kingpugster Report post Posted December 17, 2014 Hey guys I've recently gotten the itch to begin making my own leather working goods. I'm doing a class project and I chose to become aquatinted with the skills necessary to make different products out of leather. I've watched a few videos on youtube and I know a leather working shop in my city that could probably help me out with getting the different tools. The only experience I have was in making very simple leather books in boy scouts and I've stamped a bit of leather. I was just wondering if you guys could help me come up with the price range for making things such as wallets or belts. Are wallets/belts feasible for a beginning leatherworker? If not what do you recommend that I should start making to get into the basics? Would it be possible to buy leather products and make quality products without having a shop at my house? What are some tools that are necessary/affordable for someone to work at home? Thanks guys, Kingpugster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roq Report post Posted December 17, 2014 Are wallets/belts feasible for a beginning leatherworker? Yes If not what do you recommend that I should start making to get into the basics? Would it be possible to buy leather products and make quality products without having a shop at my house? It can be done on a small table for now... soon it will take over your house. What are some tools that are necessary/affordable for someone to work at home? What is affordable for you? http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/starter-sets/starter-sets.aspx Not the best tools but will get you started. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted December 17, 2014 I was just wondering if you guys could help me come up with the price range for making things such as wallets or belts. The price range will depend on just how far you want to go. Knowing how addictive leather working is....the short answer to "how much $" is: All you can spend, and then some. Some of the questions' answers can be found in this thread: click here That topic was addressing holster making specifically, but it's the same tools, and it's what'll get you started. I also completely agree with the following statement: "... soon it will take over your house." -Roq Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted December 18, 2014 It only takes over the whole house long enough for you to build a separate building for it. That only took me 5 years, . . . and about 3 grand. Oh, . . . and that word you used, . . . uhhh, . . . "Expert", . . . well, ummmmm, . . . money doesn't buy that. You can become really good at one or two things in a couple of years, . . . but even then, . . . "Expert" is a long way down the pike. I'm 70, . . . been messing with leather on and off for almost 60 years, . . . and will be ground temperature long before someone tags me with "Expert". Very few attain that status, . . . and that is not meant to dissuade you, . . . just inform you. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted December 18, 2014 you only start becoming an "expert" really once you feel comfortable making anything from scratch whether its a belt, bag or wallet (from repetition and knowledge). I would suggest if you could for the first week set aside 4 hours a day to work on a different task each day, those first few hours and days are where you learn the most. Spending the cash to apprentice under a shoemaker or leather craftsman is a faster way to learn. I would try not using a pattern but actually draw something from scratch like a belt and make it as well as you can, this way you have the knowledge that you can create anything from your imagination. Doesnt look good? make another one and repeat until you have something that you would call good for a beginner. If you have a basement or a garage you can work out a table and storage for leather under it you can have a space within 40 square feet mine is a small round table and a tree stump right in my furnace room. For the pricing you could sell something for as low as 15 dollars like a key fob or 300 dollars for a wallet to 5 thousand a bag. It all depends on the quality of good you are selling and the marketing (another artform in itself) you establish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oltoot Report post Posted December 18, 2014 Practice, practice and finding people willing to pay you to practice. IOW develop people skills, too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unicornleather Report post Posted December 21, 2014 It only takes over the whole house long enough for you to build a separate building for it. That only took me 5 years, . . . and about 3 grand. Oh, . . . and that word you used, . . . uhhh, . . . "Expert", . . . well, ummmmm, . . . money doesn't buy that. You can become really good at one or two things in a couple of years, . . . but even then, . . . "Expert" is a long way down the pike. I'm 70, . . . been messing with leather on and off for almost 60 years, . . . and will be ground temperature long before someone tags me with "Expert". Very few attain that status, . . . and that is not meant to dissuade you, . . . just inform you. May God bless, Dwight THIS ^^ I've been a Saddler trained in the old school way for around 27 years and I'm still learning and perfecting my techniques. You need at least a few years under your belt to be able to make most things and make them with any degree of skill and quality. A colleague of mine who I trained at Cordwainers College with makes the most beautiful leathergoods, one of her bespoke crocodile skin handbags just sold to a high class client for £14,000 ($21,876.54) and one of her red patent briefcases fetched a staggering £34,000 ($53,128.74) and yes, she's still learning too! Oz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted December 21, 2014 Definition of an expert: X is an unknown quantity, and spurt is a drip under pressure. Another definition is anyone more than 25 miles from home. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
byggyns Report post Posted January 13, 2015 I would also suggest you choose an initial direction for your learning. I think most people either focus on construction / design or tooling / design at the beginning. Basically what I mean is that some will try to get good at designing & constructing a wide range of items before they tackle the tooling and decoration of leather. Others will focus on the tooling, decorations, and artwork side while making very simple (from a construction perspective) projects. I don't know how many people try to learn both sides at once, but that is a lot of skills to practice and integrate initially. Personally, I am in the exploration phase of construction design. I try to come up with my own patterns, work out how I want to attach the hardware, what the order of assembly is, etc. The only decoration that I have even attempted yet is simple basket weave stamping. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NVLeatherWorx Report post Posted January 13, 2015 I agree with what byggyns said about choosing your initial direction. It used to be that we all learned the basics of tooling first (believe it or not, simple stamping was not the entry level) and we pretty much refined our skills while making finished products from pre-packaged kits. For those of us who continued to pursue the "expert" level we then started getting into the design aspect as it would give us that unique niche that everyone is looking for (and that also sets us apart from the rest). I have been working leather for over 40 years, received my initial education from the Masters of the time, have worked saddlery and everything else on both sides, and can also reiterate that you will find achieving "expert" status is long down the road and really only means that you can pretty much do anything and with a high level of comfort and confidence but you will always be learning and will never know it all. Good luck in your new direction of life and use the resources and experiences of those within this forum to help you; we have a huge wealth of knowledge and experience contained within this community and it will make your journey much easier than if you were to try and go it alone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tramps Leatherworking Report post Posted January 14, 2015 I have been doing leatherwork for 35 years, and I design just about everything from scratch --- I rarely use patterns, as I love to design different products that fit my image of what they should look like. I also hand select all my leather, or my partner does that I have trained, because I know what I want leather to look like, feel like (hand), and smell like, yes that can make a difference... As far as being an expert, I have been called an "Expert" and "A true craftsman" by customers, and other leatherworkers, but I have never described myself as such. Having a shop is nice, I have two --- one in my "man Cave" and a real shop behind my house, but I have seen some guys produce some pretty amazing leatherwork from basements, or just a corner of a room in their houses. I was lucky enough to apprentice under an old biker that specialized in the Motorcycle genre of leatherworking, that experience was invaluable --- of course it was before the Internet and google... Tools are a whole different animal, if you do some searching on here you will get 100 different opinions about which tools are necessary, and which tools are the best. If you spend the money and get some good quality tools at the beginning, it will make things easier for you. I have some Barry King tools, C.S. Osborne, Weaver Master tools, and a couple of Tandy tools that pale in comparison to the others I mentioned. If you contact one of the reputable tool makers they will be happy to discuss what tools are best for the type of leather work you are interested in... As for sewing machines, I have two Singer treadles that are almost 100 years old that I use everyday, In addition I have a Consew 227 R-2 that I think is a great versatile machine --- it will sew everything from 46 to 207 thread with absolutely no issues. Good Luck, and continue to study the wealth of knowledge on this site, and pick the brains of some of the members --- there are some really great leather craftsmen/Artists on here who are always willing to help. ' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NavyVet Report post Posted February 20, 2015 In the last 