Stetson912

There is beauty in simplicity. Mine has a funny pointed shape at the bottom where the pliers are, so I have a flap on mine. But mines a Gerber and isn't square. If I get one though I may steal your design muahahahaha!

I always had trouble with making the 45 on bound edges. Then I saw a video of a saddlemaker on here do it and he just will nilly sliced the corner off like it was nothing. Haha. So in the hopes of saving someone some trouble and time I hope that helps you out.

Right! Haha. I'm jealous...

There a real simple trick to the corners. First mark where you will be folding the edge over to. Then mark a 45 angle across the corner where the lines meet. Skive the edges. Cut across the line. And fold over. Here are some pics I hope will help. I just threw em together so they're crude, just proof of concept.

It has to be this side then. I don't have thinner leather either so I have to cut two blanks then split one and the whole process is a pain. Even just getting a straight edge on it. Oh well. Win some and lose some. I just have to get better leather from now on. Haha I've noticed too I'd have to split it anyway because the center of the hide is like 9 oz and the ends are closer to 12. So I have to split it down to even the thickness. Such a pain.

I put a new blade in and still could hardly run the strap cutter through it. Maybe it's just this side?

I have some light weight saddle skirting (10-12oz) and I'm going to use it for a few belts. I made some gunbelts with it already and this stuff is stiff and near impossible to cut. I'm wonderin' if all saddle skirting is so dense and hard to cut or if it's just this particular shameful Tandy skirting. I've never had anything so tough from Tandy before and I can deal with it till it's gone.. but it's seriously like trying to saw through a board with a plastic spoon. I pretty much have to use a utility knife and wet it a bit to cut it. Then I have to soak it a minute to split it if I need too. Thanks for your thoughts!

Whoa! So you made everything? The roller knives and sheaths? That's awesome! I wish I had them skills! Great job. I've heard a similar story about the knife as a gift. The only one given to me came with a penny to give to my grandad (who gave me the knife) to buy it from him to not sever the relationship by the giving a sharp blade.

Ah I see. That's a good point you can tell I don't do much selling of things haha. That does make perfect sense though.

First I think it looks great. I have to make one for mine sometime. You don't really need a belt loop punch. It does make it easier but isn't necessary. What you did is fine. I would just try using a smaller knife like an exacto and a straight edge. It will loosen up too. Something I've seen a lot of people do is make a short belt blank. Like a strip of leather the width and thickness of the belt to be used and form the loops with that. Idk if that helps or not :/ I honk you did well. Wet molding gives me trouble too with them tool marks. I try and smooth them out with a modeling spoon. But it doesn't always work. I like it!

I think it's one of those things that depends on your individual situation. Like myself, I don't have a name out there and am just a hobbyist. But if I wanted to get started building 'myself' as a brand then it may not be a bad idea to do some consignment or wholesale things especially once people find out they could ultimately get it cheaper directly from me. However, there are those (like JLS) I'm sure who have brand recognition so to say. So it isn't much worth it to buy into these types of things. I see both sides here. I can see how it's beneficial to an up n comer trying to make a few bucks and may not have the volume that others do... and how it's annoying to someone already established having people trying to poach them for their product when they don't or can't fully understand just how much effort goes into making a professional looking product. I thought poaching was illegal? Hehehe I kid of course, just trying to get back to the light hearted side of this post

So my next question is, has anyone ever offered you fair compensation to sell your product? I would imagine that's fairly unheard of lol. Maybe one day I'll have a product good enough people will want to try and rip me off too! Haha

Oh, you mean you DONT like putting in 8 hours on a whatever-it-is and have someone ask to sell it for twice what they pay you for it which is a quarter of what you should/could get for it because of your noted and displayed craftsmanship and quality and then not being recognized for the work you've done in the first place? Hehe... Sounds like my job... Stupid Walmart lol! I bet it gets frustrating. I haven't had the privilege to sell much of what I make. I've only done a few things for sale for friends so, I can't really relate. Sounds like a nuisance

Haha, it did turn out a bit smaller than I thought. But I also didn't want to make a huge bag for my first one.

Here it is with the strap. Thanks for looking and for the ideas.

Ahhh i see it now. It's a big gear with little gears over it ok. That's cool! Idk how I missed that. You don't have to worry about lining it. It's not necessary just an added touch for a cleaner finish, but steampunk gears n such aren't always clean now are they? So no it works as a total package.

That's different. I haven't seen much like it with the straps as struts n such. It's pretty cool. I'm not very good at tooling but I think I would have done the entire background with a backgrounder or bar grounder and dyed it to help the cogs stick out more. I also would have lined the inside of the flap to hide the rivets. But It's just a personal preference. I think it's a unique concept especially with the straps again. Keep at it and welcome to the forum. There are some tool makers on here too, I hope one chimes in to help you with that.

Ugh that's so obvious haha. Why didn't I think of that! I'll have to find some and retry the bag. I'm certain it would come out better.

Very cool!

Thanks @garypl. I'll have to try that. Thanks @AdamGadut. The ring strap is both stitched and riveted. The bag calls for a zip closure but I couldn't figure out from the instructions and pattern how to do it. It also had the magnet closure so I just used that instead. I'll definitely do improvements on the next one. The leather for the liner is really soft cowhide but is still a bit thick. I would usually skive the binding down but it's too soft for me to do that so it bulges a bit. I'd like to try kangaroo or even fabric on the next one. Thanks for the input.

I'm finishing up a bag for my wife. I just have to do the straps. I learned a lot on this bag. It isn't perfect and is a bit rough in places but I'm still happy with it. Critiques welcome. And a special thanks to rocky Aussie for his inspiration and previous help and ideas. It's my first bag and first bound edge as well. The edge could use improvement but still looks ok. I need help with lining the bag still. I think the garment leather was still a bit too thick. I did a pocket with zipper, that's another first for me. The blue on the bottom inside are strap ends for later when I finish it, I just set them in there so I wouldn't lose them haha. I'll update with the final project. Thanks for looking.

Very welcome. Bob part is an amazing artist and knows his stuff. Many people use his method and it gives a glass smooth edge every time. Takes a bit of work if you don't have power tools set up for it (like me) but the result is worth the elbow grease. Keep it up

Indeed... I still manage to get my hands dyed some color here and there but not to the extent I did that day.

When I first started I shunned gloves thinking they were sissy and a little dye never hurt nobody. Que a black dye job... I was using sponges n paper towels ect and literally dyed my hands black... Both palms jet black. I used a pint of acetone and nail polish remover (my wife's nail polish remover just to clarify) and still had gray hands for two weeks haha. I now praise gloves...

What are you using to burnish? And what's it look like after a few hours of drying time? Im no expert by any means but these are my observations based on my past projects and what I use. A wood slicker tends to darken the edges as the grooves wrap around the edge. You may also be using too small a groove when burnishing, this causes just the sides of the leather to darken instead of the actual edge. You may be able to even it up by doing more burnishing on the other side. The water will darken the edge as well, so let it dry completely before trying to correct anything. I tend to use denim more often than anything else now. I like to wet the edge a bit and burnish with denim scrap that I rubbed/charged with saddle soap. Glycerine saddle soap is better but I don't have any so I just use the regular feibings soap. Then when it's slick I will dye the edge and repeat the process and touch up the dye. I finish the edge with paraffin wax and a wood slicker to rub it in. Then buff the edge with a soft cloth just to polish it. I recommend reading the edge burnishing guide by Bob park (hidepounder). You can find it in the pins on the how to section. Hope his helps.