Getting started in leatherwork... Get started already!

[Vinito]

I recently started getting interested in dipping a toe into working with leather a bit. It was kind of a one-thing-led-to-another story. Where I am now is I have some decent sized selection of VT leather bits to fiddle with and some basic new tools. I am old and have always been a tool junkie so I have a lot of other tool stuff already. I am also a tool maker so I figured I'd opt to make my own of yet other things..

So yeah, there's three movies going on with tools and another couple movies going on with orders arriving and others on the way for stufff like thread, needles, hardware, etc. I have plenty here already to get started fiddling with some things, but the mental noise is stuttering my progress I guess.

I have decided that tonight before I go to sleep, I'm gonna force myself to pick out a spot and just cut some 3" or 4" squares from some of that leather and just experiment I think. I can at least try some of the two colors of dye I got so I'll have a couple reference samples, then maybe burnish the edges on those samples for practice, then maybe just try out the half-dozen stamps I got to see what they do.

Just seems strange that for something I know I'll enjoy and have enough stuff here to play with already, I have to force myself to start instead of just falling into it like a kid on Christmas morning. Anybody else experience times like this? I kind of border on being autistic so maybe I can blame it on that... noodle is overwhelmed I guess. Advice and support are welcome. Mostly I would kind of like to hear stories of this happening to you folks too, hopefully funny ones.

OK I'm here typing and that's just stalling too, so off I go.

[Rockoboy]

Having a go at a few things is a great way to start. Cut some leather into usable shapes, maybe key fobs, drink coasters, luggage tags, book mark, dog collar, small non-stitch coin purse etc. After cutting a dozen or 20 projects, you will know something about cutting.

Maybe do some stamping if that's your preference. Then do some edges, after reading the excellent advice from @hidepounder which is very easy to read and follow. Each time you do something for a while, you will learn how leather behaves, things to do or not do next time.

I never throw out any pieces that don't come out right. Even a rough cut dodgy piece can be good to do some test stamping or try out a dye colour.

Above all else, have fun with it.

[Tugadude]

3 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

Having a go at a few things is a great way to start. Cut some leather into usable shapes, maybe key fobs, drink coasters, luggage tags, book mark, dog collar, small non-stitch coin purse etc. After cutting a dozen or 20 projects, you will know something about cutting.

Maybe do some stamping if that's your preference. Then do some edges, after reading the excellent advice from @hidepounder which is very easy to read and follow. Each time you do something for a while, you will learn how leather behaves, things to do or not do next time.

I never throw out any pieces that don't come out right. Even a rough cut dodgy piece can be good to do some test stamping or try out a dye colour.

Above all else, have fun with it.

This is great advice.  Dive in and do something no matter how small.  My entry into this craft began when I wanted to make a leather sheath for a stylus that I was using for an iPad.  Well, I stopped using a stylus altogether and now I can easily make briefcases, purses, pretty much anything.  So don't feel like you have to take on a big project right away.  How about a coin purse as Rockoboy suggested, or a simple card holder.  You will learn all of the basic skills needed and can chart your progress.  I have kept a bunch of my early attempts at wallets and card holders.  It is fun to go back and look at some of them.  Some I smile, some I laugh and some I am still proud of.  But that's the point, progress.

Go for it!  We're here to help!

 

P.S.  Forgot to say, look around for economy grades of leather for practice.  Usually you can get a big piece that has a few issues but it will have tons of areas which are perfect.  By doing small projects you can get this grade and find lots of usable leather.  When you graduate to large items such as briefcases, then get better grades.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Tugadude

[Handstitched]

On 8/28/2019 at 5:20 PM, Rockoboy said:

After cutting a dozen or 20 projects, you will know something about cutting.

...or cutting the  very tips of your fingers off...like I did No blood, but the tips of my fingers were nice and square, you could call it the 'leathermans manicure'    

@Vinito Welcome to the world of leather   I didn't know a thing about leather when I started...me and just about everyone  else on here.I just dabbled and doodled with tools on scraps  etc.  When it came to dying leather ... I used boot polish . Looked great ...but then I found this stuff called........dye  

HS 

[toxo]

On 8/28/2019 at 2:29 AM, Vinito said:

I recently started getting interested in dipping a toe into working with leather a bit. It was kind of a one-thing-led-to-another story. Where I am now is I have some decent sized selection of VT leather bits to fiddle with and some basic new tools. I am old and have always been a tool junkie so I have a lot of other tool stuff already. I am also a tool maker so I figured I'd opt to make my own of yet other things..

So yeah, there's three movies going on with tools and another couple movies going on with orders arriving and others on the way for stufff like thread, needles, hardware, etc. I have plenty here already to get started fiddling with some things, but the mental noise is stuttering my progress I guess.

I have decided that tonight before I go to sleep, I'm gonna force myself to pick out a spot and just cut some 3" or 4" squares from some of that leather and just experiment I think. I can at least try some of the two colors of dye I got so I'll have a couple reference samples, then maybe burnish the edges on those samples for practice, then maybe just try out the half-dozen stamps I got to see what they do.

Just seems strange that for something I know I'll enjoy and have enough stuff here to play with already, I have to force myself to start instead of just falling into it like a kid on Christmas morning. Anybody else experience times like this? I kind of border on being autistic so maybe I can blame it on that... noodle is overwhelmed I guess. Advice and support are welcome. Mostly I would kind of like to hear stories of this happening to you folks too, hopefully funny ones.

OK I'm here typing and that's just stalling too, so off I go.

