CastleLeatherWorks

Finished up this little long wallet for a customer over the weekend. Outside is MPG Apollo in Bourbon color and the inside is natural veg tan from La perla azzura...hands down the nicest veg tan I’ve come across !! I used 0.45 mm twist brand waxed linen thread in coffee color spaced at 3.38mm for the stitching and finished the edges with a light brown dye (sanded with 200/600/1000/2000 grit) then dyed, burnished with tokonole and finished with some wax and buffed with canvas. delivery to customer is in 2 days and I’m thinking about sanding and re-dying the edge to see if I can get a more uniform color because in some places it’s lighter/darker than others. Comments and critiques always welcome =)

Great work ....thats a very nice looking bag and that's a solid design, it looks like it will last a lifetime !!! Will you leave the edges raw or do you plan on finishing them ?

So this is how I make my pockets you can see the profile . I use a “T” shaped pocket and I use a French skiver to get the backside down as thin as possible about a half in from the top of the pocket. It really does cut down on the interior bulk of the wallet. This leather is 0.6 mm and I was making a wallet that holds 4 cards in each side so 6 pockets and 2 fronts the front 2 don’t get Skived at all to maintain a consistent thickness. Hope that helps a bit take care

simply put youre not going to find one brand of tool like craftsman or snap-on that have everything you need. some tools work for certain people and some dont and some are indeed junk. i dont tool leather will be of no help with those items. what kind of products do you intend to make? do you want to make fine leather goods or saddle and tac ? these things will define what kind of tools you buy. i spent alot of money on cheap tools and i actually still use some of them mostly my edge creaser and maul. theres also this brand "OWDEN" that makes decently priced tools and you can get them on amazon. i have a french skiver and edge beveler from them and they work excellent but you have to keep them sharp. Also "Wuta" makes affordable tools that are decent quality i have their french style pricking irons and theyre my goto for now. maybe this video will help you if you havent already seen it. good luck on your leather working journey

thanks for the kind words. Im also interested to see how the wax wears off and the patina develops. I really like working with buttero mainly for the variety of colors. i like that i can get it split really thin 0.6/08mm and it still has enough body not to flop around while skiving or working with thin panels. I do have a side of wicket and craig naty veg that i use for jobs that i hand dye on occasion i find its really dry and i dont like that i have to do alot of finishing to get the look i want. Also i feel like the wicket and craig has alot more scars than the italian stuff ive been buying. i have no experience with hermann oak although it does look really nice, if i could find a supplier that splits panels of it i would like to try some. I did just recently try this veg tan from La Perla Azurra and i can say with out a doubt its probably my new favorite leather.

Ive been using a cheap 1.5mm creaser that i got from amazon almost 2 years ago. it was like $10/$12 and its been working fairly well. i use it with a little tea light candle to heat it and it does the job. i know there's more expensive ones you can purchase but they're basically the same profile and will do the same job you know... the amazon one is pretty well built for the money.... i did have to use some sand paper to smooth out the edge on the tip of the creaser as it was digging into my projects going around tight curves and contoured the handle a bit so it doesn't aggravate my thumb when applying pressure. Im planning on purchasing a fileteuse from rocky mountain leather supply when i can justify the cost, as its not going to be cheap with all the accessories and different tips needed for smoothing paint and edge creasing. hopefully someone with some more experience can chime in as im curious about other higher end creasers myself and if the cost is justified.

i must admit these are way better looking than i initially envisioned lol...... great job and the designs are nice

I would love to see some pictures of these hats. while i would almost certainty not wear a leather hat im sure there might be a handful of people not opposed to such a thing.

thank you ! 1) yes the leather i used is 0.6 buttero 2) the center piece IS just hanging there its glued with weldwood contact cement. the span is only 3/4 of an inch so its not that big and i haven't had any issues with separation. I have considered stitching all the way across and might implement that into future works. 3) there is hidden pockets behind the card slots. 4) the section you mentioned that is unstitched between the card slots. ( answered this in the previous question #2 ) 5) i don't stitch around the top corners because i have heard from some other makers that the friction of going in and out of the pocket has worn the thread and they have failed...i might implement in the future because i do like the look and im considering switching from linen to poly thread. plus i usually paint my edges after i stitch so it would be in the way. this is one of a handful of items Ive made with dyed edges. 6) the card slots are not fully lined to keep the bulk down and because buttero has enough body at .6mm to stand up on it own. i have fully lined some projects done with chevre because it gets kinda floppy at the thinner weights...also just the main bill compartment is fully lined (i might have to make a note of this in future posts as to not confuse people.. when i say fully lined im only referring to the money slot) Do you ever post your work? theres only a handful of us on this site who do this kind of leather work and i want to see it all LOL

theirs a dealer in so cal where im located who was selling some yamata post beds and they looked and performed very nicely. great for sneakers/bags/hats id say go for it. if you're local maybe take a hat and patch to see if you can do a test run. i think this would be more beneficial than a patcher. i don't like patchers so i might be slightly biased..

