Hi from the UK

[hughlle]

Just saying hello. I'm Hugh from the UK (North Somerset).

No prior experience with leather, but love it as a material. I don't own any hide, and at yet don't own any tools. I was recently looking at a nice pouch for a couple of kaweco sport pens, and realised why not just buy up some bits and pieces and have a crack at it myself. Due to finances, I won't be able to pick up any kit for a few months (minimum wage + law school..) but I've already downloaded a good few books by the likes of Stohlman to peruse when I've a bit of spare time over the winter.

Current aims are simply a nice pouch to fit my two pens, and then given I collect watches, learn how to make my own straps rather than spend £40-100 per strap. Later down the line I'd like to think about knife sheaths and a satchel.

Thanks for having me.

[chrisash]

Hi and welcome

You have joined a brotherhood spread all around the world, 

Youtube will be your best way to learn the skills you will need and Tandy has a good selection of free information books etc available to celibrate their 100th Birthday see https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/category/79/ebooks

[HaloJones]

Welcome to the addition

and hello from Essex 

 

[zuludog]

Hello Hugh, and welcome to the fun!

You've made a good start by downloading the books, but before you spend any money there are a couple of other bits of homework you could do -

There is a lot of information & advice available on this forum, especially the Getting Started' and 'Tools ' sections. Have a browse through, and you'll see that the sort of questions you might have, have been asked before

There is also a lot of info on YouTube. There are videos on general subjects such as choosing tools; techniques such as stitching & edge finishing; and showing how others have made the sort of things you're interested in, like watch straps

Remember that the same techniques are used on various items, like wallets, pouches, and bags. Even if you can't find exactly what you want, there's bound to be something similar

[hughlle]

Thanks guys. There is certainly a lot of material and resources available. I should have no excuse for cocking up! 

From the sounds of it one of my closest friends out in Nevada will be starting off at the same time as me, so it'll be nice to be able to bounce experiences back and forth and hopefully help guide each other. Only difference is he is able to drop into tandy and k ow exactly what type of leather he is buying given the task at hand, whil my location means I'm at the mercy of the internet and buying unseen

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by hughlle

[Professor]

Also a vintage watch collector in a small way. mainly medium quality watches from the 20's through the 60's with a few later mechanicals.

been meaning to start making my own bands as well.

[chrisash]

12 hours ago, hughlle said:

Thanks guys. There is certainly a lot of material and resources available. I should have no excuse for cocking up! 

From the sounds of it one of my closest friends out in Nevada will be starting off at the same time as me, so it'll be nice to be able to bounce experiences back and forth and hopefully help guide each other. Only difference is he is able to drop into tandy and k ow exactly what type of leather he is buying given the task at hand, whil my location means I'm at the mercy of the internet and buying unseen

There is a guy from Devon who apparently travels around the UK selling a wide selection of leather, you should be able to find him on "Leather Workers UK" on facebook, unfortunately never used him so dont know his name, There are also plenty of leather sellers in the UK

I think there is also a large list of UK suppliers in the suppliers part of this forum

 

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by chrisash

[stormdevil]

Hi

I'm also in the UK. I started a couple of years back. For tools there are some you really need good quality E.g. swivel knife), and some you can get away with the cheap and cheerful from China that you'll find on ebay. I'm still using my cheap Chinese maul, burnishers and slickers and some of my stamps (the ones I don't use a lot). For leather I started out with some small pieces from ebay, before I got to the stage of buying a whole shoulder or side. Qualities vary and it really depends on what you want to make. 

For videos I'd recommend Ian Atkinson https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkCG-505-1t0rYlgBTSnpQ 

I've followed along with one of his knife sheath videos and the end result was pretty good.

[hughlle]

Cheers. There will certainly be more local sources, however knowing nothing, I won't know if I'm buying junk. With Tandy, it might not be the best but its a known entity, I feel that I can buy with confidence. I've now added leather memo pad folio to the list. 

All just dreams for now though. Life is getting rather complicated. 

 

[zuludog]

Here are some British suppliers of leathercraft tools, in no particular order -

Abbey England Ltd

Identity Leathercraft

H Webber and Sons Ltd

George Barnsley and Sons

Artisan Leather

Metropolitan Leather

Have a browse through their websites; Search YouTube for items that you fancy, to see how they're made, and you'll soon get the hang of things

Come back to us when you've got a shopping list, and we'll give you our opinions