Professional wallet making tutorial (book)

[Danne]

I did read through some posts here, and I'm not 100% certain but it seems like sharing this will not be against the rules.

So I saw that Chestermox (Bellanie Salcedo) is taking pre-orders for a book that describes in depth how she make her fully lined bifold wallets. I think I have a quite good understanding how her wallets are constructed. But I still really want this book, because I know I will pick up a lot of techniques. 

The reason I share this here is for two reasons. I think a lot of other crafters here also might be interested in this book. I would say my construction knowledge is on an intermediate level, and wow how I wish this book would have been available years ago.

The second reason is because I want this to be fully funded or otherwise I obviously can't get the book. 

I feel a little hesitant to post this. I don't gain anything from sharing this. And those who have been here for a while know that I try to answer questions and help other if I can. And I think this is a book that would be worth it's money for those interested in this type of wallets, so I think it's worth sharing. 

 

https://chestermoxatelier.com/products/the-art-book

Her instagram where there are two posts about this coming book.

www.instagram.com/chestermox

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Danne

[Spyros]

I guess it's cheaper than destroying leather with trial and error or spending hours trying to guess the secrets.  

Is there anything in those wallets that I don't see in yours Danne?  Because if there is, I struggle to see it to be honest.

Nice colours though.

[Danne]

3 minutes ago, Spyros said:

I guess it's cheaper than destroying leather with trial and error or spending hours trying to guess the secrets.  

Is there anything in those wallets that I don't see in yours Danne?  Because if there is, I struggle to see it to be honest.

Nice colours though.

I have analyzed enough of her photos to see how most parts of the wallet is  constructed. But not the techniques used (Just like I do everywhere on Instagram) 

I have some things I would like to do different, but it would require me to be able to split leather. 

Since I never had any education I often do things in a very complicated way. And I’m certain there are a lot of tips and tricks on how to align things, flush cut and such.

Two things she do that I don’t do.

1. Full size card pockets and fully lined. I do a relatively wide T-pocket construction and not lined. I will probably keep doing it this way but when I have a splitting solution I think I will line pockets. I personally don’t see any benefits of lining card pockets in the goat I usually use for my wallet interiors, but when combining with other types of leather like alligator I want them lined so at least for some combinations I will line all card pockets.

2. Her wallets are (X-stitched) I don’t know a better word. But they are punched with the same iron from both sides and stitched without casting the thread. The benefit with this is that it’s a lot easier to get a nice slant on both sides. On really thin leather when only punching from one side at least I have to choose which side should have the ”best slant” Another crafter that use this technique is Atelier Shiang.

Also skiving is done different on her wallets, in a way I will be interested in learning because I would benefit from that construction method for other types of leather than what I use now. And I’m sure that book will give me a decent amount of ”wow moments” like ”oh I never thought about doing it that way”

Most crafters do some things different. I feel confident in the durability of my wallets, but I still have a lot to learn before I would be able to do fully custom work and still keep a slim profile. 

[Spyros]

Enjoy your journey Danne!

And when you write your own book, I'll buy it

[Danne]

26 minutes ago, Spyros said:

Enjoy your journey Danne!

And when you write your own book, I'll buy it

There are so much ”secrets” in leathercraft when it comes to construction and materials. I wish it was a little bit more like woodworking. Whatever furniture you would like to build, you would be able to learn the techniques needed on Youtube. 

And what makes you a good woodworker is to master these techniques and practice on your attention to detail. (Woodworkers here correct me if I’m wrong) 

But more and more really experienced crafters start to share their knowledge which is good.

I even saw that Ondrej Sima (Sima Prague) have started with education. Study a week in Prague does sound quite nice  

Edited February 4, 2022 by Danne

[Doc Reaper]

Send me a free samole

Edited February 4, 2022 by Doc Reaper
Made friendly

[Spyros]

1 hour ago, Danne said:

There are so much ”secrets” in leathercraft when it comes to construction and materials. I wish it was a little bit more like woodworking. Whatever furniture you would like to build, you would be able to learn the techniques needed on Youtube. 