Great job for a first project and quite ambitious i would say. i think you did very well. if you cleaned up the edges and the little bits of nap i cant see anything major or that needs work. i like the dyed color and stitching looks good although the thread is a little heavy for my liking. im sure this bag will last for a long time and develop a nice patina.'\ Keep it up

very carefully and with a Q-tip.. if you're not careful the dye will seep over the edge so practice is recommended. so after i worked my way through the different grits of sand paper making sure my edge is as smooth and flat as possible i re-sand with 2000 grit and apply the dye to the open grain before re applying the tokenole and burnishing with a canvas to seal it up. there is probably a better way to do it.. i seen some makers on instagram finishing their edges with dye so this was my attempt... i think with some more practice i can refine and simplify it

thanks brother ! Thank you !! please ask as many questions as possible. my knowledge very is limited as im self taught and i pretty much just regurgitate what i see online lol... yes when i say fully lined i mean that its 2 pieces of leather glued together so no flesh is showing. the bottom center is just glued (as well as the rest of the wallet) with weldwood contact cement. i haven't had any problems with my wallet panels coming apart on this section although i have been think about stitching all the way across so i might have to start just as a fail safe.

Finished this customer project this weekend. Tried something different and went with dye for the edges instead of the Uniters/Fenice paint I usually use. I’m a pretty happy with the results just wish I could have got some better pictures. Wallet is fully lined 0.6mm burgundy buttero hand stitched with 0.45mm black waxed linen thread spaced at 3.38mm edges are finished and angelus jet black alcohol dye. From the raw edge I planed first to square everything up then sanded with 200/600/1000/2000 grit sandpaper burnishing with tokenole in between grits to keep the fibres down then dyed and burnished once more then a light coat of wax was applied. I feel like my edges could have came out better but I think for my first attempt it was a success. comments and critiques always welcome

beautiful work!! Great design and is very clean looking

for $1400 dollars i think i would go for a used powered sewing machine. just watched a demo video from the tandy website and the stitches looked horrible and the whole work bench was rocking from pulling the lever. IDK what kind of work you do or plan on doing but IMO these manual machines do work, some better than others..... but usually not well enough for my liking. just my $.02

i don't really care for tooled leather but this looks very good. stitching is nice and straight and i like the color.. Great job...and i cant even tell where you stabbed it with your awl.

coming along nicely !!! great job

set up some sort of edge guide that's straight from front to back that you can repeatably locate the work piece off of or pass the work thru. then youll only have to deal with matching up the ends of your burn. gonna take some trial and error for sure depending on how complex the burn is.

yes i agree a liner or beard trimmer would probably get you where you want to be

yes thank you for the kind words. im hoping in the long run all the extra work will pay off!! that "extra mile" quote is gold my friend ! ! take care

no story as far as i know just what the customer requested. although i really do like how this came out. I will be adopting it into some future designs.

Here’s one of my latest orders. Client wanted a pink coffin shaped card holder with a pocket in the middle. I threw in the keychain as a gift. Leather is La Perla Azzurra Dakota in Barbie color from district leather supply. Saddle stitched with .55 waxed carriage natural hemp thread. Edges are finished with uniters heatable edge paint. thanks for looking

thank you ! i like the different brown tones as well. i think that was like 4/5 coats of dye applied with a sea sponge. then finished with Aussie leather conditioner worked/pushed in and let it sit overnight.

what kind of products do you intend to make? i myself make wallets and i prefer 3mm spacing or 3.38 french style pricking irons but i also own a set of 5mm diamond pricking irons that i use on bigger projects because hand stitching takes alot of time so the smaller the spacing the more stitching you know.... for wallets and finer or higher end looking goods i would say go with the smaller spacing and thinner thread. for more rough and tuff holsters or belts go with the bigger spacing and thread. its a bit of trial and error until you find what you like. or just ask someone who makes similar items and ask what they use. most people are relatively helpful. take care.