Henryclay Report post Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) Greetings from Atlanta. I've actually been hiding amongst you for about 4 years now and finally decided to sign up. As the title says everything started when yet another "made in pakistan" bookbag fell apart on my way into work. I'd buy two bags a year that would end up falling apart. When the last one broke I thought "dammit man I could make a bag better than this" ....so a Google search lead me here. I made my first bag three and a half years ago and despite my inexperience, it hasn't failed me yet. Got a few compliments on it and have actually been selling them to people at work as well as holsters and blackjacks. Even though I'm selling them for 4-500 (my quality is a lot better now) I was still working for about $3 an hour. So using advice from this site I ended up buying a consew 206rb-1. However on the day I bought it, one of the cleats on my truck bed came loose and the table fell out shattering when it hit the road at 50mph. So... Im just now finishing making a table and a pulley reduction for it. Below is my first bag, sewing machine table and a leather sap I made. I really appreciate all the information you guys have given me. Edited March 24, 2021 by Henryclay Photo not uploaded Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henryclay Report post Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) my first bag Edited March 24, 2021 by Henryclay Image not uploading Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheilajeanne Report post Posted March 24, 2021 Wow! That's a very ambitious project for a first-timer! I'm in awe! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
battlemunky Report post Posted March 24, 2021 That is nice! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maxdaddy Report post Posted March 25, 2021 Welcome to the forum as a contributor. It sounds like you've worked through lots of efficiency improvements over the years and hopefully you'll share some of the insights with us. It really is a strange scenario when one person looks at a handmade leather item and thinks "that guy must be getting rich selling those things for $XXX" yet we look at the same piece walking out the door and think "dang, I made way less than minimum wage on that piece". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henryclay Report post Posted March 25, 2021 10 hours ago, maxdaddy said: Welcome to the forum as a contributor. It sounds like you've worked through lots of efficiency improvements over the years and hopefully you'll share some of the insights with us. It really is a strange scenario when one person looks at a handmade leather item and thinks "that guy must be getting rich selling those things for $XXX" yet we look at the same piece walking out the door and think "dang, I made way less than minimum wage on that piece". It really is .... If I ran this like an actual business It'd take me 100 years to even pay for the sewing machine I just got... and most people are just as content with nylon crap off of amazon... it seems as if everything is disposable these days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henryclay Report post Posted March 25, 2021 16 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said: Wow! That's a very ambitious project for a first-timer! I'm in awe! Well thank ya and yes I highly underestimated the work that goes into making a bag haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert03241 Report post Posted March 31, 2021 Thats a beautiful piece of work. Yes people haven't a clue what goes into leather work.. I've sold a couple of my knife sheaths 4 $24 and people think thats a lot for a little knife sheath.They don't look at the 3 hours of labor, the leather, the thread, the snaps and the Paypal and ebay fee's. plus the design time on the computer and engraving machine costs. I think I'm in the hole when all is said and done. I think most of us here do it because we love making stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
