book recommendation for beginners?

[newshoes]

Hi,

I was sure this probably has been asked before, but I haven't found anything in my searches through the forum just yet.  Are there any books that you experienced leather workers would especially recommend for a beginner?  Primarily my interests are towards shoes and dog collars, but some good information on general leatherwork would probably help me with both.

[Hardrada]

The first three listed here are ESSENTIAL:

https://www.ianatkinson.net/leather/toolset.htm

[zuludog]

As in the link posted by Hardrada I can recommend 'The Leatherworking Handbook' by Valerie MIchael and 'The Art of Hand Sewing Leather' by Al Stohlman

Nigel Armitage is a widely recognised expert on leatherwork, and his book is due out soon, I've already ordered it - 'Leathercraft: Traditional Handcrafted Leatherwork Skills and Projects'

There is a lot of information on YouTube. J H Leather has videos on making dog collars, and other things. These YT channels are also good - Nigel Armitage, Ian Atkinson, Geordie Leather. Just Search for 'beginners leatherwork';  'making shoes', and so on 

[newshoes]

Thank you both!

I'll check those all out! I've seen some JH Leather videos, but not the others.  It's pretty amazing what you can learn on Youtube these days,  my problem with the videos is I tend to watch too many and then can't always remember where I saw what.  So I definitely need to get a couple of books too.  I also appreciate the tool info.

Tasha

[PhilDimashq]

@newshoes Hi there.

I'm also a beginner (started in May) and the advice already given here is great.

 

I found Valerie MIchael's book to be a good general introduction with information on a wide range of topics.

She starts with the leather itself - types tanning, the names of cuts of leather, leather weights and what they're best for. etc etc.

Then she goes onto the tools, other materials, hardware etc before getting into various techniques for leather work.

There's also a few projects included for different levels of ability with patterns/instructions etc.

A very good introduction.

 

Al Stohlman's book on hand stitching is invaluable. Once I got my copy it changed how I sew, helped me notice and start to fix my mistakes.

It's great for tips on what to do in situations that are tricky for beginners:  things like running out of thread during a line of stitching or piercing your thread.

 

As a beginner, I have found both the videos by Nigel Armitage and Ian Aktinson to be a huge help. 

They are superb at their craft and really good at explaining things. Both have very good videos on stitching which would be a good place to start.

Other youtube sources that I have found really useful are Terrick from Chartermade, Yun from Leathertoolz and Chuck from Weaverleather.

There are many, many more, but each of these has been (and continues to be) a particular help to me.

 

A tip on youtube which I didn't know when I started leathercrafting.

You can create your own personal playlists and then save videos that you like into them.

So now I have different playlists set up for videos on different topics such as stitching, tools, tutorials, techniques and so on.

Very handy, like having your own video library.

 

Best of luck,

Phil

Edited November 27, 2020 by PhilDimashq

[newshoes]

Thanks Phil!

I've ordered The Leatherworking Handbook and The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, and have been exploring some of the videos on youtube as well.  I've fallen into a bit of a wormhole watching tooling videos, lol.  It wasn't something that I had previously had any interest in, but I can't stop watching them.  That's a great tip about making playlists.  I didn't know I could do that.

 

Tasha

[chuck123wapati]

tandy website has a library of leather working books by Stohlman most are free.  https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/

Edited December 3, 2020 by chuck123wapati

[mike02130]

Harry Rogers on YouTube has been doing a shoe project.

[newshoes]

On 12/3/2020 at 9:25 AM, chuck123wapati said:

tandy website has a library of leather working books by Stohlman most are free.  https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/

Thanks!  I had no idea.

[jonesys]

For shoe making, Sveta Kletina has a very good series on youtube, including lasts, tools and pattern drafting.

[Rahere]

On 12/7/2020 at 12:45 AM, jonesys said:

For shoe making, Sveta Kletina has a very good series on youtube, including lasts, tools and pattern drafting.

Nice first post, I was about to say the same. Welcome aboard!

One problem's finding things like taxon board in small volumes: I'll add icanmakeshoes.com

[MitraSurik]

It seems to me that here it is more practical to study videos on Youtube, if you want to raise the skill.

[CruzTorres]

On 11/27/2020 at 2:09 PM, PhilDimashq said:

@newshoes Hi there.

I'm also a beginner (started in May) and the advice already given here is great.

 

I found Valerie MIchael's book to be a good general introduction with information on a wide range of topics.

