Not Your Grandpa's Briefcase

[DonorLeather]

Hi all. Thought I would share a recent project of mine. This is a briefcase I finished not too long ago. Comments welcome!

[ThatGuyFromReno]

That looks great, I like the progression of the project shown through the photos.

Mark

[DonorLeather]

Thanks Mark. I like to send my customer pictures of thier item being worked on also. This ones still for sale as it was something I've wanted to make for a while, but old habits die hard and I took copious amounts of pictures of it as I went along =)

[Jon P]

Wow!!! Can't find the words!! Stunning to say the least!

Jp

[Bruce H]

WOW...You've got some imagination...Those skulls are awesome.

Great work!

[Tinkerton]

Normally, I'm not a big fan of skulls, but I really like this piece. The only thing that throws me a bit is the wobbly border around the image on the back. All the other linework is crisp and even and beautiful, and the wobbly line sticks out like a sore thumb to my OCD brain. That's just me though.

[DonorLeather]

Thanks for the replies. I think the border your referring to is actually part of the coin itself. It's a depiction of a "coin of the dead" that was used to place over the eyes of a departed so they could pay a toll to Charron to cross the river Styx. (ancient greek). Here is a picture of one of those types of coins, and the one I designed this one from.

[FoamerAce]

Awesome work there. I really dig the color choices and dye technique. Very impressive tooiing.

I recognize the pattern as Tandy's Expedition Briefcase. It looks like you cut your own leather on it, but you followed it almost exactly, down to the mismatched hardware on the sides. But I think you left out the center divider. How did you finish the inside? Did you add any pockets or lining?

My experience with that bag is that the handle is a weak point. There's only one rivet holding it on there. Don't know if you'd want to throw a couple stitches on there at this point though.

Again, really excellent work. That full coverage tooling is really impressive.

[DonorLeather]

Thanks Ace, yes this is based off the expedition breifcase, but I modified it a bit. I used a thicker leather as I thought the leather that came in the basic kit from Tandy was a bit thin. Tandy had a clearance sale on the harware for this kit early in the year and I snatched up a few of them. I liked the fact that the case can be converted into a sling, crossbody, or even a backpack in addition to just being carried by the handle, so I basically used the same set-up on this one.

Tandy's briefcase has a pocket on the outside rear of the case, and that didnt quite make sense to me. The whole point of a briefcase is to protect your paperwork or items and just having things stuffed into an item on the OUTSIDE of the bag really was offputting. I created an aditional pocket on the rear panel but on the INSIDE of the casem as well as another identical type of pocket on the inside of the FRONT of the case. I was debating on lining the interior with a nice glazed pigskin, but that would have rocketed up the price of this briefcase to an unreachable amount.

I used larger diameter rivets on the handle area and backed the upset head (on the interior) with a larger diameter washer to distribute the weight of it being carried more evenly. I haven't fully loaded the briefcase with a laptop and books to test the handles ability to handle the weight, but I am fairly confident that a larger rivet and washer should hold indefinitely. The finish is oil dye saddle tan that I put on with a sponge then wiped off with a rag to try and give it a grainy, almost woody look to it.

[FoamerAce]

I like the ouside pocket for convienence. You can throw a document or folder in there and grab it without having to open the case.

I'd say if pigskin would have "rocketed up the price", you work too cheap. I'd be astonished if you had less than a hundred hours in that case. The tooling alone would have taken me a month.

"Woody" is exactly how I'd describe that finish. I'm interested in the creases on the straps. Are they just creased? Cut? Grooved? Did you use oil dye on the straps as well? How did you keep it out of the creases.

One thing, your edges look raw. I don't know if that's a look you're going for, but it rubs me wrong. All that work and just leave the edges unfinished.

I was actually impressed with the thickness of the leather in Tandy's kit. Here's a video I made for the one I put together.

[DonorLeather]

To line this case with glazed pigskin would take 3-4 (maybe more) sides since the surface area to cover is so great. Each side would run $20 a piece retail so you can see how the price would rocket up. I don't use fabric in my creations, unless it is specifically asked for by the customer. 100% leather here =)

To make the pin-striping (that's what I like to call it as it comes out looking just like an awesome pinstripe) you simply use an adjustable groover like the craft aid 8074-00. I dye the leather first and let it dry overnight, then I take the groover and lightly score a pinstripe into the leather to add additional flair and style to the piece. It doesn't have to be a deep groove, just enough to take the surface off. Then I finish the leather with resoline.

The edges of this case are finished now, I took the pictures that I posted before I finished the edges. At the time I was debating adding an Australian Double loop stitch with calf skin to the outside, as opposed to the saddle stitch you see. I decided to keep the saddle stitch and used gum to burnish the edges.

[FoamerAce]

To make the pin-striping (that's what I like to call it as it comes out looking just like an awesome pinstripe) you simply use an adjustable groover like the craft aid 8074-00. I dye the leather first and let it dry overnight, then I take the groover and lightly score a pinstripe into the leather to add additional flair and style to the piece. It doesn't have to be a deep groove, just enough to take the surface off.

Consider That Shit Stolen Son

[Craftsman Made]

Just came across this. Simply stunning work unbelievable skill.

[Avgvstvs]

Nice work! The tooling design is quite nice and original!

The coin you tooled is actually a drachma, ancient Athens's currency. The border is there so that people changing currency would't take too much metal off the coin for payment to keep coin value.

Cheers!

[Jimbob]

my Grandpa would have loved this one....cool....

[WinstonWolf]

On 10/11/2015 at 9:54 AM, FoamerAce said:

Awesome work there. I really dig the color choices and dye technique. Very impressive tooiing.

I recognize the pattern as Tandy's Expedition Briefcase. It looks like you cut your own leather on it, but you followed it almost exactly, down to the mismatched hardware on the sides. But I think you left out the center divider. How did you finish the inside? Did you add any pockets or lining?

My experience with that bag is that the handle is a weak point. There's only one rivet holding it on there. Don't know if you'd want to throw a couple stitches on there at this point though.

Again, really excellent work. That full coverage tooling is really impressive.

i am making this kit (Expedition Briefcase) and i am stuck on how do lace the gussets and pockets together.   the instruction drawings are confusing.  is there are video somewhere?    or maybe you can do a better job of explaining it?    

[Djw872]

That's fantastic!