Second Project: Card Holder. Criticism?

[tbhogstrom]

Hey all,

Second project coming in: A simple card holder. I ordered some pricking irons, so my stitching should get a little more consistent when the Dixons (!!!) come in.

Tell me what you think! Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,

Hoggy

[Jimbob]

Nice, clean and simple.....now you need to work on your edges to burnish, as mentioned your stitching line and then you need to add flames, every cardholder should have flames and skulls on it....hahahaa...

You done well, show us more and soon you be right there with this talented bunch hanging out here.

Thanks for showing!!

Jimbob

[tbhogstrom]

Nice, clean and simple.....now you need to work on your edges to burnish, as mentioned your stitching line and then you need to add flames, every cardholder should have flames and skulls on it....hahahaa...

You done well, show us more and soon you be right there with this talented bunch hanging out here.

Thanks for showing!!

Jimbob

Jimbob,

I'm working on burnishing techniques, I really haven't gotten it down to a personal science yet. I need to read some more topics about differing techniques.

Thanks for the input!

Tyler

[Alamo]

To help with burnishing, you can use gum trag or even some glycerin in water to help you slick up the edges. Beveling your edges too might be something to think about.

[artycpt]

Just and observation and misc. design note; Not sure of the measurements and fit but a generally good idea if the cards fit all the way down into the holder is to make a small cutout at the top to be able to grab the cards and pull them out easier. Feel free to disregard if your holder works just fine.

For a second project it looks good and clean. The details in burnishing and stitching will come with practice. You are off to a great start.

Oh and add some snakes with the skulls and flames.

[LNLeather]

FYI - Hidepounder has the best tutorial on finishing edges - just in case you hadn't seen it yet...

http://leatherworker...ges-2-15-11.pdf

hope this helps

[Murray]

... then you need to add flames, every cardholder should have flames and skulls on it....hahahaa...

Jimbob

I knew I was missing something, just didn't know what.

Tbhogstrom, thats a nice design.

[tbhogstrom]

To help with burnishing, you can use gum trag or even some glycerin in water to help you slick up the edges. Beveling your edges too might be something to think about.

I've been beveling with a #1, but I think I need to get a quality #2 (well, and a quality #1). Just ordered some glycerin to help with the burnishing.

Thanks for the advice.

Just and observation and misc. design note; Not sure of the measurements and fit but a generally good idea if the cards fit all the way down into the holder is to make a small cutout at the top to be able to grab the cards and pull them out easier. Feel free to disregard if your holder works just fine.

For a second project it looks good and clean. The details in burnishing and stitching will come with practice. You are off to a great start.

Oh and add some snakes with the skulls and flames.

I can post up some pictures, but "standard" cards fit in the wallet with about a 1/16" overhang of leather. When designing I looked at a lot of similar products but decided against a notch to make retrieving cards easier. As a side note on aesthetics, I think the notch takes away from a clean look while only providing minimal assistance in card retrieval. Like you said, feel free to disregard my designing thoughts.

Thanks!

FYI - Hidepounder has the best tutorial on finishing edges - just in case you hadn't seen it yet...

http://leatherworker...ges-2-15-11.pdf

hope this helps

Saw this, waiting for glycerin soap to come in!

[Alamo]

Ordered glycerin? To save you on some shipping costs and time, you can mosey on over to your closest drug store/pharmacy/walmart and look for glycerin in the skin care section!

[tbhogstrom]

closest drug store/pharmacy/walmart

In Vermont, the closest drug store is 20 miles away. I also was ordering Leather from SLC and just dropped it in there.

[Alamo]

Ahh, well that makes sense then. Both my home in Texas and my university have drug stores almost every corner or so which in my case makes ordering that stuff cost ineffective for me.

[corter]

I saw in your other post you've already got a blog up with pricing, etc. My biggest piece of advice would be to take time to learn the craft, don't even think about selling anything you make for half a year. Make anything and everything you can, take some time to develop a style and create unique things. You want to be able to offer the highest quality work you can, and it seems like you're more focused on materials than craft right now. Re: this card holder, good for a first attempt. I'd suggest to just get a simple groover, overstitch wheel, and awl, and make as many pieces as you can out of junk leather to learn craft before focusing on the selling aspect. Then you can get into the fancy tools, the high quality veg tan and the different types of cording once you've got your skills down.

[tbhogstrom]

I saw in your other post you've already got a blog up with pricing, etc. My biggest piece of advice would be to take time to learn the craft, don't even think about selling anything you make for half a year. Make anything and everything you can, take some time to develop a style and create unique things. You want to be able to offer the highest quality work you can, and it seems like you're more focused on materials than craft right now. Re: this card holder, good for a first attempt. I'd suggest to just get a simple groover, overstitch wheel, and awl, and make as many pieces as you can out of junk leather to learn craft before focusing on the selling aspect. Then you can get into the fancy tools, the high quality veg tan and the different types of cording once you've got your skills down.

I think you're right. The prices were more of a Hail Mary, to help pay for this somewhat expensive hobby. I try and create or work on something everyday, but much of it doesn't make it to leatherworker, let alone the blog.

I'm going to alter my blog a little bit to push selling a little less.

I focus on high quality materials in my blog because they are of interest to me, but I get the bigger concept. At the end of the day (well, at the point where I start selling seriously), I should be selling my skills as an artisan and designs rather than the materials I am using.

Thanks for the advice and hope life isn't too crazy.

I see that you're in Boston? Where?! (My brother lives in Boston and I'm there around once a month)

Edited April 3, 2013 by tbhogstrom

[mikesmith648]

another thing to remember is not to cross or change direction when sewing. it can make your stitches look off. I did notice a few places where this occurred on your piece

[tbhogstrom]

another thing to remember is not to cross or change direction when sewing. it can make your stitches look off. I did notice a few places where this occurred on your piece

How do I avoid this? I didn't know I was switching direction....okay, I don't know what switching direction is.

[raysouth]

HANG IN THERE, HOGGY. LOOKING GOOD------------

Hope to see more.

God Bless.

Ray

[Alamo]

This may help you with your stitching

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=44874

[mikesmith648]

The tutorial as mentioned above is by Nigel Armitage...........excellent video and tutorial..... most important part is to be patient and consistent

[mikesmith648]

How do I avoid this? I didn't know I was switching direction....okay, I don't know what switching direction is.

when you enter the hole with the needles and thread......make sure you do it the same way every time.....otherwise the threads get crossed in between......doesn't seem like much but it makes a big and noticeable difference

Watch Nigels video!!!

[LNLeather]

I think what he meant was to always put the left needle in and then the right needle -

or visa versa... but always do it the same way.

[mikesmith648]