First Wallet. Need Some Tips.

[zaynexpetty]

I made my first wallet today, which is my second finished leather project to date. I designed It myself. I know it is nowhere near perfect, and I have learned a lot in the process, but I still have a few questions:

Im pretty sure the reason why the dye on the edge transferred to the other side of the wallet on the inside is because I didnt do a final burnish with some gum trag (second picture). As far as I know that helps the dye from bleeding/transferring. Am I right?

The wallet is really thick, probably because I used what I am assuming is around 3 oz leather (I dont have a thickness gauge, I should probably pick one up) It wont stay shut by itself. What oz leather do you think would be best for this style wallet?

To finish the wallet, I applied a couple of coats of neatsfoot oil, then topped it off with 50/50 acryllic resolene (only on the outside), and then some obenaufs leather preservative(also only on the outside). However, I didnt do any of this until after I stitched it all together. Is that the recommended process, or should I have done something different?

I dont really like the glossy looking finish you can see on the outside (you can see in the third picture). What do you think is giving it that look? I like leather that looks more satin than glossy. I also noticed the color on the backside has a slightly pinkish hue. Is there anyway to remedy that without using dye?

I know, I ask a lot of questions. I am a perfectionist, and as you can probably guess, I am pretty frustrated with the outcome of this wallet.

Thanks!

Zayne

Edited February 24, 2014 by zaynexpetty

[Django57]

You will be amazed with practice how much you can progress , i too was unhappy with my first couple of projects and felt like giving up but although I'm not at the standard of some members here I'm a lot happier when i have the finished article , my trouble is i still rush and can't wait in between the different stages so my tip would be enjoy each bit and the end result will be something you can honestly say you did your best . As for your wallet it looks good to me perhaps straighter stitching , i bought a pricking iron what a difference that made , also i invested in a good knife and made a strop another big improvement i could go on . good luck

[Dwight]

Honestly, . . . you probably should start out using kits, . . . like from Tandy.

First, the products will have the right sized leather, right hardware, right directions, and right ideas.

Kudos to you for initiative, . . . and E for effort, . . . but for instance, you put on resolene, . . . then added some preservative. In an analogy, . . . that is like first putting on a perfect fitting raincoat, . . . then adding a 50 gallon garbage bag over your head so you don't get wet.

The resolene is a FINAL finish product, . . . needs absolutely nothing, . . . and will for all tense and purposes, . . . not allow anything to penetrate it. The only thing one should ever do AFTER resolene is perhaps some neutral shoe polish.

Also, . . . the design itself was badly flawed. Go to Walmart, . . . look how their wallets are formed, . . . you will not see the continuous piece of leather you used on the inside of the bill pocket. It will be a piece on the left, one on the right, and a slim one in the middle, . . . that is what allows a commercially produced wallet to easily fold in the middle.

If you want, . . . you can continue without proper instruction, . . . and learn all the tricks the hard way, . . . but picking up some leatherworking books at the library, or Tandy's, will save you a lot of frustration, aggravation, time, and money.

You will also see a greater improvement, . . . much quicker.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Randy Cornelius]

I for one think you did good for your 1st or 2nd project, and if you like it then that is all that really counts. With practice comes improvement. Like you said you need to do better with the edging. Get an edger and take off the square corners, then dress it up with some 80 grit sandpaper,(this makes the fibers stand up) wet the edge and run a bar of saddle soap over them. (this mades the fibers lay down in all one direction) Then burnish them with a piece of canvas or old blue jean materal with cream saddle soap on it. Then re dye and use something to seal the edge,

I would also suggest you get some lighter weight leather to make your interiors with. Or you can buy them pre made from Springfield leather for around 8-9.00 apiece. I would suggest some 2-3oz pig or calf skin for liners.

You did a good job on the sewing but might suggest some smaller thread next time.

You are off to a real good start. Keep up the good work.

