charon

Wow, great information here, thanks a lot guys, as always thats much appreciated. @RockyAussieWow Harry, I envy you on this great machine setup you got there. It looks so easy when you're doing your edges and they look absolute fantastic in 60 seconds...I don't tell you how that makes me feel right now Also, thanks for sharing these great videos. Thanks for the advice on these tools, I bought them both to give them a try as well Good tip here as well, I wasn't aware of the fact that I might need to roll the pencil, I'd give that a shot later.. Just to give you a reference, I'm currently working on a personalised holder for a German drivers license and registration holder I'm pretty happy with how it turned out so far but since it doesn't burnish that well and the edges break apart all the time after burnishing this was my first attempt on edge paint ever.These edges are bevelled and sanded and then I tried to apply the edge paint. These edges are about 3-4oz in total. I peeled off most of the paint in rage last timne but you can still see what my problem is here: Cleser to the bottom of the image you can see that the line is far from straight and really wobbly. No matter how many coats I applied I couldn't get it to be straight, it always looks like it's spilled all over the place. The top doesn't look any better: I was so frustrated, I re-did it and used other leather that burnishes really well to get rid of that problem but I want to grow from my mistakes and get this edge paint to work for me. Sometimes there is no alternative to it. What I learned from now it seems to be an applicator issue in terms of tool and crafter But I'm willing to learn and improve so thank you for your support guys!

+1 for Kevin Lee. He's also willing to customise if you have special demands. The problem we have here in Europe is not US specific but rather related to our customs and the shipping companies. There's so much crap coming from China to Europe that they just write "gift" or value $20 on it and it passes our customs with no issues or additional fees. Also, shipping from China/Hongkong is usually below $10 whereas from US or even within Europe you pay a fortune to get the goods here and additionally he customs claim their part. Just as an example, I once wanted to buy a knife from the US (can't remember where, has been a while). The knife should cost about $100, which was a really fair price, but shipping was $20, import taxes were $20, custom fees were $7. Thats a plus of 47% so I bought it in China for $65 (but good quality), $5 shipping and no taxes or custom fees. Sad but true and I don't think Mr. Trump is able to change that.

In my case its both I think Since you are all clnfident that its the wrong tool I ordered one of these, thanks for the tip these cost next to nothing and I don’t have a Tandy around here...

Thanks Mike and Ferg for your suggestions.I didn't use the applicator that looks like a cone but the sharpened pencil I normally use has exactly the same shape. I tried applying it with or without slicking and the problem is not that it's not sticking, the problem is that from the bevelling I have a half round shaped edge and I can't figure out how to get a straight edge line at the border. Also, whenever I raise my applicator the paint forms a drop-like shape that's hard to get rid of so the top of my edge is wobbly as well. I'll post a picture when I get home...

Maybe one of you minds sharing the secret of good clean edge paint with me? I spent the last two weekends trying to figure that out myself and the only thing I learned is how hard it is to peel that stuff off my edges once I screwed it. I'm working a lot of thin leather (1-2 oz) and sometimes it's hard to seal the gap between the 2 sewn pieces by just burnishing it. So I thought I'd give edge paint a try. I tried Giardini black and Fiebings Edge Kote all wit hthe same result: I't wobble and wonky and far from a clean, smooth surface no matter how many layers I apply. What I did is the following: Glue the pieces together - sad them plane - bevel the edges round - (optional) burnishing - apply edge paint (I used a pencil, one of those edge paint appliers that look like paddles and a scratch awl). Firstly there's no way to get a clean line between the leather and the edge paint, you always get more down at one point and less at another so the line is always wobble. And on top of the edge ... it's a total mess. I'm currently at work and cannot attach any images, but I'm sure most of you can imagine what I'm talking about. I read that you can use a modified french soldering iron for the cost of a small house to heat treat it but seriously that's ridiculous for that price, they can't be serious... I also read you don't need to heat treat the Giardini stuff but I can't do it (apparently). Most of the youtube tutorials you find use some 9-10oz unbevelled leather, maybe it's easier with that but for the thin leather I use with a round bevelled edge it's impossible (at least for me). So if anyone has that magic trick to get it look nice please have a heart and share the information. I hate throwing stuff around my workshop but we had a lot leather flying around recently...