And what makes you a good woodworker is to master these techniques and practice on your attention to detail. (Woodworkers here correct me if I’m wrong) 

But more and more really experienced crafters start to share their knowledge which is good.

I even saw that Ondrej Sima (Sima Prague) have started with education. Study a week in Prague does sound quite nice  

oh man 

I'm guessing you recently started woodworking?  Stick around a little longer and you'll soon find you can spend years and years just studying and installing proper dust extraction.  There is a mindblowing amount of contradictive and confusing information out there to sort through just on dust extraction.  Sharpening?  Haha!  There is a famous joke in woodworking that if you're ever lost in the wilderness and you need to be found, just take out your stone and start sharpening a chisel, someone will pop out of nowhere to tell you you're doing it wrong :D

There's a woodworking forum I can point you to where people argue for decades about the correct use and maintenance of hand planes.  Decades.  And another one for finishing.  Or just dovetails, people can argue forever which technique is faster or more correct.    Bowl turners, pen makers, carpenters, cabinet makers, furniture makers, tool builders, epoxy specialists, unplugged puritans, tool collectors, brand fanatics, there's all sorts of sects and crazies out there permanently arguing, you ask the same question to 5 woodworkers you'll probably get 5 different answers.  It-just-doesnt-end.  Youtube?  Yeah sure, there's some good stuff out there, but make no mistake... most of it is just wrong information.

 

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Spyros said:

Enjoy your journey Danne!

And when you write your own book, I'll buy it

[kgg]

8 hours ago, Danne said:

The second reason is because I want this to be fully funded or otherwise I obviously can't get the book. 

Her writing the book is great but it has to be fully funded. Sounds like the book itself is done and the funding is to cover the cost of printing a certain number of hard copies. In this day and age I can't see why she doesn't just release it as a pdf or something where interested people could download a copy for a price. No relying on the mail or third parties yet providing 24 service.

kgg

[Matt S]

I am curious to know what secrets she reveals in her book that, for instance, Nigel Armitage doesn't teach for free on Youtube or for a modest cost with his pattern packs, book and paid video series. But then my sceptical hackles tend to rise when someone sells their book as "revealing secrets" rather than simply "teaching skills" or "passing on experience".

Not $150 curious mind, but curious nonetheless.

I don't mind spending that sort of money for information that is useful or interesting to me and not otherwise available. I think I paid nearly that for a video series on a specific shoemaking technique.

Books I would happily buy for $150:

• Servicing and adjusting of band-knife splitters
• Techniques for reliable and repeatable wet moulding for batch production
• Modern water/moisture/corrosion management techniques for leather and associated hardware, with special regard to general outdoors, maritime, military and fetish environments
• A proper modern analysis of fat/grease/oil behaviours in leather
• and many others on information that either is already out there (but not published), may not have been studied scientifically in depth, or may simply not have been put together in one place before.

Wallets, belts, saddlery, holsters are all really popular subjects that are, if not done to death, probably near the market saturation point.

 

5 hours ago, Danne said:

There are so much ”secrets” in leathercraft when it comes to construction and materials.

With the utmost respect, like what? I'm reminded of the blacksmithing/bladesmithing world. If anything it has a lot more mysticism, myths, "wisdom of the ancients", half-truths, outright lies and promises of "revealed secrets" than leatherwork. A very experienced and wise old smith summed it up pretty well, and I'll paraphrase: It's metal. Once you learn how it behaves (under the hammer, in the fire or slack tub, on the grindstone and when cutting) it's all just experience, practice, process planning and diligence. There's always something more to learn, study, practice or research and you can get very deep down specific rabbitholes, maybe even to a level of understanding on that topic that few others possess but there are really no secrets in blacksmithing.

[Danne]

12 hours ago, Doc Reaper said:

Send me a free samole

No sure what you mean? I have no affiliation with Chestermox. Or if you mean I did this post in hope to get a free sample book. No thanks, I'm happy to pay for my book. 

[Danne]

11 hours ago, Spyros said:

oh man 

I'm guessing you recently started woodworking?  Stick around a little longer and you'll soon find you can spend years and years just studying and installing proper dust extraction.  There is a mindblowing amount of contradictive and confusing information out there to sort through just on dust extraction.  Sharpening?  Haha!  There is a famous joke in woodworking that if you're ever lost in the wilderness and you need to be found, just take out your stone and start sharpening a chisel, someone will pop out of nowhere to tell you you're doing it wrong :D

There's a woodworking forum I can point you to where people argue for decades about the correct use and maintenance of hand planes.  Decades.  And another one for finishing.  Or just dovetails, people can argue forever which technique is faster or more correct.    Bowl turners, pen makers, carpenters, cabinet makers, furniture makers, tool builders, epoxy specialists, unplugged puritans, tool collectors, brand fanatics, there's all sorts of sects and crazies out there permanently arguing, you ask the same question to 5 woodworkers you'll probably get 5 different answers.  It-just-doesnt-end.  Youtube?  Yeah sure, there's some good stuff out there, but make no mistake... most of it is just wrong information.

 

Yes, I have no experience from woodworking except the tool board and jigs project I showed here recently. Yes I get what you mean, there will always be different opinions on how things should be made. I have never made a drawer cabinet, but I would like to do it. I would look through how other do it, and then decide how I will do it. I might not do it exactly like someone else. And I will have to sort through the information I can find and decide how I will make it. I have seen those sharpening debates, but I just find them silly in a lot of cases. If my tool is sharp enough for my purpose, and I'm happy with the edge retention then I did it in the correct way. If someone would say "Hey, I see you use this angle for your chisels, have you tried this angle instead, or have you tried a primary and secondary bevel, I think it will give you a better edge retention, then it's something I would consider to try because it could improve how I do it. 

But having access to information is good, then I can decide what makes sense and what doesn't. When I did my woodworking project I should have watched some woodworking clips on Youtube before. Because I bought a circle saw and a plunge router and some chisels and some router bits and wood drills, and if I would do this project again I would have a bought a smaller table saw, and a palm router with a plunge attachment instead. Does this mean I did use the wrong tools? Yes and no. I managed to achieve the result I wanted, it took a lot longer time than I would have done with other tools though. But it could also have been the wrong tools if I wouldn't have planned it well and felt confident using the tools in the way I did it.

 

[ToddW]

$150 is abit steep for me.. Would love the book, but now sure I get pull the trigger on it..

[ToddW]

Do you know what leather and threats are used on their wallets?  Looks pretty good..

[Danne]

9 hours ago, Matt S said:

I am curious to know what secrets she reveals in her book that, for instance, Nigel Armitage doesn't teach for free on Youtube or for a modest cost with his pattern packs, book and paid video series. But then my sceptical hackles tend to rise when someone sells their book as "revealing secrets" rather than simply "teaching skills" or "passing on experience".

Not $150 curious mind, but curious nonetheless.

I don't mind spending that sort of money for information that is useful or interesting to me and not otherwise available. I think I paid nearly that for a video series on a specific shoemaking technique.

Books I would happily buy for $150:

• Servicing and adjusting of band-knife splitters
• Techniques for reliable and repeatable wet moulding for batch production
• Modern water/moisture/corrosion management techniques for leather and associated hardware, with special regard to general outdoors, maritime, military and fetish environments
• A proper modern analysis of fat/grease/oil behaviours in leather
• and many others on information that either is already out there (but not published), may not have been studied scientifically in depth, or may simply not have been put together in one place before.

Wallets, belts, saddlery, holsters are all really popular subjects that are, if not done to death, probably near the market saturation point.

 

With the utmost respect, like what? I'm reminded of the blacksmithing/bladesmithing world. If anything it has a lot more mysticism, myths, "wisdom of the ancients", half-truths, outright lies and promises of "revealed secrets" than leatherwork. A very experienced and wise old smith summed it up pretty well, and I'll paraphrase: It's metal. Once you learn how it behaves (under the hammer, in the fire or slack tub, on the grindstone and when cutting) it's all just experience, practice, process planning and diligence. There's always something more to learn, study, practice or research and you can get very deep down specific rabbitholes, maybe even to a level of understanding on that topic that few others possess but there are really no secrets in blacksmithing.

