First Messenger Bag

[lmk]

Hi all! This is my first post after a long time of lurking. After months of deliberation I one day impulsively bought leather working tools and 6-7 oz vegetable tanned leather from Tandy. This is the product:

Hardware include Rapid Rivets from Tandy & random D rings and swivel snaps from Home Depot.

It is very very stiff, and I had a horrible time trying to get the gussets around the edges. I literally wrestled the pieces together. I would 100000% recommend gluing the gusset to the front and back before stitching, it saved my life. Finished off with olive oil and Aussie conditioner. Overall, I'm very proud of it especially having had zero experience prior to this & going to school full time, with all of its zigzag stitches and all.

I took this as a learning experience. I want to build a more functional bag that is less stiff. I am currently trying to decide between 3-4 oz veg tanned Hermann and Oak or oil tanned leather. Any insights/comments would be appreciated.

Edited December 22, 2015 by lmk

[MonicaJacobson]

Looks pretty cool for a 1st bag. Of course, there are a few things that you could change, like moving the stitching line closer to the edge, and of course, improved smoothness and accuracy in your stitching line. But that will come with more practice.

I would choose almost anything over Tandy's oil tanned. What I have used from Tandy is okay, but it doesn't really give me great confidence that it's a very good leather. You can find decent leather at much better prices at www.maverickleathercompany.com . Call them (they are very friendly) and tell them what you want the leather for, and I think they'll be able to help you for a price that is comparable to Tandy, even with shipping.

Lol, if you want Tandy oil tanned, I have some I want to get rid of, and I'll sell it to you at a discount.

[lmk]

Looks pretty cool for a 1st bag. Of course, there are a few things that you could change, like moving the stitching line closer to the edge, and of course, improved smoothness and accuracy in your stitching line. But that will come with more practice.

I would choose almost anything over Tandy's oil tanned. What I have used from Tandy is okay, but it doesn't really give me great confidence that it's a very good leather. You can find decent leather at much better prices at www.maverickleathercompany.com . Call them (they are very friendly) and tell them what you want the leather for, and I think they'll be able to help you for a price that is comparable to Tandy, even with shipping.

Lol, if you want Tandy oil tanned, I have some I want to get rid of, and I'll sell it to you at a discount.

Thank you for your advice! I'm actually looking at Springfield leather's oil tanned. I'm not sure if anyone can beat their 4.99/sq ft deal!