LeathercraftMasterclass

I haven't used 6t's awls but I do hear good things. By the looks of some of his designs I think he produces awls that are for use against a cork board which seems popular in China/Japan. Philip

Thanks H, Yeah I agree, price does not always relate to usefulness. You may have noticed a weekender bag behind me in the video, that was entirely stitched with a J Dixon awl that I got from Abbey England a few years back. Blade and haft together cost about £3 I think and still around the same price! Philip

Hey guys, I did a video review of a new titanium (not the blade though!) saddlers awl from France. So I thought I would share with the community here. What do you think? Revolutionary or a waste of money? Click the image below to watch.

Yeah, same problem here too. Wix is notoriously slow with mobile sites apparently and I know it's definitely putting off potential customers. I am working with them today to sort this out. My Mrs phone loads all the pages fine, but on my older Samsung I have to load4 'Online Courses' twice to even see anything! I just assumed it was my phone playing up. Guess not! Thanks, Phil

Cheers T! Thank you for taking the time to help me problem solve, I always appreciate it! I've updated the YouTube account for the external links. That was my old website and account which I hadn't remembered to change since the relaunch. I've modified the Online Courses page to have all the videos load on one single grid that seems to load faster now (at least on my laptop). I still opened a support ticket with Wix to come up with a better solution regarding speed. My uneducated guess is that each individual video thumbnail was loading a 20 second preview at the same time as the thumbnail causing a horrible delay! You would know more than I would about that. Yes, Wix, the armatures choice! I have been told that Wordpress is a better option before. My issue is now I have momentum with the business I really don't have the time to invest in a new website. The thought of trying to move paying subscribers and members over seamlessly gives me nightmares! I also moved the text over to the right of all the pictures on the last link in the suppliers list 'Techniques of the edge Pt2'. Can you tell me if the issue is still there? If that has solved the problem I'll go ahead and fix the rest of the pages. Thank you in advance, again I really appreciate you taking a look into this! Phil

Thank you for the support T, I appreciate the sub! Thank you Dunluce, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers for the heads up regarding the website! If I may ask, did you have this issue on a computer or a phone? Phil

Hi Naikulah, Thank you for the subscription! Much appreciated. That's the wonderful part about our craft, it's all very much subjective. I have to agree, you card wallet corner - you nailed it! Thank you T! Yeah, I really love the whole live video thing on Instagram. When I can match the number of followers on YouTube I want to switch to live videos there as they record and keep them on my channel. Unfortunately Instagram only keeps them for 24hrs. Regarding build along courses, that is where all this is going, once 'The Techniques Of Leathercraft' are complete, I will be moving into 'The Manufacture Of Leather Goods' -named on honour of C.G. Moseley's excellent book from the corwainers technical college in London. That way, if someone watching the making of a bifold for example, doesn't understand how to turn an edge, skive T slots or perform edge binding, well - there's a technique course for that included in the subscription! Thank you everybody for the warm welcome, I really appreciate it. Some fashion and style forums I've signed up to are full of egos and and hotheads, everyone seems really nice here! It's refreshing. Philip

Hello guys! I appreciate the enquiry Naikulah, and thank you Terry, I'm glad you are getting value from the courses! I have a workshop in Kent, England where I own Finch England. I am a full time leather goods maker specialising in custom work for individuals and a few London based retailers. I also provide personal workshop training one to one. I started the Leathercraft Masterclass earlier this year as I was receiving a lot of messages from people on Instagram saying that they would love to come and train with me but they live on the other side of the world. Thus the idea was born to create video courses that people can watch the world over. The courses are based on what isn't currently available on Youtube or from other makers. From the makers that have been mentioned in this thread, it appears that they specialise almost exclusively in vegetable tanned leather and rugged leather goods. I do work with vegtan and bridle hide (I live near a tannery producing it!) but I also work with many different European chrome tanned leathers and exotic skins, so my work is not quite the same in that sense. I'd say 60% of the students who come to my workshop are there to learn how to make handbags, design patterns, install leather linings, zippers, rolled handles, enchapes, interlinings and reinforcements etc, so I specialise in a different style to many youtube based makers. As for cost, well the value of something is very subjective! personally I don't see the value in a $300 damascus and fossilised walrus testicle handled skiving knife, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the price, it's just not worth it - to me! Of all the great skiving knives I own, I always reach for my re-shaped carbon steel putty knife! After heat treating that sucker, there's nothing that flexes to skive thin soft skins quite like it! - all for £6 If someone buys one of my videos and what they learn helps them to create a higher grade of leather goods, improve their confidence and create more sales, then they will have received great value. On the flip side someone might buy the video for £29.99 and think 'nah, not into that fancy stuff - I want to make riveted axe sheathes', they on the other hand will receive poor value! (Yes the £9.99/mo subscription is a lot better value). If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask away and I'll try and get back to you as quick as I can. Talking of free, I also have a Youtube channel. So here's a free video on back stitching neatly (you may already know it):