KDR

Asking $100 each for these dies. We have sold literally thousands of these items. Jockey (top) retails at $30, Sashay (middle) at $35, Whisper (bottom) at $25.

These two dies are for armbands, which retail at $30 each. Asking $50 per die.

I'm in Toronto, Canada. I'm betting you're in Texas? I'm actually thinking of keeping this, after listing it! It's pretty handy, quite light, and I can see some leatherwork in my future, but more hobby stuff than business. But I can't recommend it highly enough, it's a lovely piece of equipment, and the pneumatic conversion was pretty simple and straightforward.

Hi Yankee, I'm curious how you are getting on with your Hu Ji 43? I'm looking at maybe picking one up. Is yours still going strong? Any problems with it? thanks! Kristina

Wrlcome Lasse!

A hand press is a hand operated machine that creates pressure on a die, which is basically a shaped knife. The die is placed on the leather and when pressure is applied with the handle, it cuts the leather into the shape. Something like this: I cut with a clicker press for the most part, but if am cutting by hand and want to put a circle or half circle or quarter circle, I'll use a round punch or a strap end punch. There are lots of better people than me on this forum to answer that question! I agree with the previous poster who said it was likely 'pull up', aka oily pull. It's a nice leather to work with for your purposes because it is pliable. I would add that if you are producing items for other people to buy, your own preference may not be the best guide. You may not like the way it looks, but that doesn't mean lots of other people won't think it's the coolest thing they've ever seen.

Oh, interesting! I had no idea. You really never stop learning with this stuff, do you? Good luck!

I'm selling this unique Heritage brand cast iron foot press machine. This is a solid, versatile machine that punches holes, sets rivets, snap fasteners, and spots. It's been used but not abused, and is in excellent working order, and will earn its place in any leather shop. What makes this one unique is that we have modified it to run off an air compressor, taking much of the strain out of extended operation. If you don't want to use the air option, the machine is still fully functional as a manual unit. Included in the price is the tool itself, a self centering table, 8 part storage tray, pneumatic piston assembly, and a bunch of dies. A steal at $1200!

Tandy is called the Leather Factory in Canada, but other than that it's pretty much the same. I would buy the odd hide there, if I was in a pinch and the price was right. Recently though, they moved away from selling hides by square footage, and just put a flat rate sticker on each type of leather, regardless of the size. And the prices went through the roof. They used to have a wholesale pricing level, which technically, they still sort of do, but it's like a dime off retail. Not a great incentive to buy. Their hardware is overpriced, overpackaged, and geared toward the user who makes one belt a year. They've become my absolute last choice, in pretty much any circumstances. It's sad, because the staff in my local store, in Mississauga, are great.

We made this thing years ago. It's 96" by 48". Edges are wood trimmed. It is, as you can see, a bit a of magnet for clutter, but I always know where stuff is. On the table! The shelf underneath is good storage. The space at the end was designed in to hold a spool of rope on a bar. We have a tool hanging bar down the centre, a power bar at the far end and an overhead light, er, overhead. This table gets used mostly for smaller, lighter projects and assembly. There's another one, the same size but slightly lower, at the other end of the workshop that we use if we're hand cutting a hide.

Very nice, Fity! I really like the red lights. Are you hand punching the holes or die cutting?

What, Regina? See, I was always crap at guessing!

Very nice pouch gigidept! And excellent to see more Toronto folk here!

Please add me, Johanna, thanks.

https://www.hidehouse.com/ These guys carry all kinds of leather, well priced. Weaver Leather out of Ohio are also good to deal with, esp for veg tans.

Nope, that's what they ordered! Eight monkey fists was plenty though. Not so much a scourge as a hail of tiny Rocky Marcianos.. What part of England are you from, Harald?

That is stunning. For an 'amateur'!!

I got a gravestone from a monument shop when I was working out of my house. It was a beautiful, intricate piece, red granite four inches thick, with winding flowers carved into it, and the name - I still remember - Codreanu. Unfortunately, whoever had carved it had got the date of death wrong by ten years. It was free, but it took three of us to carry it!

