Klara

My guess (!) for the thread would be waxed macramé thread - micro-macramé also comes from South America, as far as I know. But I figure waxed leather sewing thread will work as well, though there's probably fewer colours available. I figure waxed thread has a better chance of staying put while wrapping... And now I really want to try this design - on a bracelet, for starters? I think I'd make a cardboard template and use @GrampaJoel's screwdriver idea...

Could it be just a general term for either a martingale or a tie-down? Just any sort of strap that "leads up" to the head?

I have a GoPro clone, but hardly ever use it because I don't like it's pictures. Whereas a lot of people say that smartphones make great pictures and have killed the compact camera market. So I want to try one.

That's been my line of thinking as well. Though cell service is pretty good in France, emergency services are lousy, as I experienced with broken ribs at home. So calling for help might not do much good... As far as I know the Olympus Toughy has very good reviews. And there's other underwater cameras as well. It shouldn't be impossible to make an underwater phone. Actually, Blackview (the only Chinese manufacturer with an address in France) claim that you can use their phones for underwater photography. They claim... I would be hesitant to spend that much in the first place (that's about what I paid to build a complete PC with UPS and monitor...) The phones I am thinking about are around € 200, but I am very aware of the problem mentioned in the article you linked: 810G is a very good idea, but it's only a manufacturer's promise, which might be worth something or not. Which is why I really would like to see some serious tests, or experiences/reviews by people who actually used the things (instead of unboxing and playing for a few days).

Completely off-leatherwork-topic, but I am running out of forums to ask in: Does anybody have either experience with such phones, or links to websites with neutral, reasonably reliable information about smartphones that are waterproof, dustproof, shockproof (IP69K, Mil-Spec-810) especially regarding their photo and video capabilities? It's not an aspect that is emphasised in the videos I have so far seen on YouTube and of course no manufacturer writes "the camera on this model is shitty, if you want to intercut with videos from a Panasonic Lumix, buy this model instead". And that's what I want to do: Use the films from the phone, taken on or in the water with my dog, in conjunction with clips from my other cameras. And I want a phone (and not an Olympus Toughy or waterproof Ricoh) because I don't actually have a phone and it might one day be useful to call for help (actually, it is listed as necessary safety equipment for kayaking - so far I am doing without because our lake for practicing is less dangerous than the road that leads to it). Any and all advice is welcome!

Cheeky is a nice way of saying it... Gaia is demanding and has no respect at all. Things are to be done her way, right now and she'd love to terrorize everybody. Except I refuse to be (unlike the dog, who is wary of her).

They sell straps for glasses that are entirely made from neoprene. I suppose you could sew/rivet a small tube of neoprene to your leather strap. You could get the neoprene (if you have no old diving suit etc.) by buying one commercial strap. Two tubes ready-made and material for several more.

If you can cut it straight, glueing or screwing it together in a box shape is not difficult at all. Actually, what I am thinking of is probably more a ledge than a tray: A strip of (ply)wood the width of the board just wide enough for a strap cutter, with maybe a low edge all around to stop things from falling off. Something like this but wider, not so high and of course you don't need the backboard but can put it directly on your A-frame.

You could add a tray at the bottom of the board (or the other side) for everything that doesn't conveniently fit under a strip of leather (or on a magnetic one). I have magnetic strips in the kitchen for my knives and in the workshop for everything.

To me it looks as if somebody had sharpened too much the middle of the curve over too long a time, thus changing the shape.

This is a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing! I don't know yet what I'll be using it for, but I think some day I will... Btw, how do you feel about magnetic strips for knives? I believe they save a few seconds each time (because there is no need to remove a sheath).

Beautiful!

I don't think leather conditioner will do vinyl any good. I would probably use a slightly wet sponge with a drop of dishwashing liquid.

Never seen one like it, but I'll give you my opinion: Whereas the snap looks to be nice solid quality for a cat harness, I wouldn't call it "refined" or think it suitable for a purse with its orange mobile part. Btw, try "swivel carabiner" as a search term... The part looks similar to what mountain climbers use, only smalller.

Are Blanchard knives so sought after that it would be worth faking them? I wouldn't have thought so. Also, even if it is a fake, it might still do the job - the leather being cut won't care about the manufacturer I would be more worried about the shape of the knife: The curve seems wrong to me. It might not "roll" as smoothly as it should. That would explain the low price.

