Bona Allen And Us Mail Bags. How Were These Bags Stitched?

[unclecol]

I am trying my hand at putting together a 1960s Bona Allen leather mail bag and i would really like to know if anyone has any knowledge on how they were made. The type of leather used back then and how they were stitched? Some of the leather, especially on the spine of the bag which is almost 1/2" thick! It looks machined rather than by hand but i'm guessing. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Edited June 23, 2014 by unclecol

[LTC]

Unless you have a pic, I don't know what you're referring to.

[camano ridge]

Below are pictures of a 1950's Bona Allen mail bag probably similar to what you are working on. It appears to be machine stitched to me.

[unclecol]

Thankyou for getting these images up. This is exactly the kind of bag I am working on. Would you happen to know what make or style of sewing machine back in the 1960s that may of been used to sew such thick quantities of leather? I am trying to gather equipment old or new to make bags like these so any help would be of benefit to me.

[camano ridge]

Not sure what machine might have sewn it. There are some on here that might. However I am pretty sure you could do it on a Cowboy 4500 or similar machine. The Cowboy will do 7/8" leather.

[craftsman827]

Looks like it was sewn from inside, than folded right side out.

[Andrew Chee]

I've made a few of those. Pretty simple. They're basically sewn inside out and then turned. Most probably machine sewn. Back then they used pretty thick leather. Probably in the 7-8oz range so you'll have to use a 441 clone class of machine to sew those. They have a folded piping (no piping core) on those bags. The best way to do that is to use a lighter thread and sew the piping onto the main bag panels and then sew the main bag panels to the gusset. Too difficult if you try to sew three pieces of leather together at once. The leather is definitely a straight veg tan leather. If you use your basic strap leather you can get that look after a few years of use and sun. If you want to get that worn-in look faster, you'll have to do some distressing on them.

Andrew

[wlg190861]

I have a Cowboy 4500 and it would sew that with ease