First Post: First Wallet

[Benjalatte]

Hi Forum,

This is my first post. Great site with tons of helpful information. I'm new to leatherwork and have been having a blast.

I've just made my first wallet, hopefully a gift for my brother in law. This is the third item I've made, and I guess I'm ready for a bit of feedback.

I worked on making it a bit rustic looking. I wanted it to age well and have raw sides and edges without being too finished. I sanded the edges lightly to soften them. It's colored with tandy cheap-o dye which stiffened the leather terribly, but the color came out right (mixed tan and brown). Neatsfoot softened it nicely and it's got a good feel to it now. Then, I put Carnauba wax on as a final coat and just buffed the ever loving wind out of it.

The stamps look crooked in the pictures, but they're really not. Something about the way the light catches the ridges make them look offset, but they're straight to the eye. I had to build a plywood form apparatus to hold the stamps in place, for it took me dozens of tries to get them straight just by following scratch lines.

Anyway, thanks for looking, and thanks for all your work and posted tips.

Ben

[Halitech]

Looks really good. You did a good job of keeping your stitching straight and even from the edges. The color looks really nice. The letters do look off but the wallet is also not completely level in the pic which is probably making it look like they are off.

1 suggestion, and not to say you did anything wrong with the way you did this one, but to cut down on the bulk on the edges, if you cut the inner pockets into a T shape, it will give you less to sew through. Will make it easier to punch and line up your stitch line.

[Benjalatte]

Thanks, Halitech; I enjoyed checking out your work. Nice tooling.

I'm not sure I understand the tip about cutting the inserts like Ts, though it sounds very interesting. Would I just cut about a 1/4" along the stitch line of the pockets, except for the top, thus only stitching-in the top parts of the inserts?

Thanks for the feedback and the tips! I do appreciate it.

Cheers,

Ben

[Halitech]

Check out this tutorial

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54776&page=1

What I do is cut my pockets then on each end is mark a line 1/2" from the top and 1/2" from the side and then cut it out so you end up with a fat T. Then sew along the bottom and the remaining edge.