What to do with scrap leather

[pharescustomleatherworks]

Hey everyone, I haven't been on here for a while and this topic may be covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything on it. Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of scraps. I have a very large Home Depot moving box that is overflowing. Needless to say, most are too small for any of my projects and they are just taking up space now. Does anyone have any good ideas for them? I am not going to use them, so unless someone is willing to purchase them, should I just throw them out? Or would anybody be willing to purchase scraps? 

 

Thanks in advance!

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, pharescustomleatherworks said:

Hey everyone, I haven't been on here for a while and this topic may be covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything on it. Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of scraps. I have a very large Home Depot moving box that is overflowing. Needless to say, most are too small for any of my projects and they are just taking up space now. Does anyone have any good ideas for them? I am not going to use them, so unless someone is willing to purchase them, should I just throw them out? Or would anybody be willing to purchase scraps? 

 

Thanks in advance!

You can make leather washers for knife/tool handles, leather conchos like on saddles, earrings, key fobs, hair pins, coasters, xmas tree ornaments,practice on them. If you have a logo or leather stamp make some key fobs with your logo on it to give away.

[Handstitched]

Theres a multitude of projects you can make if you're willing to take the time to make them. 

Small round or square pieces; fridge magnets  or key rings , stamped, carved, or maybe with your logo on them to give away with each sale you make?  Some even smaller  pieces can be used  for ear rings, I have had wood crafters buy odd  veg tan scraps from me to turn into   really nicely turned pens,  or for an embellishment to  a wood project . 

 Long pieces; book marks, key rings , I've turned long pieces into  ' secret plait key rings' . slightly longer pieces;  attach each piece to make a belt using rivets or rings.

Soft leathers; little dingly dangly thingies for tassles, for a purse, key ring or handbag. 

I could go on. 

Or,  if you don't have the time, donate  them to a school or charity  where they can turn them into small projects, perhaps as a fund raiser?  I'd rather give them away than throw them out. 

Hope this helps a bit  

[LumpenDoodle2]

I pass mine on to folk I know on another forum.    They get used for practice, washers, other little projects, whatever, and since they have been such a welcoming, and friendly forum in helping me start a hobby I had zero knowledge of.    I am happy to be able to give something practical back to them.

[zuludog]

What first springs to mind are stacked leather knife handles, either wholly, or partly for decorative spacers. You can find them ready made, such as Estwing axes and hammers, and KA-BAR knives. Also for fishing rod handles. Presumably you could make similar handles for other tools - a homemade round or head knife with a stacked leather handle? I have never made a braided leather whip, but I would think that a stacked leather handle would set it off nicely

Leather buttons - either thick, stiff leather or thinner softer leather to cover metal buttons. Search Google for 'football buttons'

Depending on the fashions and your target customers you could make leather jewellery & accessories, like bracelets, necklaces, lockets, and even earrings

I remember that in the 1970s there was a fashion for patchwork lady's skirts, handbags & purses; and I had a girlfriend who had a belt made from leather links. It was the kind with figure-of eight pieces folded over and slotted into each other - you can get the dies; Tandy sell a kit for leather link belts

Some industrial fan belts and drive belts are made from leather links, but I think that in this case you would need them to be made seriously, by people who knew what they were doing; though you might be able to repair a couple of damaged links in such belts as long as you were careful

I've just Searched Google & YT - leather patchwork handbags are still available. I also found leather patchwork rugs and quilts on Google and YT

Search YouTube for 'making a stacked leather knife handle' and 'Making a leather flyrod grip part1, & 2' by PercoLab

You can make leather mache in a similar way to papier mache. In the mediaeval period it was used to decorate walls & ceilings, as in Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace. On a smaller scale you can use leather mache to make sculptures and relief paintings & carvings

You can make seals, washers, and gaskets for engines, camping stoves, & machinery. Usually these are for older machines and restoration, as these are not designed to use modern materials like PTFE

Just Search around on YT & Google

LUMPENDOODLE2 - What is the other forum & hobby you mention, please?

Edited May 9, 2020 by zuludog

[Handstitched]

59 minutes ago, zuludog said:

I remember that in the 1970s there was a fashion for patchwork lady's skirts, handbags & purses;

That rang a bell. I think I have an old book from that period that does have those fashions in it, skirts ,  waist coats , etc. . I need to double check that. Leather craft  was the ' in thing' in 70's . 

