable) ' Stanley' knife from my old fibreglass pool days ( still covered in f/glass) ) still have it, and use it. For my leather sewing awl....( don't laugh) I used a large hand sewing needle, but covered the 'eye' end with padded leather to help push it through leather , and not my fingers, but, it worked. Still have it. I too bought thread on those ' wee cards' ....still have those too, geez In one of my old leather books from the 70's , you can make stamping tools with old large nails. Carefully grind a pattern of choice on the head,cut the point off, and hey presto, stamping tool . Get an old flat head screw driver , modify it, sharpen it to use a carving knife. Very 70's 'retro' , but, it works. For the newbies that are budget conscious, its not necessary to buy brand new tools. HS

What a laborious looking piece, but so well done . I still have trouble doing eyes on horses, but you've got it just perfect HS

Thats quite a good looking job, nice grain too . It must be heaps more comfy, surely? I keep wanting to ' upgrade' the appearance of my boring ol' 70's - 80's office chair. Its got daggy worn out looking fabric atm , after seeing that, might have a crack at my ol' seat. HS

I agree, my ol' Pfaff 60 does sew thin leather quite well, I also make Kangaroo leather wallets on it. I do have a ' Necchi Supernova' machine in one of my sheds, all complete, with full box of accessories and cam...thingys for different and fancy stitches, but I haven't tried sewing thin leather on it, guess I should, its quite a nice machine. I bought it for about $10 at a charity shop, and found another next to a skip bin, mostly complete. HS

G'Day, I have done this, but on a knife /leatherman case. Once molded , let dry*, but before I take the wood template out, I tool / stamp the pattern as you normally would, but when the wood is in , then take the wood template out after tooling and continue making the other parts, the back piece, a belt loop etc. With the knife case, I tool the flap as well . * I have tried tooling straight after molding while its still wet, but its a bit messy. Hope this helps HS

Meanwhile.....going back to OP....in regards to affordability... get the violins out... When I first started leather, the majority of my tools were S/H , scouring the classifieds...the 'antiquated' paper ones, some the tools I bought were from ex- leather crafters etc. Many came with books and heaps of other stuff. A leather shop in Perth had S/H tools, as well as leather off cuts. I also looked around in hardware shops to see what tools can be utilised for use with leather . It kept costs way down . I still use them today . Only a few tools I threw out in the early days, a rotary punch, it bent after a few uses, and rotary cutter that couldn't cut the skin on a custard. But I learnt from that. Only after I became more interested in leather & gained a lot of experience I bought new tools. The most lethal tool I have ever bought was a thumb strander It strands thumbs , not leather Its in a box, at the back of a shelf, .......where it stays . HS

G'Day, The 60 uses standard needles, mainly for fabric etc. but I use ' Schmetz 100' leather needles. The bobbin case is sometimes called a ' pig tail' bobbin case or ' tipmatic' bobbin case .The bobbins are easy to find in any haberdashery Not sure if I can help you with the manual, as mine is probably no better that the ones you've seen . I have also noticed that these Pfaff 60 machines are sometimes advertised as ' industrial' or heavy duty industrial' sewing machines, ......no they're not. They're just a good strong domestic machine, like the domestic Necchi's , Singers etc. . Some come in a sewing table, and some are 'portable' in a sewing box with a box lid like mine.Some came with a plastic ( baker lite?) foot pedal, but mine has a metal foot pedal. Apart from the occasional belt or needle , it has never failed me. Mum bought it brand new , before I was even born , she made and repaired all of our clothes on it, and ....its all complete , except the wood slide lid thingy for the accessories box Good 'ol Mum HS

I worked at a newspaper once , saw a bloke lose his fingers in a guillotine making the colour TV guides. Off topic, ..........and totally gross....and I went a funny colour and didn't feel very well HS

"brewers pitch" Is that a fancy way of saying" you'll be too damn drunk to know what you're doing?" Like, .... keep missing the end of the stamping tool with your mallet and hitting your thumb instead? 'If you value your fingers, 'Don't sew drunk ' Sorry Frodo, off topic I wonder if a gourd can be covered in leather?...hmmm I'd like to see that HS

My Mother did just that once,, straight through the left index finger, nail and all, just missed the bone, nearly made me pass out. They're quite a basic simple machine, good for thin leathers, good for wallets too. I have a full set of original feet and manual etc. HS

Can we have some pics ? Someone on here may know what it is and give you some advice. HS

Whisky or bourbon ? Never made one before. Love the examples shown HS

@jcuk I guess the weekend edition works better.