I have watched some clips from Nigel on Youtube, and he is skilled and have a lot of knowledge. I see a wallet pack on his website with what he also say simple wallets. And when I look at his Instagram it's not really the same types of wallets. Her wallets have a slimmer style and involve quite a lot of skiving, and when you make really slim wallets it's very important to skive and construct it in correct ways to keep it durable. (This doesn't mean it's just one recipe for a good quality slim wallet) 

I don't think this book is for everyone, I feel confident in my construction of my wallets, which have a quite slim profile. And I feel like I will gain a lot of knowledge from her book. This doesn't mean that I will make my wallets as she does it. But when wallets/card holders and such gets thin it can get very very complicated. Here is an example from Danel (Work for Nitz, and former Hermès employee, and this is how he planned the skiving for the layers of a wallet)

I see your list of things you would learn more about, and we all how different interests when it comes to this craft. Since I have experience working with very finicky machines the "Servicing and adjusting of band-knife splitters" book would be something I also would be very interested in, even though I don't even own a band knife splitter.

The market saturation of wallets is true. That doesn't mean it's impossible to make a living out of selling leather wallets, but it's certainly a lot of competition.

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Danne

[Danne]

15 minutes ago, ToddW said:

Do you know what leather and threats are used on their wallets?  Looks pretty good..

I'm quite certain it's Alran Sully goat on that wallet. I don't know what thread are used, but according to her website she use synthetic thread and you can upgrade to linen thread. The upgrade to linen thread is most likely either Fil Au Chinois or Meisi. 

Edge paint, I have no idea. But would guess either Fenice, Uniters, Stahl or Vernis 600.

[Spyros]

I find that this lady, Nitz, Sima, Philip from Leathercraft Masterclass a few others I can see online, they all produce work aesthetically similar to each other, following what I call "the Hermes aesthetic", which has a specific definition of luxury, that is defined by very thinly skived layers of leather, soft calf/goat or exotic exteriors, carefully painted or rolled edges, colourful linen thread that stands out, and because it stands out it results in a competition to achieve the most slanted stitching possible, and designs that revolve around the Kelly bag, the attache bag, the long wallet, the classic duffle, the lawyer's briefcase.  And to be fair, these guys are at the top of the leatherworking game, this kind of result demands a phenomenal attention to detail and allows about zero margin for error.

I paid one of them (Philip) and watched some of his instructional videos, and though they were great, they made me realise I just don't have an interest in that particular aesthetic :D

I mean don't get me wrong, I love to sit back and marvel at something like Danne's wallets as much as the next guy, but at the end of the day an item like that is just not in my lifestyle.  Personally I got sucked into leatherworking from looking at Swiss Army saddlebags from world war 2 and wondering why I can't find bags in the market that look like that and age like that, and how hard would it be to make it myself.   Other people grew up admiring carefully carved Sheridan style leather items in the States, and to them that is the pinnacle of leatherworking.  And so on, there's a few aesthetics out there.  

So was it a waste of money?  No, I would absolutely do it again, there's just no way you can see those guys explaining their work and not find something that is relevant to you.  I mean I made my money back simply because I was about to pay some stupid amount for "pattern weights", and then Peter saved me by introducing me to $3 door stops :D :D :D

[Klara]

I'm mostly with Matt S on this one: In my opinion leathercraft (or any craft) is mainly a question of technique, which is acquired by some knowledge and LOTS of practice. I don't think there can be any secrets about construction, not least because you can buy an item and reverse-engineer it. There's nothing secret about skiving, IMHO, it's just a balancing act between taking off too little, cutting holes in the leather, cutting holes in your finger, creating an uneven edge. But I figure after the first 10 miles of skived edges I should have worked out most of it, including how to keep my knife sharp...

