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ThatTallChick

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Everything posted by ThatTallChick

  1. Oh interesting! It most certainly does stretch when I punch it, I have never heard about using this tape before, I'll give it a go, thank you :D
  2. Okay this is absolutely fantastic! I'm not sure what sort of border fees it would accrue to ship to Canada but I'm really really struggling to find a canadian supplier that offers the amount of options as Rocky Mountain Leather Supply does. I will definitely keep them in my back pocket, thank you for the recommendation! Oh that's good to know, thank you! I'll email a few of the Canadian suppliers and see if anyone can split some hides for me to be that light!
  3. Alright, I'll keep looking around for some then, thanks! That's SO odd that they would sell leather that thin in a kit, but not as a hide-- or maybe I'm thick in the head haha I feel like I have clicked on every hide they sell and the smallest any of them go is 2-3oz, this is so frustrating haha Gosh really!? Man I don't think this would even fit in my husbands pockets (I won't even bother trying to put it in my own pocket) haha I suppose to each their own though! Oh very good, it does look like weaver has some apparently it's called "garment leather" or "upholstery leather" though it's unfortunate that it's already dyed I agree, the one time I did that I ended up with my best stitching
  4. I made this bi-fold wallet using this pattern and following the video tutorial but it's SO thick it's not even usable. I skived the 'T' pockets the same way it's done in the video, and I even skived the outer sides of the Pocket Cs. The website recommended 4/5 oz. leather for the exterior and 2/3 oz. for the interior, I used 2-3oz leather for the entirety of the project and it's still too thick. What can I do about this? Should I just skive it more, or is this just the nature of hand made leather wallets? I'm thinking of just getting some 1-2oz leather but I can't seem to find 1-2oz leather very easily. Also, when etching the line for the stitch holes to go, all the pockets are already secured in place and I found the line was really difficult to make straight since it was going over all the "bumps" of the tops of the pockets. I used an adjustable edge creaser for this and it was just really difficult. The easiest way I found to crease or groove the lines was to make the lines and punch the holes before assembly, but it was really hard to get the holes to line up when I did it that way. Am I doing something wrong or is this just supposed to come with practice? Or better tools? There's no cards or cash in this at all and it feels like it's fully loaded, how can I make this thinner?: I know there's a lot else wrong with this project- the stamps, the stitching, the edges, etc but it's the thickness that I really don't know how to solve...
  5. Thank you for all the help and advice! It seems to just be the one tooth on my 6 pronged chisel that is bent, perhaps I dropped it at some point... I might get my spouse to forge me some new ones. I've tried using the wing divider and I can't say I'm terribly fond of it, just because it seems to fall all over the place- I find the groover is really easy to rest on the side of the leather and use the edge of the leather to make the line straight, but I'm sure using the wing divider just takes practice. I'll definitely keep watching some more videos; that last one was especially helpful, it was helpful to see the varying thicknesses actually stitched out. It sounds like the general consensus in choosing thread thickness is based on whatever you think looks best, and maybe a little bit of strength but I'm not making saddles or anything. All in all, good to know, thank you! That's good to know! I have one sharp awl, it looks like I could thread something through it though so I figured it was for actually stitching with, also it's huge- I'll need to get myself a set of good awls once I'm better at the craft.. or maybe sharpen the ones I have or something. I've got some bevellers- not quite sure on the size but I find they just tear apart the leather- I'll sharpen them and try again though and if all else fails I'll add it to the ever growing list of new tools I need Thank you!
  6. Okay well this just opened up a whole new world-- I definitely have chisels, so I'll use the proper terminology from not on, thank you for clearing that up but... Now I feel like I'm using an awl wrong? I use mine to help open holes that I'm finding difficult to poke through with my needle... I didn't know people used an awl to create the holes from the beginning-- are awls supposed to be sharp? Mine are maybe as sharp as a saddlers needle so...not... Yeah the cutting matt is getting pretty rough from the pricking chisels, I'll definitely look into getting a rubberized board instead Oh that's good to know about the thread thickness- I just checked and I've been using 1mm which is a lot larger than 0.45mm haha I'll purchase a smaller size and see how I feel about it! I don't know what I'm buying right now either so knowing all the different things I should try is awesome, thank you! I know the ones I have are diamond shaped-- I had no idea they come in different shapes... I feel like the more I learn, the more questions I have haha what do the different shapes get you? Does your stitch line look different?
