Pocket Organizer (My first thing!)

[Deemer]

I finally finished my first thing. The concept was for a pocket information exchange caddy. I wanted a way to give analog information out (calling/business cards), taking down information (Field Notes journal). I also wanted to make this modern, and have a way to take and give digital information, as well as a way to store critical copies of sensitive data (hence the PIN secured USB drive).

I feel like I learned a ton making this as I made it mostly without the "right" tools or materials. The leather I started with was ordered for a heavy bag, therefore is thicker than what I'd want for something pocketable, and what I received was heavier than I intended to order. In addition, I ordered quite a bit of other stuff that never arrived (shipments take months to arrive and many things get lost in transit, that's life here) What did come, I was happy for: stitching chisels, hole punches, heavy waxed thread and a boat load of various sized button studs (that's the extend of leather specific tools I had access to) 

Thankfully, on a tiny island, you've got time on your hands. I've found that patience, man-hours and ingenuity can make up for (some of) a lack of proper equipment. My biggest time suck so was thinning 1mm off of my entire double shoulder with a hand plane (the plane iron alone took a couple of hours to make it serviceable - ocean air is hell on steel) then thinning another .5 mm off just the leather for this project (I started out with leather that was 3.5 mm thick in parts) 

Comments, critiques and (especially) suggestions are encouraged!

Anyway, some pictures.

This is the "glamour shot" - the parts that really suck are either hidden or out of focus. This does have a couple weeks use on it, so it's got some scuffs rubs and dirt already. The wet forming for the USB cap was part of the original design, and I'm pleased with it, though it's slowly shrinking away from the flush edge. I underestimated how much "play" I would need to have for the cards and journal, so once it was all stitched up (and I realized everything was a very tight fit) I made some plastic forms and slowly wet the back piece of leather, being careful to not get any other leather wet, and then slid the form in and worked it down with a metal chopstick, which you can see some black smudges from, especially in other shots. Repeat for the card slot.

The edges look terrible in this photo. In person they are much darker and shinier, but still not great. I need to sand with some finer paper I guess, and then really go to town with the denim. Maybe a proper edging compound too - I used glycerin shave soap.  My beveller envelope arrived empty, so I tried to bevel by sanding, but that didn't seem to work. Does anybody have any makeshift bevelling techniques that work decently? I suppose I could try to learn to do it freehand. I've got the time and maybe enough leather. 

 

 

Man that stitching on the right side kinda sucks, but it's passable for me for now. Just don't look at the back side. I'm not sure why it spreads out at the top. Probably has something to do with wetforming  after it was stitched

 

 

Oh, come on! I asked you not to look back there. I thought we had something - I trusted you!

Yeah, it's pretty bad. I think I didn't have the chisel perfectly vertical - the top side stitching isn't *that* bad. I think the wet forming post stitch-up also made those stitches look worse, if that's possible. 

 

 

Exploded view. I did the stitches under the pen first because I knew they would be mostly hidden so I could mess them up and they wouldn't be seen unless the pen was out. Little did I know...

 

Overall, I'm OK with it because I learned so much. I ended up with a working piece that while it isn't beautiful, I think it will look a bit better with some wear and tear.   Thanks for your time!

[bikermutt07]

Man, that is an ambitious first project. I love the design and it is a wonderful concept. Everything you need to send a message in a bottle.

If you have some woodworking and metal tools you could make some tools. Bend the end of an old flat head screwdriver. Take a small round file to it and you got a beveler.

Stitching will come with time. Time practicing and taking time to slow down on them. No worries.

In 6 months you will be able to do so much better that you will wish for this protector to disappear, but it will out last you.

It is a really great effort. Great great first try. It is always cool to see what someone else will come up with around here. Even someone who has never made anything before can have a completely original idea.

[falcon45]

Deemer, you did a fantastic job for your first project.   Keep it up!!!

