Motoko3 at last.

[toxo]

This is my first leather project of any kind. As part of her job my daughter did a weeks course out at Heathrow and I wanted to do something nice to reward her good work. I chose Motoko because it uses minimal techniques/tools and no skiving. I used 2.4mm  pull up antique leather which proved problematical at times because it was quite soft.This has taken quite a while because I questioned my ability at every stage and so would test on scrap before I did the deed. I made mistakes and learned from them. In one respect the build was shortened because I knew the strap length and so I didn't have to do an adjustable strap. In another respect it took longer because I incorporated a security measure that took longer than normally necessary.

Because she's out quite a lot of the time with her laptop and work files I wanted her to be safe from the scrotes on mopeds who would slice through the strap so I incorporated a 2mm stainless steel cable in the middle of the strap. Took a bit of fiddling but I got it done.

 

 

Can't seem to be able to load a pic with the strap in place.

Try again later.

[Seagrove59]

excellent work,  like the cable idea, would be good for a travel bag as well. Brass works very well with leather colour. Does she find the handle comfortable, looks like you would need a large hand, could just be the angle it was photoed. 

[toxo]

3 hours ago, Seagrove59 said:

excellent work,  like the cable idea, would be good for a travel bag as well. Brass works very well with leather colour. Does she find the handle comfortable, looks like you would need a large hand, could just be the angle it was photoed. 

Thanks Seagrove. A couple of ideas I would do over. I think a rolled over handle would look/feel better. An extra rivet or two at the top of the buckle  strap . An extra row of stitches where the front attaches to the back would be wise I think and the two inside full length pockets could've bee thinner leather.

[SilverForgeStudio]

@toxo I love it- a family member bought the pattern for me to make them a Motoko as well- nice to see one done outside the video!

I will now firmly heist your cable idea into my work- I deal with quite a few travelers and security contractors this would appeal to! Excellent idea for the strap- Ive been doing faraday cage wraps with stainless steel mesh in some canvas items- this may make the jump into leather as well. Bravo for the thought and the implementation!

A question if I might- do you find the 2.4mm leather to be too floppy? More importantly does your daughter find it too soft?

Bravo Toxo.

[toxo]

34 minutes ago, SilverForgeStudio said:

@toxo I love it- a family member bought the pattern for me to make them a Motoko as well- nice to see one done outside the video!

I will now firmly heist your cable idea into my work- I deal with quite a few travelers and security contractors this would appeal to! Excellent idea for the strap- Ive been doing faraday cage wraps with stainless steel mesh in some canvas items- this may make the jump into leather as well. Bravo for the thought and the implementation!

A question if I might- do you find the 2.4mm leather to be too floppy? More importantly does your daughter find it too soft?

Bravo Toxo.

Thanks Silver.

Don't think the thickness is the problem. I think maybe it's the antique/pull up process that makes it softer. It's good for the panels but a sod for edges. Think normal veg tan would be easier. This has been quite a journey, Apart from the hand stitching it's taken months to get my old Durkopp working properly and I needed it for the strap. This is the first time it's done more than about a foot of stitching before something went wrong. I was praying with every stitch on that strap but the old girl didn't let me down, in fact I let her down because with only five stitches to go I didn't realise the end of the  steel cable had wandered and bang. finished it by hand. She did really well. The strap ends were challenging. I didn't want just one layer of this leather holding everything so I inserted another shorter piece which meant that my longest normal rivets weren't long enough to go through five layers. The rivets in this picture (the bottom two) were taken out and replaced with copper rivets and roves which were brilliant for the job. Also, looking at this picture reminds me that I intended to add a rivet to each end of the handle but forgot to do it. It's not far away if I do need to do it. And my daughter absolutely loves it which makes it all worthwhile :)

 

[toxo]

Just found this pic of the inside. The sides are reinforced with thick hard chrome tanned leather but I didn't want it too dark so used thick veg tan on the bottom. I guess this reinforcing helps maintain the shape. As you can see I used the same leather for the pockets (full length on the front panel). These could have been much thinner.

