Trying to show leathercraft

[JohnDB]

My first shot at tooling leather.

 

[MarathonMike]

Cool! Sooo help me out, what the heck am I looking at?

 

[JGalt]

My first shot at tooling leather.

That's a mighty fine leather...uhhh....errr....codpiece.

It always helps to study the masters, so let me help you out with a Google search...

 

[Ringel05]

My first shot at tooling leather.

Not bad for a beginner.

 

[Ringel05]

That's a mighty fine leather...uhhh....errr....codpiece.

It always helps to study the masters, so let me help you out with a Google search...

If you hover over the image arrows will appear.

 

[JGalt]

If you hover over the image arrows will appear.

Ooops, I missed that. Very nice job!

But what kind of a codpiece has butterflies on it? I would have gone for skulls and crosses.


Awww, ok. I'll admit it: I'm jealous.

 

[JohnDB]

The first picture is just scraps of leather I was testing out dyeing techniques...
There's another where I was testing hot foil gold stamping...
The last one with the ruler shows the scale of size and what goes into it.

I'm going to start an A5 size journal that is ¾ inches thick for my Sister in law who is graduating college at Christmas. And I needed to practice some requisite details of making this thing... carving and tooling and lining and embossing and all kinds of details that go into it.

I need to practice with that swivel knife and tooling...there's a couple of spots it's a bit jerky and not smooth. Maybe cut the veins for the butterfly instead of just tooling them. But that only works for antique finishes...and they don't last 20+ years.

The cloth liner is embroidered upholstery cloth...it was on sale and cheap when I got it. Trac gum for slicking/finishing the inside of the pockets.
It still came out darker than I wanted.

 

[JGalt]

The first picture is just scraps of leather I was testing out dyeing techniques...
There's another where I was testing hot foil gold stamping...
The last one with the ruler shows the scale of size and what goes into it.

I'm going to start an A5 size journal that is ¾ inches thick for my Sister in law who is graduating college at Christmas. And I needed to practice some requisite details of making this thing... carving and tooling and lining and embossing and all kinds of details that go into it.

I need to practice with that swivel knife and tooling...there's a couple of spots it's a bit jerky and not smooth. Maybe cut the veins for the butterfly instead of just tooling them. But that only works for antique finishes...and they don't last 20+ years.

The cloth liner is embroidered upholstery cloth...it was on sale and cheap when I got it. Trac gum for slicking/finishing the inside of the pockets.
It still came out darker than I wanted.

No matter what it is, eat, sleep, live, and breathe for it.

There's big money in hand-tooled custom leather holsters too.

 

[JohnDB]

No matter what it is, eat, sleep, live, and breathe for it.

There's big money in hand-tooled custom leather holsters too.

Yeah...I have tried wet-formed leather before...once you make the jig for forming the leather it's fairly simple to make the plain ones. Now carving and tooling the leather afterwards...that's a whole nuther critter.
I tend to like the leather to be darker brown with the white stitching.

Each handgun needs its own jig...it's best when you first make an acrylic/resin gun to go in it from the gun itself going into a silicone mold. Then you can make the jig from the acrylic/resin gun. (So the wet leather won't rust the gun)
Then load both sides up with the wet leather and clamp it all down and wait. Trim when dry and sew up the halves.
Then it will fit the gun like a glove.

Some oil, some dye, a good finish and off it goes to the customer.

They can get a really good price out of some of the least expensive leather...a bundle of veg tanned belly strips is only $20...but the work takes several days IF you have a jig.

 

[Ringel05]

Yeah...I have tried wet-formed leather before...once you make the jig for forming the leather it's fairly simple to make the plain ones. Now carving and tooling the leather afterwards...that's a whole nuther critter.
I tend to like the leather to be darker brown with the white stitching.

Each handgun needs its own jig...it's best when you first make an acrylic/resin gun to go in it from the gun itself going into a silicone mold. Then you can make the jig from the acrylic/resin gun. (So the wet leather won't rust the gun)
Then load both sides up with the wet leather and clamp it all down and wait. Trim when dry and sew up the halves.
Then it will fit the gun like a glove.

Some oil, some dye, a good finish and off it goes to the customer.

They can get a really good price out of some of the least expensive leather...a bundle of veg tanned belly strips is only $20...but the work takes several days IF you have a jig.

You're doing it the hard way. Wet molding a leather holster for any gun is relatively easy, no need to make a jig. Simply tightly wrap the gun (or knife if you're making sheaths) in Saran Wrap then mold the wet leather to it.

 

[JGalt]

Yeah...I have tried wet-formed leather before...once you make the jig for forming the leather it's fairly simple to make the plain ones. Now carving and tooling the leather afterwards...that's a whole nuther critter.
I tend to like the leather to be darker brown with the white stitching.

Each handgun needs its own jig...it's best when you first make an acrylic/resin gun to go in it from the gun itself going into a silicone mold. Then you can make the jig from the acrylic/resin gun. (So the wet leather won't rust the gun)
Then load both sides up with the wet leather and clamp it all down and wait. Trim when dry and sew up the halves.
Then it will fit the gun like a glove.

