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Guys, I wanted to give a shout out to Nigel at Armitage Leather, aka @Dangerous Beans. I have been at leather work for a bit now and I have to say his teaching channel is Awesome. I thought I knew how to bevel properly, nope. I thought I knew how to do a lot of things. Nigel brings some really forehead smacking techniques to table. His teaching style is wonderful and his voice is just a joy to listen too. I have spent plenty of money on tooling over the years. Now I am learning how to apply them properly. This channel is worth way more than the cost of admission. 4 bucks pays for the whole seat, but you only need the edge. https://www.armitageleather.com/courses Thanks Nigel.

Hey All, I'm in the process of developing durable, hand stitched tool bags for tradesmen. The first iteration I'm working on is a traditional carpenter's bag. By trade, I'm a builder who specializes in structural masonry and timber framing. I began leather working as a way to replace the old Medallion bags that I had used for years and were falling apart. I'm quite happy with where I have landed design-wise, but believe there are a few production processes that need improvement. Generally speaking, I'm looking for any guidance on how to approach stitching through two layers of 8-10oz. leather in an efficient and frustration free manner. I'm a believer that hard work will always be hard work, but it shouldn't be frustrating. Right now, there are a few of aspects that exasperate me, and I'd like to iron them out if I can. Below, I've posted a brief overview of my stitching process and a few pictures that hopefully provide further insight. I plot out all of my stitching lines and use a groove set to hollow out a channel for the stitching to lay flush into. I use a SEIWA 6x4.5mm Stitching Iron to mark and puncture all of my runs of stitching on a cutting pad. I use large 000 harness needles with 1.0mm tiger thread waxed. I use a french styled stitching clam on some aspects of the bag, but the doubled up edges don't seem to provide enough material to clamp down. I've also used a table vise to good effect as well. Also, I sometimes wet and hammer flat the edges before stitching them in place. Currently, I rely on a little scrap leather to help push the needles through. I know I need to buy or made a some sort of glove to keep my fingers free, but should I be having to force my needles through? Hopefully, this provides enough background to my current progress and situation. Let me know what I need to explain further, and most importantly what areas I need to improve upon. Thanks for taking the time to read this and help me out. Here is a link to an imager album that I had already compiled featuring pictures of my work with a further description. Best regards, Patrick P.S. Let me know if I am formatted my post incorrectly, or have posted in the wrong place. I am still learning the rope of this forum. Thanks again