Questions about leathercraft

[LionCrownLeather]

Hi

 

I just started working on some leather projects where I design and complete projects by myself. I have a key chain that I made and I wanted your professional opinions. The leather I used for this typical project changes color when folded, what do you call this type of leather? What projects do you recommend using this kind of leather for? Now I did not have any other type of leather laying around but I feel like this does not give a consistent look if sold in higher quantities on the Internet because when I was finished with the project I noticed some parts were lighter than others, probably because I folded the final result a bit during hand stitching. I have attached some images and I would be glad to hear what I can do better, also below is the step by step on how I did, is there anything here you would do differently? 

 

Step by step on how I made the key chain:

I used my template and cut the piece I wanted ( I don't have a go to method for corners and I find it quite difficult to get it completely round, how do you do here? )

I punched the leather with a 5 mm pricking Iron ( I use the pricking Iron because it gives me the consistent result I am looking for compared to the diamond chisel which I find harder to work with ). 

Beveling

I dyed using pro oil dye (mahogny) twice with 30 min before each layer to get a darker look 

Used a piece of cloth to rub off

I finished the edges with sandpaper ( It turned out that the sides absorb much dye and there for I could sandpaper the sides without losing any color and then applied some Tokonole to the sides, waited 30 sec and burnished

I then applied Resolene (I find this a bit tricky, I have a sponge which I dip in Resolene and then apply to the product but I always seem to get too much of it and the final piece when dried for 24 hours does look good but can look better..

Lastly I hand stitch using saddle stitch and then hammer down the stitching lines

 

I would highly appreciate if you reviewed my step by step and pictures and give me some feedback on what I can do better.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

[LionCrownLeather]

Adding some information:

I burnished the key chain when the two pieces were stitched together and got a slightly better result for the edges. 

 

[LionCrownLeather]

I accidentally burned a spot when trying to burn a piece of thread. I wonder if this is not suede leather? It seems that every time i touch the key chain it gets stretched out ... 

Edited May 25, 2020 by LionCrownLeather

[Matt S]

Looks good to me, and better than my first attempts at leather mangling. The main thing that strikes me is that 5SPI is very coarse for an item of this size and thickness, but that's a taste thing (I grew up around English saddlery, where 8SPI is considered ordinary). I know that some people like long, straight stitches though, so as I say it's a taste thing.

The effect when leather that changes colour when it's folded is called "pull up". It's generally the sign of a non-opaque finish on the leather and often seen as a desirable thing. It's mostly caused by fats and waxes migrating through the leather as it's stressed. You can reset the effect by warming it with a heat gun or vigorous brushing. Yes it does make things difficult making stuff consistently when selling, especially when online.

If you want a smoother edge, sand and burnish after you've stitched and hammered your seams, as both of these steps can distort the flat, smooth edge you're working for. Oh and glue the sides together before stitching to keep the edges from moving apart when you burnish.

[KDR]

Hey, I'd say that if you're selling online the consistency of each piece is not that important.  You do need to be concerned about it if you're selling a lot of pieces to one customer, ie wholesale. But if you're trying to do that you'll be competing directly with factories in Pakista, India and China.  Individual end users in my experience like to know that what they have is not exactly the same as what somebody else has.  The fact that each one is unique is a great selling point, as long as each one is also excellent!  

My concern with your process is it looks like you're putting a lot of work into a piece that would probably not sell for a lot of money.  If this is what you want to make, get a little hand press and a die made up.  The die can include pricking irons to punch the stitch holes at the same time.  It will save you a lot of cutting.  But I'd suggest making some small pieces like this by hand to figure out if you like working with leather and to think about technique, and then move on to things that are more individual, and which you can sell at a higher price. 

[LionCrownLeather]

On 5/26/2020 at 7:46 AM, KristinaDRawlings said:

Hey, I'd say that if you're selling online the consistency of each piece is not that important.  You do need to be concerned about it if you're selling a lot of pieces to one customer, ie wholesale. But if you're trying to do that you'll be competing directly with factories in Pakista, India and China.  Individual end users in my experience like to know that what they have is not exactly the same as what somebody else has.  The fact that each one is unique is a great selling point, as long as each one is also excellent!  

My concern with your process is it looks like you're putting a lot of work into a piece that would probably not sell for a lot of money.  If this is what you want to make, get a little hand press and a die made up.  The die can include pricking irons to punch the stitch holes at the same time.  It will save you a lot of cutting.  But I'd suggest making some small pieces like this by hand to figure out if you like working with leather and to think about technique, and then move on to things that are more individual, and which you can sell at a higher price. 

Hi

Thank you for the reply, 

What is a handpress purpose and what is a "die"? 

