Let's see what a wallet starts!

[Zitro]

Hi all,

   My name's Jeremy and I'm a newbie in Seattle who's really interested in learning the basics of leatherwork. My trusty old wallet is falling apart, and I thought about buying a new one, but said hey, why not make one myself? I'm hoping to start off learning the basis, enough for a simple minimalist wallet. In fact, it is this wallet that inspired me, and I'm hoping to recreate this as best I can:

http://whiskeyleatherworks.com/product/bitterroot-wallet/

   I'm an avid fisher, so the use of repurposed fly line as stitching really resonates with me. Anyways, that's what my first project will be, and from there we'll see where the winds take me! If you have any tips for someone completely new to leatherwork for a project like that, I'm all ears. Best resources for a newbie are welcome; I've been watching videos and reading up on other's work, and will continue to do so. I'm particularly interested in the different stains you can do on leather, and also branding. My favorite mountain range is the Tetons, and I'd love to do a simple ridgeline branding, a-la the give'r logo: http://www.give-r.com/ Any advice on an easy way to make that happen?

   I look forward to learning from you all, and completing my first project! 

[bikermutt07]

Jls Leather has a pattern very similar to this for free download on his site.

As for advice (these are some things I've learned here) go slow. Taking your time will double your quality. Cut slowly, take time on your edges, and allow plenty of drying time between steps.

If you don't know how to sharpen blades and tools, learn. I could barely sharpen a pocket knife when I started. It made things very difficult and frustrating. I was recently referred to Al Stohlman's "Leather Tools How to Sharpen Them and How to Use Them". This is an excellent resource that is inexpensive. It also shows some tips on using tools for other techniques that you may not be aware of.

His book "The Art of Sewing" also covers different techniques such as lacing, box stitching, and sewing a cylinder.

Another great tip I learned here was to slow down and learn consistancy. Pick an item and make several of them. This will help develop all of your basics.

I have skipped around and made several one off items. This made the basics suffer. I would forget to do steps in the process from one project to the next.

Also, you can make more than one at a time. This will give you more quality time at the bench. You will have less time waiting and watching replaced with more time doing.

Take scraps along with each step of your process. Try the next step on a scrap first. Never experiment on your project itself.

Hope this helps.

[Zitro]

Hi all, got around to buying my supplies and have tested some Ecoflo waterstain dye on some vegetable-tanned leather scrap; looks good so far! Curious though, as I have heard about oiling the leather as well. I have some scraps to practice on, so should I oil the leather before staining, or after? Also, I have a simple stamp I'd like to apply to my wallet; I assume I should stamp AFTER the leather has been stained and oiled. Just looking for clarification on the order of things. The oil I have is mink oil I bought for my leather boots; should I be using a different oil? Thanks for your help; I can't wait to continue with this simple project!

Edited March 19, 2017 by Zitro

[bikermutt07]

I haven't used any of the water based stuff.

[rodneywt1180b]

Welcome! I'm new here too.  Looks like we're almost neighbors-at least as far as forum distances go.

Rodney

[Northmount]

Stamping is done on cased (moistened) vegetable tanned leather.  The leather needs to nearly return to its natural colour before stamping.  The stamping burnishes the leather turning it a darker shade. 

Most add any oil or conditioner after dyeing to replace oils lost during the stamping and dyeing process.

Over oiling will leave you with a soggy mess, so use oil very sparingly.  If the article has the softness/flexibility you want after it has dried, you can skip oiling it.

Tom

[DJole]

16 hours ago, Zitro said:

Hi all, got around to buying my supplies and have tested some Ecoflo waterstain dye on some vegetable-tanned leather scrap; looks good so far! Curious though, as I have heard about oiling the leather as well. I have some scraps to practice on, so should I oil the leather before staining, or after? Also, I have a simple stamp I'd like to apply to my wallet; I assume I should stamp AFTER the leather has been stained and oiled. Just looking for clarification on the order of things. The oil I have is mink oil I bought for my leather boots; should I be using a different oil? Thanks for your help; I can't wait to continue with this simple project!

the 253 area code represents -- hi there from Tacoma!

1) Ecoflo dyes are water based, so it's hard to stop them from bleeding, even with a finish coat of some sort on them. There is a lot of discussion over what types of finishing products work best for what application. I'm afraid I can't contribute much to that discussion. If  you're a fisherman, and you plan on carrying this wallet around into wet places, you'll want to be certain the colors won't run or fade once you drop your wallet into the river (or in a Seattle rainstorm).

2) You need to stamp or tool first, because the dyeing process you use will affect the image (for example, an antique dye finish will look different from a solid color finish). Stamp or tool first, then dye. I'm not sure if it's better to stitch first and THEN coat with the finishing water resistant product, or if you need to do that and THEN it's okay to stitch. I'll let people with a lot more practical experience weigh in on that. 