I bought their pricking irons, which have an excellent price/value rating, also have their (fixed) edge creasers, which work pretty good and I have a set of their diamond awls. The quality of the awls were mixed, I had one hat wasn't glued accurately so the tip fell off but the other 2 are good. Shipping is really long but all items arrived eventually. I also had better experience with ebay than with amazon in terms of shipping time. Also worth noting, I bought the pricking irons on ebay and selected the wrong option and they let me change it although it was already at their post office. So I'd say the service is pretty good.

Thanks for sharing the information, much appreciated. And great website btw.

Thanks for the tip, I will give that a try if there's something similar available here (which I assume).

Really well made bag, congratulations on this beautiful piece. Would you (or AndersenLeather) mind sharing the link to the instructable? And where did you get these nice locks? Thanks for the info.

@fredk is this a special tape? I heard of using aluminium foil but I guess that makes nasty noises everytime you move the wallet?

@ABHandmade When you look closely at the link I provided, you can see at the right side that goodsjapan.com ships free worldwide, regardless of the value in your cart. So the price for the finish is in essence $14.99. I don't know customs in the Ukraine but in my coutry everything under €22 is free of taxes and custom fees. Delivery time could be an issue if you can't wait...Good luck with the acrylic lacquer, please update us about the results.

Also, afaik there's a Japanese matte finish available at Goods Japan, http://goodsjapan.com/craft-sha-leathercraft-water-resistant-acrylic-resin-leather-lacquer-matt-100ml-322-p.asp I have one bottle of it lying around here but didn't give it a try yet. It's not that expensive and I can get it from a local distributor in my country. Maybe that's available at your place too.

I guess it depends on what you aim for. I agree with you, when you want your dye to soak deeper into the leather it is useful to oil it before dyeing. My purpose is usually to re-smooth the leather after it was dyed, which makes it stiff (and curly when using thin leathers). I found that a good coat of neatsfoot oil smoothens the leather and partly reverts the curling of thin leather. Sometimes I even oil right after dyeing thus preventing or lessening the stiffing/curling of the leather, especially when dyeing both sides of the (thin) leather. Didn't achieve the same result when oiling it before dyeing but maybe I was doing it wrong... Just my personal experience, but if someone has a better approach I'm willing to give it a shot.

This is a great topic and there are really good points from all the contributors. I'm relatively new to leather working so I have a real long way to go but with every item I do I try do improve myself. But as JMixx said, if you want something that looks machine made, buy something that is. To date I haven't made a single item that I'm satisfied with (I'm an IT guy and we have that technical thinking and strive for profession somehow in our blood...) and there are always points during the making of every single item where I think "man, you screwed it again" but I always finish the items. After I finished them I lay the aside a day or two and then grab them and analyse them to see, where it did go wrong and what I can do to make it better the next time. I have not sold something up to now, because I would be ashamed taking money for these imperfect items even if it is only for the materials. Of course no one has ever criticised my work that much and I gave a few items away to people that were happy with it but it's my own standard that keeps me of just trying to sell the stuff yet. That being said I always appreciate critique of my work, even if it's hard or rough. Seeing something through others eyes gives you the opportunity to improve in many ways. Interestingly when I buy things myself I look for handcrafted things that have that personal look to it especially from people that do their craft as a hobby and I love talking with them about their passion and dedication. I'm nowhere as criticising towards their work as towards mine but I think that's the only way to get better in what you do. When it comes to the WOW effect there are most points already said. Many times, as immiketoo said, the wow isn't as wow when you look closer. Those pro crafters at instagram always position their items the right angle and hide the irregularities. However there are some crafters that I look at and get that wow effect with every item they produce but they are exclusively paying their rent with the craft and not doing it as a hobby as I and many others do. And all their items cost an absolute fortune because they don't put out masses. Nevertheless I love seeing people putting a huge amount of work and passion at every single bit of an item. That has always been wow to me and I always try to learn as much as I can from them regardless of what they do. If someone can teach me sweeping the road like a pro I'm willing to learn that. But as Tugadude says the most wow effects come in little bits when looking at something you haven't seen before, seeing someone producing good items with self made tools at home because they don't have the money to buy pro tools, seeing a unique design you haven't seen before (I totally feel you here Tugadude) and things like that. Most of these WOW factors have nothing to do with perfect items, at least for me.

