Finished up the Sheridan style wallet

[YinTx]

Finally finished the Sheridan style wallet I had carved a while back.  Think it came out ok, but overall some things I'd change for next time, like using thicker leather.  The interior was like 1 oz, the exterior I think was 3 oz or so.  Juane Fil Au Chinois Lin Cable thread.  Let me know what you all think of the end result!

YinTx

[battlemunky]

Looks great though. I use 3-4 oz on my wallets occasionally using 8 oz for the exterior if I'm wanting to overbuild it.

[DpMaquilon]

Man that is amazing! Great job looks very clean is that for you or did you make it for someone? What finish did you use? Also is that your pattern or did you get it from somewhere else?

 

Edited December 31, 2017 by DpMaquilon

[garypl]

Really nice job.  Your stitching is so clean!

[alpha2]

Outstanding! Stitching is perfect. What weight thread is that? 

[KingsCountyLeather]

Again... Beautiful work again.

Do you really think the different makes of thread makes much difference except that you use the right size thread for the holes and you keep your stitches as clean and straight as you do?

I have a multitude of different threads and on the odd occasion that I do keep my stitches straight it looks really good.

[thefanninator]

Nice tooling and stitching.

I wouldn't go any thicker on the interior. Otherwise you may end up with it being too thick.

Edited December 31, 2017 by thefanninator

[MillieB]

Very nice work!

[Firewalker]

I think it looks nice.  The thread color compliments the leather very well and your stitches are beautiful.  The Sheridan tooling looks Fantastic!  

It looks like the corners have you a hard time which is something I have dealt with as well.  It is painful as heck though non leather workers aren't likely to notice it.  

I have noticed on my own work sometimes the bevel is somewhat choppy around my initials and I simply drag the beveler by hand to smooth it out.   I am a believer in the additive for the spray bottle and it helps the tools glide instead of sticking.  It helped me tremendously and I won't go back!  

Please don't take any of this as insulting as your work is beautiful.  I think we can all get better by helping each other along the way and honest critique is part of that.  I really like that inside flap and I think it is a unique feature I don't normally see.  

Wishing you the best!  Thanks for sharing. 

Cheers!

[Tommo]

Very nice...love the Sheridan and stitching!

[YinTx]

10 hours ago, DpMaquilon said:

Man that is amazing! Great job looks very clean is that for you or did you make it for someone? What finish did you use? Also is that your pattern or did you get it from somewhere else?

 

Thank you.  It was made as a gift for someone else.  I just used Fiebings paste antique, followed up with Tan Kote, then Resolene.  It is not originally my pattern, I slightly modified a Chan Geer pattern I have.

10 hours ago, garypl said:

Really nice job.  Your stitching is so clean!

 

7 hours ago, alpha2 said:

Outstanding! Stitching is perfect. What weight thread is that? 

Thank you both.  Stitching isn't perfect, I was getting tired (was nearly 11pm, had to be done for today) so it has a few errors as always.  Just some judicious use of camera angles   It was 532 thread.  I have a couple of other wallets I just finished that the stitching isn't nearly so good, so the photos didn't make the final cut.

 

6 hours ago, KingsCountyLeather said:

Do you really think the different makes of thread makes much difference except that you use the right size thread for the holes and you keep your stitches as clean and straight as you do?

Every brand of thread I have lays differently.  Every size and brand of stitching/pricking iron I have leaves a different look to the stitch.  Even when I use a different awl blade, the stitch comes out differently.     Really have to just decide what I want a particular piece to look like, and select my thread/iron/awl combination from that.

6 hours ago, thefanninator said:

Nice tooling and stitching.

 

Thank you.

5 hours ago, MillieB said:

Very nice work!

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, Tommo said:

Very nice...love the Sheridan and stitching!

Thanks!

4 hours ago, Firewalker said:

I think it looks nice.  The thread color compliments the leather very well and your stitches are beautiful.  The Sheridan tooling looks Fantastic!  

It looks like the corners have you a hard time which is something I have dealt with as well.  It is painful as heck though non leather workers aren't likely to notice it.  

I have noticed on my own work sometimes the bevel is somewhat choppy around my initials and I simply drag the beveler by hand to smooth it out.   I am a believer in the additive for the spray bottle and it helps the tools glide instead of sticking.  It helped me tremendously and I won't go back!  

Please don't take any of this as insulting as your work is beautiful.  I think we can all get better by helping each other along the way and honest critique is part of that.  I really like that inside flap and I think it is a unique feature I don't normally see.  

Wishing you the best!  Thanks for sharing. 

Cheers!

Firewalker,

Thank you for the compliment and suggestions.  Corners are hit and miss for me, sometimes I get em just right, other times complete failure.  Of course, once done, I have to decide whether to keep it or add it to the growing pile in the scrap bin.

This was the smallest lettering I had done to date, and the thinnest leather I'd tooled to date, so I agree, a bit choppy around the lettering.  I use a casing solution of my own creation.  I think in this case, the leather was probably still not quite dry enough to tool (and I need more practice, practice, practice...).  Inside flap I had seen before, and I liked it, so I put it in my memory bank for later use.