  7. I honestly couldn't' tell you what sized pricking irons I use, I got this kit from amazon and ... I mean it's not amazing but it got me into the hobby. The pricking irons are getting a little rough already though (the pricks are actually bending... Which is weird because I use a self healing mat when I use them) so it looks like I'm in the market for some new ones soon anyway. I'll have to look into more of these measurements- is the 0.45 mm the size of the prick, and the 3.38mm is the size of the space between each prick? Yeah I'll definitely keep using the rest of the...entire...cow... I have... of the veg tanned leather I have already haha until I'm a little bit better at this whole thing- right now I feel like everything I make is just me experimenting and I don't want to do that with something terribly expensive Also when i first started i bought a bunch of dyes thinking i was going to hand dye all my projects and soon found out that wasnt the best route for me. Now i buy single shoulders or panels of different colors already split down to the thickness i like which is around1.0/2.0oz. makes my life easier and i always get a consistent color and finish. you will find out what works for you the longer you're in the trade. Hahah that's good to know. I was introduced to leatherworking when I came across prince armory's youtube channel-- and he does dying, painting, etc, so initially I thought that was the norm which is why I picked up the dyes and resolene and the like-- I do like the texture it gives me, and it's fun to be able to pick whatever colour you want for each individual project (instead of buying a specific colour for each project) but when your wallets pop up on this site I'm always just dumbfounded.. I think the solid colours really help make them look so professional and clean. I'm sure I'll grow out of they dying, especially once I've moved up to higher quality leather. Right! I just like to buy from Canada so that I don't have to pay import fees and the like
  8. Ohh, that's all good to know, thank you so much! It doesn't look like Tandy sells bridle leather (unless it goes by another name) and we don't have TheBuckleGuy in Canada but I'll definitely have a look around and see what's available.
  9. I'll have to see if I can find bridle leather Is the only reason to purchase pre-dyed leather just because it looks nicer than dying it myself? I'll definitely look into purchasing higher quality leather when I'm not so terrible at this haha I didn't realize that veg tan is no good, but it's definitely fun to play with
  10. Oh I wasn't aware I could get thinner thread for hand stitching-- I'll definitely have to look into that-- would I buy smaller pricking irons for that? As for the rest of your points, I definitely used 3 pieces- I originally made the pattern with just one but the leather was too thick to pinch into a proper square if that makes sense? So I cut it into threes- I purchased the lightest hide I could though.. maybe I should be using a lining leather to make wallets like that instead? I think that's a great idea, and when I re-do this wallet I'm definitely going to try that out- I think it would look awesome! Thanks so much for your advice, I really appreciate it!
