Accordion-style document organizer

[SeaCitadel]

I while back I asked in another thread about stiffening leather while keeping it thin as possible.

 

I finally got around to finishing the project.  The main body is I think bridle leather of some kind, wet molded.  Straps are veg, and accordion is the thinnest cow I could find sandwiched around stiff card stock (thanks to user fredk for that suggestion).  I'm a fairly inexperienced leatherworker, and looking back there are several things I would try to improve on or do differently altogether, especially with the accordion.

Placement of the backstitches on the straps were fiddly because of the overall stitch pattern and the fact that stitches needed to go from one thickness of leather to two.

Sam Browne studs are placed poorly as they are in the way when sliding the straps through the keepers.  The lack of foresight on that one really bothered me.

Main body edges are a bit fuzzy because I only water slicked them, and this before wet molding.  Not sure if I'll bother correcting this.

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by SeaCitadel

[dikman]

The obvious thing, as you mentioned, is not burnishing the edges, but other than that I reckon it looks bloody good!

[Fraulein]

That is incredible!! Very well done! I especially love how you did the letters, they look very simple but clean and elegant at the same time. Really just all around beautiful work and something unique that I've not seen before.

[Baliskner1]

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of foresight. You can think through every step of a project and still miss some face-palming stuff. Foresight comes with experience. Otherwise, it looks really good.

[chuck123wapati]

i have to agree with everyone else that is some nice clean work there .

[SeaCitadel]

Thanks for all the opinions!

 

On 6/17/2023 at 11:34 PM, Baliskner1 said:

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of foresight. You can think through every step of a project and still miss some face-palming stuff. Foresight comes with experience. Otherwise, it looks really good.

 

I guess this is just another bit of experience to remember for next time!  It absolutely was a face-palm, or at least forehead-palm.

[Bert03241]

Looks really great

That letter A looks familiar , like from a White Collar episode

[Klara]

It's seriously beautiful, even with the fuzzy edges!  And I think you can easily burnish the edges now with beeswax or tokonole, which would polish the look for comparatively little work/time.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Klara

[Wepster]

Wow, the accordion area is incredible! That is a serious amount of work that yeilded an impressive piece.

To further my learning, where do you think you should have placed the studs? Lower? above the keepers, with the keepers lower? Not used studs?

[Scoutmom103]

Nice

 

[YinTx]

Very cool work.  Easy to over engineer that, and I think you did the right amount!  

[TomE]

On 6/17/2023 at 5:11 PM, SeaCitadel said:

Main body edges are a bit fuzzy because I only water slicked them, and this before wet molding.  Not sure if I'll bother correcting this.

Bridle leather is difficult to burnish - fluffy fibers stuffed with fats and waxes.  The best method I've found is to dye the edges with a 50:50 mixture of Pro Dye and Martin's Edge Solution then burnish while wet.  Be generous with the dye/edge solution.  I start with a wooden slicker on a burnishing machine then finish with canvas but canvas only will also work.  Can do a bit of sanding then apply another coat if needed.   Your file organizer is first rate craftsmanship. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by TomE

[SeaCitadel]

On 6/20/2023 at 1:26 AM, Bert03241 said:

That letter A looks familiar , like from a White Collar episode

Can you elaborate?  I'm not familiar with white collar, but I'd love to know how they copied me 

 

On 6/20/2023 at 4:02 AM, Wepster said:

To further my learning, where do you think you should have placed the studs? Lower? above the keepers, with the keepers lower? Not used studs?

I think I should have used only studs, no keepers.  I wouldn't trust the keepers alone to keep the lid shut.  I added them to keep the studs closed, but this is my first use of Sam Browne studs and it turns out they can withstand a good pull before opening. 

 

On 6/20/2023 at 2:33 PM, TomE said:

The best method I've found is to dye the edges with a 50:50 mixture of Pro Dye and Martin's Edge Solution then burnish while wet.  Be generous with the dye/edge solution.  I start with a wooden slicker on a burnishing machine then finish with canvas but canvas only will also work.  Can do a bit of sanding then apply another coat if needed.

I don't have much of the bridle left after this project, but those are great tips if I ever pick up more. 

 

Thanks all for the comments and tips. 

[Wepster]

10 hours ago, SeaCitadel said:

I think I should have used only studs, no keepers.  I wouldn't trust the keepers alone to keep the lid shut.  I added them to keep the studs closed, but this is my first use of Sam Browne studs and it turns out they can withstand a good pull before opening. 

Thanks all for the comments and tips. 

Thanks, I do think the keeper adds a certain finished look the piece. Maybe finished is not the right word, but they add a secure (?maybe?) look. If this were a purse I would think the keepers would add a big degree of difficulty to having the contents stolen in a crowd or hanging on a chair back in restaurant.

Conversely I can see where they would add, for the same reason, an annoyance when retrieving documents in your home.

With or without, a wonderful result for what I am sure was a lot of work!