2 years I've spent over 11g's on leather tools and supplies. Shhh. What the wife doesn't know.... etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calait Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Where is the best place to get good quality tools? Starting out with Tandy stuff, but will change to better tools, hoping to skip a lot of stupid tax along the way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ta2ooz Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Well, I have also just started on this road and in 3 months of doing this I am well over $1000, I don't have much. I found a pretty deluxe starter kit on eBay. Most of the tools are halfway decent, some are not,but it did come with the Japanese style leather knife which is pretty cool. IMHO this is like anything else arty or crafty, it's a ton of practice, picking up a few scrap bags from Tandy to practice the cutting and stamping on is what I did and continue to grab little scraps to test out this and that. I don't think calling yourself an expert at anything is proper. I have been an auto tech for 25 years and while I am very good at what I do, I am not an expert, or if I am, I'm not saying I am. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pit 4 Brains Report post Posted March 2, 2015 It only takes over the whole house long enough for you to build a separate building for it. That only took me 5 years, . . . and about 3 grand. Oh, . . . and that word you used, . . . uhhh, . . . "Expert", . . . well, ummmmm, . . . money doesn't buy that. You can become really good at one or two things in a couple of years, . . . but even then, . . . "Expert" is a long way down the pike. I'm 70, . . . been messing with leather on and off for almost 60 years, . . . and will be ground temperature long before someone tags me with "Expert". Very few attain that status, . . . and that is not meant to dissuade you, . . . just inform you. May God bless, Dwight I almost thought I was reading a quote from Paul Harvey. Any man that claims himself to be an expert has a lot to learn.. BTW, I'm just starting out too… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted March 2, 2015 I almost thought I was reading a quote from Paul Harvey. Any man that claims himself to be an expert has a lot to learn.. BTW, I'm just starting out too… Well, . . . I've never been enlikened to Paul Harvey before, . . . but thank you, . . . he certainly was one of my favorite personalities of yesteryear. I used to make sure at 12:00, . . . I was somewhere near a radio, . . . I've even pulled off the freeway, . . . opened up my brown bag / balogna / PBJ / and chocolate milk lunch while I listened to him. I'm not sure I ever really learned anything from him that made a great difference in my life, . . . but in a dull and dreary world, . . . he was certainly a bright light of entertainment for me. Thanks again for the compliment, . . . may God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieMade Report post Posted June 8, 2021 Expert is definitely not the right word to use. Highly experienced is probably what most of the best of the best are (not me). As someone said above, there is only a few in the leathercraft world that most would call absolute Experts in this lost trade. I have been dabbling for a few yrs, my recommendation would be to practice hand stitching first. Nothing wrong with belts, collars wallets etc. although wallets can be very finicky to get just right. If you make a belt, hand stitch the entire belt, this will give you the skills to stitch in a straight line, always use a stitching chisels and wing dividers or edge groover to get the spacing the same from the edge of the leather piece and always sew consistently with regards to tension of pulled thread and which way you put your needles through the leather. Also use a edge beveller and burnish your edges. That is my suggestions, but everyone is different so you will get lots of advice. Take mine and every one elses advice and see what works for you. Good luck and welcome to the group Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rahere Report post Posted June 8, 2021 On 12/21/2014 at 10:48 PM, Northmount said: Definition of an expert: X is an unknown quantity, and spurt is a drip under pressure. Another definition is anyone more than 25 miles from home. Tom Aw, you've lost half of it. Ex = has-been, spurt = drip under pressure. Another angle is that an expert knows everything about nothing. Me, I know nothing about everything. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnnyLongpants Report post Posted June 14, 2021 This started off as an old thread but since we are talking about experts now... An old-timer once told me that "an expert is someone 50 miles from his hometown, carrying a briefcase." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted June 14, 2021 I was told. An expert is someone who knows all about how you should do your job, but cannot do it himself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastorBob Report post Posted June 15, 2021 amazing how a post, started 7 years ago by someone as their only post, is still alive. I wonder if they became an expert yet (by fredk's definition). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
