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this is a tooled Butterfly wallet i just got finished.

My daughter asked if I could make her a belt, so to the leather store we went. Would you expect anything less as I said she could pick anything she wanted:) I was not expecting it to be $80-100 to make a belt(that was elite pricing). Used light weight saddle skirting(12-13oz) with deertan cowhide lining, nice substantial belt. Been a little while since I posted anything….. What do y'all think????? Allan

I made this as a Christmas gift for my buddy's wife. he gave it to her early and she loved it so I'm happy there. The leather was about 9/10oz Herman Oak, I lined it with pig skin, colors used was fiebings mahogany, saddle tan and fiebings mahogany antique. I was pretty happy with this one but if you see something I could do to improve by all means let me hear it. I'm always looking to improve! Thanks and have a great day!

I set out to make a strap for my black SG and this is what I came up with…….. It pained me to dye it black as the carving/tooling detail almost disappeared in the black. I had my mind set on black with white stitching, the studs were an after thought. I have tried the studs on a few cuffs and was going to add them to a strap sooner or later. My daughter told me it is very cool and asked where I got the patern for the studs. I told her it was just what came to me when I started placing them in the open areas, she was impressed. This is the first time I have done a wide border on a strap and happy with the out come. This is a cut to length strap that is meant for one guitar and is really nice without the extra clutter of length adjustment detail. I used 9-10 oz leather with 3-4oz deertan cow for lining, this makes for a substantial strap. The strap locks can be a challenge to get on as you run out of neck on the collar that goes through the strap button hole. I had my machinist friend make me a punch to compress the leather at the mounting area, makes it just thin enough to get the nut on to tighten it down. you can see the compressed leather in the first couple pics. I know the celtic and studs are a different mix, but I think being black it makes it ok. It looks very sharp on the guitar. Thanks for looking Allan

Here is a strap I did using a Craftaid pattern for tooling, really liked how it turned out. I like the saddle tan dye color. I might do the strap again and hand stitch the linning this time as I also like the look of the strap before I did the leather lace. Can you guys spot my initials in the patern on the end of the strap? Allan

I spent about a week on this project for a friend at work, my first attempt at tooling. I tried to make the pictures look professional, but I'm no photographer. I'll gladly take criticism on this, I know I really need help with the tooling. And practice!

This is a strap I made my brother for his birthday(after the one I made him for x-mas), he gave me some ideas on what he would like. one of the things he asked was about getting a copy of his tattoo on the strap and making it multi color. This is what I came up with….. I would like to try spraying on the clear super sheen at the end to avoid the dyes mixing, but I don't mind how it turned out. Allan

I started off by having a strap made for me 8 months ago by a well respected maker. I had spent almost two years looking on his website and finally justified the cost. I really like quality and craftsmanship, I was not disappointed. I have always been good working with my hands and thought I could do this if I had the tools. A couple weeks later I showed my bff the strap and he immediately stated that I should be making these as he felt this kind of work was right up my alley. This was the added bump I needed to take the plunge. So now at this point I was 5-6 straps in really only for my own guitars and the fun of it(just proving to my self I could do it). I run a menswear store and have a tailor shop in the back, I brought a few straps to show my tailor and other staff my hobby. My UPS driver stops for his daily checkin and he sees the straps and says I should take them to a local guitar builder. I state that it is just a hobby and I am not looking to turn it into business, he reluctantly accepts my answer. Up till now I have been getting a lot of urging from family and friends to start selling these, my response has been who is crazy enough to pay $250 plus for a guitar strap. My family has politely pointed out…. YOU DID. A couple weeks later my UPS guy comes in as usual and says that he has talked to the guitar guy. I am to take my straps to show him as he is interested. So I take my straps to show the guitar guy stating I am not sure why I am there as I am not looking to start a business. Turns out he likes them and wants me to make a few and he will hang them in his shop. If he sells them he would take 30% for consignment. I said that the whole point of making a custom strap is to get to work with me and pick all the details, otherwise a person might as well buy a good strap at a store for way less. I decided this was not how I wanted to sell straps if I was to sell them at all. As we were finishing our talk he stated that he really liked them and that he liked to support local business as that is how he makes a living(he builds acoustic guitars). We came up with a strap idea and he stated that he had a friend that he knew would want one. So here are my first commissioned works. This is a modified version of his logo, a challenge to get the narrow font and no room for glaring mistakes as you only get one chance here(I did one practice go on a coaster). This keeper was added later. This cord keeper was also added with the new strap keeper. This is the strap his friend and I came up with. Before:) After… still needs end pin hole. They loved them and were happy to part with there money….. Kinda like when I got mine. I hope this is not too many pictures or too many words, as I know when I read other posts I like to see the details. Allan

I did these for a friends wife. She loves them (thank goodness!) He didn't ask her about color, tooling, or anything he just ordered them. 7/8 oz. tooling leather 4/5 oz Chap Hide from Hide House Sewn on my Cowboy Compound Feed GC628 with 138 thread I oiled the veg tan after tooling and let it sit for a day then sealed with Clear Lac Then I used Fiebings Antique "British Tan" after that dried I sealed with Tan Kote Sorry about photo quality. I'm still trying to master that!

What do guys think of these cuffs??? Allan

Here are some cuffs I made the other day….. I did not like the big one with the yellow stones so I made holes instead, I actually like the look of the holes. I found sizing very finicky, a little length adjustment makes a big difference. What do you guys think, these are my first cuffs for my wife, daughter and me. Allan This is after I hole punched out the yellow studs. I have since colored the holes black.

Hey guys, First collar and first post on this section….. I made it for a friends dog, what do you guys think? If I were to have someone ask me to make one, what would I charge? They wanted to pay for it but I would not take it, bought me lunch instead. Allan

Here is a strap that I made for my 12 year old daughter. I copied this from one I had custom made for me, I paid $450 plus exchange and shipping($495CND). Lets just say this cost me a bit less, but about 25-30 hours of time(the love I put into it is priceless). I guess it cost me a lot because the original strap inspired me to start leatherwork. What do you guys think(I used a craftaid) Alan

Just a hat in an altered medieval "pillbox"-design with some tooling added. made of about 2,5mm veg. Cowhide and some sturgeon . The top is made of wool. I kind of like it, even if the stitching line on the back is anything but perfect... gonna work on that ^^. I just hope you like it. (as normal - click to enlarge)

I dont post much if at all in the show off segment, as I feel, although coming a ways, still quiet an amature and not sure saying show off is what I would call it lol... but this turned out quite nice and I have gotten quite a bit of compliments and looking like other requests. I did not have the weapon for this, but I did have the original holster, so the fit should be decent. this was requested from a co worker to give to his father in law for his birthday on 6/22. after that I will have pics of the gun in the holster. kinda excited to see that.. shoot I forget what kind of gun it was. I really liked the color, had some reaaaal challenges with the lacing. bob

Lately I've been taking my coffees on the go (traveling by bike). These ball jars have great covers for sticking in a bag somewhere. The only thing is they get too hot to hold... so i made a koozie for it. This is also my first attempt at some al stohlman horses.