Members Piko Posted December 6, 2021 Author Members Report Posted December 6, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hardrada said: The first step in achieving consistency is to stop buying leather from Tandy. Next would be to buy better, nicer leather that is already finished, even split to your specifications. Whilst I don't work for them or get kickbacks, I do recommend looking at Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. For my small goods I buy the leather from them already split (splitting is "free"**). This is the latest wallet I produced: Do note that even with fine leather "consistency" (as in "it will ALWAYS look the same [in terms of shade, grain, lustre, &c.]") will just not happen. See the last photo: the thinner leather for the inner parts, split to 1 oz is a wee bit darker and shinier than the leather for the cover, which was split to 2.5 oz, even though they're the same Sully Chevre from Alran. No two animals will have the same skin and there are variables in the tanning process that will introduce small variations in final looks. This is NOT a flaw to desperately try to avoid, unless you definitely want the uniform look of mass produced goods. These variations, "inconsistencies" if you will, are the unique signature of hand-crafted, artisanal goods, and what gives them higher appeal than those coming from a factory. ______________ ** I put "free" in quotation marks because, technically, when you buy leather and have it split to a given weight, the splitter must give you back both the leather and the split (a.k.a. suede), but RML keeps the split. Again, technically, they're not cheating you, since it costs to operate the splitting machine and they're not charging you extra for the splitting, as others would do. Hardrada, now thats a good looking wallet. i recently purchased some pueblo leather and a liner from RML but waiting for delivery. I laser cut the leather so I am not sure how a finished leather will behave under the laser. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what ‘finished’ leather is. One thing I got to point out about English is that you guys use a lot of same words to descrive something completely different-ie top as in best and apical layer. Finished as a completed item as well as lacquered or painted etc. So I am still learning the terms. i am not sure if the Pueblo leather i bought is finished or not. Oh, and good point on the ‘free’. Did not think about it. I went with RML because they split leather. If it cuts under my laser and the fumes don’t kill me…I guess I’ll stick with them otherwise they’d have lost a potential customer (lol). thank you for your help. Edited December 6, 2021 by Piko Quote
Members mike02130 Posted December 6, 2021 Members Report Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Piko said: i am not sure if the Pueblo leather i bought is finished or not. I don't know what you mean by finished. There is nothing you need to do to finish Pueblo. It has been dyed and buffed with what looks like an orbital sander. It has swirl marks. It has a matte finish. The edges can be burnished but I prefer edge paint. Tokonole works well on the edges but be careful getting it on the face of the leather, it may leave spots. Any conditioning on the grain side will darken it. I Tokonole all the grain then put a coat of Saphir wax. Looks better than leaving it matte and adds protection. Pueblo will patina faster than other leathers I've used. Quote @mike02130 Instagram
CFM Hardrada Posted December 7, 2021 CFM Report Posted December 7, 2021 3 hours ago, Piko said: you guys use a lot of same words to descrive something completely different-ie top as in best and apical layer Hmm, don't you bambini do the same with alto—tall and mighty? Good-natured ribbing aside, I might have used the wrong term with "finished". What I wanted to convey was the idea of a leather that is already dyed and has had some kind of treatment applied to the grain surface so that it doesn't really require any finish such as Fiebing's Leather Balm or carnauba wax or Aussie's Conditioner to look good. You've seen tons of such leathers at RML. Pueblo, for instance would be a "finished" leather. I've also made some goods out of Minerva (the wallet) and Badalassi Carlo's Waxy (the pipe pouch): One reason I chose to use these leathers is that I also live and work in an apartment, a carpeted one to boot, and I don't really want to be dealing with dyes and chemicals that might end up on the carpet. The downside of this approach is that if your client wants a different colour, you'll have to order another piece of leather, or have several of the same type and weight in storage in order to satisfy clients' choices. I sold two of those pipe pouches, and each client wanted a different shade of brown, so I had to order one of each. Whilst I'm not trying to knock off your laser cutting, I'd suggest using a knife to cut the leather: it's neither noisy nor messy, and in many instances is just the way to go—and no fumes, LOL. Once you get into skiving or paring, you'll have no choice but to use a blade. Quote
Members Piko Posted December 7, 2021 Author Members Report Posted December 7, 2021 3 hours ago, mike02130 said: I don't know what you mean by finished. There is nothing you need to do to finish Pueblo. It has been dyed and buffed with what looks like an orbital sander. It has swirl marks. It has a matte finish. The edges can be burnished but I prefer edge paint. Tokonole works well on the edges but be careful getting it on the face of the leather, it may leave spots. Any conditioning on the grain side will darken it. I Tokonole all the grain then put a coat of Saphir wax. Looks better than leaving it matte and adds protection. Pueblo will patina faster than other leathers I've used. You put Tokonole on the whole grain side? Do you burnish it with glass or just let it dry? Then you apply Saphir wax? those are great tips, thank you! Quote