I have made gaskets for the carby on my old  Fordson tractor. I made them out of thin veg tan scraps and a craft knife. Works just fine .   Kept my ol' 51 going for bit longer   

HS

[fredk]

All good ideas.

Patchwork bags and stuff. My no.3 son took a load of scrap, trimmed the pieces neatly, glued them to some denim and made his then girlfriend a patchwork shoulder bag. He used up some real small pieces so he did

In my place, as I make board games including the gaming pieces, as long as I can get a 5mm disc out of the piece its never totally waste. The discs are the bases on the gaming pieces. Bigger discs are the feet on boards.

[zuludog]

FREDK Thanks for the inspiration. You could make coasters and bases for ornaments. I remember that my Grandparents had some very old brass candlesticks, and they used small pieces of fabric to stop them scratching shelves & tables, so I suppose you could use leather for the same thing; or a for a fruit bowl on a polished dining table.....you get the idea

You could also use leather for inlays into trinket boxes, similar to marquetry. Depending on the sizes of the small pieces you could also line or make pen cases & slips, trinket boxes, instrument & photographic equipment cases etc, drawing instrument cases, Old magnetic compasses   often had leather cases.

I used to work in a sweets, jam & jelly factory, where a refractometer was used to measure the concentration of the sugar solutions & syrups. The small portable refractometers were protected in leather cases and carried around in the pockets of our overalls and lab. coats 

I don't know much about guns, but what about a rifle or shotgun butt pad? (Is that the right word? I'm sure you'll know what I mean)

Search YT for 'making a leather card holder' It doesn't have to be all the same colour. Sometimes different colours & textures for the different pieces or components can be interesting

And it goes without saying that I've made slip covers for my leatherworking knives - clicker; head; Japanese; skiving; kiridashi.

Lots of strops?

Edited May 9, 2020 by zuludog

[LumpenDoodle2]

8 hours ago, zuludog said:

What first springs to mind are stacked leather knife handles, either wholly, or partly for decorative spacers. You can find them ready made, such as Estwing axes and hammers, and KA-BAR knives. Also for fishing rod handles. Presumably you could make similar handles for other tools - a homemade round or head knife with a stacked leather handle? I have never made a braided leather whip, but I would think that a stacked leather handle would set it off nicely

Leather buttons - either thick, stiff leather or thinner softer leather to cover metal buttons. Search Google for 'football buttons'

Depending on the fashions and your target customers you could make leather jewellery & accessories, like bracelets, necklaces, lockets, and even earrings

I remember that in the 1970s there was a fashion for patchwork lady's skirts, handbags & purses; and I had a girlfriend who had a belt made from leather links. It was the kind with figure-of eight pieces folded over and slotted into each other - you can get the dies; Tandy sell a kit for leather link belts

Some industrial fan belts and drive belts are made from leather links, but I think that in this case you would need them to be made seriously, by people who knew what they were doing; though you might be able to repair a couple of damaged links in such belts as long as you were careful

I've just Searched Google & YT - leather patchwork handbags are still available. I also found leather patchwork rugs and quilts on Google and YT

Search YouTube for 'making a stacked leather knife handle' and 'Making a leather flyrod grip part1, & 2' by PercoLab

You can make leather mache in a similar way to papier mache. In the mediaeval period it was used to decorate walls & ceilings, as in Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace. On a smaller scale you can use leather mache to make sculptures and relief paintings & carvings

You can make seals, washers, and gaskets for engines, camping stoves, & machinery. Usually these are for older machines and restoration, as these are not designed to use modern materials like PTFE

Just Search around on YT & Google

LUMPENDOODLE2 - What is the other forum & hobby you mention, please?

It’s an engineering forum, I got a welder, and then wondered how to work it.

Edited May 9, 2020 by LumpenDoodle2

[pharescustomleatherworks]

I appreciate all of the input and ideas, I may look into trying some of the key rings with my logo on them as something quick and easy to make. I should have mentioned in the original post that I stay busy with commissioned work and I’m also a full time college student. With that being said, I don’t have a lot of extra time on my hands to utilize them myself. I would enjoy some of these smaller projects and really like the creativity, but I just don’t have the time for them. I would love to try to make some handles for tools but I don’t really have all the metal work tools to make my own tools. I guess the main thing I’m looking for is just someone else that could use them since I would be able to, and I should have specified that better in my original post. I really do appreciate all the ideas though!