It's seriously beautiful, even with the fuzzy edges! And I think you can easily burnish the edges now with beeswax or tokonole, which would polish the look for comparatively little work/time.

Danne, aren't you the person who makes the straps with the glass-like edges? Then in my book you are an expert! I think that people should make their watch straps themselves (and for themselves, not for sale) and then they are free to experiment. I have tablet-woven them from handspun silk (not a good idea as silk does not stand up well to sweat), and have now two different leather ones, which I had shown in this thread. They both work for me: The "ugly" one doesn't look so bad on the arm (and it's standing up very well to daily wear despite being of soft leather) and the uncomfortable one has gottem more comfortable as it has shaped itself to my arm (and water hasn't destroyed it either). Based on these results I will continue to make whatever takes my fancy - but only for me, not some unsuspecting customer.

What I find interesting about chisels, pricking irons and awls is the price differences: The way I see it, people who want to punch the holes all the way through are looking for the "perfect" chisels/irons which are expensive. Whereas for only marking stitches, any cheap chisel will do but you need an awl and practice. A decent awl can be had for about $ 10 (plus sharpening equipment which you'll need sooner or later anyway), an excellent one (Barry King) was under $ 100 when I looked last. Which is still better than buying several sets (I don't always use the same stitch length) of expensive stitching chisels. So for me it's a no-brainer: Cheap chisels + cheap awl + lots of practice = good results for little money.

I solved the same problem by repurposing some telescopic trestles which I had bought when they were available at Lidl (at a much lower price) and putting wide boards over them.

If there was a simple answer to that, there wouldn't be a lot of university courses on the subject and having a successful business would be easier. Incidentally, I've never bought a Nike product either, but I wouldn't exclude it if I needed something in a running shoe which they did better than other companies. And sadly, I do find myself clicking on the bought ads and positions in Google, Amazon, Etsy and co., simply because it's easy and convenient and I don't always want to spend hours searching for what I need. I do draw the line long before $ 114 for a simple belt, though. But I can because I know where to get very similar quality for one third of the price... If somebody is looking for a quick gift, money doesn't really matter and they don't want to do a lot of research, I can see them buying from this website. And I wouldn't call them stupid for it, nor would I begrudge the company the income.

The customer does not care about the cost of the advertising, but they sure care about the quality. The maker must care about overhead - including the cost for advertising - and factor it into the pricing or he or she will not stay in business. If you buy online from a professional-loking website, you'll pay for this website. Or you can take your chances on Etsy. Or you can go to your local arts and crafts market - if there is one - and hope to find there what you are looking for. You may find very similar products in all three places, but probably not at the same price.

Not the simple ones. I've seen Seb make them: Cut a strap from the hide (already dyed and finished), square off one end, punch the hole for the buckle prong, rivet the buckle to the end, cut and rivet a keeper (no skiving), wait for a customer, measure the belt on them, cut off the surplus (free hand), punch the holes. About 10 minutes altogether, mostly done during the market while waiting.

But who creates the content? As @ToddW says, perfect photos and well-written texts are essential and don't come cheap. Either in money, or in time, if you do it all yourself (few - if any - people have equal skills in leatherwork, photography, writing, IT and social media). So I really couldn't say whether the prices on tannergood's site are "fair" regarding their overhead. Neither do I know whether they actually sell at these prices. I do know that I wouldn't pay them...

I don't see a problem with the belts, apart from the price (assuming the leather is good quality). They are simply made, but imho not badly made. Incidentally, they look very much like the belts made by an ex-colleague of mine who has been selling thousands of them over the last twenty or so years. But he sells from market stalls (much less overhead) for about Euro 40 per belt... His belts wear well and keep the pants up. Not everybody needs stitching or decoration and the edges mostly polish themselves during use... So, I would never pay tannergood's prices, but I see no reason to bash them, either. Btw, creating and maintaining a good-looking, modern website is a lot of work. Work that needs to be paid for.

Absolutely! Firstly, because education is the most valuable thing to have (because nobody can take it from you), secondly because even if they decide not to make things themselves, they will appreciate your gifts more when they know from experience how much work they are.