Members Piko Posted December 7, 2021 Author Members Report Posted December 7, 2021 59 minutes ago, Hardrada said: Hmm, don't you bambini do the same with alto—tall and mighty? Good-natured ribbing aside, I might have used the wrong term with "finished". What I wanted to convey was the idea of a leather that is already dyed and has had some kind of treatment applied to the grain surface so that it doesn't really require any finish such as Fiebing's Leather Balm or carnauba wax or Aussie's Conditioner to look good. You've seen tons of such leathers at RML. Pueblo, for instance would be a "finished" leather. I've also made some goods out of Minerva (the wallet) and Badalassi Carlo's Waxy (the pipe pouch): One reason I chose to use these leathers is that I also live and work in an apartment, a carpeted one to boot, and I don't really want to be dealing with dyes and chemicals that might end up on the carpet. The downside of this approach is that if your client wants a different colour, you'll have to order another piece of leather, or have several of the same type and weight in storage in order to satisfy clients' choices. I sold two of those pipe pouches, and each client wanted a different shade of brown, so I had to order one of each. Whilst I'm not trying to knock off your laser cutting, I'd suggest using a knife to cut the leather: it's neither noisy nor messy, and in many instances is just the way to go—and no fumes, LOL. Once you get into skiving or paring, you'll have no choice but to use a blade. Touche’ on the Alto, Hardrada. I laser-cut mostly to avoid punch in in the holes. I plan in moving soon and I’ll have a better place: for now this is all I can do. Ok, so pueblo is finished. I am still trying to make sense of conditioners, top layers etc but again, it has been two months. I am light years behind you guys. Love the items btw, good job! And thanks for the tips Quote
CFM Hardrada Posted December 7, 2021 CFM Report Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Piko said: You put Tokonole on the whole grain side? Do you burnish it with glass or just let it dry? Then you apply Saphir wax? those are great tips, thank you! Just apply a light coating of Tokonole to the flesh side and then go to town with the edge of the glass slicker on it: ADDENDUM: I strongly recommend placing the leather on a non-marring surface (I use a scrap of soft-temper deerskin), because you'll be applying quite a bit of pressure on it and if you lay it on the table or cutting board you might end up marking it, specially if there are any leather "crumbs" or anything else under it. Edited December 7, 2021 by Hardrada Quote
Members mike02130 Posted December 7, 2021 Members Report Posted December 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Piko said: You put Tokonole on the whole grain side? Do you burnish it with glass or just let it dry? Then you apply Saphir wax? those are great tips, thank you! I don't use pueblo much other than the occasional small item so I use my fingers and then wipe it off with a paper towel or rag. Wait awhile and then use the Saphir. It gives it a nice gloss. Pueblo is the only leather I do that with. I discovered this when I made a mistake and spilled some on the grain side and it left a spot. Tokonole has some wax in the formula. What do you plan on making and how thick is the leather? Quote @mike02130 Instagram
Members Piko Posted December 7, 2021 Author Members Report Posted December 7, 2021 11 hours ago, mike02130 said: I don't use pueblo much other than the occasional small item so I use my fingers and then wipe it off with a paper towel or rag. Wait awhile and then use the Saphir. It gives it a nice gloss. Pueblo is the only leather I do that with. I discovered this when I made a mistake and spilled some on the grain side and it left a spot. Tokonole has some wax in the formula. What do you plan on making and how thick is the leather? Thank you! i am making wallets. The main structure is 2mm thick (5-6 oz) and the outside pockets are 1mm (2-3oz) see the photo, that’s what I am making. i’ve only used Veg Tan from Amazon and Tandy so far so I am yet to experiment with different leathers like Pueblo. cant wait. Quote
Members mike02130 Posted December 7, 2021 Members Report Posted December 7, 2021 That's getting a bit thick, you may want to skive the edges. Pueblo is a soft stretchy leather. Do you have standard irons or diamond point or what? What size are they? Thread ought to be determined by hole size and distance. Buttero is nice leather for wallet making. Quote @mike02130 Instagram
Members Piko Posted December 9, 2021 Author Members Report Posted December 9, 2021 On 12/7/2021 at 8:01 AM, mike02130 said: That's getting a bit thick, you may want to skive the edges. Pueblo is a soft stretchy leather. Do you have standard irons or diamond point or what? What size are they? Thread ought to be determined by hole size and distance. Buttero is nice leather for wallet making. Mike, I lasercut so no irons (although i have 4mm round and 3mm dimonds). I skive the T pocket. I dont understand skiving the edge. If I do, if I understand thus correctly, it would shave bulk from the edges once they are glues and stitched. But the rest of the wallet, will be thicker than the sides the are skived. I don't ee the point in that. I like how thick the wllet is ne when i burnish it it loos like wood. Pretty cool. thank you Quote
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