 

 

[LatigoAmigo]

Very nice bag, and a GREAT story. Keep up the good work!

[toxo]

Thank you Amigo. Appreciate it.

[HoneycuttMachine]

I think its fabulous! A true heirloom, that case not only beautiful but heavy duty. I love the cable in the flat strap, diesel! I think the flat strap is the way to go, with a laptop, notebooks, books, etc. that thing can get heavy. The wider strap will help with shoulder rubs and distribute the weight better. You may even consider a sheepskin on leather adjustable pad for her should it dig into her shoulder when loaded. A fantastic job for an experienced leather worker, you taking this on as a first project is inspirational! Great work and thanks for sharing.

Jerry

[toxo]

14 hours ago, HoneycuttMachine said:

I think its fabulous! A true heirloom, that case not only beautiful but heavy duty. I love the cable in the flat strap, diesel! I think the flat strap is the way to go, with a laptop, notebooks, books, etc. that thing can get heavy. The wider strap will help with shoulder rubs and distribute the weight better. You may even consider a sheepskin on leather adjustable pad for her should it dig into her shoulder when loaded. A fantastic job for an experienced leather worker, you taking this on as a first project is inspirational! Great work and thanks for sharing.

Jerry

What you've just said are words that everyone will appreciate. You looked at it, you added constructive criticism, you applauded my attempt and I can't say how much I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

[Mr Gaunt]

If this is your first attempt at making anything out of leather, I hate you a lot! This is beautiful work. I love Tony's patterns. I have been drooling over the Motoko 3, but I am too broke to buy enough leather. I'll have to wait until someone wants to buy something from me.

[toxo]

Thank you Mr Gaunt but it really wasn't difficult. Extremely time consuming yes but I don't even like to think about punching all those holes and hand stitching. Once I get over the trauma  and think about doing another I'll think about doing it lighter like beige and tan with dark edges. I'll also use much thinner leather on the full width pockets but most of all I'll think about where I can machine rather than hand stitch which will save a bunch of time. Talking about using less leather, Now that I have the pattern pieces cut out they've sort of become templates so I won't waste so much leather by having to cut oversize and taping before the final cuts. I should add that I printed the patterns on card.

[RockyAussie]

Marvellous looking bag there @toxo and looking at your work I think and hope to be seeing more in the future. A few more of the steps shown would be great to see as well.

[toxo]

39 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

Marvellous looking bag there @toxo and looking at your work I think and hope to be seeing more in the future. A few more of the steps shown would be great to see as well.

Thanks Rocky, or is it Harry?

There isn't much more to say really. Tonys (Dieselpunk.Ro or Nitekore) designs are easy to follow. I printed out the patterns on card. Some have to be joined because of the constraints of A4. There is some wastage because you cut them oversize, tape them down and cut/punch to get the finished pieces. Not sure if I will print them out again for the next one or use the old ones because they are now essentially templates so avoiding some wastage. I went with this design because it looks good and is practical whilst being doable for a newbie. No skiving for example. The holes were 1.5mm  and I used John James 002 needles with 1.2mm flat waxed poly from Tandy because it's much cheaper than many of the alternatives. I struggled a bit with the needle/hole size and I noticed in Tonys video that he was using an oval punch the crafty sod. Mind you, if you go with an oval punch it's obviously critical that you line it up properly every time. Most of it I could get in a horse so not too bad but the hardest part was stitching the back panel to the front flap because you have to keep moving the flap back and forth. No glue was used in any of it. I was told the leather was pull up but I think it's oil tanned. It was expensive at any rate. Just neatsfoot and resolene on top IIRC. Here's a pick of the start. ( for someone with not much more to say, I said a mouthful didn't I.) 

[RockyAussie]

Good stuff there toxo, that gives an idea of the amount of leather$ one would need for such a project.

[Rolandranch]

Wow very nice! 

[toxo]

36 minutes ago, Rolandranch said:

Wow very nice! 

Thank you Roland.