YinTx

14 hours ago, battlemunky said:

Looks great though. I use 3-4 oz on my wallets occasionally using 8 oz for the exterior if I'm wanting to overbuild it.

Battlemunky, how does a wallet feel with that much thickness to it?  Once folded, this wallet would have 7 layers inside, and 2 layers from the outside.  So using 3 oz interior and 8 oz exterior would be 21 oz plus 16 oz for a wallet of 37 oz thickness, or over 1/2" thick without the cash or cards.  I would like to go thicker with the leather, but this has held me back...

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

My last wallet has 1oz all the way around. I am loving the flex in the card pockets.

That is a perfect looking wallet.

I saw you mentioned about the combination of thread, irons, and even awl will make a difference in how everything lays?

I thought it was all about getting the sizes together (which is hard enough).

Maybe this could be why I'm still not happy with my stitches?

[battlemunky]

2 hours ago, YinTx said:

 

Battlemunky, how does a wallet feel with that much thickness to it?  Once folded, this wallet would have 7 layers inside, and 2 layers from the outside.  So using 3 oz interior and 8 oz exterior would be 21 oz plus 16 oz for a wallet of 37 oz thickness, or over 1/2" thick without the cash or cards.  I would like to go thicker with the leather, but this has held me back...

YinTx

Here is my base so I'm a pocket down from you and one flap less so in this configuration it ends up being about 18-24 oz. My son carries his daily and loves it. The thickest I've made would've been around 30 oz with the 8-9 oz exterior and I haven't heard how it carries yet. I think it comes out to a little over .25" thick and .333" ish

file:///home/chronos/u-e1c0e014965f36745c27cd159df297c952f469c3/Downloads/4-Slot%20Bifold%20Directions.pdf

[CaptQuirk]

That is a very clean looking finished project. Almost looks machined.

[Firewalker]

On 12/31/2017 at 3:06 PM, YinTx said:

Firewalker,

Thank you for the compliment and suggestions.  Corners are hit and miss for me, sometimes I get em just right, other times complete failure.  Of course, once done, I have to decide whether to keep it or add it to the growing pile in the scrap bin.

This was the smallest lettering I had done to date, and the thinnest leather I'd tooled to date, so I agree, a bit choppy around the lettering.  I use a casing solution of my own creation.  I think in this case, the leather was probably still not quite dry enough to tool (and I need more practice, practice, practice...).  Inside flap I had seen before, and I liked it, so I put it in my memory bank for later use.

YinTx

 

My friend you are doing a whole lot of right!  I am certainly not dogging your work as it is beautiful.  I too have been trying to finish up late at night and scrapped an entire piece.  We live and learn.  Try that bevel drag trick and tell me what you think.  You can do it with a spoon too if you like.   Wishing you all the best.  Scott

[YinTx]

On 12/31/2017 at 5:42 PM, bikermutt07 said:

Maybe this could be why I'm still not happy with my stitches?

Your stitches in that photo look pretty decent to me, what is it you are not happy with?

On 12/31/2017 at 6:52 PM, battlemunky said:

file:///home/chronos/u-e1c0e014965f36745c27cd159df297c952f469c3/Downloads/4-Slot%20Bifold%20Directions.pdf

Battlemunky, your photo doesn't show, but I suspect .25" might be ok to carry, depends on how many cards, etc. one were to carry in there as well.

On 12/31/2017 at 6:58 PM, CaptQuirk said:

That is a very clean looking finished project. Almost looks machined.

Thanks, Capt.!  Some stuff I want to improve on the next version, when I get to it, but this one turned out pretty good considering all the firsts for me.

14 hours ago, Firewalker said:

I am certainly not dogging your work as it is beautiful.

Thanks for that, I also do appreciate the suggestions, only way for me to improve!

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

Mine just don't seem to get enough zig zag. Maybe I'm just looking too close at it. Or maybe my thread is too big.

[Dun]

2 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

Mine just don't seem to get enough zig zag. Maybe I'm just looking too close at it. Or maybe my thread is too big.

when you pull the stitches snug do you angle the threads away from each other or just straight out at 90* to the leather?

I was testing different techniques and I think I like pulling the back side thread downward and back towards me. The front sided thread gets pulled up and away. It seemed to exaggerate the diagonal-ness(?) of the stitches.

 

 

 

Yin, this looks great! Also love the edges and color of the exterior. The interior(backside of the stitches) has such clean stitch holes. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Dun

[YinTx]

2 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

r maybe my thread is too big

Try a smaller thread.  You might be pleasantly surprised at the results.

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

11 minutes ago, Dun said:

when you pull the stitches snug do you angle the threads away from each other or just straight out at 90* to the leather?

I was testing different techniques and I think I like pulling the back side thread downward and back towards me. The front sided thread gets pulled up and away. It seemed to exaggerate the diagonal-ness(?) of the stitches.

 

 

 

Yin, this looks great! Also love the edges and color of the exterior. The interior(backside of the stitches) has such clean stitch holes. 

I'll try that.

 

9 minutes ago, YinTx said:

Try a smaller thread.  You might be pleasantly surprised at the results.

YinTx

And that. Thanks.

[9tpi]

Fantastic finished product!