Novice buying leather

[MtlBiker]

I placed my first leather order yesterday, and I hope I ordered some good stuff.  I didn't see natural vegetable tanned leather on that site (OA Leather Supply) but I ordered Sepici Leather - Spade Milled Black 3-4oz × 1 and S.B. Foot - Dove 69 Black 5-6oz × 1 as well as two "mystery bundles".  And later today I'll be visiting the a local leather supplier where I hope to see and touch various leathers and hopefully get some advice.

The learning begins!

Thanks for all the help!

[blue duck]

You mentioned sewing your project with a machine. Do you have an actual leather sewing machine or an industrial walking foot sewing machine? If you are using a household machine, the type of leather you want for this project and that machine are not compatible. You will, at the least, break a needle and mess your timing up or even destroy the machine. You may need to consider hand sewing. There is a wealth of information on sewing machines on this site. It is a whole other can of worms.

 

[Bert03241]

Is it a big hassle to order from Amazon in Canada. If not they sell small sheets of leather in various thickness. for you pouch project you could order 1 or two sheets of  12"x12" Veg tan in 3 to 4  oz  .

[Hardrada]

8 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

I placed my first leather order yesterday, and I hope I ordered some good stuff.  I didn't see natural vegetable tanned leather on that site (OA Leather Supply) but I ordered Sepici Leather - Spade Milled Black 3-4oz × 1 and S.B. Foot - Dove 69 Black 5-6oz × 1 as well as two "mystery bundles".  And later today I'll be visiting the a local leather supplier where I hope to see and touch various leathers and hopefully get some advice.

The learning begins!

Thanks for all the help!

Let us know how it turns out!

If you want your pouches to stand on their own, go for the Sepici Spade next time!

[MtlBiker]

10 hours ago, blue duck said:

You mentioned sewing your project with a machine. Do you have an actual leather sewing machine or an industrial walking foot sewing machine? If you are using a household machine, the type of leather you want for this project and that machine are not compatible. You will, at the least, break a needle and mess your timing up or even destroy the machine. You may need to consider hand sewing. There is a wealth of information on sewing machines on this site. It is a whole other can of worms.

 

Well, I’ve got some leather needles for my Consew 206RB-5 and Techsew 2750 Pro… I’m pretty sure that they’ll do me for the near and foreseeable future. If I find I need a more heavy duty leather machine sometime later, well, maybe. For now I just want to get my feet wet with leather. 

[MtlBiker]

8 hours ago, Bert03241 said:

Is it a big hassle to order from Amazon in Canada. If not they sell small sheets of leather in various thickness. for you pouch project you could order 1 or two sheets of  12"x12" Veg tan in 3 to 4  oz  .

No, Amazon Canada is pretty easy. But 12 x 12 sounds awfully small.  I looked at some veg tan leather today but all they had was full “pieces” of 13 to 16 sq feet and it was about 6 oz.  too thick (I think) for what I want to make (with machine sewing) and too expensive for this beginner. 
 

i ended up with some scraps, some about 5 oz and the others 2.5 to 4 oz. enough for me to experiment. 
 

But the fellow told me the only leather that can be wet formed was veg tan. He said he would have some thinner about 3 oz in two or three weeks. 

(Just looked at Amazon…. It’s much more expensive that the leather place I visited today. Three to four times more expensive.  They quoted $6.80 per sq ft for 5 to 6 oz veg tan and said the thinner stuff was less.)

 

[MtlBiker]

3 hours ago, Hardrada said:

Let us know how it turns out!

If you want your pouches to stand on their own, go for the Sepici Spade next time!

That’s exactly what I said I ordered!

By stand on their own, you just mean a fairly rigid pouch, or something else?

Is it correct that only veg tan can be wet formed?

 

[Hardrada]

1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

That’s exactly what I said I ordered!

By stand on their own, you just mean a fairly rigid pouch, or something else?

Is it correct that only veg tan can be wet formed?

 

Hmm, I think you posted you got this one:

https://www.oaleathersupply.com/collections/new/products/sepici-leather-spade-milled-black-5-6oz

That's soft temper.

The one I suggested is the non-milled:

https://www.oaleathersupply.com/collections/new/products/sepici-leather-spade-chestnut-3-4oz

 

Yup, a rigid pouch like this one:

I used medium temper 3 oz Badalassi Carlo Waxy for that one.

 

Yes, you're correct: only vegetable tanned can be wet moulded. I've experimented wet moulding latigo (chrome tanned first, then veg re-tanned) and didn't really get a good result. For moulding and carving/stamping, you have to use veg tan.

[MtlBiker]

10 hours ago, Hardrada said:

Hmm, I think you posted you got this one:

https://www.oaleathersupply.com/collections/new/products/sepici-leather-spade-milled-black-5-6oz

That's soft temper.

The one I suggested is the non-milled:

https://www.oaleathersupply.com/collections/new/products/sepici-leather-spade-chestnut-3-4oz

 

Yup, a rigid pouch like this one:

I used medium temper 3 oz Badalassi Carlo Waxy for that one.

 

Yes, you're correct: only vegetable tanned can be wet moulded. I've experimented wet moulding latigo (chrome tanned first, then veg re-tanned) and didn't really get a good result. For moulding and carving/stamping, you have to use veg tan.

You're right!  I didn't know or understand the difference between milled leather and non-milled.  And the one I ordered has a soft temper.  I guess I'll have to place another order, before even receiving the first.

Very nice pouch you made there!  Is it lined?  I think I see stitching around the edge of the flap.  Were you machine or hand stitching?  It looks very good.

And I'll have to also order some veg tanned leather so that I can mould it.  Do I have it right that first I mould, then maybe trim to the right size to fit the back piece, then dye it, stitch it, and finish by burnishing the edges?  Or have I got that wrong?

Thanks again for your kind help.

 

[MtlBiker]

OA Leather has a burnisher for $42... is that something special or (especially) for a novice would something like this from Amazon be just as good?

Likewise for burnishing the edges, they have a Wax Biscuit for $3, and Amazon has Seiwa Tokonole for $19 plus import fees (shipping from Japan).

I don't know what I need.