Some oil, some dye, a good finish and off it goes to the customer.

They can get a really good price out of some of the least expensive leather...a bundle of veg tanned belly strips is only $20...but the work takes several days IF you have a jig.

Closest I ever came to trying anything like that was wrapping a reproduction Colt cap and ball pistol in Saran wrap, soaking a repro Civil War style holster in warm water, putting it in the holster, and letting it shrink to the form of the pistol. It sorta worked, but the holster didn't quit have that look like it was worn through the rain and sun. You're right: Those acrylic guns would make nice forms. They can be found on Ebay a lot and I see them at the gun shows sometimes.

I've been using a Milt Sparks Summer Special inside waistband holster for the last few years. I has a nice feel to it and after wearing it all day, it still feels like it's not even there. They run between $140-265, depending on if you want the horsehide with elephant trim. I got the cheap one at a garage sale for $5, it looks alot like this one...

 

[JohnDB]

Exotic leathers can get really pricey if you can get your hands on them at all.

Elephant, the cheapest I've ever seen it was $50 per SQ foot. And it's only good for trim. I can get hippopotamus a bit cheaper...but not much. Same thing with rhinoceros.

Then there's the crocodile and various snake and other reptile skins. All the exotic leathers only come chrome tanned.

I thought about making a journal cover out of rabbit pelts and using a kitty collar complete with a bell for a closure on it...but my wife said. "NO".

I have given redoing baseballs with monogramming on them...and instead of the baseball's being white with red stitching just make them like an aged brown with tan stitching.
Those would probably be something that would sell. Cool thing for a baseball coach or minor league player to have.

I have no idea about stitching a basketball. But I can get the exact leather they are made out of. A custom soccer ball isn't completely out of the question. Same thing with a football... none of them would be playable but they would look nice. Something to collect dust.

 

[Muhammed]

Closest I ever came to trying anything like that was wrapping a reproduction Colt cap and ball pistol in Saran wrap, soaking a repro Civil War style holster in warm water, putting it in the holster, and letting it shrink to the form of the pistol.

The closest I ever came to that is fabricating a custom pistol holster out of cardboard, duct tape and a wire hanger for my .25 caliber Saturday Night Special when I was about 12 or 13 years old.

 

[JohnDB]

Did a practice run of the tooling for my Sister in law's graduation/Christmas present.

 

[JohnDB]

Ok...
Finished the project.
For my first shot at this I'm not going to be completely unhappy...bit I still got a long way to go...

 

[JohnDB]

Where's Missourian he likes to do this stuff too.

 

[Ringel05]

Ok...
Finished the project.
For my first shot at this I'm not going to be completely unhappy...bit I still got a long way to go...
View attachment 556190View attachment 556191View attachment 556192

Keep it up before you know it you'll be turning out leather products like this guy's!

It's a reproduction mid 18th century Bavarian hunting bag.

 

[JohnDB]

Keep it up before you know it you'll be turning out leather products like this guy's!

It's a reproduction mid 18th century Bavarian hunting bag.

I'm trying to figure out how they cut the trim and drawing a blank. But that looks really nice.

 

[Ringel05]

I'm trying to figure out how they cut the trim and drawing a blank. But that looks really nice.

This guy is a master artisan, he makes some of the most gorgeous work I've ever seen. His work has been in muzzleloding magazines. Your work looks like some day you could possibly match his work, just keep at it. Me, I just don't have the patience for leatherwork.

 

[JohnDB]

This guy is a master artisan, he makes some of the most gorgeous work I've ever seen. His work has been in muzzleloding magazines. Your work looks like some day you could possibly match his work, just keep at it. Me, I just don't have the patience for leatherwork.

It's a million and one details to finish the piece. From thinning the edges for when you eventually sew them to edging your cuts and finishing every contact surface of the leather. Leather can be expensive...so you are careful with every step so you don't waste any. The shoulder I bought that this one was made from was actually cheap...it only ran $40 but I could have made 3-4 journals from it. As it is I had to trash one as the leather shrunk too much from casing it and then dip dying. Sure the color was uniform but it was darker than what I'd like and between the casing and dying it shrank. So off to the junk pile it went. It was carved and tooled and skived. I was sick about the labor...the loss of leather wasn't too bad. But it all hurt my feelings.

Leather is one of the least expensive hobbies I've had. Much cheaper than RC Airplanes. And I get usable stuff when I'm done too.

Some leather gets to be really expensive...but others like oak tanned belly strips are like $20 for 2... you can practice cutting and tooling on them for a long time. I will tomorrow too...got to make a journal cover for the wifey. Then turn that stuff into pieces for something else.
Tandy isn't the only game around for leather... Springfield leather has some good deals...so does Weaver.

A starter set of tools and sewing stuff and dye will run around $150 including leather.
Not bad considering what other hobbies have run me. (Gaming systems, golf, woodworking, sausage making, and etc)

And then it's just a matter of careful planning. Seeing it in your head before you start. I've never been one for kits. I design my own pieces. But for other people I'm sure they work well. They keep selling them.