Expensive Hobby

[Woodshed]

To keep my costs down, as a hobbyist, I shop the sales and don't buy the premium leathers. I have so much to learn that it is better for me to get a lot of leather (a variety of weights) as inexpensively as possible, because at the end of the day, as my skills improve, the budget leather I use looks and works great. Tools are a different matter. I just pace myself and try to get what I really need. I bought a few cheap tools to start but found out that wasn't the way to go so now I am very selective and willing to pay more for better tools. I also fabricate as many of my tools as I can.

[JimNiner]

Excellent advice. I did some searching of more budget leathers and paid attention to how they are sold (sq.ft.) and It’s clear I can get by much cheaper.

12 hours ago, Woodshed said:

To keep my costs down, as a hobbyist, I shop the sales and don't buy the premium leathers.

This is key advice for someone like me just starting out. I ordered some more budget friendly leather - we’ll see how that works out. Never tried chrome tan - I just like the look and feel of veg tan. 
 

thanks everyone for the replies and advise.

[fredk]

More sage wisdom, 

Get to know one or two leather suppliers. in a business sense. That relationship will work well for you in the long term.

Ask those suppliers if they have any old or odd leathers they need shot of. I mean, I once got a big hide from Le Prevo real cheap because the way it had been stored part of it got darkened by light and another part was dusty dirty. It cleaned up well and once dyed the colour was all the same

Ask for what I think you call 'close out' (?) leather. Sometimes a place has only one or two certain hides left. Too few to offer up on their website maybe but they might sell them off a bit cheaper to get room for a new order - I've got leather that way (I also got my Cadillac Coupe DeVille that way! )

Chrome tan has its place but certain leathers are suitable for only certain things.

Chrome tan was great for this hat

But its no good for covering a game board

I've made book covers from both chrome and veg tan leathers

Chrome

Veg

 

If you are really skint, get along to some 'thrift' stores. See if they've got in some old furniture that is no good to sell and they're going to dump. Some of it might have leather on it which you can cut off and re-use

Edited October 23, 2021 by fredk

[Handstitched]

10 hours ago, fredk said:

Ask for what I think you call 'close out' (?)

Great minds think alike. I have  supplier in Queensland that has a 'clear out' of excess stock, over runs etc. , and often  super cheap too. For example, a bundle of 5 roo hides, some imperfect,  would be somewhere around $20-30 au +P&P, about $20-30,  I order more than one bundle , and anything else worth having, still works out cheap. So it is worth asking about discounted  leather,  and 2nd, 3rd grade hides . 

HS

*love the new recruit to play  "Spock"  

Edited October 24, 2021 by Handstitched

[Spyros]

I dunno, it depends what you're making really...

Personally I find it a bad idea to try and cut costs, or use cheaper leather or even buy leather at sales.  Because if you look at the cost of a bag for example, even if you use bridle leather, riri zippers, ritza thread, solid brass hardware and saphir cream, the total cost of materials is still small, almost negligible, compared to the main cost which is your specialised labour with your specialised tools.  People here are skilled, and that comes with a cost.  Ring a tiler or a carpenter or (God help us) plumber, and ask him to come to your house and make repairs 9-5 for 3 days straight, can you imagine what he'd charge you?  A lot.  And that's the cost of your labour for making a bag, no reason why it would it be any different.

There are people out there who charge more than $2k USD for a normal, basic, but well made messenger bag, made from good materials. That is actually a fair price for a large, quality item hand made by a skilled person in a western country.  If they skimped on materials it would make for an average to crappy bag, they'd have to drop their price by half or more, and for what?  to save $100?  It doesn't make any sense.

I do suspect that a lot of leatherworkers severely undervalue themselves and the value of their labour.

Leatherworking as a hobby.... Can it get expensive?  Sure, it can.   Get good at it, then get even better, then make something you'd really be proud to sell, and sell it.   Do that once or twice a month and it should cover most if not all your costs.  And use exactly the materials that you feel are appropriate for the look and feel and functionality of the thing you're making, not cheaper.   I think that's a better philosophy than letting the price of materials determine the quality and/or aesthetic of what you're making.  Or wasting time and energy trying to make use of scraps and offcuts that was never part of your plan.

Now if you can find exactly the material you want at a lower price, sure, get it.  But don't let whatever you're finding cheap determine what it is you're making, make the thing you want the way you want it.

That's my 2c anyway, YMMV

 

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Spyros

[Klara]

But the thing is, first you have to get good at it. And in my opinion and experience, cheap leather is perfectly fine for practising cutting and sewing.  Actually, I have made more out of my shitty split leather (€ 90 the double butt - should have known that something is wrong) and the chrome-tan I've had lying around for ages than out of the supposedly good-quality veg tan I bought from my local shop. Because with the cheap stuff I'm not afraid of messing up. 

And I think it's a really bad idea to start thinking about selling too early. Not to mention that some people just don't want all the hassle of dealing with customers...

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Klara

[RockyAussie]

1 hour ago, Klara said:

Because with the cheap stuff I'm not afraid of messing up.

Yeah I know that feeling well. Don't  start with crocodylus porosus.

[Spyros]

Life's too short for crap leather

[Squid61]

There are a lot of very good leathers that don't cost what Herman Oak costs.  To read this thread one would think anything less the the best is crap leather, nonsense.  I buy what I can afford and make it look like it should cost more, it's what craftsmanship is about.  I also don't sell; I do occasionally make to order with the "customer" selecting and paying for the leather, labor is free, it's my hobby not a business.

[dikman]

ANY hobby I take up (and there have been a few) always seems to turn out expensive!