Best Leather weight to get?

[canonitr]

Hi, looking to make a shoulder tote for my wife , dims approximately 15” W x 12” H x 6” ...

she needs a bag that size as she carries almost everything , including the kitchen sink .. for the kids..

what would be a suitable weight to get? Granted, she doesn’t want the bag to weigh 5lbs before she starts to load it..

[chrisash]

I would suggest 1.5-2 mm chrome leather would be flexible and not to heavy

[canonitr]

Would 1.5/2 mm be sufficient to load up perhaps 4kg/9lb? As a Mother, she does load a bit of stuff .. she wants it to have some form tho, so that it holds its own shape..

 

i have some 1.6/1.8 buffalo ..which I have been using for small pieces of work.. she likes the Color ...

[battlemunky]

I think that leather would easily hold 9 lbs. It is all on your stitching at that point. Use a big enough thread that won't tear through the leather and has a good tensile strength (most .8~1.0 mm nylon bonded thread should be at or around 50 lbs tensile strength).

I'd also think about buffalo. It's strong as hell and soft too. A relatively thick piece (8-10 oz) is quite supple and it'd likely last far after the kids are grown.

[canonitr]

If it could last 10 years , I would be happy, considering that her Gucci lasted about 8...

i will probably do a smaller sized tote with what I have first (around a5 paper size) to see what are the ‘skills’ I need to use for the larger one .. it will go to my 7 yo daughter when it’s complete..

i was hoping that  5/6 oz would suffice , and any heavier might be too hard to handle for my current skill level ..

With 5 to 8 oz leather, would it be easy to flip the piece inside out? (Meaning the stitch would be on the inside?)

[ScoobyNewbie]

Is your buffalo stiff enough to hold its shape? Ours is pretty soft...

I speak as a woman that used to carry a full bottle of pepto, a wrench set, several note books, etc in my pur...okay small duffle bag. It is a screaming pain when you are digging around for stuff and your purse is fighting with you. 

Maybe some bag stiffener if it’s too floppy?

And our buffalo is very heavy as well. I wouldn’t use it for a purse. I think 4-6oz is a good weight. Not too heavy on the shoulder and still thick enough to stand up a bit. You may still need to add bag stiffener once it gets beaten up a bit, but I don’t think I’d use much lighter then that. It might be too soft to stand well.

I know most purses go for butter soft and floppy, but if you have to carry a lot of stuff around, well, let’s just say that after I get my Dad’s hat done, I’ve got some red latigo I am REALLY excited about.

Edited September 19, 2018 by ScoobyNewbie

[ScoobyNewbie]

Oh, and waterproofing!

Baby wipes, water bottles, medicines, juice boxes! They all leak eventually.

If she’s carrying for the kids AND everyday life, she needs a waterproof liner or section.  Baby food spills, powdered milk spills...she needs waterproofing and another liner she can just take out and throw into the washer. Life gets messy.

[canonitr]

Hi Scooby,

well, I find it fairly stiff in the small items I’ve made so far.. when fiddling with the roll of hide, it feel soft in some parts and stiff in some other, which I gather , is due to the different parts of the animal..

my youngest is close to 4, so my Wife doesn’t need to carry powdered milk and baby food, but perhaps wet wipes, a container or 2 of cereals, a book or 2, a brolly, and her own stuff. She prefers a tote as it opens wide, deep enough, and yet easy to see and get thru the stuff.

For the straps, I intend to use the 4oz I have.. double it and it should be strong enough...

Once done, I apply some home made leather balm which contains mineral oil and beeswax, and buff it. Makes it darker and seem to give a  bit of shine and some waterproofing to the outside. Over here .. it’s summer temp  all year round with high humidity..

 

[ScoobyNewbie]

Yum. I’m heading into a long winter, for Nebraska, anyway. That sounds lovely.

[canonitr]

Quick question on the same topic.. is buffalo or cow leather better? Been told that buffalo stretches more then cow for the same weight??

so far , I’ve only done the straps...4oz

[ScoobyNewbie]

I haven’t played with the buffalo or the bison that we have. They both seem to have far different skin textures than cow hide. You would really need to want that particular look. Both or ours seem very soft and stretchy, but we have some kits that use bison and those bags don’t feel at all the same as the stuff in the cubbies at the store. Very heavy as well, although I don’t know if that is because of a heavier weight (oz.) or if they were split deeper than the bag leather.

Your stitching is very good. I like the thread color.

Edited October 5, 2018 by ScoobyNewbie

[canonitr]

thanks Scooby.. took me 3hours in total for the straps which are about 16 inches long (x 4).. , while the thread color was something my wife wanted.. ( i had to get few different colors cause my wife and kids all liked different colors)

the hides i see in the shop are even stretchier and thinner than the buffalo .. i guess one of the safest option would be to line the inside..