3) Mink oil works for boots, but I'm not sure you want that on a product you'll be sticking in your pocket, or carrying money/cards/etc. around in.  Think of it this way -- you have to keep reapplying the mink oil, right? you know how it makes your boots a bit slippery and smelly? Yeah, I don't think that's a good wallet finish, even in logger country! ;-)

[DJole]

On 1/28/2017 at 0:36 AM, Zitro said:

Best resources for a newbie are welcome; I've been watching videos and reading up on other's work, and will continue to do so.

I'm particularly interested in the different stains you can do on leather, and also branding

. My favorite mountain range is the Tetons, and I'd love to do a simple ridgeline branding, a-la the give'r logo: http://www.give-r.com/ Any advice on an easy way to make that happen?

Lots of excellent newbie vids: check out Ian Atkinson's Leodis Leather vids on YouTube, and Nigel Armitage's vids too. Armitage is the hand stitching guru!

That ridgeline "branding" could be done a few different ways. First thing, though, is not to steal that design! Create your own, using the gorgeous silhouette of the Tetons instead. 

When you say "branding," you really mean "branding" as in burning, or just tooling? 

You could tool it in -- that's a pretty simple design that wouldn't require a whole lot of tools. I can imagine using just a backgrounder tool to make the line in a kind of "reverse" tooling. Or using a beveler to create a three dimensional line.

If you wanted to include some sort of words like in the example... well, that would be tough to get right. A beginner might use up a lot of leather trying to get them to come out right. 

Or, you could (if your finances permit) create a custom stamp with that designt. Lots of places will create a custom stamp for you, based on certain computer file types. It's even possible to do it this way as a hot stamp (see Ian Atkinson's video here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azyCKOpdSo0> for a quick overview)

That custom stamp might be too expensive for a one-off project, but if you anticipate doing it over and over again, like a maker's stamp, it'll save you a lot of headache.

 

[Zitro]

Hi all, 

Wow, lots of excellent information here! Also, shoutout to my fellow Washingtonians! DJole, you are correct, I meant "tooling", not "branding"; thank you for making that distinction. Learning to tool looks like it will be a lot of fun, but I will start off small first.  I bought a lot of scrap leather to try things with before messing up anything important/expensive

Duly noted on the mink oil; I can definitely see where that would be a problem. Any suggestions on the best oil to use? I actually found a great non-custom stamp I want to use for this project, and will get started on the main wallet once I am confident with dying; I am learning with my scrap leather that how you "case" the leather will impact the final results of the dye pretty dramatically. Shoutout to Bob Park for this simple-yet-helpful casing guide I found on this forum: http://www.leatherworker.net/Bob Park/Casing Leather.pdf

Thanks, all! Look forward to finishing this wallet soon, then on to something else

[DJole]

1 hour ago, Zitro said:

Duly noted on the mink oil; I can definitely see where that would be a problem. Any suggestions on the best oil to use?

I actually found a great non-custom stamp I want to use for this project, and will get started on the main wallet once I am confident with dying; I am learning with my scrap leather that how you "case" the leather will impact the final results of the dye pretty dramatically. Shoutout to Bob Park for this simple-yet-helpful casing guide I found on this forum: http://www.leatherworker.net/Bob Park/Casing Leather.pdf

Thanks, all! Look forward to finishing this wallet soon, then on to something else

Zitro --

Find the section of this forum which is devoted exclusively to finishes, and ask your question there, about which finishing product will work best for a wallet.
Of course, you need to decide some things first -- do you want a shiny finish, a matte finish, or something else? Depending on what you want, some experts can help  you decide what will best preserve your hard work. 
I do not consider myself experienced enough in finishes to give you good advice, but I look forward to seeing your first steps into leatherwork!

[Tugadude]

Welcome to the wacky world of leather!  Crafting, I mean  As far as your branding, there are folks that advertise here that can make up custom stamps for you.  Stamps that you can heat up or just hammer, whatever floats your boat or meets your budget.

Those wallets you referenced are super easy to do and a great way to dive into leatherworking.  I would just take a piece of paper and cut it, fold it, and get it to the size you want and then use that as a pattern.  Try to add your own "touch" to it so you aren't doing a direct copy.  That could be different angles, rounded corners, different-shaped thumb grooves, etc.  You can google minimalist leather wallet and look at hundreds of examples within seconds.  It will give you ideas you can incorporate into your work.  I find it very simple to look at examples and make a template, but some folks can't do that.  We're not all wired the same.  For help on that there is a sub-forum here on templates and some very nice people there can help.

Good luck!