  11. My spouse has been using it for a few days and also mentioned the corners were too sharp- I liked the look of the sharp edges but I learned that it's definitely not practical. I'm not sure about the quality of the leather, I don't know how to check for it and I can't buy the leather in person as the nearest store is 8 hours away-- I just purchased it from Tandy and actually got some really dry, cracked stuff first that I had to send back and the manager said he hand picked this replacement for me. Admittedly I really really love dying the leather myself, it's one of my favorite parts of it-- I know that might sound stupid and I can't exactly explain why it is; I'll just have to work on my dying technique I think. The next wallet I will definitely Skive the edges, I only just learned about that technique but my tools aren't sharp enough so I'll have to wait for my sharpening supplies to come in but I will definitely be doing that next! The distance from the edge was a lot further before I started sanding it, perhaps I'll make the groover deeper-- I just didn't know I would be sanding off so much! On the last project I made I had hammered down my stitches and was asking about the more difficult to reach places (it's hard to hammer down the stitching in the corners because I can't get enough pressure on them) but a few people I asked said I don't need to hammer the edges so for this project I didn't... I think I prefer the look of it being hammered down though... may I ask why you hammer the holes before stitching? Wouldn't that make it more difficult to put the needle through? I think the stitching ended up so inconsistent because I pricked the wholes once it was all together which was hard to do because of the shape I guess? It's not flat on the table so I couldn't just prick and hit, I had to do this weird... bending... yoga thing with it and the pricker kept falling out of the groove I made for it. I'm not totally sure what a T-slot is, I'll be making a normal bifold next which might be what you're referring to? I know you said my edges need a lot of work already but what are your thoughts on the top flap edges? I personally thought they turned out nice other than the corners being too sharp. Thanks so much for all your advice! I'm striving to get better and I appreciate the time you took to type out your answer
  12. Last time I posted it was recommended that I practice on something smaller so I gave wallets a go! I'm not entirely sure what kind of wallet this is, I used my spouse's old wallet as a template since his had gone through the wash too many times and I thought I should replace it. My main focus this time was trying some new techniques I learned from you guys, and focusing on making my edges really nice. I used 2-3oz veg tanned leather on this project, and Dark Mahogany Eco-Flo Leather Dye. One thing I also tried was using a 3D punch I had purchased. Unfortunately while I was hitting it, it seems to have moved a bit resulting in a shadowed "effect". I had heard that there are ways of "erasing" a punch or mark that you put on your project mistakenly, but I had already worked that part of the leather a lot due to a mistake in the grooving that I had to burnish out, so I left it... I'm particularly fond of the edging I did on the front flap- I sanded the edge down first as I had seen recommended on this site quite a few times, and then used tokonole on it and it seemed to work like a charm. My letter stamps also left a lot to be desired, I'm not sure if I wet the leather too much, or just didn't hit it hard enough with the mallet or what. I'll need to practice! I also learned that I need to burnish the outsides of the pockets before assembling everything, good to note for next time. Oddly enough I noticed that the resolene seems to be wearing off on the bottom edge of the front flap there, just from general use. I'm not sure what to do about that. You can see that some of the thicker edges I packed with beeswax (after a lot of sanding) and then burnished with a cloth, and sometimes some added tokenole (before the beeswax and after). I have no idea if this is the right way or not, and it didn't turn out really well, so my next attempt I will use a knife to thin out the leather on the edges so that they come together more readily. The bottom front and back edges turned out okay. I was skeptical because it is three layers of leather because of the money pocket but after a lot of sanding I managed to get it to look semi uniform. This time I also tried gluing my project before punching the holes. I also purchased some better needles (saddlers) on you guys' recommendation and by golly were they ever nice!! I made the mistake of assembling the project with contact cement before dying the leather, so after punching the wholes I took the wallet apart, dyed it, and re-glued it together however some of the pieces didn't line up the same which was unfortunate while hand stitching- but the ones that did line up the same were so easy and seamless. Previously I had been tying off my stitches and then cutting them. I learned from you guys that it's more typical to just back stitch a few times and then cut and burn the ends of the thread. I did that this time and it was a great recommendation. It looks so much better. The main question that came out of this project for me was: When hand stitching, when I get to a corner (say, the bottom right hand corner) should I cut the thread before starting the next edge, or should I wrap the thread over the edge and keep going, or should I feed the needle through to the next edge by going through the inside of the project instead? Otherwise I would appreciate some constructive feedback! I'm just learning, and kind of just winging it, trying out different things so I would love all of your thoughts and ideas !
  13. That's quite stunning. I always thought "tooled" was the process of using tools to cut, shape, etc the leather, now I'm assuming it refers to the engraving process so that's good to know!
