Shadders

Hello Wepster and Northmount, @Wepster Gosh, I looked on Etsy and managed to completely miss those, thank you for posting the link. I've ordered the set, even if they're no good, it was less then £20 including shipping so it's not going to break the bank. The chisel idea is good too! Though they dont seem to go as small as 1mm. Thank you, very much appricated! @Northmount It's a decorative pattern. But the pattern is a minture of a Hermes Birkin bag, so I'd like to retain the detail if I can. I think I must secretly enjoy making life more complicated for myself. Thank you both for taking the time to reply, my best to you both. Shadders.

Hello Everyone, I’d like to ask your collective advice on a pattern I’ve purchased. If you don’t mind, a little history first. I have a lady friend that’s going through a pretty rough time at the moment. She means a lot to me as she helped when I had a similar rough time myself, many years ago. I want to make her something to cheer her up, so after looking around I discovered bag charms, something I never knew existed until a week ago. I’ve purchased a pattern that I think she’ll like and printed it out, but on closer inspection… The pattern has a straight line of five or so 1mm (1/25”) square holes in it and I have no idea what kind of tool I could use to manually get a good result. I’ve seen a 1mm square hole punch being advertised on Amazon, but a comment left by a purchaser stated it was closer to 2mm. I’ve also considered a scalpel blade, but even the thinnest look to be too big. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting a clean looking 1mm square hole in leather 1mm to 1.4mm thick please? If you know of any tool or technique you could share, I’d be really grateful. By the way, I also contacted the pattern maker, but they suggested buying a kit from them with precut leather. I totally understand why. I would, no doubt get a better looking result and it’s easier. I can see the sense in the suggestion. But I want to use this to learn as well. And I won’t learn if 2/3 if the job is done for me. Besides, I want to choose the colours and the leather to use. Thank you for taking the time to read. And thank you again if you take the time to reply. Shadders.

Hello Everyone! I actually joined this site in 2022. I'd gained an interest in the many aspects of leather craft and wanted to try it. Unfortunately, the medication I was taking at the time had a bit of a sedative effect, leading me to abandon my attempts. Fast forward to today, and I’ve been off the tablets for over three months and my interest has been rekindled. This forum has been an invaluable source of knowledge, as has YouTube. I also purchased my first Elk Track Studio video this week, but I’ve only watched a little. Looks good though. So far, I’ve done a little tooling, the importance of the correct water content in the veg tan and a keen blade being by some very wobbly cuts at first. Also, I've played around with dyeing and applying an antique and learning why a resist is a good thing! I’ve also made the crudest sheath ever to house my round knife. That taught me the importance of a good stitching awl and that I need to practice stitching more. Learning how to sharpen the tools was a challenge and I still struggle to mantain a constiant angle when using an oil stone or rouge. But, I see improvement in my results, so I'm confident I'll get there in time. I’m enjoying learning to make something from the endlessly versatile material leather is. Best regards to you all, Shad.