Members Wulfing Posted March 21, 2017 Members Report Posted March 21, 2017 Im having similar trouble. I think the trick is to use really thin leather for the inserts. Slightly thicker leather for the outside piece. Use a v gouger to help the wallet bend. Make a good size gap between the 2 halves so it bends. Less is more so no need for 20 inserts... People who carry more than 4 cards can buy from somewhere else lol. Concentrate on straight neat or parallel lines with leather and stitching. A lot of what I see other leather workers doing I don't like or want to do better and after working with the real thing I cant stand the style you find in the shop anymore..... Quote
Members venator Posted March 21, 2017 Author Members Report Posted March 21, 2017 The challenge for me is every person who asks for a wallet (and I've had quite a few) all need to carry 10 or more cards and unfortunately that's a lot of business to have to keep sayin no to. Plus honestly the wallets I do while they're well finished and look good look like "leatherworker" wallets not like something someone who actually has money would purchase and that drives me nuts. And with regards to thinning things they can only be made so thin. I can get vegetan down to around 1oz, sometimes 3/4 oz with my splitter, the skiver usually won't go below 1oz before it eats it. Hell with this wallet I threw out about 3x as much leather as I used because the splitter kept eating it because I wanted it so thin. Quote
Members Stetson912 Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 I feel your pain, I'm no good at wallets, but Ill keep trying until I get it. It is frustrating but it'll pay off one day. Quote
NVLeatherWorx Posted March 22, 2017 Report Posted March 22, 2017 1 hour ago, venator said: No, If I can't run it through the machine it's not worth doing. Hand sewing takes far too long and would result in me needing to up my prices. Plus my hands go numb quickly, I'd have to take probably 3 hours to hand sew a wallet if not more. Takes about 25 minutes, including "punching" the holes. I suffer from Arthritis in my hands (all those years as a combat soldier getting your hands smashed one way or another) and can still pull it off without the pain taking over. If you are doing just a plain wallet (no stamping/tooling) then you can get away with using 3/4 oz. for the back and 2/3 oz. for interior parts. I use the "T" style pocket design so that the edges (all of them) are not overly thick. Just an FYI though: the thinner the leather, the easier it is for something to slip out of place and create an issue. It appears that you are trying to create what could be considered as a "designer" style product; if you ever have the chance to take a close look at those high-end/high-priced designer wallets you will notice that they aren't very perfect looking either, you just get confused by the all of the "bling" effect items which distract you from the reality that it isn't all that great looking when you focus on it. Don't give up on wallets as this seems to be the market for the time being; it is about 80% of my business right now so that is what I am focusing on. Quote Richard Hardie R. P. Hardie Leather Co. R. P. Hardie Leather Co. - OnlineR. P. Hardie Leather Co on Facebook
Members Stetson912 Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 This is my latest attempt. The alignment is off and the binding wasn't good either. It ended up being too short to cover enough of the edge to stitch right and it's a mess internally with the pockets. It's all 2/3 oz leather so maybe I need to use thicker leather for the back. Thanks also wrinkles on the face when folded which isn't fun.and cards don't fit in the pockets either... At least not easily haha But hey, live and learn. Quote
bikermutt07 Posted March 22, 2017 Report Posted March 22, 2017 39 minutes ago, Stetson912 said: This is my latest attempt. The alignment is off and the binding wasn't good either. It ended up being too short to cover enough of the edge to stitch right and it's a mess internally with the pockets. It's all 2/3 oz leather so maybe I need to use thicker leather for the back. Thanks also wrinkles on the face when folded which isn't fun.and cards don't fit in the pockets either... At least not easily haha But hey, live and learn. I don't think the leather is too thin. Maybe it is too soft. Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members Stetson912 Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 It is soft and nice leather. I also have trouble stitching thinner leather. I tend to over-tension it Quote
Members cjartist Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 Kind of looks like a machine problem. Perhaps the machine is not feeding the leather through properly? Quote Check out my Unique Marketing Strategy and see if it might also work for you to get paid for your art.
Members Stetson912 Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 I 7 minutes ago, cjartist said: Kind of looks like a machine problem. Perhaps the machine is not feeding the leather through properly? I'm not familiar with machines. I don't own one nor can use one I'm afraid. If you are infact referring to venator's pictures then please ignore this haha. And apologies if I overstepped my bounds here, I'm still trying to get used to the forum etiquette. Quote
Members cjartist Posted March 22, 2017 Members Report Posted March 22, 2017 My apologies Stetson. I did think you were in fact the thread starter who said he won't sew by hand. Quote Check out my Unique Marketing Strategy and see if it might also work for you to get paid for your art.
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