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Hi, Here is a laptop bag I made recently. Only the second bag I've made. There still are some faults but overall looks nice,I think. Manu (from Belgium)

ok so i was tinkering and i managed to get a somehat burnish on oil tanned leather if i put more time in i could probbly get it pretty nice. I want to start making bags and i really dont have the experience to know how bridle oil tanned or latigo acts when it comes to burnishing. I want to make bags but want to be able to get a good smooth edge. Any suggestions on types of leather i should use? My first bag will most likely be made of veg tan because thats what i have plenty of to make mistakes with as i learn.

All- Good evening! After LW assistance with my tension issues, I finished my orange tote and then got a request to make it in black. Both are constructed of a knit-backed vinyl shell" and a lighter flannel backed vinyl for the lining. To give the bag some shape, I used foam headliner from the local fabric shop. The orange bag has up-cycled suede for the outside pocket and bottom. The zipper tab ends were a little weak, but I think I figured a better way on the black bag. The straps are two layers of vinyl with a Texon "core", Tandy Leather brand edge paint (multiple thin layers sanded down to remove nubs) and topped with Fiebings Tan-Kote. Once I photograph my latest prototype of a cross body bag, I will post the photos. Your thoughts, comments, etc. are welcome. Thank you for looking! Leese

I've been experimenting with some briefcase ideas, incorporating some of my hand-made brass and exotic wood handles and hardware. This one is also lined with an Italian wool men's suit material. Simple single gusset brief, but I've adopted/adapted the rod look from the music breifcases. Great littel bag, and with the brass and Purpleheart handle, it really is nice to carry. Overall I'm quite happy with it, though I think that the leather would be more suited to a turned bag...that'll be next on my list.

Hi Guys and Girls, This is my first post here, I am making an Expedition / messenger bag for my laptop and other work related stuff. I have not done any leather work since i was teenager - made a simple wallet last week and forgot how much i enjoyed it. Apart from the wallet this is my first saddle stitch attempt . For this project i was not after perfection as i need to get it together as quick as i can to be able to use it, so far it has taken me two days. Note to oneself : Do not attempt to saddle stitch for a whole day without prior conditioning lol, my right hands cramped up and i know i will be sorry for it tomorrow. Any way here are some pics of the progress so far and of a stitching pony i made too which has been a godsend for this project. Hope you enjoy and criticism welcome. Regards, Dan

Mini satchel bag with one main compartment, one back pocket and two front pockets. Shoudler belt in combination bridle / alcantra suede. Made of 2 - 2.4mm Sedgwick english bridle shoulder for the main parts and for curved parts (gusset, flap corners) colored trough (bridle top finish) 2mm belly. Gussets on front pockets made of 1mm goat skin. Hand stitched with 0.8mm braided polyester thread (aka Tiger thread)

Howdy good folks! I'm new to the forum, though I've been surfing through here several times. I'm new to leather work, too. I've found this to great past time/hobby for me. It mixes with my interests in Cowboy action shooting. Here's a few things that I've made in the past year.... My first major project was a travel bag. It was a gift to a friend. It was made from oil tanned leather and saddle stitched. I made the pattern from pictures I'd seen on the internet of similar classic traveler's bags. It was quite a challenge to start from the drawing board, to finished product. The picture is of the bag before the straps were cut to length and punched for the buckles. My next project was a rifle sling...again as a gift for a friend. But, it did lead to an order for six more! The sling is also my design. Nothing fancy, but it is made with a continuous 1" belt strap. The strap has a decorative top with flor de lis and shield cut-outs. There is an underlayer of suede on the cut outs. The back piece of the strap is padded with neoprene, and covered in suede. The border stitching for the cut-outs was done on a early 1900's produciton Singer sewing machine that belonged to my wife's mother. It has a motor, but I turned the drive by hand to control the stitch pattern. The top and back piece are made from 4 to 5 oz. leather, and neoprene padding is added between these layers to cover the "bump" made by the continuos strap which runs between them. The top and back pieces are saddle stitched on the edges. The picture is a close up of the flor de lis. I have since gotten much better at controlling my border stitching. My next undertaking was a set of custom mocassins for my daughter. They are modeled after a pattern sold by Tandy leather, but I had to custom fit them to her foot, as she has a foot much smaller than any size pattern available. The rose cut-out was her request, and my design, based on tribal rose patterns that I'd seen. The mocs are made from oil tanned leather, and the under lay of the rose cut-out and the toe-cap overlay is hair on calf. Again the border stitching was done on the Singer. After I finished projects for other folks, I finally got around to making something for me! Here is a set of holsters taken from a Will Ghormley pattern. I used them this weekend in a practice session at the range, and I'm pleased with them. I'll be making another set for another pair of revolvers that I have, soon...but likely a different style holster. I also made the spur straps with a pattern from Mr. Ghormley. I made the canvas ammo belt, and badge holder on my own. Christmas is approaching, so I'll be making some purses and such for gifts this year. Santa will be busy! Stay safe my friends... Troy