RC

[kwelna]

You are off to a great start. I would agree with Randy C . Get an edger and cut off those squared deges, then sand with 80 -120 and then again with 220. When I sand with 220, I only sand in one direction, this cust off teh loger strands of fuzz. I usually then sye the edges and once dry put on a this coat of gum traganth adn then burnish. Once the edge is nice and smooth, I let it sit for about 15 -20 minutes the reburnish and the edge will gloss up noice and shiny. Lastly i put coat of nutral satin edge finish and I am done. Go out to fineleatherworking.com and watch teh video on saddle stitching, it will explain a lot. Dwightis also correct, read and study all the leather books you can find (YA gotta love a library, all that knowledge for free!), ask question and wander around this site for additional pearls of wisdom(This is a great site). Look at how others construct their pieces, look at how a comercially made piece is contstruted, all this will give you insight on what to do and what not to do. Finially, keep pushing yourself and keep practicing, you will get there and remember you are your worst critic. Cut yourself some slack!

[Andrew Chee]

For your unable to close problem, it doesn't look like a leather thickness issue. Assuming your leather is indeed 3oz, that thickness is just fine for a wallet. The ones that I have made are 3-6oz on the outside and the interior pieces are about 2oz.

The problem looks like you're making the external panel the same size as your internal panel. You have to make the external panel about 1/4-1/2" longer so that when it folds, things don't bind up. I'm not sure what Dwight is saying about needing multiple pieces on the inside. If you look at my wallet below, the inside is basically a single panel like yours.

To make the outside panel larger, there are two ways to do it. You can just cut a piece that's longer. When you sew it, you will then have to leave a gap when you get to the spine of the wallet. The other way is like in the wallet below, you cut the outer piece in a trapezoid shape so the open end of the panel is slightly longer but the closed end is the same length as the wallet.

I hope that helps in thinking about the design. Good job on trying to come up with your own design.

Andrew

[bwillielv]

Personally I think you did really good for your second project. Some people can learn by doing kits from Tandy. Personally I don't learn that way. I would rather just jump in and destroy some leather. Keep at it, you are doing good. Grab yourself a pricking iron. That will help with the stitching.

[zaynexpetty]

Personally I think you did really good for your second project. Some people can learn by doing kits from Tandy. Personally I don't learn that way. I would rather just jump in and destroy some leather. Keep at it, you are doing good. Grab yourself a pricking iron. That will help with the stitching.

Thank you for the encouragement. I appreciate it. I am the same way. I thought about buying some kits from Tandy, but I felt that that would be taking a shortcut, and since I plan on continuing to cut my own leather, I didnt think that would do me much good.

Thanks again!

Zayne

For your unable to close problem, it doesn't look like a leather thickness issue. Assuming your leather is indeed 3oz, that thickness is just fine for a wallet. The ones that I have made are 3-6oz on the outside and the interior pieces are about 2oz.

The problem looks like you're making the external panel the same size as your internal panel. You have to make the external panel about 1/4-1/2" longer so that when it folds, things don't bind up. I'm not sure what Dwight is saying about needing multiple pieces on the inside. If you look at my wallet below, the inside is basically a single panel like yours.

To make the outside panel larger, there are two ways to do it. You can just cut a piece that's longer. When you sew it, you will then have to leave a gap when you get to the spine of the wallet. The other way is like in the wallet below, you cut the outer piece in a trapezoid shape so the open end of the panel is slightly longer but the closed end is the same length as the wallet.

I hope that helps in thinking about the design. Good job on trying to come up with your own design.

Andrew

You have just answered one of the big questions I had. I actually did make the back piece SLIGHTLY (like maybe 1/16 of and inch) bigger to try to help with the fold, but not big enough, all I did was cement the two pieces together and made sure the left and right edges lined up, so it was kind of bowing, before I stitched. Thats the only think I could think of at the time. That is wonderful knowledge though, thank you. I will have to try both of those methods out and see which works best. I have to admit I wasnt too sure i have ever seen a wallet that had three pieces connected on the inside, so I was a bit unsure about that.

Your wallet looks amazing. I see how the backside is bigger and how that would make the wallet close easier.

Thanks for the advice!

