Spyros

Gotcha. I thought it strange at first not to have any stitching, but the more I think about it, a suspender is permanently pulled downwards and never sideways, so it doesn't really have any reason to come apart even if the cement weakens over time.

Can I ask because I can't tell from the photos... if this is two layers bonded together, are they then stitched? or just relying on the glue to keep them together?

I'm actually considering a sewing machine at the moment, but there's just no way I will ever stop handstitching entirely, I enjoy too much both the process and how it looks. It's just that for some specific things I'm struggling to justify the time, for example I made a belt for myself over the weekend and that was hours and hours of stitching along the length of the belt, and back, which is a standard job that any machine would do in seconds, and I don't know if handstitching actually added anything to the result in this instance. One thing I'm struggling with is if you make both handstitched and machine-stitched products, how do you keep any sort of visual consistency between the two, given that machine thread is usually thinner and different type than handstitching thread. Just one of the many technical issues I have to think about before investing any money.

I think this forum has a lot of people who are into tooling and carving and you really need veg for that, maybe thats why. Chrome is great, as long as it suits the project. I like my bags to be firm and stand upright, chrome is more for softer, floppier bags that I don't really make. Upholstery leather is also great for aprons and other things, although there is huge price variation in upholstery leather. For a shop apron I wouldn't bother with the expensive stuff, but if I'm spending a week making a nice English trunk I probably would.

Well that's why I stick with branded leathers. I mean chromexcel is chromexcel regardless if you buy it directly from Horween, Tannery row, or some random guy on etsy. I know exactly how firm it will be, what thickness I need, what is the best way to finish it, what options I have with the flesh side, and most importantly what to avoid. I don't like last minute experimentations and surprises with those things. Sedgwick bridle, Horween Dublin, Hikaku Cordovan etc, they're always the same. Cheap? No. But cheaper than finding out in the last minute that I just bought a side that is simply unsuitable for my project. And there are some merchants you can rely on to have good consistency with their lesser known and less expensive house brands and their generic tooling veg tan.

I never put logos on anything... I prefer my clothes and everything else I use without logos too if possible, I don't know why I would pay to become an advertisement for someone else's brand. But that's besides the point, that's just me. Back to your issue, what is the worst case scenario? Suppose he on-sells them under his brand, why is that a problem for you if you're still getting the price you wanted? He's subcontracting the production of a wallet.

**** em. Go to those who ship.

For me the answer to pretty much everything, including leather, is Buckleguy + DHL. The only thing I get locally is kangaroo, glue and dye, simply because buckleguy doesn't ship liquids overseas and they don't have kangaroo, otherwise I'd get everything from them. And it's not just because of Australian prices (which are typically double), it's mainly their websites that are pitiful, usually half the stuff they sell are not even online, and the other half will usually lack proper photos or proper descriptions or even a flag when they're out of stock. And with Australia Post crapping itself because of COVID, I sometimes get my stuff faster from literally the other side of the planet than from the next city. It's sad but it is what it is. I import nearly everything I use. Takes some planning but in the long run I'm much much better off. And yes it did get ridiculous at some point when I needed a couple of snaps to finish a project, and I did pay $10 for the snaps and $50 for shipping, and I don't even care, it was still better than shopping from Australia.

I'm with Mr Samalan above Figure out what is the best leather for your projects, start with that and stick with it until you're satisfied your projects look the best they can. If that makes you nervous you don't need to start with big projects that need a lot of leather, you can learn every single technique by making watch straps, key holders, small pouches. Don't start cheap, start small to keep the cost of errors down. You'll find good quality leather* burnishes differently, interacts differently with finishes, stretches and cuts differently, the flesh side looks different, and generally gives you different options. Note, I didn't say necessarily better or easier, I said different. So, learning how to do those things on cheap leather means you'll have to re-learn them later, and what's the point of that? I understanding getting a bag of cheap offcuts to practice stitching, but once you're happy with your stitching I'd go straight to the good stuff for everything else. *Good quality sometimes means simply getting the better cuts of the hide, eg bend instead of shoulder, shoulder instead of belly etc.