+1 for the howto. Always wanted to do a seat like this

Thats the trick. Had the same issue with Fiebings Leather dye, you rub like your life depends on it but it wont stop coming off. Once died a front of a bag and covered a whole t-shirt in dye excess. What I now do is this: use Fiebings Professional Oil Dye: you can dilute them with denat. alcohol the same as the leather dye. The name is confusing, its also alcohol based, the color particles are made from petroleum thus the name oil dye wait at least 12 hours buff once I oil my pieces after I dyed them if necessary, let the oil sink in until dry to the touch, buff them again, next to nothing coming off now. The oil evens out the color too, thats a nice side effect finish it and give it a final rub after a few hours of drying. Upon delivery I apply some leather treatment to make it smooth and shiny again. Works every time now

Great design, turned out really well. Customer will be happy

Awesome design, you‘re hard to beat at tooling. Your letter tooling is hard to beat. Kudos to the piece and the touching story.

Totally agree with Tugadude. The first thing that came to my mind is the overall harmonic look. Normally I‘m not a fan of brogue decorations but those fit so perfectly to the design. I also like the rolled/turned edge on the flap,, thats something you don‘t see everyday. The new owner will be happy with it

Wow thats a bling bling lining. Great job I really like the interior design

I love Hexnhit, someday I‘ll get one of their alphabet sets. When I have $500 for just letter stamps... And I love KS blade punch. I envy everyone that owns their tools. Someday... when I have $300 for 2 pricking irons or 320 for that awesome hole punches... Just had a roughly $500 conversation with Kevin Lee... totally nice guy btw and always working. Total recommandation and as mentioned enquiry him via Instagram. Since you mentioned Nash anonymous I have another one on the list I have to buy from... Notba real fsn of Wuta really, I own some of their stuff and the quality isn‘t that good. Also, the tools are all factory made. Didn‘t look at the others too close on purpose, my wife will kill me...

Fredk is right, I bought some of these here in Germany recently, they should be widely available everywhere. Got a tool for a rivet press which I use. These aren‘t expensive and usually sold in 100pcs/pack just as the normal squash eyelets

Everything you need to know has already been said, real good advice here, as always. Highly depends on what you‘re planning to do, I had the best results with pure veg tan, but have seen tooled chromexcel many times as well. You can basically use every part of the hide. For practicing I recommend the cheaper bellies. You can get full bellies for $20-30 quit. Again the thickness should be chosen by the project you do. I hammered a few letters on 2oz leather but thats not tooling by definition. Turned out pretty well anyway but I‘d recommend 4-5oz at least for trying.

I googled a bit for you, maybe it‘s easier when you search from Germany. Found these, don‘t know if these are the same: https://sattlershop.com/k21/Befestigungen-Kleinteile/Loxx-Made-in-Germany This is a German saddlery shop selling these. These button manufacture designed these buttons to hold soft top of cabriolets. Today they are widely used for boats or cars. Pretty expensive for buttons if you ask me but they seem to have a secure function, which prevents them from opening easily. If you need further translation or if this is not what you‘re looking for let me know. I saw they only ship to Benelux states so maybe you can‘t order at this shop. But maybe the exact name helps you find them in France. If you don‘t find them and these are exactly what you are looking for I could buy them and send them to you if you need them that bad ☺️

When it was laser-printed or pyrographed you‘d see it on the leather surface, it‘ll look like it was burned which isn‘t the case here. I did stamping with ink on leather as well and it looks exactly like this. Could be printed as the edges are too flawless to be hand stamped. Look here https://www.etsy.com/de/listing/484191765/notebook-add-on-rubber-stamping?ref=shop_home_active_20 This is also hand stamped with a single stamp and ink. See how its done here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-N5_F75QbD8