Leatherworking Project - let's celebrate 7 million!

CAn't believe i missed this thread, i used to work leather for a while in my 20's, 40 years ago so this is awesome for me to see. Nice swivel knife for detail work i see.
 
Do you hand skive your leather or use a machine? I may try some of the heavier ounce leather that just came in and see how thin I can skive it down. I've been able to thin that down much more in the past plus it's usually easier to tool.
Everything is by hand in my shop... I think that’s why I was so impressed by that sewing machine you got!
I 100% agree about the unfinished veg tan being easier to work with!
 
Everything is by hand in my shop... I think that’s why I was so impressed by that sewing machine you got!
I 100% agree about the unfinished veg tan being easier to work with!
I like doing most things by hand but the simple skiving fixed blade I have is nice (when it works) and saves time.
 
Short update. I have sprayed a couple light coats of leather sealer on the pieces but this is a slow process as I have to spray one side at a time and things don't dry as quickly in the winter.

I took out the double shoulders and plan to lay out the patterns for the mallet and blade putters and get them cut and started over the weekend. I'll try to update with some pictures in the next day or so.
 
So, my plan was to try to finish this over the weekend but we had several dead trees leaning towards the house, our vehicles, and the shed with a wind storm headed towards us. So instead I fell 5 trees and gave the theragun a workout. The good news is that I used my airbrush to get several light coats of this sealant on the leather pieces.
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Tonight I got the edge dressing on all the pieces and also stitched the spine where the money clip will go.
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Here's a short video of stitching the spine. It should only take one more evening to finish this prototype. I do want to make another of these with the heavier weight leather as I think I can thin it a lot more and it will fight me less. (plus the overall finish will be better). Needless to say, this is my first project like this with the lighter weight leather and it is not as easy to work with.

 
The color is fantastic! Keep up the great work!
 
Man that looks amazing...it’s been fun watching this come together.
 
@tequila4kapp tomorrow night should be the final stitching! Not totally satisfied as it's thicker than I wanted but not terrible for a first prototype. I'll have to try this again with a heavier weight leather which I can thin more easily. 20210121_221159.jpg20210121_221203.jpg20210121_221212.jpg
 
So, I'm not one to hide my mistakes and Murphy kicked my butt tonight. I had practiced with the stitcher several times and got to the point that I could stitch a clean line and waited until this evening so I could have fresh eyes. Well, it was a comedy of errors. The machine was not pulling tight stitches and was leaving loops and would not walk a straight line. I had to pull the stitches, try again on scrap leather, then start. I did this a couple times and finally stopped and did some research. Both the bobbin and main thread were no longer holding adequate tension and I had to adjust the bobbin leaf spring and the main tensioner plates. It was working perfect yesterday when I tested with material the same thickness but today decided to be difficult. I finally got one side stitched trying to hit the same holes and it looks terrible. Additionally, a standard credit card comes to the very edge which tells me it needs to be longer by 1/8 of an inch on each side. I wasn't pleased with the thickness or finish as it was but the stitching is terrible. I was going to send the prototype to @tequila4kapp to get his feedback then remake it with a heavier ounce leather that I could get thinner. This now might need to immediately go on my wall of shame!! It looks like a blind man stitched it! 🤣
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On some better news, I may have already started working on the headcovers and the leather for the wallet. (these should go quicker but I'm not stitching anything with this cobbler stitcher until I can verify it is working correctly / will stitch a straight line / will pull the stitches tight.) Worst case I can always hand stitch it.
 
@93civiccpe I am smiling. 3 putts happen. It’s still awesome.
 
Dude! That is incredible! So much detail!
 
I have always liked projects that come out with a little “character.” Great job overall and this has been a fun follow. I look forward to seeing the headcovers and other creations.
 
I have always liked projects that come out with a little “character.” Great job overall and this has been a fun follow. I look forward to seeing the headcovers and other creations.
Character is one thing, that stitching is just bad. I have watched way too many videos on the machine and realized the walking foot needed to be adjusted as it struggles to walk straight on the edge of material. If I was smarter (and less excited about using the new stitcher) I would have hand punched and stitched the wallet. No worries though. I'm going to stitch the other half of the leather wallet with the stitcher now that I've made adjustments to see if it will stitch a straight line. Depending on the results I'll either use it for the next wallet that's in progress or will have stitch it if the results aren't good.
 
I'm long overdue for an update. So far I've narrowed down the issue with the stitcher and ordered replacement parts. It once again is stitching straight, tight stitches which is promising.
I started cutting out pieces to remake the wallet as well as the mallet and blade putter covers. I wanted to get more done but we had a winter snow storm coming our way so I spent a lot of time preparing for that (and then sledding with the kids when it hit). It's finally melting and I'll get more progress pics up shortly. I'm hoping this heavier leather is easier to skive /thin for the wallet.
 
I'm long overdue for an update. So far I've narrowed down the issue with the stitcher and ordered replacement parts. It once again is stitching straight, tight stitches which is promising.
I started cutting out pieces to remake the wallet as well as the mallet and blade putter covers. I wanted to get more done but we had a winter snow storm coming our way so I spent a lot of time preparing for that (and then sledding with the kids when it hit). It's finally melting and I'll get more progress pics up shortly. I'm hoping this heavier leather is easier to skive /thin for the wallet.
I think the heavier leather will be the ticket. Glad to see an update on this project!
 
Dang!!! I am sorry I just now found this thread. This is one of the reason I hang around this place . I love the showcase of talent and the joy of sharing and being part of the group. It really is awesome.

I love everything about what you are doing @93civiccpe. My dad did a bit of leather work when I was a kid. I still have a leather beast buckle with my name on it. I have thought about finding a new strap for it but just haven’t.
 
So, life and work have been kicking my butt lately but I have not forgotten about this. My two youngest children are finally getting over their colds and sleeping through the night again so I plan to ramp back up on this. I have patterns laid out and some cut. I'll try to get pictures up.. plus i worked up another quick idea to share. Sorry for the delay!!
 
Made a little progress on the main projects and I'll get pictures and a more thorough update soon but i did a simple project to verify the stitcher is truly fixed. There was a problem noted by those using the Arccos link with thicker layers in cold weather. The device struggles and doesn't seem to pick up the shots due to the layers interfering. This is a simple strap that connects to the belt and will hold the link down near the pocket (below the layers). I'm going to test it out tomorrow. 20210306_225539.jpg20210306_225633.jpg
 
Made a little progress on the main projects and I'll get pictures and a more thorough update soon but i did a simple project to verify the stitcher is truly fixed. There was a problem noted by those using the Arccos link with thicker layers in cold weather. The device struggles and doesn't seem to pick up the shots due to the layers interfering. This is a simple strap that connects to the belt and will hold the link down near the pocket (below the layers). I'm going to test it out tomorrow.
The drop leg knife sheath for golfers! Nice!!

I’ve made knife sheaths for use with layered clothing as well, but employed a D-ring so it could move with my body. I suspect you’d want something more rigid here though...

For reference:

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