Klara

Seriously? Your cobbler would make bags that would only last one year? That's no advertising for leather craftsmen. My shop-bought school bag lasted all 13 years of school and then I mounted brackets on it to hang it on the bicycle's luggage rack. 4 more years of language college. Then I was really sick and tired of it and threw it away before moving.

Firstly, a great many hobbies can get very expensive without any hope of recovering your money. Model vehicles, anybody? Or horse or dog sports? Secondly, making what the customer wants to buy vs. what one wants to make is one of the defining differences between pro and hobbyist, in my opinion. Actually, I have often thought, standing in my market stall, that maybe I should work to order, make bespoke items. Because when you make each item individually (handknitting there is no other way), you can just as well make exactly what the customer wants. On the other hand, on the few occasions where I did work to orders, I was rather stressed. Because sizing needs to be exact and the item overall perfect... So that's not really what I want to do either. Thirdly, I dare say that another source of money is essential for sleeping soundly. Btw., I've decided to mostly stop working for others in wool, and to not even start in leather. I'm still waiting for people to even notice my dog's fabulous collars. Or my belt buckles with borzoi (yep, a year ago I did hope for people wanting to buy some. Not going to happen.)

Regarding the resale value: I dare say that using the saddle should take precedence over reselling it. But I'd wait till I've actually bought the horse before working on the saddle. And you could keep the old rigging in case a buyer would like to return the saddle to its museum condition. Or to prove that yours is identical to the original.

I've decided that I don't really need curves. Straight lines (tapered for a pouch flap) and rounded corners are sufficient for most jobs.

There is no way to scrounge some used packing material? When I cleaned up a bit yesterday I found a foam-padded knife box - the foam looked good enough to keep (even if the usable parts are small). Today I experienced Murphy's law of hardware supply: No matter how big and varied your stock - when you build something new the exact piece(s) you need is not in there. Which is particularly sad because Thursday I was at Lidl's, and they had the stuff. Only I didn't buy it because I was convinced I had done so when they sold it last time.

Sniff (why is there no crying emoji?), now I know I'm old! I not only still have cassette tape players (yes, two!) but tapes to listen to!

Given that I just ordered some 30 watch band buckles before I found out that I'm actually quite happy with the band I made (with a buckle that I had cut off from a watch at some point in my life. Btw, the spring bar was rusted, so hardware can "go bad"!) - no, you are not the only idiot. In my excuse: From Lithuania 5-packs were considerably cheaper than singles, and from China I only bought one each, but in different colours and styles. Don't know what I'll need before I make the item, do I? And with 6 weeks shipping I want stock on hand. My favourite supplier for pet hardware only sells 10-packs minimum for most items, and for the cheap stuff like (D-)rings often 50 cost about twice as much as 10. You're not going to say no to 30 free rings, are you? Besides, during our lockdown(s) I was extremely happy to have things on hand.... (during the first one mail order wasn't a good idea as the postal services cut back as well)

Sorry, that doesn't make sense to me. Or are you talking about the width of the strap? We all know that the inside of a curve is shorter than the outside. So, when I wanted to make a wrinkle-free dog collar, I bent the liner over a "mould", attached the padding and then the outside. I was happy with the result, but doing it was such a pain in the ... that I decided it was simply not worth it to avoid a few tiny, invisible-in-use wrinkles. Here is the discussion I started on the subject: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/94789-dog-collars-always-worked-flat/?tab=comments#comment-645501

But the curve of a belt is much shallower than that of a cuff... And I believe that a lot depends on what kind of leather is used. The chrome-tanned 0.8 mm lamb in my dog collars (over foam padding) wrinkles, when I bend my leash from two layers of 2 mm veg tan to the same curve, there's no wrinkles.

Except they couldn't, long-term. Unless they start out with prices that are too high so as to have a margin for negotiation. Which is okay, even obligatory in some cultures, but I still don't like it (either end).