[Tugadude]

Neat idea and good start for your first project.  Work on your thread tension as it looks like you pulled it way too snugly in some spots.  Needle priority might be off also.  Dropped stitches sometimes result from losing track of which way the threads cross.  Looks to me you have a neat row of stitching then, whoops.  So pay attention to that.  I describe stitching as somewhat robotic.  Lose concentration or vary your amount of pull and expect irregularities.  

Keep up the good work and post your future projects!

[garypl]

Hey Deemer, thanks for posting your first project!  I like the concept and as others have already commented, with practice your stitching will become more uniform.  The key is consistency - holding your chisels straight, sewing sequence, etc.  If you have a very sharp chisel or knife you can try cutting a 45 degree bevel by holding the leather on the edge of a table and carefully cut the bevel with the chisel or knife.

Welcome to the forum!

Gary

[bullmoosepaddles]

Great first project. Very intelligent layout. Execution will come with time and practice. I will be copying this soon, as it covers all the things I want to carry with me and am not smart enough to figure out. Thank you for sharing.  

[olfart]

That's a nice first project.  It shows hope for future improvements and gives hope to those of us who've yet to complete a first project.  Good work!

[kiwican]

Great job and a great concept 

[Grumpymann]

How can I be down!?

GREAT job!

[motocouture]

Trying to muster sympathy as I sit here in 15F weather hearing about ocean air, and seeing palm leaves as leather backdrops 

That said, great work! Love the design, appreciate you sharing it, and will probably be copying it at some point, too!

[Deemer]

Motocouture, I end up using banana leaves for everything - backdrops, coasters, gift wrap, plate liners, aluminum foil substitute for baking - one man's daily grind is another's novelty

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement and I'm flattered it's something that some of you want to copy. Hopefully you'll share your versions. I'd love to see what changes you make, and what a more skilled set of hands can do with my base idea. Big thanks for all of the suggestions and pointers. Bikermutt07, I think I will try to make a screwdriver beveller. If I could make it work worth a damn, it would be a pretty awesome tool to have in my collection. If that doesn't work out (getting someone to part with any tool is a tall order here) I'll probably pull the iron out of the hand plane and give garypl's idea a shot, though I think it's limited to straight edges. 

Mistakes. The only reason I don't completely suck at any of the things that I don't completely suck at is because I've messed up those very things so many times I've just ran out of ways to screw them up. I am, however, always on the prowl for a new way to fail, or at least give a time tested method another go. It's nice to hear that my shortcomings aren't atypical and will likely be overcome with a steady hand and some invested time. Practice, practice, practice practice... I want to make a neck strap for my camera, and I have a request from a friend for the same, I think I'll add some aesthetic stitching to those just to work on thread tension and working with chisels. After reading more about stitching, I think I need to work up some sort of stitching horse, and maybe scour the island again for needles with eyes big enough for heavy thread, but not so large I need something to pull them through the stitch holes. I don't recall a single stitching article mentioning heavy reliance upon vice grips

 

[garypl]

5 hours ago, Deemer said:

After reading more about stitching, I think I need to work up some sort of stitching horse, and maybe scour the island again for needles with eyes big enough for heavy thread, but not so large I need something to pull them through the stitch holes. I don't recall a single stitching article mentioning heavy reliance upon vice grips

Deemer, if you size the holes to the needle and thread you are using you should rarely have to use pliers to pull the needles through the leather.  Sometimes with thicker leather you may need some help pulling the needles at the end when you are finishing stitching by doubling back through your stitch line.

Best to use your awl to make the stitching slots and give the awl a twist to open the slot a bit - makes more room to push the needles through.  Hammer the stitch line when you finish and the holes should close up around the thread.

All the best - Gary

[Killerwork]

Wow, this is a nice first piece! I just started my journey into leather work myself and just completed my first work. Your first is way more intricate than the corner bookmark I made for my wife. I will post pictures when I get home from work on my on thread. But I think like me, you see more flaws than anyone else! It gets better, I hope for my sake!

[Sporty1]

Great job for the first project. That's a neat "thinking out of the box" idea. Keep it up!