Starting up a new hobby.....

JMLangford · Jan 19, 2019

Time to try my hand at a new hobby.....Leathercraft :beer:

To start, I scored a couple of free pieces of Granite for a work surface, and cut one piece to the size of my self-healing cutting mat, and also cut a small 11"x11" piece.....

I had some vintage hole punches from Sargent & Co. I'd bought awhile back....

Then I added some tools to a basic set of leather working tools from Amazon....they're not the highest quality but they will get me started until I can add the better ones....

Got 20 light weight stamping tools in the basic kit....the 4 on the right are from Hobby Lobby (better quality)

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JMLangford · Jan 19, 2019

Using a old 3 drawer tackle box to store them in....

Got a few "accessories" to use....I need the get a lot more....

Picked up a bag of scrap leather (for practice) and a large piece for the projects.....(both from Hobby Lobby)

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JMLangford · Jan 19, 2019

I've got a couple of knives that I want to make leather sheath for (don't care for the cheap nylon ones) so thats going to be my first projects.....

I've been gathering tools and watching tons of YouTube videos for about a month now getting ready to start.....it's been ******* rain every weekend since, but once I get started I'll add progress pics to this thread....

By the time I've made a sheath or two I'll know whether or not I'm cut out to do leather work :lol_hitti

Wish me luck :thumbup:

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Bigblue&Goldie · Jan 19, 2019

Cool, keep the projects coming!

LXCam · Jan 19, 2019

That's a very cool hobby. My folks had a good friend that was a professional saddle maker and most of his work was highly prized. Good luck on the sheaths and keep the pics coming.

JMLangford · Jan 20, 2019

I watched this YouTube video of a master saddle maker with insane leatherworking skills.....

He builds a complete saddle from start to finish in this video that is extremely relaxing to watch......No obnoxious, loud music, just the soothing and calming sounds of creaking leather and the noise of his shop and the tools he using.

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rkevins · Jan 20, 2019

I have watched some real good videos on YouTube, looks like a neat hobby

JMLangford · Jan 22, 2019

I added a few more items to my leathercraft box......a couple of nylon "fids" for shaping and forming the leather.....a small body hammer to flatten seams (the rounded face won't mark the leather)....fresh blades for the utility knife cause you should always use a clean, sharp, new blade when cutting leather....

I practiced some stamping on some scrap tonight......the basket weave pattern is pretty hard to keep straight.....I need lots of practice

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Jazz1 · Jan 22, 2019

Belts are popular as since most store bought are of mediocre quality. You can buy belt blanks cheap enough. Have fun!

spike99250 · Jan 22, 2019

I would add an edger to your tools. It is used to round over the edges and give a more finished look to your pieces. I also recommend picking up Al Stohmans books, great tutorials on sheaths, pouches and hand stitching.

jamesly · Jan 28, 2019

I have a leather punch kit that I'll ship to you for free. I used it once for a car project and wont need it again.
It looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BMY3VRP/?tag=atomicindus08-20

PM your address if interested.

vpd66 · Jan 28, 2019

Definitely check out Tandy leather. If there is a store close to you it is well worth going to. They have all the tooling and also a great supply of different leathers for projects. I believe they also have classes you can take at the stores. I do a little leather work and the nearest Tandy leather is about 200 mile away and I make it to the store a least once a year.

JMLangford · Jan 30, 2019

Went out last weekend to Michael's and A.C.Moore and picked up some letter stamps and some hole punches to add with the four punches I already had.....

Then, today at the Wednesday flea market I lucked upon a fantastic find!!!

It was cold as **** this morning (high 38°) and there were very few vendors out......the ones that were there were scattered apart from each other.

This one guy was all alone on the third row, with about 20 empty tables on either side of him......I started not to go see what he had, but I figured I was already out in this cold lookin' at junk, I'd might as well check him out.....and I'm glad I did

When I got there I noticed a small green plastic box with some interesting things in it (actually it was about the only thing he had of interest on his table)
I quickly scan a few items in the box and asked "how much" and he said "$3 bucks".....Now evidently he knew nothing about what the items were used for, he probably got it at an estate sale and just wanted to sell something on this cold day.....

After I settled my heart rate down, I pulled out some of the jars and bottles and noticed that they were all pretty much dried up......when I mentioned that to him, he said "O.K. because they are dried up, you can have it for $2 bucks" :shocking:

.......I paid him, thanked him, and headed for my truck. :beer:

This is what I got:

Green plastic box with a few leather working tools....