That's brilliant!

So do I - I want the option to just quietly go if I don't like the price. But I have talked to an artisan who didn't display prices because he wanted people to talk to him. He figured "how much is it" was a good starting point for him to explain how and why he made things. Sometimes I also would have liked the possibility to increase the price for particularly annoying people...

Couldn't you wet the leather again and stretch it? Just an idea...

Is that legal in Australia? In France you could complain to the consumer protection authorities and they'd at very least visit and give them a good talking-to, probably a fine (not sure because the goods in my stall had prices on them. Yep, they came to check out the artisans in the Christmas market...).

Where are you planning on storing your leather? I have it under my improvised cutting table, easily accessible and out of direct light. For tool storage I am a huge fan of magnetic rails on the wall within easy reach. Have you checked out the YouTube videos on leather workshops? There are quite a few where people show off their new space.

Firstly, I have been making a dozen or so dog collars last year and I have come to the conclusion that the wrinkles don't matter (I asked the same question here). My dog hasn't complained yet... Secondly, if you use a 2 mm strap on either end, there is not much point in reinforcing the middle (unless you add padding or do it for looks). It's the ends that are stressed most - where the leather bends around the buckle and the holes. Thirdly, you can watch how a professionally trained UK saddler makes collars in JH Leather's videos on YouTube. That's the instructions I followed and they work really well. Have fun!

On the other side, bike paths are generally designed by people who have never ever ridden one...

The obvious one (which I forgot to build a place for) would be the maul/mallet(s - however many you use). Maybe also something for water (bottle holder?) and sponge. A place to store your granite, if it's not permanently integrated in the workbench. I don't have enough experience to think of more, sorry. But I always have wondered why the stamping tool holders you can buy have the tools standing up vertically. I'm working sitting down and find it easier to see the tools if the box is at an angle (so that the working end of the tool is facing me), so that's what I built.

Funnily enough I just sewed some plastic-coated fabric to leather (by hand) and pre-punched chisel holes and a glovers needle worked best. A normal pointy sewing needle was a lot harder to push through the plastic (there is no way a fabric needle will ever cut leather!) and I didn't even try a harness needle.

As @tsunkasapa said: Check out YouTube and see who you like. I bought a few videos from Jim Linnell when they werde on half-price sale (I believe they are regularly). As far as I remember he also has the very basics for free on YouTube and his website.

Depends on what type of leather needle we are talking about. My mother always warned me against using sharp leather needles (glover's needles) on fabric because they could cut the threads of the fabric (incidentally, that's why I don't use an awl on leather/textile combinations). On the other hand a pointed fabric sewing needle would increase the risk for puncturing your fingers and splitting the thread when handstitching. And blunt embroidery needles have an eye that's bigger than desirable for leather. But in a pinch, anything goes! On waxed canvas it's unlikely that a cut thread will pull out (I think, not a material I'm familiar with). You'll have to see whether a blunt needle even pushes through easily... I'd just try different needles on scraps and would use whatever works.

Thanks for the picture, I didn't recognise the square knob as tension adjustment! Nor was I sure about the cam lever, because my design doesn't have one - I use a butterfly nut for both purposes. Which is slow in use, but it was the easiest version to make.

https://www.faille-industrie.fr/couteau-demi-lune-p2923 "The shape is designed to remove the fillet material (? not sure about this term) from PVC frames". Herder themselves list it in the catalogue under Industriemesser - industrial knives, or technical knives. Just goes to show that the same knife can be used by several crafts.

Good idea! Would you mind showing us the other side of the stitching pony? I don't see how it is held together for clamping the workpiece...

When I contacted the manufacturer of this knife https://www.abbeyengland.com/solingen-knife-french-4529-fc0171 they sent me to a French company for window-making - it was described as a putty knife, if I remember correctly. But I decided that the one I have is good enough https://www.decocuir.com/cornette-couper-echancree-germany-c2x28422368