CJJ

Thanks so much! I used a pattern from leathercraftpattern.com. I highly recommend their patterns by the way. super detailed and come with hundreds of photos of the various stages of construction. Yes, it was definitely a labor of love. easily 50+ hours over a couple month period. No machines were used in the making of this bag. I guess the time I saved not setting machines up was quickly spent hand sewing, skiving, etc.

thank you! 3.0 Irons. I didn't use an awl much for stitching because most pieces I pre-punched, which ended up working out well. thread is polyester. Meisi Xiange Twist #25 (0.45mm)

yes, all veg tan. The leather is Minerva Box, I bought it from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply.

Thanks everyone! The bottom plate is reinforced with 2 mm of Salpa bonded leather sandwiched in between the top and bottom layers of veg tan. the inside bottom looks like the "backside" of the outside bottom, so it's flat without the "strips" yes, piping around the perimeter of the bottom. exterior picture of the reinforced bottom plate before it was attached.

Hey everyone, happy new year! I wanted to share a project I recently completed that I'm really proud of. This is my first attempt at a high-end handbag. It's inspired by the Hermes Garden Party bag. I'd love to know what you think! PS. I created an Instagram page a while back to be able to share the things I'm working on. If you would like to check it out you can find me @ secondlineleather one more

WOW! That's really beautiful Tim. How long did the tooling take you? It's really impressive

I've been wondering if this would work. now I know! Thanks for sharing, very cool.

this is great, thanks for sharing.

this is cool, nice job

nice! love it. You wouldn't want that coffee getting cold.

really nice. Love the look of the double stitch lines with different colors

Sometimes I see something random that is asking to be wrapped in leather. This time it was a bottle opener I had laying around. I know I'm not the only one who can't resist the urge to tinker with things and thought it could make for a fun topic. Let's see what you got! tools, random containers, the family cat... the more ridiculous and unnecessary the better!

Nailed it! form meets function. Really nice work.

try using a small Phillips head screwdriver on the post first. put the tip of the screwdriver in the post and tap gently with just enough force to make four little notches in the post. Then it should roll down easier with setter.

please let us know how you like it. I'm looking for an affordable splitting option that actually works. How wide of a piece can it split?

Wow! I'm so glad you made this thread. I had no idea this existed and have been searching for something exactly like it.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Thank you! I'll look into snowseal. Do you know if it would affect the color of the leather?

A friend commissioned a duck sling from me which I've never made before, but how hard could it be? He wanted something unique and told me to surprise him. I ended up spending more time on it than I should have but am really pleased with how it came out. Just wanted to share with y'all! Also, if anyone has advice on what I can do to make it water resistant I'd love to hear it.

Thanks Frodo I'll give that a try

I agree with everyone else here, you absolutely should not be reluctant to show this off. I think it's super nice and the craftsmanship is outstanding. Great job!

really nice, well done!

Looks great. I tried making one of these recently but it didn't come out as good as yours. my dimensions were off and it just looked a little strange. Would you be wiling to share your pattern?

Are those long enough to set widths on a strap cutter?

I had a scrap leftover from the painted cardholder above that was just big enough for a watch strap. I'm really pleased with how it came out. Hope y'all like it!