Padfolio For A Friend

[Colt W Knight]

I used a side of Herman Oak to make this, and I was not very happy with the quality of this leather. It was super hard, and the sewing machine had a hard time with it, I had a hard time with it, and it did not take dye very well.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[Kd Custom]

I love all the colors on the front, great contrast!

Yeah Herman Oak I usually buy is hit or miss and some times you can even tell if it's a bad piece until you try to case it and it does nothing!

[Colt W Knight]

I love all the colors on the front, great contrast!

Yeah Herman Oak I usually buy is hit or miss and some times you can even tell if it's a bad piece until you try to case it and it does nothing!

I had to beat the $#!+ out of this leather to bevel the edges, and I still didn't get deep impressions like I would have liked.

[Dwight D]

Love the coulors too! What did you use for die?

[Colt W Knight]

Love the coulors too! What did you use for die?

The brown and black are Fiebings usmc black and mohoghany. The colors are Angelus acrylic paint, Bright Red, Electric Blue, and Copper metallic. The flake of the copper doesn't show in the picture, but it looks nice in person.

[CraigJhnsn]

Totally understand not being happy with the leather, but the finished product came out great. Add me to the love the colors group.

[Colt W Knight]

Totally understand not being happy with the leather, but the finished product came out great. Add me to the love the colors group.

Thanks

[keplerts]

I bought a side of Hermann Oak a few months ago is a 7-8 oz. It was super clean, larger and looked wonderful. Cutting it was a nightmare! The leather is unbelievably tough. A utility knife with a new blade had to make several passes to cut it. It really was a pain to work with. I have been putting off making a set of saddle bags for a guy because it is so hard to work with. Stamping was also a pain. The Chahin leahter I have bought in the past was wonderful to work with. Cut like butter, dyed and stamped great.

[Colt W Knight]

I bought a side of Hermann Oak a few months ago is a 7-8 oz. It was super clean, larger and looked wonderful. Cutting it was a nightmare! The leather is unbelievably tough. A utility knife with a new blade had to make several passes to cut it. It really was a pain to work with. I have been putting off making a set of saddle bags for a guy because it is so hard to work with. Stamping was also a pain. The Chahin leahter I have bought in the past was wonderful to work with. Cut like butter, dyed and stamped great.

Yeah, I had to make two passes in areas with the utility knife to cut this. This was my first Herman Oak side, and I was stoked to work with quality leather. Then the hide turns out to be a POS. Not happy with HO so far.

[dakotabrewer]

I need to make one of these - did you use anything between the leather to stiffen it up? I was thinking about thin plastic or something..

[Colt W Knight]

I need to make one of these - did you use anything between the leather to stiffen it up? I was thinking about thin plastic or something..

No, I don't add a stiffener. I've made a lot of these, and if I use an 8oz vegtan and a lambskin lining they are plenty stiff enough. They are tad floppy at 4/5, but not enough to require a stiffner imho. I made the first one for myself because I got tired of my clip board blowing away working cattle. Made it from 8 oz. When I am collecting data in the field, I sit on it, it gets wet, bird poop from the outdoor tables and even cow manure flung on it. It's still just as stiff as the day I made it.

I have learned to round the corners on the edges, square edges get mashed and mushroom out and it makes it harder to put in a brief case or back pack.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[dakotabrewer]

Awesome thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.