Making Men's Fine Leather Wallets

[sheridanman]

hi guys

i have been making biker wallets and have the urge to make fine leather wallets for men. i like to know what is the size of the interiors should be against let say a 4 inch height and 8 .5 inch length of outside body when opened? i notice that the wallet no matter what style i tried opens up by itself when yo close it even without cards and cash inside. what should my interior size be to avoid this? shortetror longer than the body? thanks your suggestions and ideas are deeply appreciated. thanks!

[sheridanman]

hi again

by the way does anyone know if men's fine leather wallets use thin cardboard to hold the shape of the bodies? i am looking for leather supplier that can supply the appropriate leather thickness for fine leather wallets. i have been hellbent to make them and stay from making the thick and bulky biker wallets. i have so many orders of fine leather wallets compared to the trucker and biker style. i think if i pin all of these problems down and nail the design of a simple one i might be able to start a small source of income in this area. thanks in advance. pls. everyone i need suggestions.

[bison]

I wouldn't use cardboard because it's bound to absorb moisture from the body. Tandy sells a stiffener that would work. It's pretty thin and I use it for notebooks, portfolios, etc.

[jbird]

Try Springfield leather if your interested in buying high end interiors for wallets.

[sheridanman]

thanks guys! i will look into these suggestions. really appreciate it!

[azrider]

On my wallets, I make the interiors out of 2-3oz veg tan. the exterior of the wallet is 4-5 oz. Exterior measures 9.25x3 inches, and the interior measures 9x2.75. I do two card pockets each side, and sew the back of the bottom one. Then I sew across the top of the interior piece. I then cut a 1 inch notch out of the bottom of the inside, and fold the interior. When I glue the exterior, I wet the inside of it, and fold it to shape. I line up the edges, and sew all the way around the exterior piece, but it doesn't attach in the middle. This makes for a wallet that the interior spreads out when you fold it open, and it stays folded even when empty. Let me know if you would like to see some pictures.

[Lippy]

"Azrider" . . . we need photos. Please!

Thank you!

[azrider]

When I get home tonight, I will post some photos.

[azrider]

Here are pictures of two I recently did. Hope that helps.

[swinewerx]

I always make everything from scratch, therefore, I start with the outside of the wallet then make an exact same size interior flap, then hold both ends straight and exact and fold into the position it is going to be when it is done. At that moment, you will see that the outside and inside flaps are not to be left in exact length, so, I mark the excess of the interior flap and cut usually about a quarter inch of the inside flap, because, when we fold our wallets into the pocket position, there will be no excessive inner pocket and all closes smooth. Then, I make my inner pockets according to the inner flap that holds the money, or receipts of the day. Being that I taught myself how to do leather work, I learned the hard way!! So, be happy you are doing research on this instead of just jumping in and realizing there is a lot of process in this beautiful type of art work. Research is great to do, I for so long had to explain what I needed at tandy for three years, They got to know me quite well, and really helped me get out of the embarrassment of not knowing the names of tools or processes in this great work field!! The latest thing for me in my leather work is edging, oh my!!! how I love it!!! After seven years of leather fun, I discovered, that yet, I should have been edging all along. My edgeing finally started a little over a year ago!!! There is still sooooo much more I got to learn! I am so glad that I am willing to learn also! I don't ever want to be the type of feller that is stubborn, and not willing to do something new or different! As a matter of fact, I love learning new ways that really are not new , It is just that I had not done a certain technique, that should have been practiced all along. So keep on researching , it is better that way!

[firdarrig]

Although I haven't done it in years, I would use either kip or Italian bookbinder's calfskin, 1 1/2 - 2 oz. To keep the wallet from springing open, just fold your inner piece inside the outer piece and see how much sticks out and cut that excess off. When you glue it up, glue from the outside toward the middle leaving a hump at the middle bottom, which can be sewn or not, I just always stopped my stitching at either side of the hump. Since you're using very fine, thin leather, the hump is not an issue, and the wallet folds up perfectly. That very thin, fine leather also means that the pockets (credit card slots) don't create too much bulk. As long as your leather has some body (as either kip or calfskin do) there is no need for stiffener. Good luck.

Terence Plunkett

Renaissance Leather

[JoeSnuffie]

I make my interiors with either goat or calf. Calf is much softer but goat can be split a lot thinner and still be strong.

This is made with 1.75oz calf skin. The total width of the liner is 8.5", which allows the pockets to hold business cards. It's about 3.75" tall now but that might get trimmed a little when I do the final fitting. It just depends on how it looks. You can tighten it up a little if you don't want to allow for business cards but you're also going to make it a tight fit for more than one credit card in each pocket.

When I use chrome or oil tanned leather for the shell, it always wants to spring open a little at first. I set a cutting board on them with some weight, overnight, and this helps a lot. but usually, after a couple days of use, they're worn in and lay flat on their own.

[DavidL]

The brown leather is that goat or calf?

[JoeSnuffie]

The brown leather is that goat or calf?

They're actually both brown, but the darker one is chocolate treated with leather lotion, making it very dark. The other, sort of russet colored, is cow. It came from a couple lots of scraps I purchased and as best I can tell this is a chrome / oil tan. Or just chrome that's been heavily oiled and waxed. A lot of these scraps have some really nice looking defects. The rest of this hide has really great spots, scratches and blemishes.