Zayne

You are off to a great start. I would agree with Randy C . Get an edger and cut off those squared deges, then sand with 80 -120 and then again with 220. When I sand with 220, I only sand in one direction, this cust off teh loger strands of fuzz. I usually then sye the edges and once dry put on a this coat of gum traganth adn then burnish. Once the edge is nice and smooth, I let it sit for about 15 -20 minutes the reburnish and the edge will gloss up noice and shiny. Lastly i put coat of nutral satin edge finish and I am done. Go out to fineleatherworking.com and watch teh video on saddle stitching, it will explain a lot. Dwightis also correct, read and study all the leather books you can find (YA gotta love a library, all that knowledge for free!), ask question and wander around this site for additional pearls of wisdom(This is a great site). Look at how others construct their pieces, look at how a comercially made piece is contstruted, all this will give you insight on what to do and what not to do. Finially, keep pushing yourself and keep practicing, you will get there and remember you are your worst critic. Cut yourself some slack!

I think I do need to pick up some books, I have mostly just learned everything online, I know that a lot of knowledge is passed up if you arent looking into actual books though. I think i will pick some up soon. When you dye the edges after sanding, do you have a problem with the dye soaking onto the top or bottom of the leather? I didnt sand, but it bled pretty bad, I used a Q tip to dye the edges, Is there a better tool to use than that?

Thank you so much for your advice and kind words!

Zayne

I for one think you did good for your 1st or 2nd project, and if you like it then that is all that really counts. With practice comes improvement. Like you said you need to do better with the edging. Get an edger and take off the square corners, then dress it up with some 80 grit sandpaper,(this makes the fibers stand up) wet the edge and run a bar of saddle soap over them. (this mades the fibers lay down in all one direction) Then burnish them with a piece of canvas or old blue jean materal with cream saddle soap on it. Then re dye and use something to seal the edge,

I would also suggest you get some lighter weight leather to make your interiors with. Or you can buy them pre made from Springfield leather for around 8-9.00 apiece. I would suggest some 2-3oz pig or calf skin for liners.

You did a good job on the sewing but might suggest some smaller thread next time.

You are off to a real good start. Keep up the good work.

RC

I agree with you, taking the corners off would have made it look a bit less amateur. I actually didnt use sand paper, although I have some, I just forgot to use it. I will make sure to next time. How I've learned to burnish the edges is first with a wet edge and an edge slicker, and then later with gum tragacanth and the same slicker. I dont know if that gives it the same effect as your method though. I think for the future I will try to use some lighter leather for the interior, that sounds like it would work well. And the thread suggestion is also a good one, I actually had thought about that as I was stitching.

Thanks for the advice!

Zayne

You will be amazed with practice how much you can progress , i too was unhappy with my first couple of projects and felt like giving up but although I'm not at the standard of some members here I'm a lot happier when i have the finished article , my trouble is i still rush and can't wait in between the different stages so my tip would be enjoy each bit and the end result will be something you can honestly say you did your best . As for your wallet it looks good to me perhaps straighter stitching , i bought a pricking iron what a difference that made , also i invested in a good knife and made a strop another big improvement i could go on . good luck

Thanks for the kind words. I'll admit that I did rush a bit in between stages, I need to work on being a bit more patient. I actually did use a pricking iron to stich. I think the problem was that by the time I hammered the iron through 2-3 layers of the leather it ended up not exactly straight on the back end. I also didnt do a very good job of lining up the holes for the corners.

Thanks for the advice!

Zayne

[kwelna]

"When you dye the edges after sanding, do you have a problem with the dye soaking onto the top or bottom of the leather"

Sorry for the terrible spellingin my last message, No, I do not experience a lot of bleeding into the the face of the leather. I do start with a moderatly "dry" Brush when I stain edges. I think all the fine fuzz sucks up the dye so it never has a chance to get to the rest of the leather. I also do not burnish until the edges are dry, I then hit them with a light film of gum traganth and burnish. It take very little effort to get a good edge this way. I think that the sanding is the big secret...Also I tend to work more with bridal leather which is oilier \ waxier than staight up veg tan. Huh, Maybe it is that I am using good quality leather and not my process....As ar as stitching goes, get a groover and to begin with, a set of diamomd stitching chisels and a SHARP awl (Tandy Awls are not sharp! You will have to sharpen them or buy a sharp awl from somewhere else like the Douglas Awl Blades from Sherridan leather) Do not pound the chisle all the way through all layers of leather only use it to mark where you will make holes with the awl. At most, only just barely go through the first layer of leather. Let the awl make the holes. If it is sharp, it will go though with only light pressure especially when stiching thiner items like a wallet. Use a stitching pony or calmp of some sort to hold the leather.

Practice practice practice........I suggest you make a few linned belts with stitching around the outside of the entire belt. It will give you the practice you need on finishing edges and stitching. It is a bit tedouse, OK a lot tedouse, but in the end, you will have gifts to give and get in some practice at the same time. Set up in front of the TV and take your time, do not rush, Stitch exacly the same way with each stitch. Watch how the stitches lay into the grove etc. experiment a bit and definitly watch the video on stitching at fineleatherworking.com Also get a copy of Stohlman's The Art of Hand Stitching Leather. Do it the way he describes with the crossing of the needles there is a reason for this that will become aparent once you start stitching.

Never Give Up - Never Surrender!!

[Andrew Chee]

As for dyeing, angelus makes these felt pens that are good. They open on one end and you pour some dye into them so you can use whatever color you want. They basically work like a felt up market but with dye instead of ink. Makes it really easy to due edges without running.

Andrew

[zaynexpetty]

"When you dye the edges after sanding, do you have a problem with the dye soaking onto the top or bottom of the leather"

Sorry for the terrible spellingin my last message, No, I do not experience a lot of bleeding into the the face of the leather. I do start with a moderatly "dry" Brush when I stain edges. I think all the fine fuzz sucks up the dye so it never has a chance to get to the rest of the leather. I also do not burnish until the edges are dry, I then hit them with a light film of gum traganth and burnish. It take very little effort to get a good edge this way. I think that the sanding is the big secret...Also I tend to work more with bridal leather which is oilier \ waxier than staight up veg tan. Huh, Maybe it is that I am using good quality leather and not my process....As ar as stitching goes, get a groover and to begin with, a set of diamomd stitching chisels and a SHARP awl (Tandy Awls are not sharp! You will have to sharpen them or buy a sharp awl from somewhere else like the Douglas Awl Blades from Sherridan leather) Do not pound the chisle all the way through all layers of leather only use it to mark where you will make holes with the awl. At most, only just barely go through the first layer of leather. Let the awl make the holes. If it is sharp, it will go though with only light pressure especially when stiching thiner items like a wallet. Use a stitching pony or calmp of some sort to hold the leather.

Practice practice practice........I suggest you make a few linned belts with stitching around the outside of the entire belt. It will give you the practice you need on finishing edges and stitching. It is a bit tedouse, OK a lot tedouse, but in the end, you will have gifts to give and get in some practice at the same time. Set up in front of the TV and take your time, do not rush, Stitch exacly the same way with each stitch. Watch how the stitches lay into the grove etc. experiment a bit and definitly watch the video on stitching at fineleatherworking.com Also get a copy of Stohlman's The Art of Hand Stitching Leather. Do it the way he describes with the crossing of the needles there is a reason for this that will become aparent once you start stitching.

Never Give Up - Never Surrender!!

I think the sanding should do the trick, Ill have to purchase some more sand paper in different grits. You could also be right about the overall quality of leather. I am using discount Tandy leather (which was just mainly to be used for practice), so that might be part of the problem. In all of the videos I watched for stitching, everythone just punched through all of the layers with the stitching chisel, but your advice about the awl going through with a sharp awl does make more sense when dealing with multiple layers. The one I have is actually from Tandy, haha, I guess I'll have to sharpen it. I have heard a lot about al stohlmans stitching book, I think I'll pick it up tomorrow.

Thanks again!

Zayne

As for dyeing, angelus makes these felt pens that are good. They open on one end and you pour some dye into them so you can use whatever color you want. They basically work like a felt up market but with dye instead of ink. Makes it really easy to due edges without running.

Andrew

That is amazing. I will have to look into getting one of those pens. It sounds like it would make edge dying a lot faster/cleaner.

Thanks!

Zayne