Wanted To Have Something Nice To Show Y'all..

[Alamo]

..but I didn't have enough time to finish this project before Thanksgiving break was over and I had to go back to school.

This is the first project that I've attempted that is bigger and more complicated than a belt or some sort of small pocket item like cellphone slips and key fobs, and so far, I think it's turning out pretty good. Made a few mistakes here and there, but it's a prototype and the final revision will be a gift for a friend of mine (who I owe a decent amount of money in college terms). I'll be able to finish this during the Christmas break no problem, but I was quite upset that I had to leave this at home only half finished.

Let me know what y'all think, and if there is anything that is obviously wrong or could become problematic or have suggestions for the next bag, please let me know!

[JLSleather]

Welted construction, contrasting welts and straps, full length zippers, ... I'd say your "fail" is off to a great start!

TWO things to note about this bag.

1.) The wrinkles and 'fuzzy' flesh side makes this bag look like the leather may not be the top-o-the-line. Looks dry, actually.

2.) I've never been a fan of pre-punched holes, for stitching or otherwise.

3.) I obviously can't count, and since the bag is yours then my opinion is only worth "so much" anyway.

Great start!

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

I think the bag is perfect I really like it one day I hope to be able to make something like this. I don't know what it is but when it comes to putting multiple pieces together I panic. That being said I bet it takes a lot of planning and thinking to accomplish this something I am not too good at. I am definitely impressed. Looks great!

Ralph

[Alamo]

Welted construction, contrasting welts and straps, full length zippers, ... I'd say your "fail" is off to a great start!

TWO things to note about this bag.

1.) The wrinkles and 'fuzzy' flesh side makes this bag look like the leather may not be the top-o-the-line. Looks dry, actually.

2.) I've never been a fan of pre-punched holes, for stitching or otherwise.

3.) I obviously can't count, and since the bag is yours then my opinion is only worth "so much" anyway.

Great start!

Some of the wrinkles are from having to flip the bag inside and out to stitch the welt, but you are correct that the leather isn't super high quality. Tandy was having a ridiculous sale and had a whole side of 3/4oz veg tanned for only $70 and I had to get it.

As for the pre-punched holes, I do not have a leather sewing machine so I do not know of any other way to mark my stitches other than to pre-punch my holes

Thanks for the kind words and compliments! Definitely excited to see this finished!!

I think the bag is perfect I really like it one day I hope to be able to make something like this. I don't know what it is but when it comes to putting multiple pieces together I panic. That being said I bet it takes a lot of planning and thinking to accomplish this something I am not too good at. I am definitely impressed. Looks great!

Ralph

I appreciate the kind words, but there is so much that I want to do differently on the next bag I make. Thankfully this is just my first try and will be mine, so I can get away with not having everything exactly how I like it.

I actually didn't plan this project as much as I should. I have a bag that I like to use, and wanted to make one out of leather. I just copied the dimensions onto leather and started putting stuff together. Just be sure to measure twice and cut once and you'll find that it really isn't all that difficult, just tedious. It helps to keep the number of separate pieces to a minimum to help with simplicity and minimize the number of seams needed.

Thanks again for your comments, and I'm sure that you can do something like this no problem with just a little bit of time and a lot of patience

[electrathon]

About the only critique I have is the quality of the leather, looks pretty poor.

The construction looks good, your corners come together well and are not pinched and twisted. I do think it will get dirty quickly being so light colored, but I do not have the ability to stay clean.

Aaron

[Alamo]

About the only critique I have is the quality of the leather, looks pretty poor.

The construction looks good, your corners come together well and are not pinched and twisted. I do think it will get dirty quickly being so light colored, but I do not have the ability to stay clean.

Aaron

I will have to agree with the quality of the leather; it's from Tandy, so it's about what I would expect from them. If I had the means, I would be buying sides of Hermann Oak or Horween, but as of right now, leather of that qua;ity in the quantity that I want is simply out of the equation

I decided to keep the bag the natural leather color for two reasons: I wanted the leather to patina naturally, and I didn't want the bag to get streaky and nasty looking from me trying to dye it.

I appreciate the comments. Admittedly, I was worried about the corners doing strange things as well, but I'm glad they came out alright

[jayjay]

nice start!!!! looks good to me

[Alamo]

nice start!!!! looks good to me

Thanks! Looking forward to getting this done when I go back home for break, and I'll be sure to post the final product when I do finish it

[Red Cent]

Well, if it costs over $300.00 I would say the leather looks cheap.

But looking at it, it looks damn good! Those who purchase such a product will not say "Dang, if the leather wasn't so cheap, I......".

Get 'er done!!

[Alamo]

..if I made this bag out of Hermann Oak or Wicket & Craig, would you think that $300 would be a bad price? I was thinking of pricing this one at around $175, do you think that might be too low?

Thanks for the compliments! I can't wait to get it done this break

[Matt T]

..if I made this bag out of Hermann Oak or Wicket & Craig, would you think that $300 would be a bad price? I was thinking of pricing this one at around $175, do you think that might be too low?

Thanks for the compliments! I can't wait to get it done this break

Yes, it's too low. Do you not value your time?

[Alamo]

Well, as a college kid with financial support from my family, I don't need to support buying more and better leather AND pay bills and put food on the table. Also, this bag isn't very big, 18"x6"x6" so raw material costs is relatively low.

With that being said, I am definitely not complaining about being able to sell something like this for more money! I just want to make sure that I'm not ripping people off with my pricing.

[electrathon]

It is called supply and demand. There is no amount of money you can charge that would be ripping anyone off. If you charge too much, no one will buy it. It is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay.

[Alamo]

You have a very good point in that. I vaguely remember taking an ECON 101 class recently and had those charts with price and demand..something along the lines of cheap sells more but expensive has the potential to have higher profit margins while selling less.

Will definitely think my pricing structure over again and rethink the way I want to price this sort of stuff.

Thanks so much for the help! I know I'm not very active on here, but as soon as I get my tools back during Christmas break, hopefully I can start working n more projects