Dipping my toe...

[Humble308]

Hey guys/gals

I reckon this will double as an intro post.  I've been interested in leather working for some time now, but have hung back due to other hobbies.  This past weekend I took a basic Carving/tooling class at Tandy for kicks and was really taken aback how calming tooling was.  I was also pretty impressed how quickly a carving came to life even in novice hands.  Anyways, I think I'd like to get into it a bit more but had a couple questions before I really dive in. 

A couple projects that immediately spring to mind is a guitar strap or two, beer koozie (I had a specific design I found but wasn't sure about posting others works on here), little pouch for guitar picks, and perhaps holsters.

I've come to understand that I'll need a good quality swivel knife, basic carving stamps, a good no bounce surface, a variety of cutting tools like edgers and skivers.  I guess my question is are there any tools in particular that stand out to you now that you wish you would have had as a beginner?  I don't have a problem investing in intermediate level tools to start with.  I come from several tool laden hobbies and know its buy once cry once haha.

I would like to start with hand sewing, I've heard Al Stohlmans book on this is quite mandatory.  Right now I have the Leatherwork Manual by Al and others, How to Make Holsters, and The Leatherwork Handbook by Valerie Miachel (sp?).  They were all quite helpful.

My last question is about leather itself and buying it.  I spent a fair bit of time wandering around after the class and found that a large section of the store is dedicated to kits.  I'm not sure if that's my thing  but it seems some folks recommend them?  Once you've bypassed the kit level what is the best way to buy leather?  Browsing the straps I found several for the size of belts but thought they were quite high priced, is it more economical to buy the large pieces?  If so, what tools should I be prepared for when breaking down from large pieces?

I'm sure I've missed some things, any input is greatly appreciated.  All the best

Sermper Fi,

Derek

[bikermutt07]

Welcome to the forum. Your post is going to save you some money.

First thing to know is Tandy is all about newcomers. They smell blood in the water (lived it).

Everything they have can be bought better and cheaper elsewhere. I don't mean to bash Tandy because I started there myself. They do provide a large chain of brick and mortar storefronts to get beginners started, but the advantages pretty much end there.

Springfield Leather is a good place to start for a beginner. The owner Kevin, used to run Tandy stores.

You're going to find better service and leather there. 

More folks will chime in on cheaper places to obtain leather, but as a hobbyist you will be paying retail anyway. 

Your projects will dictate your leather purchases. You will need veg tan leather for carving.

As for tools, a straight edge, a good square and a razor knife will make your cuts. As far as carving tools (and your cry once attitude) a person could do a lot worse then Barry King tools. He makes quality stuff that will spoil you. If you look on his site he actually has sets of tools. The set runs 500.00 of I remember correctly. That sounds like a lot, but they will out live you, and probably your kids.

As far as edges go. There is a really good review of the ranch hand quick change edger. I will be buying one post haste. It runs 45 bucks at weaver and includes five different blade sizes with it. The man who did the review is very well respected around here. That's Nigel @ armitage leather. Look him up on YouTube. His saddle stitch video is often referred here as well.

Speaking of videos, Springfield leather also has a lot of helpful videos as well. And Kevin is really entertaining.

I hope you find these tips cost effective and helpful.

From one newb to another,

Keep having fun.

[Humble308]

Thanks for reply. Springfield leather looks great and their prices are quite a bit cheaper. Nice lead on that edger too, looks exactly like the solution to my dilemma. 

Would a strip cutter be a good idea? It looks like something that could be reliably used to square up piece of material. 

When backgrounding I understand that the leather is being displaced to create relief. But it has to go somewhere, will heavy backgrounding distort the project?  I'm assuming the thicker the leather gives you a little more wiggle room.   

 

Thanks for the advice again, I'm looking forward to getting started

 

[bikermutt07]

I have a strap cutter and have yet to use it. But, I'm a southpaw.

On the tooling note, most people rubber cement it to granite or apply shelving paper to the back. This helps with the spreading. Or so i have read. I don't do much in the way of tooling. And most people tool before they cut out final shape.

Glad to help.

[Tugadude]

For the saddle stitch, I recommend Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson videos on Youtube.  Both are very knowledgeable and entertaining to boot.  Not saying don't buy the Stohlman books, but they certainly aren't necessary.  Valerie Michael's book is outstanding also.  

Main thing is have fun and show us your work as you progress.  We all learn from one-another and help promote the craft.

 

good luck!

[Humble308]

Thanks very much to both of you!  Tooling before final dimension sounds like the best way to prevent that.

Tuga I have been watching Ian's videos sporadically and find them pretty helpful.  I really like how that spyderco knife sheath turned out.  Thanks again fellas, can't wait to get started.  All the best! 

[Mark842]

23 hours ago, Humble308 said:

When backgrounding I understand that the leather is being displaced to create relief. But it has to go somewhere, will heavy backgrounding distort the project?  I'm assuming the thicker the leather gives you a little more wiggle room.  

Yep! I use some 3m packing tape on the back of my leather when tooling. Keeps everything in place.

Bikermutt is spot on about Tandy. They serve a purpose as an emergency local supply for me for things like dye and hardware but don't get caught up in their hype. They will try to sell you a lot more than you need. Their quality on leather and tools is lacking and their prices are high. As far as tools go, as a beginner I wasted a lot of money getting stamps that 30 years later I may have used once or twice. For me a decent swivel knife, couple of bevelers and backgrounders, few different basketweaves and border stamps would have done it. Personally I don't think I would run right out and drop 500 on a Barry King set but I guess that depends on your budget. To me that would be like saying I want to take up oil painting and rushing out to $500 oil brushes. Your not going to paint a Rembrandt because you paid for the best brush. You might if you spend a lot of time practicing over the years. Find out what your style is and what you like before dropping big bucks.

Mark

[bikermutt07]

I haven't bought that Barry king set either. But he said he wanted to cry once. And that would do it.

The sad thing about Tandy is their craft tool pro series of tools are pretty descent. The just cost too much. If I'm shelling out 30 bucks I want something better.

[Humble308]

Thanks Mark,  I think my budget will be around $300-400 (or at least we'll see if that does it haha).  The BK set looks to have alot of nice tools in there for sure,  I think for my budget I should still be able to assemble a decent beginners set.  I do a bit of lathe turning wood and that is certainly a tool vortex as well, especially when you get into carbide cutters.  It's funny you mention oil painting as I recently decided to take a stab at it after they put ol' Bob Ross on Netflix haha.  I'm sure I'm not the only one here that suffers from polyhobbyism :D

BikerMutt, what kind of guns do you shoot.  I'm a gunsmith for my day job, always fun to talk toys.

[bikermutt07]

Not as many as I used to. Pawn shop ate all my guns. 

I'm down to a marlin model 60 stainless and an old Dan Wesson 4 inch.

Both are great shooters, but I haven't owned anything fancy or sought after.

I always thought being a gunsmith would be cool. Never saw an opportunity to break into it when I was young, and now my hands hurt too much to be filing down metal.

I did a conversion on a saiga 7.62 I was kind of proud of, but then it got eaten.