Riem

Chewa-bagga? Sorry, couldn't resist...

Ah, @bikermutt07, you have a style while I still go "huh, what's this thing called 'a style'"? At best, my style - if I have one - is "decidedly inconsistent". Perfect is the name of a town somewhere in the world, not close to where I live. I plan to move there in about a gazillion weeks... months... Maybe years from now. But I plan to continue enjoying the ride on the road that leads there, even if a few cows have to sacrifice their hides before I arrive!

Welcome aboard! Hope it will be an exciting ride for you - it certainly is an absorbing one. Even more so, I wonder if there's one human being who can say "I know all there is to know about leather and the craft it has given the world". And for me it is humbling to see all the great things that members of this forum make - the collective experience here must be in the hundreds of years. For a hobbyist like me, being on the forum is truly an opportunity to sit at the feet of the giants. Enjoy the learning!

I feel the same. And I don't even make holsters... Wait, I must delete all of my posts before I go!

All the talk in older posts about "personal protection items" have kinda inspired me to also have a go at making one. Here it is. Several layers of scrap vegtan. Dyed with a local spirit dye that didn't take too well, hand stitched with a 1.0 mm thick woven brown acrylic thread, stitch spacing done with an overstitch wheel at 4.8 mm length in an edge groove. Edge beveled with a Ivan tools no 2 beveler (only one I have...) What else? Oh yes, it is filled not with lead shot. I couldn't get hold of refill shot at the gun shop, they're sold out, so I opted to use some discontinued coins that are no longer legal tender. Their original value was 2c each, and the sap contains 30 coins. Here's a picture of it's innards. Since this is an instrument that will live in my car door, I used scrap leather. My stock of usable scrap is at a serious low, so I had to make do with joining the piece that is sandwiched by skiving two suitable pieces and glueing it together before completing the construction. Additionally, to ensure that the coins don't move around too badly, they are in welted enclosure. Here's a picture of the welts loaded up and ready to be closed with a piece of upholstery leather. And here's the stitching in progress... Final thickness at the business end: 15 mm, this photo is of the "handle" side.

Katit, there's no such a thing as "good" or "bad" or our thinking makes it so. Then again, there's good for a purpose, and what is good for one purpose may be unsuitable for another. A thing I learnt long ago is not to start with the leather I have, but to start with the item I want/need to make, and then to source the leather for it. And unless you know the that the quality you get from one merchant is always the same, you might get a different experience in two different orders. Hope this helps.

Very good! Really inspiring work, and I especially like the closure. Great colour combination.

Thanks for the share. I believe I've a backpack project somewhere in my future... Daughter needs a new laptop bag, and I think this should be relatively easy to adapt.

Hi Rick, welcome to the forum! You'll find this to be a ocean of knowledge with friendliest and most helpful bunch of people in the universe contributing and guiding the rest of us along. Any specific leathercraft projects you are working on at the moment?

Firstly, I'm not as experienced as most of the members who have commented so far, so maybe I shouldn't opine at all, and your mileage may vary. Secondly, I'm a hobbyist, and I love hand stitching, least of all because I don't have a sewing machine. I prefer hand stitching, warts and all. I've hand stitched quite a few belts and bags and projects big and small since I started doing the craft a bit more seriously. I learnt a basic saddle stitch from my grandpa roughly 5 decades ago, and he did not know what we now regard as the "right" way. He used a scratch awl and double thread knotted in the middle and produced a tight and serviceable stitch. To this day I'm what I can describe as an "eclectic stitcher" : I use the technique that I think I can handle with the project I'm working on. Sometimes I do as bikermutt07 describes - mark my stitch line with either a chisel or (more likely) an overstitch wheel, set up the project in my stitch clamp, pre-punch the line with my awl, put the awl down and stitch away. Other times I will lay my project flat, mark stitch line and pre-punch the entire line with the awl before I pick up and thread my needles. But then, I have the luxury of not doing leathercraft commercially and only occasionally sell items, and realise that doing it for profit is a different ball game altogether. So I guess its up to each to develop the technique they are comfortable and capable of doing. The Stohlman technique is a proven way, trusted and practised by generations of craftsmen - but surely it should not be regarded as "the only way".

I think I understand Stephen's problem. When one writes a post and adds a picture the forum software only assesses the size after the upload (but before one hits "Submit"). If the size of the post exceeds 1.46Mb, one is told that the attachment is too big, but the software then does not allow you to delete or replace the already uploaded attachment before posting the message. I too have been stopped from posting a replacement picture in such circumstances.

Could you post a photo please?

I can't spot any reason for this being a "sorry attempt"? Stitching is straight, stamping is darn good for a first, and although the photo does not show the edges clearly, it seems fine. Altogether a very good piece! What does the blade look like?

Tragic, that. Living in Africa, it never ceases to amaze me to see videos and pictures of people cuddling and cozying up to wildlife. The animals are called "wild" precisely because they are just that - wild, and if someone as experienced as Steve Irwin can still be killed, what chance does the average tourist stand? Of course, I'm not passing judgement on Irwin in any way.

Nie sheath. How was the dye applied - airbrush or a surface dye? And if I may ask - what's the skin in the background? It kinda looks like some type of fish leather from the shape of it...

Apart from the very nice basket weave, the construction method is also appealing. Can't recall seeing that style on here before, but this one sure came together in such a great way. Definitely now on my list of "must make one" list...

Exceptional work! That's a real proud piece. "Thou shall not covet..."

Both projects look very good! Did you burnish the belt edge by hand or do you use a mechanical burnisher? Looks very smooth. The edge of the wallet also looks like it was burnished. Nice work!

Great start! I like the "bubbles" - did you aim for that or was it a happy accident? As for a beveler, if you have access to a grinder, why not grind down a carriage bolt? Carriage bolts make quite usable tools if you get the shape right.

If that's sad, you can send it over to me. I'm sure I'll be able to console it... Nice stitching, and I like the finish too.

Wow, love the narrative... and the pictures. Sigh... So much leather, so little time.

Yeah, the word 'awesome' sets the appreciation bar rather on the low side... That is way beyond superior! Wow! Man, I felt like I knew her when she looked me in the eye like that...

Lieflijk, Marietje! Did you hand stitch? You say it is stiffer than anticipated - what glue did you use to glue the pigskin to the main leather? Am I mistaken or are the edges of the strap a bit rough? Altogether a very nice project. I like it.

And here I was thinking that skillet was destined for dealing with escargots... Silly me. And that's a very nice sheath / wrap - great tooling! Man, now I'm getting ideas... :-)

Despite the frustration, I still think the end result came together very well... Nice save!