I usually spend my days making knifes and sheaths but some time I get an order for a tarsoly. A tarsoly is a kind of small bag or satchel worn by 9-10th century Magyar warriors. It was attached to a richly decorated belt together with sabre, bow and bow case. The tarsoly is usually decorated with metal fittings and expensive cloth. There is several of these bags found in a Scandinavian viking age context, probably imported as signs of wealth and/or as gifts from merchants involved in trade. Here is a original finding from about 900 BC here in Sweden. http://mis.historisk....asp?fid=107042 I have made a couple of these for customers, hope you like them! I hope you like them!

Hi, I'm currently in the process of setting up a small business, retailing, high quality, small leather goods, based in England. The ethos of the brand is to offer high quality, craftsman made items, such as wallets, bags, ipad covers and belts, with a strong emphasis on the quality of the leather and detail of the construction. I'd be interested in talking to experienced leather workers based in the UK, or possibly the EU who would be interested in fabricating goods such as wallets, bags etc. Unfortunately I'm unable to recruit help from my friends in the US or elsewhere in the world at this stage, as sadly the amount of import duty I would be charged, and the associated shipping costs, would make this option cost prohibitive. The style of items I want to focus on are rugged, chunky style wallets, bags etc, with stitch sizes around 4mm - 5mm, so it isn't fine, detailed work so much. Wallets will be bi-fold, simple card cases and 'biker' style, similar to the ones offered on the Japanese market. I will provide leather, pre cut to patterns and thread etc. Stitching will be mainly by hand, though some designs can be machine stitched. The initial volumes would be small, and would probably suit someone who is looking for a second income, though natural, organic growth is expected as the business matures. Payment would be on a 'per piece' basis, and is negotiable. Should this sound of interest, then, please get in touch.

Hi there, and thanks for reading. I recently got a Bellino Messenger bag. It works great mechanically. Upon arrival I applied mink oil to give the leather a nicer feel and to preserve it (to the best of my knowledge). There were several types of leather use in the construction of the bag. The thicker, tougher leather used for gussets and reinforcements reacted well to the oil. The softer, silkier, thinner leather used on pockets and the front and back faces of the bag did not react well (I'm not actually sure these parts are leather, though the bag is advertised as 100% leather, leather from what animal, I am not so sure about). The dye on this thinner leather is now coming off after the mink oil application! I let the oil set for about a week in hopes the oil would be absorbed more and still, the same problem persists. A wipe from a dry paper towel shows show the dye is slowly being removed from the bag. Since the oil caused the dye to come off, I would think the dye is oil-based and not alcohol based like the dye in the thicker bits of leather. Images detailing the damage are attached. Is there a way to restore and seal the dye on my bag? Thanks again for reading.

Selling (as a set only), 10 punches. List prices shown below. Will take $225 for all, shipped, PayPal accepted. Will verify 1-1/2" round tonight but believe that is the proper size shown. Weaver Master Oblong 1/2" $42.90 Weaver Master Oblong 5/8" $42.90 Weaver Master Oblong 3/4" $46.35 Weaver Master Oblong 1" $55.55 Weaver Master English Point 5/8" $35.65 Weaver Master English Point 3/4" $35.65 Weaver Master English Point 1" $40.25 Weaver Master English Point 1-3/4" $46.95 Weaver Master Round End 1/2" $35.65 Weaver Master Round End 1-1/2" $46.95 total $428.80 Remember that these are list prices. I am selling for an average of $20 each + shipping cost in continental US. Thanks for looking - Mike

alright, I have been designing a bag and was wanting people's opinions on my design. I have a few drawn ideas and a graph for sizing. Please let me know what you think. I will be using Hermann Oak tooling leather for sturdiness (4-5 oz) and rivets. I am not comfortable with stitching yet and don't have the money for the materials at the moment. Any criticism helps, thank you.

