Western Tooled Purse

[hidepounder]

These are photos of a purse I finished recently. It is lined with calf and has interior pockets on both sides (photo shows the interior prior to assembly). The pursed is laced with kangaroo in a Mexican Round Braid. The silver was custom made for this project. As always, your comments and criticisms are welcome!

Happy Holidays!

Bobby

[TroyWest]

Really great piece Bob. Decorative cuts on the inside are such a nice touch. Beautiful purse.

[MarkB]

Bobby

You set a high standard for most of us to shoot at. Thanks for sharing it with us. your work makes me what to try harded and give up at the same time.

Mark

[Double U Leather]

WOW.....you are my hero. I've said it before, and I'll say it again....I aspire to be a a 10th of the hand that you are. You're work is amazing. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Dwight]

The words amazing and awesome seem to be too shallow to describe your work.

Thank you for sharing, . . . as previously mentioned, . . . it gives us pause to think about how well we do our work.

May God bless,

Dwight

[gtwister09]

Bob,

Great use of various design elements as well as great execution in the tooling. design and lacing . As always another great piece!

Regards,

Ben

Edited December 18, 2010 by gtwister09

[LNLeather]

The only complaint

I have with this.......

is that it is not mine!

Bob, you are truly a High Master of the trade!

[TwinOaks]

Bob, that is yet another truly outstanding piece. For those of us who aspire to be that good, could you tell us how many hours you spent on that? I (and I suspect many others) get in a rush to complete things sometimes, and in my (our) haste, miss the little details that would turn a 'good' product into an 'excellent' product.

ETA: Please don't respond if the answer is "half an hour". It'd just be too depressing!!!!

[leatheroo]

Stunning! I would love to see your work in person....maybe one day!

[Chief31794]

SPECTABULOUS!!!! Man that is beautiful work.

Ken

[TwinOaks]

Roo, I'm sure he wouldn't mind shipping to Australia.......

[Casey Jordan]

Very Sweet! Happy to see your back at it again.

Very nice layout of the pattern, I missed the initials the first time but I like the way it was done.

[hidepounder]

Bob, that is yet another truly outstanding piece. For those of us who aspire to be that good, could you tell us how many hours you spent on that? I (and I suspect many others) get in a rush to complete things sometimes, and in my (our) haste, miss the little details that would turn a 'good' product into an 'excellent' product.

ETA: Please don't respond if the answer is "half an hour". It'd just be too depressing!!!!

Mike, I'm not sure what I really have in this purse. I was only able to work on it a few hours at a time over the course of about six months. Under normal circumstances I would guess it would take over 40 hours with the hand made interior and the Mexican round braid lacing.

[TwinOaks]

Thank you Bob. You're estimate for the one purse is more than I spend per week on leather. That's a good eye opener. For others who want to do this type work, it's something to remember. I guess I shouldn't feel as rushed as I do, but I suppose it's part of my personality to try and get things done quickly.

[hidepounder]

Thank you Bob. You're estimate for the one purse is more than I spend per week on leather. That's a good eye opener. For others who want to do this type work, it's something to remember. I guess I shouldn't feel as rushed as I do, but I suppose it's part of my personality to try and get things done quickly.

It's kind of deceiving because the purse doesn't look that complicated....and it's not. However, I install stiffeners in certain sections which you can't see....that adds some time and making lined interior pockets is a very slow process for me because I skive and turn all the edges by hand and apply a fabric lining on them so that no flesh side is exposed. And of course, all those turned edges are then stitched and the interior is finger cut. Then the Mexican round braid takes forever. The lace has to be beveled and the braid itself takes about an hour for every two inches. When I'm finished braiding, I rub it all down with a rub stick which takes some time also, so there are some tedious steps that you might not see in a simple sewn purse without a fancy interior.

Bobby

[hidepounder]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, everybody! Your kind words are inspiring!

Happy Holidays!

Bobby

[wvcraftsman]

I don't even know what to say. I'm sure my best stuff is worse than the things you throw in the trash. :notworthy:

[Crystal]

Another goregeous piece, Bob.

I really enjoy seeing your work because it makes me look closer to figure out "why" I like it so much. The details you take the time to do really make a difference in the over all design.

If I'd let my OCD comment on something to critique... The OCD would have made the holes for the buckle tongue on the strap hit exactly on the round spot instead of (I am sure) on an exact measurement. I guess I'd take the visual spacing over a measurement with that kind of detail on the strap.

Take that comment with a grain of salt and a cold brew.

Thanks for showing another inspiring piece of work!

Crystal

[hidepounder]

Another goregeous piece, Bob.

I really enjoy seeing your work because it makes me look closer to figure out "why" I like it so much. The details you take the time to do really make a difference in the over all design.

If I'd let my OCD comment on something to critique... The OCD would have made the holes for the buckle tongue on the strap hit exactly on the round spot instead of (I am sure) on an exact measurement. I guess I'd take the visual spacing over a measurement with that kind of detail on the strap.

Take that comment with a grain of salt and a cold brew.

Thanks for showing another inspiring piece of work!

Crystal

Thank you so much Tina. I struggle with things like that sometimes, LOL. Do I make the measurement perfect so that I 'm consistent or do I do what is visually correct? In this case I agree with you and if I were to do it over I would center on dots also. Hope you have a great Holiday!

Bobby

[Rawhide]

My goodness Bob! Very classy and just outstanding work!

I do have some questions. Along the scalloped border on the back, there is stitching following the scallops. is that just decorative, or does it actually secure the liner into the purse? Also, did you develop the overall shape of the purse, or is it a basic pattern?

Thanks,

Marlon.

[David]

These are photos of a purse I finished recently. It is lined with calf and has interior pockets on both sides (photo shows the interior prior to assembly). The pursed is laced with kangaroo in a Mexican Round Braid. The silver was custom made for this project. As always, your comments and criticisms are welcome!

Happy Holidays!

Bobby

Beautiful, outstanding work Bob. I can only hope to achieve that some day.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Dave

[hidepounder]

My goodness Bob! Very classy and just outstanding work!

I do have some questions. Along the scalloped border on the back, there is stitching following the scallops. is that just decorative, or does it actually secure the liner into the purse? Also, did you develop the overall shape of the purse, or is it a basic pattern?

Thanks,

Marlon.

Thanks Marlon! The stitch line at the scallop joins the flap to the back but does not show through to the lining. I like to break the work into pieces as it is easier to utilize my leather, it's easier to tool a smaller piece of leather and lastly it creates some visual interest. Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays!

Bobby