Klara

There is also Deco-Cuir in France: https://www.decocuir.com/ However, I just bought a set of punches from Aliexpress, the cheaper ones for hobbyist use (the seller stated so, he also has better quality for a lot more money) and am happy enough with it. I dare say all punches will get blunt over time and they are all a pain to sharpen...

What I find funny is that Germany tried to replace plastic shopping bags by fabric ones (washable, btw, no reason for them to be dirty) when I still lived there, over 25 years ago. When I arrived in France in 2001, supermarkets gave you plastic bags whether you wanted them or not. By now you must pay for them (or pick up the really crappy ones in the vegetable aisle). I don't even know whether that's a government mandate, or whether shops discovered that they can not only make money with shopping bags, but also sell more small garbage bags (because that's what plastic shopping bags became in most households). @fredk I don't get stealing a bridge. If you are willing to work so hard - can't you find an honest job? Though several years ago our village was cut off from the phone system because someone had stolen the cable...

Can't be that because if you really want or need a cart, you pay the Euro, Pound or whatever. Since they mostly cost over a hundred Euros when bought new. (It's that example that makes me ask in places with a deposit on beakers whether it's ok to keep it. For people in other parts of the world: Germany and France (and probably others, but I stick to what I know) try to reduce plastic waste and at events where you'd have gotten your drink in a disposable plastic cup, you nowadays get a reuseable one which you are supposed to take back to the counter and they'll return the deposit. Except sometimes the cups/beakers/whatever have really nice pictures printed on them and make useful souvenirs and so people keep them. Which at 1 Euro per plastic cup is ok, as far as I've asked... At the soup festival it even was ceramic cups, but for 2 Euros I believe. A potter must have gotten rid of her overstock...)

No need, it works as it is. The big advantage of making things only for me (and not for sale or as presents) is that there's no need for perfection. Sh*t, in typing that I get the idea that such little keychains would be a great welcome present for sighthound races... I didn't need that idea!

Update: I am still using my little coin pouch without any fastener at all. The leather is stiff enough to not curl up and the flap bein sewn on instead of folded over makes a difference.

Does Amazon not ship to Israel at all, or just no leather dyes? My brown dye of choice is bister, which is a powder made from walnut skins or shells. (Full disclosure: I've used it for wood.) It should be considered safe enough to be shippable and importable, keeps indefinitely as long as kept dry, you only mix (with water) what you need (a little goes a long way) - it's a great product. But the easiest way would be oil (no matter which), sunlight and time. Leather will darken to brown tones... Another idea which I am tempted to try out: A wash of watercolour paint.... Nope, washes off. What should work, however, is permanent markers. I just don't know whether they come in burgundy. I have a black silhuette on my ckeckbook cover and a Renault symbol on my keychain pendant, both still good.

Now that's another question entirely: Turn professional or not? I'd say (based on some 10 years of trying to make a living from wool - and failing), if you have a decent job that does not drive you crazy, keep it and do leatherwork on the side. And wait and see what happens.

Probably not. An ex-colleague of mine earns his living making leather belts and is using a simple wooden strap cutter... You seem to have your basic tools. In my opinion, nothing is more versatile than basic hand tools. Machines that increase speed cost serious money... Do you have the equipment for sharpening and are able to use it? If not, that's the first step (Al Stohlman wrote a book on the subject). Then I would only replace tools that annoy you to the point where you just can't stand them any more. I'd rather spend the money on good leather and thread...

https://y-knotlace.com/natural-lace Ignore the pictures. Pick your colour and then select the width you want.

There is also Deco-Cuir in France.

You can put a piece of leather over the parts where the thread catches to deflect it (guess how I know). Huge jaws are definitely not necessary (unless you are working huge pieces) but looking at your design I wonder how far the jaws actually open? You may not always sew two flat pieces together. But the great thing about having made it yourself is that you can change it, or build another one, if you think of improvements.

The collar is beautiful, but what really impresses me is the hardware! I wouldn't dream of making a buckle. Kudos to you!

Just for education: For the reasons mentioned above, horsehide was still used for orthopedic prostheses some 20 years ago (couldn't say for now, then it was a patch...)

I don't like Velcro as only fastener because I find it separates too easily. That said, my cheap snaps from Aliexpress aren't secure either. Would buckles be an option?