  14. Definitely! I just purchased a "stopping block" and some compound.. mind you my tools are all from a $150 kit from Amazon so I am not expecting much from them. I was told cheap tools won't sharpen but I'll give it a try and go from there...wish me luck
  15. Hey everyone! A friend just sent this challenge to me: https://www.instructables.com/contest/leather2021/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR0S9VxSf2PlgThaqZa4mW_W0pqqcN-VpxgBmXZn3yWGWZLnFP2M_4Meitk (This is an educational site for helping people learn various crafts) It's a contest or challenge where you post your work along with instructions on how you accomplished it. I know a lot of you are super helpful and have a lot of advice and I think it would be awesome if you contributed to the competition ...plus you might win some money! I am in no way affiliated with this website but I will definitely be keeping an eye on what's posted in case something interesting pops up that can help me learn more!
  16. Wow, Those are some sexy boots! Jeez! Tell me you made those pants too? haha
  17. Thank you! I find it really relaxing if I'm being honest haha I guess it's probably similar in sensation to crocheting or knitting; I just set up in front of the TV and had at 'er! I admittedly had a few times where I needed to put the project down for a few days out of frustration- from breaking needles and such but I quickly learned that an awl is my friend... as is a pair of needle nose pliers wrapped in leather (as without the leather it was really marking up my needles).
  18. What?! This is only your second pair? That's amazing, they look really really good! Are they comfortable? Do you find them to be cheaper, and of better quality than those you were purchasing (excluding the cost of time)? That imgur post was super informative. Honestly it looks really tedious, but it must be super rewarding! I definitely want to try this at least once in my life-- maybe I'll start with a simpler pair of shoes, like some flats or something. This is absolutely just the coolest thing. Thank you so much for your response, you were super helpful!
  19. Oh that's pretty awesome! I was looking for something in Canada so that I didn't have to pay duty and the like but the "support[ing] the forum" point is really selling it to be honest. Thank you! I've picked up some tokonole and I'll burn off the stray hairs then burnish the edges again and see what happens! I recently heard how much a leather piece will change over it's lifetime-- I had no idea! It'll be exciting to see how the bag changes... so far I'm already finding the buckle easier to open and close. Thank you! And hello fellow Ontarian
  20. WOW! This is amazing! I have so many questions but I don't know where to begin-- how did you start making shoes, and how did you learn? This is so cool! Are there special types of tools that you need to make these outside of the normal leatherworking set? Do you wet the leather and shape it into the boot shape before working with it, or does the shape just come as you build it? Is the opening at the top burnished? What kind of leather did you use for these? Sorry for all the questions I just... I'm just in awe honestly this is so cool!
  21. WOW! Okay I had no idea buttero just came that colour, so I got a bit confused- that's really neat, I'll have to look more into this buttero stuff, it comes in so many colours and I have so many questions- I wonder how they get it these vibrant colours, they're so solid! Your edges look great, I definitely have to pick up this tokenole I keep hearing so much about, and try burnishing with canvas instead of the wood edge slicker. I was using pieces of jeans for a few test pieces but found it was dying my leather blue (I feel like that may mean it wasn't authentic denim but who knows). Very awesome, thank you so much for answering all my questions!