You sound a bit like me Vinito. Getting old sucks but I can tell you've usually had specific jobs to do whereas now you're working with a blank canvas. I can't get enthusiastic about something just for doing it. This is why I took on what was a big job for me for my first project and I put myself under pressure by telling my daughter when she could pick it up. I ended up working day and night at the death. Just cut out those squares and mess with whatever tools you have. It's quite amazing the things you can do without a head knife etc. Good luck.

[PappyJoe]

I dove headfirst into leather working a couple of weeks ago because I decided I wanted to make a 4 inch wide belt for my Santa Suit (I was a mall Santa last year and decided to by my own suit and do some freelance work this season.) Back in the 1960s, I used to save money to buy kits at Tandy, so I went to the local Tandy and bought the basic carving kit to teach myself how to carve. I've carved six coasters, a coin purse and a belt pouch.

Monday, I started my journey on making a belt by attending a belt making class at the shop. I started with a 1.5" wide belt figuring it was practice and it was cheap.

As a "newbie" I went in knowing:  1. I was going to need a lot of practice carving to do it right (not perfect, but right). 2  I was going to make mistakes. 3. The way to prevent mistakes is practice. 4. Start out small and simple. 5. The more I practice the better I will get. 6. Find a good forum to learn from those willing to share knowledge. 7. Practice.

[Rockoboy]

7 hours ago, PappyJoe said:

7. Practice.

Welcome.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Not many get rich and famous by turning up.

[Handstitched]

19 hours ago, PappyJoe said:

Find a good forum to learn from those willing to share knowledge.

Bingo !!!!  

HS 

[Vinito]

I did do what I set out to do the other night. Played around with a few squares and applied some dye and some conditioners & finishes, tried some burnishing. Then I even tried my hand at some basketweave stamping. On everything I did, I got a little better on successive attempts, dodging and weaving, tiring out the leather and running the clock down. I have just a tad more confidence now and a more focused, yet still vague, idea of how to approach a project. I do have an item in mind that has been bothering me not to have. Of course it's something that you just can't buy, and if you could it would be low quality, so it's a perfect thing to try. Plus, I'm happy to accept that I might thrash the first one or few attempts since i'm just learning the basics, so if it takes me several tries before I end up with something I'm willing to keep, then that's just fine.

I now have three or four different thicknesses & qualities of VT leather to play with, a couple brownish dyes, a half dozen stamp tools, generic blades & such, some basic stitching tools (needles, thread, grooving and scribing stuff). A cutting mat was an afterthought I ordered yesterday which seem like would be extremely useful, almost necessary - it's on the way. So anyway, just a basic set up tools to start with and a decent stock of material to work with. Not a bad situation.

I would like to order high quality tools out of the gate, but I don't even know how deep into this I'm gonna get so can't rationalize the really nice stuff yet. For example, I struggled choosing edge bevelers. It seems that a high quality couple of those would do a much nicer job of it, but the cost difference between cheap and high quality is a magnitude plus a multiplier. So in the end I opted for very cheap since I'm pretty good at sharpening stuff. Longevity of an edge is still a question, but I just figured I'd not lose much by dipping my toe in with come crappy edge bevelers and step it up a level later once I maybe have a better idea what the heck I'm doing. This same phenomenon kind of pops up pretty broadly across most everything I've ordered in the process of getting into this. I figure since leatherwork is the kind of thing a guy could do with a pocket full of tools on a park bench if he had to, I'll just give it a stab and let the weak links reveal themselves over time. In other words, getting a good match of acceptable quality tools as per skill level has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. You can spend a fortune, but then if you don't take to the work like you expect, then it's a bit of a waste. Basically I decided you can cheap out on crappy tools and find out they don't work well, then they are a waste too once you bin them after purchasing something you can actually be happy with. But the waste is less significant. At the beginning, you suck anyway, right? So I figure as I go I'll just let the tools speak to me and tell me which of my cheap junk want to be thrown out and replaced.

I guess what i'm trying to say is I thought it might be nice to avoid struggling with crappy tools, but it turns out that for a beginner, the typical path of starting with crap you have to throw out later might be unavoidably just the way it goes. At least it seems that way for me.

[wizard of tragacanth]

1 hour ago, Vinito said:

I guess what i'm trying to say is I thought it might be nice to avoid struggling with crappy tools, but it turns out that for a beginner, the typical path of starting with crap you have to throw out later might be unavoidably just the way it goes. At least it seems that way for me.

 

Totally agree.

Fact is, I have not upgraded any of my tools from my originals (all Tandy).

 

 

[mikesc]

re tools, the French leather forums have been full for years of people saying how the big brands, Vergez etc have been producing crap for years, trading on the reputation based upon tools made 50 years ago* .Most here now buy from the better Chinese or Japanese makers, who produce far better tools, often cheaper than Tandy, they hold their edges better and are better finished.

*Even some of the older "brand" tools , when the "mystique" of the name is left aside, are, and were when they were made, 50 or more years ago, not very good, some were, some were not, and were , and are waaaaay over priced for the "quality", in France it is OK to say that, so we do..in other places, the "mystique" still reigns, and saying that is almost "heretic"..

Edited August 30, 2019 by mikesc

[zuludog]

You look as though you are covering most things, and are happy to start at a simple level. My tools are  mostly Tandy or home made, especially the knives, though I did buy some Seiwa stitching chisels from Goods Japan

there are several YouTube videos on sharpening bevel edgers; they do work much better if you can get them sharp. It's easy enough to make a sharpening board like those in the videos by Tandy and LB Custom Knives, though I think most of them show something similar

To sharpen the inside of a bevel edger I plaited 3 pieces of 18/3 linen thread about 50cm long and loaded it with stropping compound. Clamp the tool in a vice fitted with soft jaws then run the thread through the tool