Dried up chemicals....

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JMLangford · Jan 30, 2019

Cut a small piece of leather and.....

....the edge skiver (#3) worked great....

The adjustable creaser worked great....

All the stamps and hole punches worked great....

All the stamps are Craftool co. (Tandy brand, in fact I believe all the tools are Tandy)....

#4 (5/32") and #6 (3/16") hole punches....

Rivet/Snap setter....

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Dumber than lumber · Jan 30, 2019

We know a young guy who has a business making leather goods. Not sure if I can put his info in here as it might be a violation of forum rules (?)
Well, here goes http://ethankellyleather.com/
He has a couple of videos of him doing some of the leather craft work. He makes it look easy. But that is the way it goes once you learn a craft/trade.

rlitman · Jan 30, 2019

jamesly said:
I have a leather punch kit that I'll ship to you for free. I used it once for a car project and wont need it again.
It looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BMY3VRP/?tag=atomicindus08-20

PM your address if interested.

All of my punches were made to work with a hammer. How do you get results with those without a clicker press?

JMLangford · Jan 30, 2019

rlitman said:
All of my punches were made to work with a hammer. How do you get results with those without a clicker press?

Hammer and block of wood..... :thumbup:

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JMLangford · Jan 30, 2019

Dumber than lumber said:
We know a young guy who has a business making leather goods. Not sure if I can put his info in here as it might be a violation of forum rules (?)
Well, here goes http://ethankellyleather.com/
He has a couple of videos of him doing some of the leather craft work. He makes it look easy. But that is the way it goes once you learn a craft/trade.

Thanks for the link! :thumbup:

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M*A*S*H · Jan 31, 2019

Definitely subscribing here! When Mrs and I were in to making knives I found my favorite part was the sheaths. I was never very good but boy was it relaxing!

I found that when stacking leather to build up the welt it really is much easier and cleaner to use a drill press to predrill all your stitching holes. I had some welts that were easily 6 layers once at the handle section. I liked to form fit them and build them up so the finger guard area would retain them in. Light belt sanding would even them all out nice before burnishing.

Tandy is great for getting supplies! Decent prices and the guys at mine are very knowledgeable. Occasionally I would find some nice scrap leather bags at the other hobby stores.

Always preferred non vertical sheaths so that meant I had to make my own for custom knives. There is one pic that is a pocket sheath I made for my old man.

My prized tool... it was my Great Grandfather's. Found it when I cleaned out my Granddad's garage. May be part of the reason I loved doing the leather crafts.

JMLangford · Jan 31, 2019

Great work on your sheaths and nice hand stitching M*A*S*H......

Nice old tool of your Great Grandfather's.....gives you a connection to your past and his crafting skill

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JMLangford · Feb 2, 2019

Today is my 41st Wedding Anniversary...... :thumbup:

Wife and I got up early this morning and left the house about 9:00 headed for breakfast......finished up by 10:30 and hit the road for Charlotte, NC to the Tandy leather store (115 miles away)

We got there at noon to pick me up some leather supplies! :rocker:

My Baby luvs me..... :bounce:

Got a Craftool #3, #4 & #5 edge bevelers.....a Craftool EZ adjust stitching groover w/extra blade.....a Easy Comfort Swivel Knife (forgot to get a extra blade

)....

Picked-up some Jewelers Rouge.....my wife wanted a horse head concho....

Got a Safety Beveler and a 10 pk of Stainless Steel Safety Blades (blades cost more than the beveler cause they were out of the standard inexpensive ones)....

Bought a 8oz veg tan, full side (2nd grade) for $75

the store manager gave me the "Black Friday" price!!? :dunno:

.....it has a few bug bites and a brand mark but other than that it looks real good.....

Got a catalog (wish book)....

All for only $158.08 (I saved 59.50).....I'm a happy crafter :beer:

The way I've got it figgered.....if I keep buying tools and supplies, by the time I make these 3 knife sheaves (if I ever do)....They will have cost me $400 apiece
:lol_hitti

I might make some other stuff too.

Now we're headed out for Mexican......

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Junebuggy · Feb 2, 2019

I found a couple of these old rubber stamp holders in an antique store a number of years ago (saw this one like I have on an auction site) and they work great holding my wood handle leather crafting tools on my bench....just a thought....I improvise a lot on stuff.

JMLangford · Feb 2, 2019

Junebuggy said:
I found a couple of these old rubber stamp holders in an antique store a number of years ago (saw this one like I have on an auction site) and they work great holding my wood handle leather crafting tools on my bench....just a thought....I improvise a lot on stuff.

