Leather Backpack

[MrBilly]

Hi all, I've been wanting to make a backpack for some time now and decided to make it out of leather. I want the form of the bottom to be more of a rectangle in shape with the top rounding off like this clarinet case. http://www.gear4music.com/media/45660/600/preview.jpg

My question lies in "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman on pg. 25 where he shows how to make a box by gouging the leather and then folding the side up into the box shape. Does anyone know if this would still hold up under the pressures of being used as a backpack? What I want out of my backpack is extreme durability and longevity along with ease of use and effectiveness.

Leave your thoughts and thanks for reading!

[electrathon]

What kind of leather are you planning on using? Is this going to be hard or soft?

[MrBilly]

I'm thinking about something that can be tooled and is moderately thick also I would want it more on the hard side so it keeps its form.

[electrathon]

I think you would need to line at least part of it to keep it in shape. You would have to fully line it is you used softer leather.

[MrBilly]

Do you mean something that will superimpose a shape like wood or do you mean linen to add strength when you refer to a lining.

Thanks for answering everything to!

[electrathon]

Somethng to hold the shape. Like thin plywood, hard cardboard or similar. This will make it more suitcase like. If the shape can twist and bend you will not need to do this. I was going off of your comment that said you wanted to hold the shape.