Where To Begin

[Curiousone]

I recently took a tooling class at tandy I know that's extremely minute and not scratching the surface of leatherwork but I'm hooked. My budget is extremely restricted but I have got a piece of granite and I'm looking at a smart budget minded way of getting started. I'm interested in tooling as well as I'd love to make lots of different things from shoes, jackets, bags, wallets, well I think it's all cool. So my original question after the rabbit trail where do I get started? What to do to start gaining skill without breaking the bank as the bank is very fragile at this point. Thank you in advance for any replies and I love this site by the way.

[Matt S]

Ignore what Tandy implies, you can make a lot of the tools to get by with stuff you have lying around the home or can obtain inexpensively. Cut the point off a 6" nail and shape the head with files: stamp for pennies. Stanley knife from the garage: strop a blade and you have a very adequate cutting-out knife. Dividers are handy and versatile tools (get em from a tool shop not a leather shop for a better price). Don't buy the huge needles Tandy sells. Use wet&dry paper to sharpen and polish tools. Make a strop from a piece of card and add any fine abrasive you have handy -- car polish, metal polish even toothpaste work, if sometimes a bit slow. Strop 'disposable' blades and never need to buy any more. Chunk of 2x4 or debarked tree branch makes a non-metal mallet.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, make mistakes or accept constructive criticism. Above all have fun.

[Dwight]

Matt said, "Don't be afraid to ask questions, make mistakes or accept constructive criticism. Above all have fun."

The last 4 words are the most important of all.

An inexpensive but yet very rewarding way you can build your confidence and skill is to take on a small project such as making little leather snap bracelets for a Sunday School class, . . . for some old folks in a local nursing home, . . . for the kids in your child's class.

You will learn to cut, stamp, burnish, trim, how to add snaps correctly.

Most important of all, . . . you will be able to see your progress from #1 to #20 if you do them one at a time.

Finish them in different ways using coffee, tea, shoe polish, etc for stain, . . . sharpies to do background, . . . be creative.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Curiousone]

Thanks those are great tips using coffee or tea am I doing anything specifically to get better results. Also when it comes to veg tan leather is there any suppliers that are cheaper on leather than tandy. I thought about it last night that I could use stainless steel door hinges to make some stamps out of those things are extremely tough I have a Dremel and a bench grinder. As far as making stamps are there any topics of instruction already on this site? That I could look up instead of starting another thread?

[Jazznow]

Hi and welcome

Have a Look at this thread on making your own stamps. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=10252

I started like you with very restricted budget. Only had small scraps to work with and only few tools. Practice with them and build up your tool collection slowly. You won't need a lot of stamping tools at the beginning. And most you can make yourself out of nails or bolts. Most important are one or two bevelers in different widths and a back grounding or matting tool.

A swivel knife is hard to make yourself, so you should maybe buy one. There are used ones at eBay sometimes. If you wanna buy a new one, this is a point where I would advise you to not buy from Tandy. There is a seller on eBay who sells Japanese swivel knifes which are a little more expensive but very good (google for "goods, Japan, eBay, swivel knife"). Don't miss my Tandy knife. Maybe there's someone one the forum who has upgraded to a better swivel knife and you can get one cheap or for free. I would send you mine for free but shipping cost to the USA are high

Check eBay for cheap tools. Old cobblers knifes are great for cutting leather and you'll find a bunch of stamping tools there (lucky you, I live in Germany, there you have no chance to find used stamps)

I hope this helps. Have a great time with your leatherwork.

Oh and one last thing: start making small stuff for yourself. Key fobs, cell phone case, stuff like that. You can ruin pieces since they are not big. It doesn't matter if they turn out ugly. And if they are good you can show them to all your friends and pose with them

Best wishes

Jonathan

[Curiousone]

I really appreciate the replies and support this is something that my son and I are both getting involved with I really appreciate the tips and anymore pointers anyone has. I have some ideas on some tooling just have to get started I'm going to get some bags of scrap from tandy to start with.

[WScott]

For my .02 cents, look at Springfield leather for sample packs of tooling leather

http://springfieldleather.com/30018/Pieces%2CTooling%2C2-lbs-Bag/

They are inexpensive, MUCH better quality than Tandy and a great company to deal with.

Tandy is a good place to start out with tools, courses and leather, but as you move away from kits and want to do your own custom stuff you will want to move to higher quality tools and better leather. Still, Tandy does a lot to get people interested in leather work

Cheers and best wishes

[Glendon]

I would second WScotts suggestion for the scrap bags from Springfield. Another great option for practice is horse hide leather scrap, also avalible from Springfield. Horse leather does not stamp quite as cleanly as cow hide because it is denser, but it is cheap and great to practice with.

[Curiousone]

Ok great how do you tell the difference in the quality of leather if you have two pieces of veg tan side by side

[Dwight]

The first indicator I look at is the back side, . . . if there is a lot of strings and stringy stuff hanging off the hide, . . . forget it.

What you want is a smooth, flat, clean back side that almost feels like very, very fine sandpaper. You don't want the one that feels like a piece of felt or worse yet, thick flannel.

Final test for me is then the front side, . . . scars, fence marks, brands, cutouts, gouges, etc. A premium hide will have little of this, . . . the more it is blemished, the less valuable hide you have.

If you have a Tandy store nearby, . . . go look at a cheap 7 oz side, . . . compare them to a "European tooling bend" piece. You'll see the difference.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Curiousone]

Thanks Dwight I had no idea while on that thought how do the different sections of leather differ as far as uses or is it all the same. I thought I read somewhere that there was a difference in strength or thickness depending on what area of the hide the leather originated.

[Dwight]

You heard right, . . . belly leather is good for buying, . . . practicing, . . . and pitching, . . . and not much else (IMHO).

Back and side leather is good for belts, purses, bags, etc, . . . just remember that the closer you get to the belly, . . . the less quality it is.

Rump and shoulder leather make good belts, holsters, etc . . . . stuff that needs to be formed, and keep it's shape. I pretty much use only double shoulders in my holster / sheath / belt work.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Curiousone]

Thanks so the belly material is just thin and loose because the only thing it supports is the gut. I'm guessing its bad about stretching and if it is. I'm guessing it won't have the integrity or density too hold tooling very well or it won't have the depth. Saw a YouTube video the other day where someone used 2-3 ounce veg tan and tooled it and it was so thin that they couldn't tool deep and it looked awful. It was like the tooling was flat. Is that more in line to what I would expect out of a belly piece.