Hernancito Report post Posted December 10, 2017 (edited) Hello, leather community. After years of longing to make leather goods I finally decided to pull the trigger, buy the tools and make my wife a purse for Christmas. I’ve been a chromatography engineer in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 11 years w aspirations to make it as an oil painter. Picked up a bunch of books on leather working and tooling. So far I’ve only made a head knife sheath from scratch and am moving on to the purse. Leather working is much more complex than I anticipated, which is a turn on for me I didn’t expect. Below are some of my paintings and the sheath. Look forward to getting to know you all. Ps. I also make custom made slingshots. If there are any shooters, please hit me up! Wish you all a great Sunday www.faraciart.com Edited December 10, 2017 by Hernancito Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted December 11, 2017 Good stuff, Hernie. Welcome aboard. A purse may be a little ambitious for your first real project. Maybe look towards a kit or at least a pattern set from someone. Going at a purse from scratch sounds beyond my abilities (and I have dabbled for awhile now). Good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerseyFirefighter Report post Posted December 11, 2017 Welcome also from Jersey. You seem to have a good head about yourself. If you find that your purse project is beating you up, take a step back, take up another project that can help you expand and hone your skills. You seem to have a fair grip of the basics... its only up from there. Best of luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hernancito Report post Posted December 11, 2017 Thanks, fellas. I’m overwhelmed for sure, but making progress on the daily by staring at it, taking notes and trying the get the start to finish sequence correct on paper before commencing. Made a mock-up out of watercolor paper that’s helping me visualize things n allows for easy color change/design adjustments. Off to check out hardware n strap types. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheilajeanne Report post Posted December 11, 2017 That head knife sheathe tells me you have a talent for this, no doubt because you are already an artist. However, you may want to get a kit for your first purse. After that you can use the pattern that came with the kit to cut your own, and tweak the pattern to your liking. One thing I'd darn well like to do with the Tandy kits is get rid of all the holes for lacing, and saddle stitch the purse instead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJole Report post Posted December 11, 2017 (edited) Welcome! If you're making bags, you should go spend some time viewing the video instructions at Leodis Leather, provided by Ian Atkinson over in the UK. He walks you through some of the processes and planning, and you might find it helpful! Here is his website: http://ianatkinson.net/leather/videos.htm (Make sure you look at the whole page, not just the top. His longer videos are near the bottom). Edited December 11, 2017 by DJole adding info Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hernancito Report post Posted December 11, 2017 (edited) Hello, Sheila . The bag I’m making is fairly simple. No gusset, but it does have a lining which had me stumped, but think I’ve partially solved it. Djole, I’ve watched both of their vids. Great stuff! ESP the long ones. Nice to meet you both. Edited December 11, 2017 by Hernancito Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pzarkov Report post Posted December 16, 2017 Hi from NJ. Keep going... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mjolnir Report post Posted December 16, 2017 you got this. Nice painting. Nice case. From my experience, an artist can make anything they want to. Pic is my first time sculpting Styrofoam and using plaster for a stage set. because I can sculpt I've spent $1000 plus on leathercraft just because I really liked making leather bags and nunchuk cases when I was a kid. It's all about faith in yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites