First Well Ok Second (Truth Be Told) Cell Phone Case And Need Some Advice

[Windrider30]

Ok first this is actually the second case that I have made this is made for a Samsung Galxay S5 that already is in a case (water proof and supposably able to take a 10 meter fall) but there are two reasons I made this, first was to see if I could, second I keep everything in my front pocket, that includes wallet and now this phone, if I had to answer the phone I had to be careful about pulling it out of my pocket as I have pulled my wallet out as well so thought I would make this case so it clips to my belt. The first case I royally screwed up on so that went into the trash, did learn a lot from that so its not a total waste. This is the only third time that I have ever done a saddle stich, went with the saddle stich as I thought this was the strongest stitch. So Three questions, First and most important question is that as this will be on my belt it will be going out side so which is better to use as a water resist either Fiebing's Aussie Leather conditioner or Tandy's Super shien? ( Have both of these)? I am not worried about the color going darker as its black with brown edging (which is really had to see the diffrents must choose a better edge color lol). Second Question Is the saddle stich a strong enough stitch or is there a better one for something like this? Third Question what do you all think about it and where might I improve on it?

[Windrider30]

Forgot to mention that this uses a metal belt clip for the back single rivet hold it in place.

[Windrider30]

On oether thing I forgot to mention that the wife pointed out the case is made out of 8 to 9oz leather as I wanted something sturdy.

[Ferg]

I got a new iPhone 6 a couple weeks ago. Bought a "Holster" type case that is practically bullet proof, of course I don't like it.

Would have made one to begin with but no time for fun this time of year.

I am thinking of making one from Kangaroo. It is thin,supple, and wears like iron.

I thought I would like the metal clip, doesn't appeal to me. Need to come up with some better ideas, it most likely will be made of kangaroo though.

Machine stitched since my old hands won't let me do much hand stitching anymore.

Will probably use either #92 or #138 bonded thread.

ferg

[Halitech]

The design itself is good but 2 changes I would have done are sewing a loop on the back instead of using a clip as I find they can come off and with a phone that expensive, you don't want to loose it and second, I would have wet it all down then wrapped the phone in a plastic bag and placed it inside so it would mold to the phone. If you do it now though, you may loose some detail on your stamping.
As far as the saddle stitch, it is about the strongest, otherwise, saddle makers wouldn't be using it for as long as they did.
The Aussie leather conditioner is more for hot/cold dry areas so it may be all you need since you are in Australia. And it does say it waterproofs so it does sound like what you are looking for.

[Windrider30]

Thanks Halitech and I did wet mold the leather around the phone which really helped set it in place now the phone slides in and out easily. I did think about the clip slipping off but I want something that I can simply pull off and set on the table instead of having to undo my belt every time I wanted to remove it. If it becomes to much of a hassle I may think about doing another one with a belt loop. And 50 years of leather how easy is it to work with roo hide I have yet to try my hand at it though I know I can get it with ease.

[camano ridge]

WIndrider, Ihave been making holsters sheath, phone cases ect. for over 40 years. In my opinion you won't find a better stitch then saddle stitch for hand sewing items like yours. As to the Aussie it should work just fine. I us Skidmores to finish all of my holsters sheaths ect. It is very much like the Aussie leather conditioner. If the metal clip is done right you should not have any problem with it comming off the belt if you used a good quality clip. I have done many holster. mag holders ect. with the clips. However body type can play a roll in how well the clip works.

[Solofalcon]

It looks good. Saddle stitching should be more than strong enough. I made a carrier for the same model phone and I ended up stitching a leather belt strap. I wanted to water proof mine and used multiple light coats of a spray lacquer. I have also had good results on a motorcycle seat using resoline (sprayed through an airbrush)and a neutral shoe polish afterwards.

[Windrider30]

Thanks all for the advice!

[Ferg]

Thanks Halitech and I did wet mold the leather around the phone which really helped set it in place now the phone slides in and out easily. I did think about the clip slipping off but I want something that I can simply pull off and set on the table instead of having to undo my belt every time I wanted to remove it. If it becomes to much of a hassle I may think about doing another one with a belt loop. And 50 years of leather how easy is it to work with roo hide I have yet to try my hand at it though I know I can get it with ease.

Once you try the "roo" you will find how great a leather it is. Wish we had access to it as easily as you folks.

ferg

[hccbo]

Gusset? Might make it a little slimmer. Not sure i like how far the seams go beyond the width of the phone. Also a little slot at the bottom cut out so you can poke it out when you want to get at it. Great job on the tooling.

[Windrider30]

I might try the gusset idea next and there is about 2 cms on either side of the phone so its easy to pull in and out, though had to add one modification to it this morning, forgot to put a hole for the headphones as I use the headphones when walking The gusset idea might be something worth looking into as it is a little wide but it sits nice on my belt (tried it today for the first time).