Back from a 2yr hiatus

[Wedgetail]

G’day all, been a long time since I have been active on here.

I moved house and left all my stuff in storage while working on the place… including building my new workshop, among other things.

But I’m back in action now, and this is my first project in 2 years.

kangaroo skin outer (dark brown), chèvre chagrin sully lining (marine).

tiger thread, mid brown, 0.6mm

edge paint is fiebings edge kote, dark brown…. It was what I could get quick because all my old paints dried out and separated beyond recovery. I don’t love it. Taking suggestions for a good edge paint!

cheers,

[RockyAussie]

Welcome back mate....that is some pretty good looking work there I reckon. Happy new year

[Spyros]

Ιf you make it again it might benefit from a bit of reinforcement to give the main panel some stiffness, but I love the colour combination, very elegant.

Is the goat leather locally sourced or imported?

I don't really have an opinion on paints, in my mind trying to balance a liquid on the edge of leather is an exercise for circus seals, robots, masochists, neurosurgeons and other people with much better dexterity and patience than me LOL

Having said that, a guy I know who makes Hermes style bags with exotic leathers and generally great results swears by the Uniters brand.

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Spyros

[Wedgetail]

Thanks @RockyAussie!

rusty as a nail but I’ll get there! 

I actually searched for an age on here to find where you posted pics of a similar gusset… couldn’t find them, so just winged it instead, using what I remember of it as inspiration haha

Thanks @Spyros I was toying with the idea of using some reinforcement too but worried about it being too stiff. I think the next one I make I will definitely try it.

I haven’t tried Uniters yet, will look into where I can get it. I’m usually a burnishing guy myself but these were chrome tanned so… no chance of that! Haha

The goatskin is imported, it’s Alran tannery which is French. I shipped to Oz from Rocky Mountain leather supply a long time ago. I think locally in Australia now you can find Alran goatskins at Coastal Leather.

the kangaroo was from Birdsall leather.

[RockyAussie]

25 minutes ago, Wedgetail said:

actually searched for an age on here to find where you posted pics of a similar gusset… couldn’t find them, so just winged it instead, using what I remember of it as inspiration haha

Not sure which ones I posted before, did they look like this|?

[Spyros]

45 minutes ago, Wedgetail said:

Thanks @RockyAussie!

rusty as a nail but I’ll get there! 

I actually searched for an age on here to find where you posted pics of a similar gusset… couldn’t find them, so just winged it instead, using what I remember of it as inspiration haha

Thanks @Spyros I was toying with the idea of using some reinforcement too but worried about it being too stiff. I think the next one I make I will definitely try it.

I haven’t tried Uniters yet, will look into where I can get it. I’m usually a burnishing guy myself but these were chrome tanned so… no chance of that! Haha

The goatskin is imported, it’s Alran tannery which is French. I shipped to Oz from Rocky Mountain leather supply a long time ago. I think locally in Australia now you can find Alran goatskins at Coastal Leather.

the kangaroo was from Birdsall leather.

Thanks mate

How is ordering from Rocky Mountain?  Shipping times and cost wise?  I order from Buckleguy regularly, and I'd like to try other ones but not if the shipping experience is terrible.

[Wedgetail]

@RockyAussie no,  but thanks because that’s the style I’m going to try next though I think.

I think I called it a welted gusset or something, and your description for what you called them consisted of an assortment of symbols representing the frustration that one endures when constructing them! Haha

from memory it was a handbag, included a stiffener in the gusset, and I think was used when you wanted the lining to be visible from the outside… not that I did that here.

@Spyros RM leather supply were great to deal with. But the last time I ordered from them was mid 2019… back then shipping was ridiculously fast too, it arrived in 8 days.

But fast forward 2 years, and add this global situation… can’t say whether it is the same experience. Regardless i plan to reorder from them again soon.

[Wedgetail]

@RockyAussie found it!

 

 

[RockyAussie]

On 1/1/2022 at 9:04 PM, Wedgetail said:

think I called it a welted gusset or something, and your description for what you called them consisted of an assortment of symbols representing the frustration that one endures when constructing them! Haha

AAH HAA yes now I do remember. I have some more of them to do coming up soon......###&!!!!. The other gussets are way easier, especially when the edges don't have to be folded before coming together.

[Wedgetail]

35 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

AAH HAA yes now I do remember. I have some more of them to do coming up soon......###&!!!!. The other gussets are way easier, especially when the edges don't have to be folded before coming together.

Hahaha once a year sounds long enough to recover.

Yeah I am pretty happy with how the one I made came out… but I can definitely see the difference between what I did, and what I vaguely remembered seeing here (that I was shooting for)! Lol

still, getting back into it for the first time in a while I really wanted to push myself to get those skills back.

I think I’ll try some of the simpler gussets next. They look great, will suit what I’m making, and are way less fiddly! 

 

[Northmount]

15 hours ago, Wedgetail said:

 

 

A book referred to in the post above - W C Double's 1960 book The Design and Construction of Handbags is available as a PDF from this location https://vdoc.pub/download/design-and-construction-of-handbags-2o03sd59jrbg for anyone who might be interested.

[Wedgetail]

7 hours ago, Northmount said:

A book referred to in the post above - W C Double's 1960 book The Design and Construction of Handbags is available as a PDF from this location https://vdoc.pub/download/design-and-construction-of-handbags-2o03sd59jrbg for anyone who might be interested.

Nice, thanks. I’ll go check that out.