thekid77 Report post Posted April 8, 2015 hey friends, I recently made a simple bifold wallet and skived down the leather of the inside/outside panels to about .8mm-1mm, resulting in a fairly thin wallet... what I didn't consider that someone brought to my attention is that the fold of the inside panel might begin to tear through over time and with use.... has anyone had this problem? how thin is too thin? I want to build my wallets to last..... I was thinking, to reinforce the leather where the wallet folds, I could contact cement another piece of leather maybe 1/2" wide strip on the flesh side behind the fold and skive the edges down to prevent tear through.... if anyone has had any problems with this happening, or could share their advice/experience I would really appreciate it!!! thank you so much Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NVLeatherWorx Report post Posted April 8, 2015 Never had this problem my entire time of making wallets. Of course, I use 4/5 oz. leather for my wallet backs as it is very durable and can easily last over 50 years of constant use (I have a client who recently bought a belt from me to replace one that he had for over 40 years and he showed me the wallet that his grandfather made for him when he was 18, he is now 72 and it is still holding up). The answer to your question about when is thin too thin? Well, when you are trying to make any leather item that is as thin as the junk that can be purchased in any retail store, I would suggest that you are looking at too thin. Never known one of those wallets to last very long. I always explain to my customers how leather is structured and I emphasize the importance of keeping fiber structure on the flesh side to ensure that the strength and integrity of the material can be maintained. If they are still looking for something that is paper thin, I suggest that they go buy a low priced stretchy leather wallet because I can't make what they are looking for without feeling like I am cheating them out of their money. Not to mention, the cheap stretchy leather will only cost them about $20 and I don't make any wallets for that price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grmnsplx Report post Posted April 8, 2015 I think you'll probably be just fine with your thin(ish) leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted April 8, 2015 I use 3/4 oz backs, pig or goat insides. Sometimes I line the back with cloth, sometimes with pig or goat. Never to my knowledge has a back ever failed. Every wallet I have had that failed was because I used a manufactured inside. I believe the numbers of failed pre made insides is 100% over a year or two, I do not use them any more. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekid77 Report post Posted April 9, 2015 Never had this problem my entire time of making wallets. Of course, I use 4/5 oz. leather for my wallet backs as it is very durable and can easily last over 50 years of constant use (I have a client who recently bought a belt from me to replace one that he had for over 40 years and he showed me the wallet that his grandfather made for him when he was 18, he is now 72 and it is still holding up). The answer to your question about when is thin too thin? Well, when you are trying to make any leather item that is as thin as the junk that can be purchased in any retail store, I would suggest that you are looking at too thin. Never known one of those wallets to last very long. I always explain to my customers how leather is structured and I emphasize the importance of keeping fiber structure on the flesh side to ensure that the strength and integrity of the material can be maintained. If they are still looking for something that is paper thin, I suggest that they go buy a low priced stretchy leather wallet because I can't make what they are looking for without feeling like I am cheating them out of their money. Not to mention, the cheap stretchy leather will only cost them about $20 and I don't make any wallets for that price. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge....I'm definitely trying to build my wallets to last. I still have much to learn.....the thickness of the leather in the stress areas such as the fold of the wallet hadn't even entered my mind until a friend of mine brought it up. At the same time, I have a feeling that if somebody told me to bend that inside piece back and forth until it tore through, I'd be trying to get the leather to tear through longer than I'd probably want the wallet LOL...I am going to use thicker leather though in the future, and just make sure that I properly skive down the card slots to lose some of the bulk... I think you'll probably be just fine with your thin(ish) leather. Thank you for your advice!!! It's just, I'm a little (ok maybe a lot) obsessive-compulsive when it comes to details LOL...thanks again!!! :D I use 3/4 oz backs, pig or goat insides. Sometimes I line the back with cloth, sometimes with pig or goat. Never to my knowledge has a back ever failed. Every wallet I have had that failed was because I used a manufactured inside. I believe the numbers of failed pre made insides is 100% over a year or two, I do not use them any more. Thank you for sharing electrathon, yeah I'm not too excited about using pre-made wallet insides...I'm going to try 3/4oz for the back and for the inside panel and see how it turns out... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