  22. Thank you! Yes I think I'll start doing smaller projects- wallets maybe. I really want to work on my edges! I think that the big box wasn't a terrible thing to start with, I certainly got a lot of practice stitching and I learned what I really really lack haha. Yeah I bled a LOT during this project. Each time the needle went in my finger I'd have to stop sewing for a bit to stop the bleeding. You wouldn't think you could bleed so much from such a tiny little hole and I'm sure a forensic analysis of this bag would raise some flags at the bureau. Thanks so much for sending the blunt ones my way, I just purchased some. I ended up with the glovers needles initially because I had purchased a selection of needles and, while playing with scrap leather, found that the needle that had the flat/triangular point was my favorite to work with-- but it was also dull like the saddler's needle. I have no idea what it was, I wasn't able to find it anywhere but I got it from amazon so it could very well have just been a really crappy glovers needle. I will also definitely pick up an anvil and hammer! My spouse does blacksmithing so our shops are about to look very similar (with a little less fire in mine I suppose) Thank you! I started stitching along the back bottom... and you guys can't see those stitches in the photos haha I had a lot of issues with the stitching with the glovers needles too so hopefully when my saddler's needles come in I can practice on some wallets and small hand bags. Also, thank you for sending me to these videos, this guy is GREAT at explaining things. So far I've just watched video's of people working with the actual leather so I find it's a lot of guess work because you can't see everything you need to see in the videos but this guy is drawing these huge, blown up, simple, drawings and explaining why he is and isn't doing things and what is better but more difficult. He is going into my watch list for sure! Ahahah you know... it's er, "rustic" or something; Thank you! I had no idea I could burnish after I had finished the project, I thought it was before dying and resolene and if you mucked it up the you're SOL so I will 100% try that, especially burning the hairs off haha it's er... a bit of a mess and I just figured it was a mistake I made in the beginning that I would now have to live with. Yeah punching the holes after seems to be the general consensus in this thread. I had read that anything removing leather needs to be done before dying but the thread hides the undyed innards of the leather anyway if you do it right I'm sure. Thank you! Thank you! I figured I would get some use out of it if it ended up being capable of holding anything, and it would give me (and did give me) a lot of practice hand stitching; now I know a few things I really want to spend time working on (like edges) and will start making wallets for my friends and family to feel obliged to use I am really surprised I hadn't come across this dip-dying technique sooner- I definitely have to try this once Tandy has their bigger bottles of dye in. I wanted to dye just the whole chunk of leather I had cut off the hide for this project but these tiny 4.4fl oz bottles of dye I get from Tandy right now don't go far at all... I used a bottle and a halfon this bag alone. I'll definitely have to keep playing with dying techniques and I want to try leather paint at some point too! Thank you so much! I never know if I'm doing the stitching right. I watched a few videos and just make sure to always pull the right side thread up, and left side thread down... and I spend a lot of time finicking with the the needle trying to get it through the holes. I have needle nose pliers that I use to get a better grip on the needles when they're being particularly stubborn... it all feels probably more "brutish" than it should probably be-- everyone in the videos make it look so easy haha I'll learn I'm sure I'll definitely look at the sticky topics for burnishing. I really enjoy the motions of burnishing, it's oddly satisfying watching the edges become smooth and shiny.. and then very much not so satisfying when it starts to go from slightly shiny to fraying again. I think I'll try Tokonole next (though I can't seem to get it from Tandy so Amazon it is I suppose); I have heard good things about it! I also had no idea I could burnish again after dying and applying resolene so I am very excited to get back at this, I thought the bag was just forever "rustic" looking (well I mean the bag still is but maybe the edges can be cleaner). I did not use an edger before burnishing. I had tried doing so on some scrap pieces and it just seemed to make awful gouges in the leather so it was no longer a seamless transition from the surface of the leather to the edge... maybe I'm using the wrong tools or I'm using them wrong, I'll need to watch some videos. I think that was a helpful description, thank you! I wasn't sure if I should be pulling tight, or just pulling through with a little tug and then moving down the line. With the bag I often pulled and held it tight until the next hole was done, like tightening shoes if you will, but that was mostly because of how I was connecting the edges together. Thank you so much. I will definitely start working on some smaller projects; I see many wallets in my future before I tackle another bag! Thank you so much everyone for your advice feedback, I really appreciate all the time and patience you have all given to me! I have a lot of new things to try on my next project, as well as lot of new videos to watch, and new forum threads to read- but I'll be diving into my first wallet, and am just now waiting on the oil to even out on my first piece before cutting out the wallet pieces and starting the process again.
  23. Okay good to know, thank you! Also, how did you apply your dye? It looks so clean and solid, like one solid colour!
  24. Absolutely stunning piece! Please pardon my ignorance, I am new to leatherworking. Two questions: When you say "fully lined" is it lined with more leather, or else, what have you lined it with? It's just so seamless, the only thing I can think is that you've placed two pieces of leather, flesh side together and sewn them to be "one piece" so that you can't see any of the flesh, only the grain; is that correct? If that is correct, how did you get the bottom center to stay as one without stitching? Is it just glued there, and then burnished?
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