My 12 yr old needed a new backpack for the upcoming school year. Those messenger back style backpacks are freakin' expensive! So we started rooting around in the bins and found some nice chrome tan.... Jake has designed it out of paper and now has cut the leather..... Now it's time to get it all stuck together!

Start new bag! concept is simple edges and easy making. I use oily french calf leather, I don't know article name. thank you for watching. :-)

Had a costumer ask if I could make a saddle purse so I gave it a whirl. what do you think?

Here is a purse that I have been working on. I tooled my three Quarter horse heads on one side and a full Quarter Horse body on the other side. https://www.etsy.com...ovejoyCreations

Finished my first proper project as a Christmas present for my girlfriend. Lined with pigskin, found all the stitching quite tiring! It's 10 inches wide so just fits an A5 pad, has a 3-piece gusset, and uses Sam Browne studs to close since buckles seem like a hassle (will see how well these work though...). Had some interest in making more but would have to charge ridiculous money for it to be economical Still all good fun. P

This is a Quarter horse purse that I am hand tooling. I put three different Quarter horse heads on it.

Hello all, I've tried doing research on stitching/lacing deerskin but haven't found anything relevant. I've made some small deerskin pouches using an old Morse sewing machine with upholstery thread and had good results. I'm wanting to step up to deerskin handbags, but most of the ones I've seen are laced. I like to handstitch my bags (see example pics) and was wondering if that was OK to do on deerskin because of stretching. I wouldn't mind lacing a few but need to acquire a lace cutter for matching lace. Or does it even matter - both are fine and it's just aesthetics? I'm still a newbie and coming up on a year working on leather as a hobby. Any advice would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks!

I need to reinforce a large snap on waxed canvas. It's large mainly for looks, but I'm afraid it may pull through the waxed canvas. The washers will show so they can't be irregular in shape. I've seen this done by someone else - a link to their page is given below. Are leather washers available commercially, or is there a way I can make these myself? http://shop.strawfoothandmade.com/product/lined-shoulder-bag-chestnut

today, I started making a new bag. concept is small, simple and make easy. first, made a shoulder strap. tomorrow, I'll spend a day with needles.

took some time this weekend to make a new bag for the sister-in-law. Hope she likes it.

As I play samba (for those who know it - more samba reggae than the samba-style played in rio) and a friend and member of my group has birthday in a while I decided to make her a stick bag for carrying all the sticks while playing. I tooled the name of our group on the front side and painted it with some angelus acrylics. I hoped for the colour to turn out more neon-like (like it looks, if I paint it on a scrap piece of paper), but I still think it came out nice. If I´d do this again I think I would make a stitching grove on the inside for those decorative stitches, because sometimes the sticks struggle a bit with them. Apart from that I am quite happy with the result. Even though - if you have any ideas, tips or suggestions how to improve that piece, pls don´t hold back. For that it doesn´t matter whether it might be just design, technique or sth else Hope you like it. Right now I just filled it with my own sticks which look.... well some kind of "used" I think ^^. It´s just to show how it should work out for her. The straps are made to hold it to her leg (the lower one) as to two points of here belt (the upper ones) to avoid bouncing while playing/performing. [ist it possible that there are some changes about uploading pictures? I uploaded them somewhere else now, if the pictures are to big, just tell me.... I´ll size them down ^^]

I found this briefcase online and obviously, as a novice leather craftsman, I'd rather try my hand at it than spend that kind of money. Does anyone know where I can find a similar pattern or provide some steps to reverse-engineer this? Any help is appreciated! Heres the link to the site - http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Classic-Briefcase?sc=8&category=301407