KingsCountyLeather

I like gum tragacanth better.

@RockyAussie That’s brilliant!

It turned out brilliant! Absolutely love the design and character in this bag. The dye and tooling look great and anyone would think it was the real thing! Love the way the leather folds from the way you stitched it and the bag looks like it has a patina a 1000 years old. Great job!

I’m with @Constabulary on that type of clippers. I bought loads of them. I also have big hands and my fingers never fit into proper scissors or tea cups... I think you must keep them sharp though and then they will work with all threads.

Because the sticks you use are all different... have you tried wrapping the part you want with masking tape to the full thickness of your leather and then cutting it off where your seam would be? Then you have your pattern. You could use cheap masking tape and you wouldn’t mind wasting it. Also, I have a few stitching chisels but I often use them only for marking the holes and using a sharp awl to push through before putting the into my clam (Or in your case - stick) I find I have more control at keeping the holes straight with awkward pieces.

Have you thought about actually real hand stitching? I have two leather sewing machines and still hand stitch all the time.

Only kidding, your work looks perfect!

Cool!

You sound like a very messy person indeed!

Very helpful! Thanks. I’ve just ordered an airbrush kit and looking forward to trying it out. i didn’t realise that chocolate brown could have different shades when thinned. Does that mean I can get shades of grey from black dye?

When you’re mixing your colours... do you make a big batch of the colour so as you don’t have to mix it each time? And what are you using for your thinning? Beautiful work!

@immiketoo I think @ABHandmade wanted to know if you recommend bevelling without carving on any project?

Beautiful! Turned out great. And thanks again for posting the whole process for us all to see. Maybe you should try your hand at some youtube videos?

Fantastic job. Thanks for sharing.

Very well done! i think it’s great you took the time to help another LW with a problem. And made it interesting for the rest of us. Thanks.

Love the seat! Ive been asked to cover a custom made seat that another leather worker messed up, I haven’t seen it yet and I will have to do some research before doing it. I would love to know more of the process in mounding the leather like you did?

I don’t want to go on too much... but you are looking at shipping the wrong way. If I ask my suppliers to ship me a package 25 lbs they will charge me between 20 and 30 euro because they use curriers like UPS or DHL. (Mileage will be less than yours) but when I ask my same suppliers to ship me a pallet (50 bags at 25lbs) they then use a haulage company and the standard charge is around 40 euro. I hope that makes sense? By the way... I’m a very small company and work from a small warehouse at my home and I don’t have a forklift. I also have a 20 tonne hydraulic clicker press and would love to get my hands on your boards. Hope you can work things out.

Great job with the bags! If you were make them again knowing what you’ve learned... how long do you think it would take you? Did you use the same leather as the original? Do you think it will hold its shape? Are there any pockets inside? Well done!

That’s a really clean well made briefcase! Looks very professional. it must have taken you ages to make? Very well done.

Sorry, Nearly missed your comment. Thank you!

Is it really that expensive to ship in the US ? if you ship with Fed Ex or DHL etc... I can understand that kind of charge but I’m talking trucking haulage. Here in Ireland a pallet with a Tonne costs me 40 euro approximately 49 dollars. If it were me... I would put a pallet on my truck and load all the boards and ask a bigger company who handles pallets to ship it for me?

I would agree with Mutt, sacrifice a couple to let someone work out a cost for you? when I am having my materials shipped around the country here or in the UK I always look for pallet prices and not the quantity on the pallet or even the weight. I buy lots of pallets of floor leveling compound and each pallet is a tonne weight.

That’s very interesting to know. I even thought when using split leather that the stitching wouldn’t last over time because it didn’t have a top grain. Would like to read how your test goes. Thanks.

Update. In my first post I had said the receiver didnt show the belts to anyone and I got no Ooo’s and Awaa’s... Well, He did show them to his brother who is the Boss. He said the belts looked great and could I make him two also? And that the smell of the leather was gorgeous. Now... He didnt ask me how much would they cost? or he didnt ask me how long it takes to make a belt? So you know I wont be getting paid for them. Well, The contract I’m working on is a sizable one and I figured there would be a backhander at some stage so... maybe I’ll be getting off light with these two belts? On the back of the belts I have caught the end of the strap with the pattern stitch and I think I’m happier with knowing everything is secure now.

Wow! Thats very impressive. I wouldn’t think it would be a very strong seam when the Thread doesn’t catch the top grain, but a very interesting technique.