She starts with the leather itself - types tanning, the names of cuts of leather, leather weights and what they're best for. etc etc.

Then she goes onto the tools, other materials, hardware etc before getting into various techniques for leather work.

There's also a few projects included for different levels of ability with patterns/instructions etc.

A very good introduction.

 

Al Stohlman's book on hand stitching is invaluable. Once I got my copy it changed how I sew, helped me notice and start to fix my mistakes.

It's great for tips on what to do in situations that are tricky for beginners:  things like running out of thread during a line of stitching or piercing your thread.

 

As a beginner, I have found both the videos by Nigel Armitage and Ian Aktinson to be a huge help. 

They are superb at their craft and really good at explaining things. Both have very good videos on stitching which would be a good place to start.

Other youtube sources that I have found really useful are Terrick from Chartermade, Yun from Leathertoolz and Chuck from Weaverleather.

There are many, many more, but each of these has been (and continues to be) a particular help to me.

Also, with regard to books, literature and training, I want to share with you a useful link to the resource https://blablawriting.com/ This service helps me in times when I am experiencing difficulties at the university. I learned a lot of useful literature thanks to this service.

A tip on youtube which I didn't know when I started leathercrafting.

You can create your own personal playlists and then save videos that you like into them.

So now I have different playlists set up for videos on different topics such as stitching, tools, tutorials, techniques and so on.

Very handy, like having your own video library.

 

Best of luck,

Phil

Thank you so much Phil!

Edited August 30, 2021 by CruzTorres

[topazann]

I don't know if there is any single comprehensive book, to be honest. I can tell you, though, that the most helpful books that I have encountered thus far are all by Al Stohlman: The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, and The Art of Making Leather Cases volumes 1 and 2. I didn't find volume 3 to be quite as useful; while volumes 1 and 2 include general guides at the beginning (how to attach a zipper, instructions for different types of handles, etc.), volume 3 is composed only of projects and patterns.
I'd also recommend Leatherwork School by E. Valentine and The leatherworking handbook by Valerie Michael. here free digital book

Edited October 13, 2021 by topazann

[chuck123wapati]

any and all you can find! Here is a cool one   https://ia903101.us.archive.org/18/items/thedecorationofl40286gut/40286-h/40286-h.htm

or this one   https://ia601600.us.archive.org/33/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.155482/2015.155482.Leather-Work-A-Practical-Manual-For-Learners_text.pdf

https://archive.org/details/americana?query=leather+&sin=&and[]=subject%3A"Leatherwork"

knowledge never gets old.

Edited October 13, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[Klara]

Thanks for the links!

[chuck123wapati]

4 hours ago, Klara said:

Thanks for the links!

 i am fascinated with the historical knowledge in them, might try some of the older techniques this winter, but have to make a few tools it looks like. 

[JamesLamb]

Books are very good, but only if they work in tandem with practical work. Sometimes you have to do the work by example of a similar one, like here, there's an article about literature review writing  https://uk.edubirdie.com/literature-review-writing from a ready-made sample that might come in handy. I started by taking apart the finished pieces with the help of a tutor and a notebook, the book usually read before going to bed.

Edited February 14, 2022 by JamesLamb

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, JamesLamb said:

Books are very good, but only if they work in tandem with practical work. Sometimes you have to do the work by example of a similar one, like here, there's an article about literature review writing  https://uk.edubirdie.com/literature-review-writing from a ready-made sample that might come in handy. I started by taking apart the finished pieces with the help of a tutor and a notebook, the book usually read before going to bed.

let someone else read it for you? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of! Its called reading comprehension learn it and use it. Used to be taught in schools. here start with this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Deliberate-Dumbing-Abridged-Charlotte-2011-05-03/dp/B01FGMTF02

[Klara]

Are actual people writing these "ads" or are they cobbled together by cmputers? I mean, not only has it nothing to do with the topic of the thread, I can't really make sense of the text either...

But again thanks for the link, @chuck123wapati , it led me to watching a few shocking videos on YouTube... And better understanding of the last years...

 

[tsunkasapa]

4 hours ago, JamesLamb said:

Books are very good, but only if they work in tandem with practical work. Sometimes you have to do the work by example of a similar one, like here, there's an article about literature review writing  https://uk.edubirdie.com/literature-review-writing from a ready-made sample that might come in handy. I started by taking apart the finished pieces with the help of a tutor and a notebook, the book usually read before going to bed.

Smells like Spam to me.