 

Today I was cutting a 2.5 mm new piece of veg tanned leather and I could not at the corners of my template. With a roller it worked to cut straight lines perfectly but as soon as I reached the edges I changed to a knife and it is much harder than it looks. How do you usually cut the edges? I think that the most difficult part and most time consuming is to cut out the templates I use.. Now with this 2.5 mm leather which is quite stiff I find this part extremely difficult to cut. I have bought a quite expensive veg tanned piece of leather that I was going to use for key chains but now that cutting the template seems to be that difficult I want your suggestions. Also please reply back on what kind of leather you think I used before for my first keychain (pictures above) its a soft leather compared to the stiff one I have now which is very "grainy?". It was much easier to work with but I did not like the fact that it became lighter when stretched. 

 

[LionCrownLeather]

On 5/26/2020 at 12:27 AM, Matt S said:

Looks good to me, and better than my first attempts at leather mangling. The main thing that strikes me is that 5SPI is very coarse for an item of this size and thickness, but that's a taste thing (I grew up around English saddlery, where 8SPI is considered ordinary). I know that some people like long, straight stitches though, so as I say it's a taste thing.

The effect when leather that changes colour when it's folded is called "pull up". It's generally the sign of a non-opaque finish on the leather and often seen as a desirable thing. It's mostly caused by fats and waxes migrating through the leather as it's stressed. You can reset the effect by warming it with a heat gun or vigorous brushing. Yes it does make things difficult making stuff consistently when selling, especially when online.

If you want a smoother edge, sand and burnish after you've stitched and hammered your seams, as both of these steps can distort the flat, smooth edge you're working for. Oh and glue the sides together before stitching to keep the edges from moving apart when you burnish.

Hi

 

Thank you for the reply, really helpful  I am so happy internet exists and I can learn from you all. Yes, I forgot to glue... 

Where I live leather  is not a big market, there are few companies here which sell skins and leather tools, for my first projects I did not want to put too much money into it and buy several square feet leather, instead I just bought some leather scraps to start with. Most of the scraps were different and I just determined by the color that it is veg tanned leather and bought it. 

Regarding the stitching lines, I think the thread is too thick, I used 5 mm holes which I also think is maybe too big for this small piece, maybe 3-4 mm pricking iron would be ideal but its a taste thing as you say, generally I like neat "clean" looks more. 

Now I just collected 2.5 mm 12 square ft piece of leather and I was going to cut out a template I have for my keychain and it did not go so well. How do you cut this kind of leather? What do you cut with and most importantly how do you cut rounded edges? My knife is very sharp but when it comes to round edges it is extremely difficult to be consistent, the blade sometimes suddenly goes into an angle and cuts the flesh side more. 

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

[LionCrownLeather]

Regarding the leather I just collected. I noticed even when dyed and after a layer of top coat is put on the leather can still bend/reshape? I can shape this leather.. If I am not mistaken this leather is used for knife sheets and other harder projects where you want to bend something and keep that shape?  If I want to soften it how do I do that? I think I just collected leather that I cant use for keychains.. What kind of projects do you think this leather is good for? 

[KDR]

On 5/27/2020 at 9:27 AM, LionCrownLeather said:

Hi

Thank you for the reply, 

Quote

What is a handpress purpose and what is a "die"? 

A hand press is a hand operated machine that creates pressure on a die, which is basically a shaped knife. The die is placed on the leather and when pressure is applied with the handle, it cuts the leather into the shape.  Something like this:

 

Quote

Today I was cutting a 2.5 mm new piece of veg tanned leather and I could not at the corners of my template. With a roller it worked to cut straight lines perfectly but as soon as I reached the edges I changed to a knife and it is much harder than it looks. How do you usually cut the edges? I think that the most difficult part and most time consuming is to cut out the templates I use.. Now with this 2.5 mm leather which is quite stiff I find this part extremely difficult to cut. I have bought a quite expensive veg tanned piece of leather that I was going to use for key chains but now that cutting the template seems to be that difficult I want your suggestions.

I cut with a clicker press for the most part, but if  am cutting by hand and want to put a circle or half circle or quarter circle, I'll use a round punch or a strap end punch.  There are lots of better people than me on this forum to answer that question!

 

Quote

Also please reply back on what kind of leather you think I used before for my first keychain (pictures above) its a soft leather compared to the stiff one I have now which is very "grainy?". It was much easier to work with but I did not like the fact that it became lighter when stretched. 

I agree with the previous poster who said it was likely 'pull up', aka oily pull. It's a nice leather to work with for your purposes because  it is pliable.  I would add that if you are producing items for other people to buy, your own preference may not be the best guide.  You may not like the way it looks, but that doesn't mean lots of other people won't think it's the coolest thing they've ever seen.

 

[LionCrownLeather]

11 hours ago, KristinaDRawlings said:

 

I can only imagine how much easier it would be to actually just press out the shapes you want instead of cutting. How about the templates you put in the machine, do you buy them online? I live in Europe. Maybe there are sellers online who can make customized ones. Any press machine type you have in mind which you can recommend? My go to is mainly card holders, key chains and eventually larger projects in the future.