Hey Junebuggy......You won't believe it, but I bought a double tiered version of your's about a week ago at the ReStore with the same idea in mind

but once I hung everything from it I didn't like it.......

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Junebuggy · Feb 2, 2019

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JMLangford · Feb 3, 2019

Got a little time in the shop today to play with some leather :thumbup:

To start, I revisited the revolving stamp holder, and removed the small clips and placed the large one up where it was.....then placed on some tools....

I change my mind....it might work....I like it :beer:

I tried it later with the small clips added to the bottom.....I'm still undecided on it....

With that out of the way, I got to the leather....rolled it out and it stretched the length of my workbench which is 8ft......

I cut off two small points (as seen near the toolbox in the pic above) and started to square up one of them to practice on....

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JMLangford · Feb 3, 2019

Squared it up and used a washer to radius the corners....

After I used the washer, I found my circle template

no problem, the washer worked fine....

Trimmed the corners....

Wet (cased) it down....

Traced out a border using the adjustable creaser....

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JMLangford · Feb 3, 2019

Scored a reference line using a blunt tipped awl (I didn't want to cut the line, just scribe it)....

Using the reference line I started stamping the basket weave pattern....

Done....

Now, I used a veiner stamp for a border....

I could have stopped there and been happy with the design, but since I was practicing different patterns and techniques....I stamped a small flower bud at the intersections of the veiner (it's a great technique to cover the irregular spacing of the veiner)

Then using the #3 edge beveler, I rounded the front and back edges....

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JMLangford · Feb 3, 2019

Using water on my finger, I wiped it on the edge and used my wooden burnisher to smooth and burnish the edges....

Then, I rubbed and burnished the edges with wax....

After that, I coated it in a generous amount of Neatsfoot oil to condition the leather....

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JMLangford · Feb 3, 2019

After the Neatsfoot oil penetrated a bit, I wiped on some saddle soap and buffed it out....

I also bought some Lexol (recommended by a shoe repair guy) but I'll try that on another practice piece.....I'm trying different chemical/coatings to see what works or not before I settle on just one finish, technique, etc....

Well, here's the final practice piece.....I think it looks pretty good, but I can tell I've got a long ways to go, but with more practice I'll correct the crooked lines and wonky stampings.... :beer:

I noticed that the flower bud stamp I'd use didn't stand out noticeably....so I re-stamped over it harder....looks better (?)

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This is the mess I had on my bench, but I had fun making it.....I think I'm going to enjoy leathercrafting....

Stay tuned for more...... :thumbup:

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jamesly · Feb 6, 2019

Beautiful!

JMLangford · Feb 6, 2019

jamesly said:
Beautiful!

Thanks and THANK YOU for the free leather cutting kit :thumbup:

It has a lot of different little size cutters I'm sure I'll find somewhere to use them....

I picked up a nice little cobbler's hammer today at the Wednesday flea market for $7....

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JMLangford · Feb 11, 2019

I cleaned up the cobbler's hammer this weekend....

Here's when I got it last Wednesday

Before:

The After:

I sanded the handle and removed all the dings and divots.....wire brushed the head, and tried my best to remove most of the scratches from the face (I need to find out how to polish out the face to a mirror finish, like they do on the body hammer thread)
I put a metal wedge in to tighten the handle, then coated everything (except the face) with a couple of coats of Tung oil (wiping varnish)....

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MarkG · Feb 11, 2019

Cool! Looks good!

JMLangford · Feb 11, 2019

Also picked up some more needed items....

From Amazon:
100 wool daubers for dyes and coatings...
A complete set of drivers and anvils for snaps, rivets, etc...
A few stylus for shaping and tracing the leather...

From Tandy:
A #2 edge beveler (size I forgot to get when I was at the store in Charlotte)...
A different style basket weave stamp...
A whole 1.5-2.5 oz. sheepskin...

The sheepskin will be used for linings for belts, holsters, and I'm also going to make a tooled leather guitar strap (I hope

)

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JMLangford · Feb 11, 2019

MarkG said:
Cool! Looks good!

Thanks Mark

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jamesly · Feb 15, 2019

JMLangford said:
Thanks and THANK YOU for the free leather cutting kit

It has a lot of different little size cutters I'm sure I'll find somewhere to use them....

I picked up a nice little cobbler's hammer today at the Wednesday flea market for $7....

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