As I'm also with Spyros in that I have zero interest in making fine wallets, I certainly won't buy the book, sorry.

[Danne]

53 minutes ago, Klara said:

I'm mostly with Matt S on this one: In my opinion leathercraft (or any craft) is mainly a question of technique, which is acquired by some knowledge and LOTS of practice. I don't think there can be any secrets about construction, not least because you can buy an item and reverse-engineer it. There's nothing secret about skiving, IMHO, it's just a balancing act between taking off too little, cutting holes in the leather, cutting holes in your finger, creating an uneven edge. But I figure after the first 10 miles of skived edges I should have worked out most of it, including how to keep my knife sharp...

As I'm also with Spyros in that I have zero interest in making fine wallets, I certainly won't buy the book, sorry.

Yes, you can reverse engineer something. But there are techniques for how you assemble and trim things. And I don’t talk about how to skive, I have no problem to feather skive edges on 0.5mm thin goat leather with really good precision. But there are lot more that goes into skiving, where to skive and how much. My goal is always to remove/skive edges in places where it doesn’t have a huge impact on durability. At the same time making sure the edges have a similar thickness all around the wallet even if there are more pockets on one side. 
 

look at the photos I shared from Danel. Download it and zoom in and you can see how well planned all skiving is. And this might seem easy in theory but a lot harder in practice. 
 

Maybe it’s just me, but I have spent A LOT of time figuring out constructions for wallets. And always try to find ways to improve.

And I agree this book is certainly not for everyone. 

[Spyros]

Did you end up finding a bell skiver Danne?

[Spyros]

By the way I may or may not have been half asleep through one of Philip's videos, but I'm pretty sure he skived a zipper at some point LOL

These Hermes-type leatherworkers are taking skiving to the next level thats for sure.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Spyros

[chuck123wapati]

far to OCD for me lol. Good luck on the book Danne but i truly don't see you getting any huge benefit from it you have already mastered your techniques so you have no need to mimic someone else.  Those wallets Danne makes are some of the best I've ever seen I don't have the want to, patience, eyesight, or customer base to even think twice about making such a thing.

Leather as is so with blacksmithing is centuries old What we have learned has been forgotten and relearned more times than we can count. We humans fool ourselves thinking the old techniques can be improved upon , forget them, turn to more complicated methods then pat our selves on the back when we discover the easier (forgotten) way. Kind of like "sustainable" farming LOL.!

[Danne]

2 hours ago, Spyros said:

Did you end up finding a bell skiver Danne?

No, I have tried multiple times to order a Fratelli AV2 ME (On table without vacuum and two motors) but they keep recommending the version with vacuum even when contacted in fluent Italian.

I really want the FAV, but might have to order a Fortuna instead.

[Danne]

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

far to OCD for me lol. Good luck on the book Danne but i truly don't see you getting any huge benefit from it you have already mastered your techniques so you have no need to mimic someone else.  Those wallets Danne makes are some of the best I've ever seen I don't have the want to, patience, eyesight, or customer base to even think twice about making such a thing.

Leather as is so with blacksmithing is centuries old What we have learned has been forgotten and relearned more times than we can count. We humans fool ourselves thinking the old techniques can be improved upon , forget them, turn to more complicated methods then pat our selves on the back when we discover the easier (forgotten) way. Kind of like "sustainable" farming LOL.!

Thank you for your compliment regarding my work. I will absolutely not mimic someone else. I construct my wallets in a way I like. But I constantly try to improve my construction. And I might pick up some tips and tricks. And also seeing how other construct their wallets can give me ideas how I can improve certain things.

Chestermox products are really nice and really good attention to detail, but as example I personally don’t really like the look of full size pockets, because edges becomes thicker in the middle. So I will never do full size pockets stacked on each other. I think it can be good to take inspiration from other people but not copy someone else.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Danne

[Spyros]

Personally I really like the look of tranche pockets, but I could never understand how is it possible to keep the pocket liners in place long term with just glue and no stitching...

Unless there's some other trick I'm missing?