Suggest a first project for a beginner

[Aven]

2 hours ago, BorisBaddenov said:

Thanks for the hints

Tandy is an all day trip -- 3 hours minimum, one way.   I can choose to brave the mountain passes of the Cascades to Tacoma, or can I trek through endless dry-land wheat farms on my way to Spokane.  Third options is a drive through the Columbia Gorge on my way to Portland/Beaverton.

 

Peace-

Boris

We also have McPherson's in Seattle and Oregon Leather in Portland.  If you are in the neighborhood, worth stopping in for a browse.  Oregon Leather had some really nice pieces of "scrap" leather when I was down there last year.

Check their hours first.  I know McPherson's has short hours on Saturdays.

I'd suggest you make a belt.  It will give you experience cutting, skiving, punching holes and dealing with edges.  You can buy a strap and go from there.

If you want something smaller, key ring.  Same skills needed there with the option to get creative design wise.

[rodneywt1180b]

Welcome aboard Boris.  Maybe not a special trip but if you find yourself in an area with a Tandy store it's well worth setting aside an hour or two to check it out.  Being able to see and feel the differences in different types of leather is a huge plus.  For me ordering online without having handled a lot of different types of leather was a crapshoot.  I'm slowly learning what works and what doesn't for my needs.

From my personal experience I would say start with smaller projects first.  It's less frustrating to screw up plus closer to instant gratification when things go right.  Don't be afraid to experiment and make mistakes.  Learning what doesn't work is important too.

Spend a lot of time reading here.  There are a lot of very talented leather workers here. 

Ask questions.  Someone here will be able to at least point you in the right direction.

[Ragingstallion]

Agreed, best advice is patients!

As for other advice and first project, the most common gift, easy to learn for beginners that I come across in not only message boards, but also in person is a belt. you can go as simple, or as complex in the design as you want. you can even just leave it blank if your not wanting to get into stamping yet. 

Your best friend for learning minus asking the people here on this board is Youtube. I have found several, if not thousands of videos on leatherworking hints and tips. you might find your first project just by browsing those.

[Aven]

If you are still stalled for ideas, there is always Pinterest.

[battlemunky]

Can't add much more other than a good Welcome to the forum!

[zuludog]

Welcome to the Forum!

There are loads of videos about leatherwork  on YouTube. Watch as many as you have the stamina for, but to make things a bit more manageable, use the Search box to narrow things down. I like those by Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson/Leodis Leather; Jacklore Knives has a couple of good videos on sheaths, or just Surf away!

Note that SilverForgeStudio made a mistake - Leodis Leather is run by Ian Atkinson, not Anderson

Perhaps calling key fobs a project is too grand, but they can show you - pattern making; cutting out; stitching; edge bevelling; edge burnishing dyeing; tooling/stamping/carving, depending on how far you want to go. 

[JLSleather]

23 hours ago, BorisBaddenov said:

I'm interested in making knife sheaths, wallets, belts, card holders, other simple trinkets to use up scrap (key rings?).

Then I would recommend starting with those.  Kaint learn ta play the fiddle practicin' with a banjo

 

[billybopp]

21 hours ago, immiketoo said:

The single best piece of advice I can give you is be patient.  Let things like dye, glue and finishes DRY completely before moving on to the next step.  Read a lot, and practice before committing to a project.  Maybe run down to Tandy and buy a few kits that catch your eye/.  Good way to get started without breaking the bank.

Welcome aboard, Boris!

Growing up in a hobby shop (REALLY jealous here), I'm sure you've got the patience part down.  Tandy kits aren't the greatest thing in the world, BUT they do start to give you a feel for how things go together: Think of them as snap-fit models for leather.  The pre-punched holes are enormous, but still start to give you a feel for sewing leather, etc.  They are also usually nicely proportioned designs, are usually a blank canvas for you to do a little tooling, dying, etc if you are so inclined, and often include a few suggested tooling patterns with a list of needed tools!  After my first Tandy kit, I realized that I could trace the leather pieces on some card stock and then use that as a pattern so that I could buy leather and cut out the same pattern (without the enormous holes for sewing if you want) - at far less $ than the kit cost for probably better leather.  Plus, it's kind of fun go back to a project you made early on and redo it with the skills you've gathered in between!  You may be amazed!

Tandy kits are on sale this week (Nov. 10-18) at 40% off, so there ya go!  They have wallets, bags and a ton of other kits available. Even some stuff that Mrs. Boris might like for a holiday gift.

If you are shopping Tandy, a couple of books I'd recommend are "Leather Tools" and "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman.  There are several others worth having, but those two should be in just about every leather library!

Also, a really great and not-too-difficult first project is a belt, as a few above have suggested.  A belt may not come out pretty, but unless you cut it too short, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong enough to stop it from holding up your britches!  Tandy has belt blanks and buckles from very plain to fairly fancy.  The only things you need for 'em is a hole punch and a knife.  A little fancier and nicer, some dye and finish(resolene or the like), an edger and a slicker maybe.  Get as fancy as you like with it!

- Bill

 

 

 

[battlemunky]

If you are interested in wallets, I'd suggest finding a pattern (JLS, above, has several of them on his website for free  ) and make 10 of them. By making 10 of them you can see the changes from the first to the last and the repetition is worth its weight in leather. That'll get you used to cutting, sewing, finishing, and then you can find a different thing to make multiples of, maybe tool some, maybe carve some? 

[JazzBass]

Although my first project was to be a belt, I had the high intention of tooling initials in the back center, SO - I started by cutting 3 1/2" pieces and trying to tool a 3 letter script monogram on each. These became "luggage tags" for all my family and friends. It was great practice that didn't require chucking a $20 belt blank if it didn't come out well. Yes...I read that you're not interested in carving/tooling at the moment, but it's something to consider.