What is your hypothetical bedspread supposed to do? Just make the bed look good? Then I would leave the hide whole in its natural shape (possibly cutting off frayed bits at the edges) and just put it on top (like those cowhide fur "rugs" you can buy at IKEA). Protect your bed sheets from your dog? Forget it, use a washable fleece blanket (just got a sniff of mine - fortunately polyester dries fast). Protect the (guest bed) from dust (that's what my woven bedspreads do)? Then you'll need to create a rectangle the size of the bed and preferably add strips on the sides that cover the mattress. I don't think leather will drape well, so I wouldn't make the spread much loger that the bed (no corners). For getting the shape you could go patchwork all the way, or put your biggest hide in the middle (with straightened edges, unless you feel like assembling a puzzle), or... You could assemble the parts by sewing or lacing. (I had to cover beds 90 x 190 cm and I only have a 100 cm loom - allowing me to weave 90 cm wide. So I wove 90 cm wide for the top and added two strips for the sides, figuring that would look better than having a seam in the middle of the bed.) I don't see any need for a lining, nor for "finishing" the edges (beyond cutting off anything you don't like the look of).

It's probably too late by now, but another way would have been to buy a pricking wheel as mentioned by toxo and work with an awl (as described by Al Stohlman). There's a steep learning curve, but once mastered it is probably the fastest and most versatile method.

Now that I see the picture I remember that I have a tool belt/bag that looks similar. It must be split leather (I bought it before getting into leather work and never thought about the material) and is holding up well. In your place I'd make a simple bag, dye it if desired (not sure stamping would work) and then seal it with Mop n Glow (the more water resistant, the better, for an outdoors bag). And then just use it. Either it holds up, or it doesn't.

Then what do they do to create classic "split leather", the plastic-coated one? Is it really the plastic coating that creates strength? For I have a belt (bought extremely cheaply for its beautiful buckle) and stuff (belt, dog collars, leash, bags) I've made out of a split hide which I bought by error, and everything is holding up perfectly. So I wouldn't say the stuff is useless - but I wouldn't know how to use it either...

Single hole punches are great for individual, big(gish) holes, but I wouldn't want to line up the holes for a seam with them. One of the major advantages of the above linked tool is that it gives you the same distance between holes. And if you go two or three holes back with the 6-hole tool (making only 3 or 4 new holes), you greatly increase your chance for a straight line. The 2-hole tool is for curved stitch lines, but you'll still have the same distance between holes. Looks like a useful set to me!

As far as I know, Damascus is the better choice for swords, where you have a long narrow blade that needs elasticity. For kitchen knives it's unnecessary, and for a round or head knife even more so. So you'd be paying extra just for looks...

Vergez Blanchard still make them, and Deco Cuir is selling other brands for less money: https://www.decocuir.com/collections/couteau-a-pied-cornette (I believe there is an English version of the site, but living in France I can't find it). The cheaper ones on top can also be found as putty knifes in glazers' supply stores.

If you watch the above mentioned video by Saddleback Leather you'll see why that is not a good idea:

If "not perfect" meant that the colour was wrong, I'd be unhappy. If a pug breeder tried to breed pugs with longer noses and killed the puppies with the shortest noses, I'd accept that. If a puppy had a misshapen leg or mouth, I'd applaud the breeder for euthanizing it (and I am NOT happy when breeders have a puppy with mouth deformities operated on and bottle feed it. As you said, in the wild it would die and that's how it should be. With the difference that in the wild it would slowly starve to death whereas a breeder hopefully puts the pup down quickly.) First and foremost a dog needs to be functional, healthy and able to enjoy live. Incidentally, I don't agree with the people who keep alive their old dogs with dementia, incontinence and unable to stand up alone - I wouldn't want to exist like this and I won't do it to my dog.

What are you saying? She's beautiful (seriously, especially the face) and I'd take her in a heart beat, IF I had any use for a working farm dog...

So you deny that there's responsible breeders and more, let's say, profit-oriented ones? Nobody has anything against breeders that do a good job and breed functional dogs. But I didn't buy my puppy from a breeder who told me "racing around destroys the heart, I only let my dogs play in small fenced areas so they can't develop any speed". That kennel has produced many beauty champions. And the true tragedy is not even with profit-oriented breeders (I am writing breeders, puppy-mills are another story), but with the rules of dog shows and show titles and with judges that don't judge according to the standard but want always more extreme features. Like 95 cm high Irish Wolfhounds, when the standard says "average (! not minimum!) 85 cm for males". If all IWs would have to show at least some ability to chase prey, the problem would solve itself. Form follows function!