Absolutely. And they want to be able to explain it to the next person who asks them about it and be able to justify the purchase to themselves first and foremost. Made in Australia makes people feel better, knowing a bit about the person who made it makes it even easier. At the end of the day it's all in the mind, people buy a perception more than a product. By the way you have some awesome new stuff on your website lately Great photography too

This started as a design accident (dont ask LOL) but I thought I'd finish it just to see if I could make it work. I'm not sure what it is about it but it seems everyone who's seen it wants to hold it and play with it, and eventually everyone wants one. It is actually very practical and the owner uses it every day, but it did take a lot of finetuning to make it, if the stiffness of the panels or the bolts are not just right it will simply not open or close at all. So I'm avoiding making another one. The leather is chromexcel inside and out.

thanks guys, means a lot coming from you

I think with machine stitched products you generally get what you pay for. Mass production and various backyard operations often cut corners, on the other end you have Louis Vuitton who often machine stitch stuff but any product with the smallest imperfection doesn't even leave the factory. And everything in between of course. Machine stitching is definitely the way if you're aiming for a profit, but it can also be beautiful and durable if you invest time and money.

Thats brutal good onya

Thanks Brian Yeah I had to keep reminding myself this is not a luxury bag (and I certainly didn't price it like that), at the end of the day it's still just a secondary camera bag to be used for work, it will be knocked about from day 1. And that waxy pull up leather, you look at it funny and it scratches LOL So yes the flap on the front pocket and the strap could be lined, some edges could be skived, I could cast the thread on the back of every stitch, etc. But at some point it just didn't make sense to keep adding detail so I focused on the functionality of the design and let the quality of the materials do most of the talking. One thing I'm not worried about is the padding, I own the same lens and wouldn't hesitate to keep it in that pocket. There's 4-6 layers of soft leather between the lens and the outside world.

Growing up I used to see sardine cans in the supermarket that were about this shape, so designing and making this bag brought back some memories. I think it's cute though :D This is custom bag commissioned by a wedding photographer who wanted a cross body bag to fit a specific lens and flash. I designed the holders to be friction fit for that equipment (which I also happened to own, so that made things a little easier). The gussets looked like a pain even before I started, so I cut the gusset lining about 5mm narrower, and that helped the exterior leather turn and stitch a little easier. As you can see I glued but didn't always stitch both sides of the lining to the gusset, because I didn't want the exterior to show too many stitch lines. Especially in areas where it's naturally held in place by hardware like the photo above I didn't feel it was needed, but we'll see how it holds up over time. First time using RiRi zippers (this is a "Metal 8" size), and I can say I'm impressed. I love the highly polished teeth, I think it's important not to scratch the hand or the lens, plus the bag has a lot of curves so I wanted something to navigate them reliably without snagging. Wish they were a bit cheaper though. One thing I learned the hard way is never underestimate the time it takes to design something from scratch. This took about one hour of thinking for every hour of making. The exterior is Horween Dublin and the interior is soft veg tan calf. Cheers Spyro

Εh, cheap things have their place, not everyone wants things that last for decades because they enjoy shopping for new things anyway. I learned that from my wife, there is no point in making here a heirloom bag because very soon she's out to get a new one no matter what, then the one I made her is collecting dust. I can literally make her a bag just with glue to hold together for a couple of months and then self implode and she'd be perfectly happy with it. That foraging pouch is a good idea though, and I like your colour combinations

Thats like 0.4mm thread... can it do double that thickness?

Yeah, I'm holding on to woodworking. And with every day that passes, I'm wondering more and more why.

^those are perfect, I'd struggle to tell them apart from hand stitched. The last one has some machine marks but nothing that will not probably disappear on its own over time.

That's very interesting, thank you. I'm pretty much sold on one of those machines but I have to discover some solution to make room first, my tiny workshop is full to the brim. Unrelated comment but I'm impressed you bothered yourself with edge finishing considering the customer and the nature of the product.

Man you brought back some memories with Bushmills (I was an exchange student in Limerick for a year)

It looks great, I always wanted one. I almost pulled the trigger on a new one but that exposed blade gave me pause, I mean knowing myself I know they will find me dead in the shed 5 days later LOL Sticking to the all wood one too

I once took a leatherworking course, and the instructor said that in luxury leather items the order from most luxurious to less luxurious is: 1) turned edges 2) painted edges 3) burnished edges. So you're picking the most luxurious option It's also probably the most time consuming option, you'll have to skive a fair bit to get the leather to fold properly. Although painting also takes a lot of time because technically you have to build layers with drying time and sanding in between. Burnishing is definitely the fastest. To be honest, although I most definitely appreciate the craftsmaship in the end result, I find turned edges a bit too formal and maybe a little old fashioned. But that's just me, I just like more casual stuff, you should follow your vision

I know, but the best edge paints that people recommend are not necessarily available in all parts of the world. And instead of ordering from overseas during COVID times where shipping can take months and months, it might be worth experimenting with materials from a local art shop. Not everybody needs the absolute best.