Hey, I'd say that if you're selling online the consistency of each piece is not that important. You do need to be concerned about it if you're selling a lot of pieces to one customer, ie wholesale. But if you're trying to do that you'll be competing directly with factories in Pakista, India and China. Individual end users in my experience like to know that what they have is not exactly the same as what somebody else has. The fact that each one is unique is a great selling point, as long as each one is also excellent! My concern with your process is it looks like you're putting a lot of work into a piece that would probably not sell for a lot of money. If this is what you want to make, get a little hand press and a die made up. The die can include pricking irons to punch the stitch holes at the same time. It will save you a lot of cutting. But I'd suggest making some small pieces like this by hand to figure out if you like working with leather and to think about technique, and then move on to things that are more individual, and which you can sell at a higher price.

Hello, Mr Stallion,, ever since I moved my workshop out of my home in 2000, I've had a 'shop' space that has been open to the general public. What I've found has been that a regular retail experience does not work for us, at all. What we have is really a factory, not a store. We also tend to work when we feel like it, which is not really conducive to regular retail hours! Part of the appeal of being self employed in this way is not to have to commit to fixed hours of being in a place in case someone decides to stop by. But that could be just us! So when people want to come in, they'll email us first and we arrange a time. We make sure they're not expecting a standard retail experience. So they're not too shocked that we're not Victoria's Secret. Mostly we found people who appreciate artisanal workmanship appreciate being in a place where things are obviously being made, not just taken out of boxes. And they appreciate if you can take the time to talk to them about what they're looking for. We're all kink - or 'that stuff' I guess I should call it here - and a lot of the people who come in want to discuss custom work. So that works great. It's the people who come in thinking we should be a regular store who leave sad and disappointed! We've had our shop space in small towns, big cities, on farms even. We're in Canada. Nobody has tried to sue us, and we've never had stuff nicked, or if we have, not enough to notice. We were employing six people at one time, mostly friends and friends of friends. They've all been fine. The important thing for them to know, if you get to that point, or want to go that way, is that their work has to generate income. That the only way anyone can get paid is if the business makes money. If you can get that through an employee's head, you are literally in business. If not, the employee has to go, and they have to understand that. You mention kink stuff in your side bar. I would strongly recommend not mixing straight goods with kink goods. One or the other. Kink folk will be happy to look at wallets and stuff, but the wallet people will be outraged at the sight of a ballstretcher! Guaranteed. Pick your market and stick with it. my two cents, and no doubt what it's worth, but you're welcome to it.

Thanks Gary. We have our fans!

Hi, I'm Kristina, and I've been at this for twenty years or so. I'm entirely self taught, give or take some help from Bruce Grant and Clifford Ashley. I run a BDSM manufacturing business called Leatherbeaten. It started in my living room, grew into the basement, then moved out of the house altogether, and at its peak employed six people and sold wholesale on three continents! I'm proud to say we sold whips to the Aussies! We never got rich at this either, but we were our own bosses and always paid the rent and ate. "We" are myself and my partner Billy. I do most of the design work, and work in the shop. Oh, yes and deal with the government, banking, internet providers, payment processors, accountants, bookkeepers, customers, suppliers etc etc etc. Billy works mostly in the shop, writes the website and ties the pineapples. We've recently retired out of the wholesale business , and we're kind of slowly winding down the business to move onto other areas. Getting old and creaky! We're thinking we'll get into teaching what we've learned from our time in the business. Here's a tiny sample of the kinds of pieces we've put together over the years. Hello everyone!

Strong, reliable workhorse 20 ton hydraulic click press for sale. This machine has been in almost daily use in our shop, has been regularly professionally serviced, and is in great shape. The only trouble it's given us has been the occasional relay switch wearing out. Asking $5000 CDN If you're interested, or have questions about the machine, please shoot me a message. Thanks. Specs as follows: 220 v / 3 phase Bed 20" x 40" Head 24" x 18" Overall Depth - 34" Overall Width - 40" Overall Height - 66" Weight 2000 lbs Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada