Large 2 Pocket Purse With Python Inlays

[FlHobbyist]

I was reading one of the old craft aids and they had a suggestion for doing reptile inlays by glueing and beveling them into position. I decided to give it a go, and this is the result. I think the method has promise, but it still need some refinement. I'm real curious to see how the inlays stand up to wear and tear. The original craft aid was doing this for belts, so I am hopeful.

As always, comments, questions and advice are welcome.

Bob

[Tiara]

Very nice!

I think I saw this on a Tandy premium video. The process was to use a swivel knife to cut the edges and a beveler to create a channel, then glue the piece in. Was this about what you did?

The video used a hair on hide inlay. I wondered at the time if thickness of the inlay might mean needing to tamp down the area under it a bit to keep it from extending too far above. That might increase wear. Most of the python I have is fairly thick. Did yours extend above the background much?

[FlHobbyist]

The process was to use a swivel knife to cut the edges and a beveler to create a channel, then glue the piece in. Was this about what you did?

Yes, this is what I did. The process was to cut the edges deeper than normal with the swivel knife. Then bevel the edges, and after that I used the F899/F900 matting tools to make a gentler slope and to have a rougher surface to glue onto. At this point I would carefully trim the python to fit in the area. Next, I applied leather glue to both the leather and the python, and quickly put them together. After that, I used a modeller to make sure the python was set and firm, and finally I beveled around the edges to make sure it was snug all the way around.

I wondered at the time if thickness of the inlay might mean needing to tamp down the area under it a bit to keep it from extending too far above. That might increase wear. Most of the python I have is fairly thick. Did yours extend above the background much?

Yes, it does extend up a little, but I wanted this effect as it give some dimensionality to the piece.

[Tiara]

Thanks Bob.

I hope to be trying something like this soon. I'll keep your tips bookmarked to refer back to.

I see you're in Florida. Are you going to try to hunt down your own pythons? With all I've heard about how they are flourishing and so difficult to hunt, it's hard to believe they are truly decreasing in numbers in Asia. If whatever methods they are using in Asia to hunt them could be brought here, you might have a cheap source of skins and the Everglades ecosystem might recover.

[FlHobbyist]

I hope to be trying something like this soon. I'll keep your tips bookmarked to refer back to.

You're welcome. The biggest piece of advise I have is to use a very sharp knife to cut the inlay, to get the piece to fit perfectly. I ended up using a small skiving knife to make the final cuts on the python.

I see you're in Florida. Are you going to try to hunt down your own pythons? With all I've heard about how they are flourishing and so difficult to hunt, it's hard to believe they are truly decreasing in numbers in Asia. If whatever methods they are using in Asia to hunt them could be brought here, you might have a cheap source of skins and the Everglades ecosystem might recover.

lol... I'm about 30 miles north of the python line, or at least none have been seen in Polk county.

I don't know where my python came from, but I did buy it from Daddy's Leather which is in Miami. You're right, in Florida pythons are a nuisance species, and hunting them down would be a good thing to do.