Stetson912

Good to hear. I haven't done fringe either but, seems fairly straight forward. I say that now and I'll find out the truth soon enough haha.

Nice! How's Mrs wedgetail? I thought she was a bit under the weather last time I commented on one of your posts. I thought about making a few of these out of some Essex I have and try selling them. I'd like to incorporate some fringe too.

It looks to me like the darker part is done by hand with a brush or something. If you look at the first pic on the billet you can see a few places where it looks like the dye went over the border. They do not appear to be antiqued at all that I can tell. So I would dye the entire project the lighter color, then hand dye the border the darker color. On the second one, it appears the same process was used, however I believe the billets and loops were dip dyed. They look a slightly bit darker and more even. But, could also be my eyes or the photo. Just my 2¢

Very nice. Smooth beveling on the tooled one too. Looks good. Sorry he lost his home bit nice of you to give it to him.

Well, from what I see I'm not sure exactly how to mimic that stitch. I suppose you could handstitching a lockstitch somehow. Machines usually sew a lockstitch where as you usually saddle stitch when hand stitching. However, I don't think that's the only factor or would make a huge difference. What are you using to make your stitching holes? A diamond awl and even chisels will give you the look you are getting. But a machine uses the needle to punch the holes, therefore the holes are round and the exact size of the needle. Maybe try punching round needle sized holes? Also what size thread are you using? Maybe try the above method with slightly smaller thread. And finally, I noticed that now had a fairly straight stitch. Maybe try grooving your leather when stitching. That's the only way I know to flatten out saddle stitching. Just some of my ideas. Maybe one or a combination of them will work. Good luck!

Ah ok, I see now. I searched Egyptian thread and only got sheets hehe

What's Egyptian thread? I haven't heard of them before.

Thanks @whistler, if you don't finish and seal the grain side of the leather you can wet that side as well. It'll make the folding much easier. In this case though, it was already dyed and finished so, I just wet the inside that wasn't lined. Also, this trick will only work on vegetable tanned leathers to the best of my personal knowledge. Cheers!

Sure thing @whistler. When I started the project I had to find where I wanted my tooling/stamping window to be. So I started by marking my stitchlines and then the border of the tooling/stamping window. I then cut a piece of poster board (really just thick paper) and rubber cemented/contact cemented it to the flesh side of the leather where the tooling would correspond on the front. This helps prevent the leather from stretching out when you stamp/tool it. It's important with all tooling but I've found that the basket weave especially likes to flatten and stretch out a piece of leather. The mat board is the exact same size of the poster board and is contact cemented to the poster board after beveling the edges of the mat board. What I mean by beveling is that the edges of the mat board are skived down to a feather edge. This causes any angle which is more appealing to look at when covered with the lining. Without the beveled edge there would be a bump on the edges where the mat board ends. The mat board also serves to add rigidity to the portfolio. I guess I don't quite understand your last question. But I think you mean folding it in half to close the portfolio. If you look on the inside, the spine is not lined. If it we're it wouldn't fold correctly. I basically put some water on it and burnished it a bit and folded it in half when it was still wet. Then I put scrap poster board on it and a brick. This set the fold better so it stays closed better. I hope that answered your questions

I agree with Fredk. A pyro what's it is far better. You can do free hand lettering ot anything else for that matter. And it won't tear at the leather. You can even use a small wood burner like they sell at hobby lobby or Walmart. They're cheap. Like Fredk said, they're essentially cheap soldering iron but have different tips you can use.

Awesome! It looks killer! Looking at that color, I think if you were able to pipe the sides instead of a lap seam, and the bottom like it is, in a contrasting blue color it would just pop. That's just a thought for another project, but what you have looks super cool!

Nicely done

Very cool!

@cjartist, thanks! It didn't take all that long to do. The stamping took the longest. I forgot to mention that, while it's a simple pattern, it is one from Don Gonzalez saddlery. My initial thought was to use some of the floral tooling patterns he offers with it but I decided I need a few smaller version of some tools first. So I did the basket weave, which my dad likes anyhow. My dad always flips his business cards vertical too, so I don't have to fret about the slightly smaller card pockets. So it all works out.

Thanks @LederRudi, I tried the arrow weave on my first attempt and it was my first go at it, didn't work well haha. So I went with what I'm more familiar with. @MendellLeatherOK, thanks. There was some "slick" work on the edges that's for sure hehe. @Double Daddy,thanks for the kind words

Oh cool thanks

Lot of good work

Thanks gunny.

Thanks!

My dad's birthday is coming up so I made him a portfolio to use on the job or wherever he may need it. It's 7/8 oz leather with 3/4 oz lining. It has a poster board stiffener to keep it from stretching while tooling, and a beveled mat board stiffener for added rigidity. The letters are carved inverted and everything is hand stitched. Hope you enjoy and thanks for taking a look.

Mutt is right, there the world leather debut, the Rocky mountain leather show, and another one that's held in Prescott AZ every year. I think the others are held in Sheridan Wyoming but don't quote me on that haha. I'm sure there are more I just don't know about them. Id like to go one of these years

Nothing wrong with that. Is the bluish fringe suede?

I haven't tried it (and it may sound gross) but according to Valerie Michael saliva is an excellent burnishing agent. Maybe try giving an edge on a scrap of leather a spit shine hehe.

Hot dog! That's a purdy purse. Did you line it at all? I like the tooling and the blue fringe adds a nice flair. I bet people will be asking where you got it. Then they'll look all surprised when you say you made it. Hehe

Oh no gussets? The front back and sides are one piece? A Splitter will prove most valuable. And the stohlman method of "welting"/piping is pretty much what you're doing. It's shown in one of his case making books. Bag is looking great so far. How do you measure the zipper tape?