Y'all got any tips on leather working?

[OriginalGeek]

I want to make a Sporran



It's the thing fellas wear with their kilts so they have a place to carry stuff.

They can be as plain or fancy as you want and they can be pricey. I'd like to customize mine though - maybe stamp my clan badge into the flap and/or other things to personalize it.

I happened to wander into a leather store last week but it was in a tourist area and I wonder if I can't find some tools and what-not much cheaper...especially not interested in spending hundreds of dollars to make one thing and find out I'm no good at it...

[Xyzse]

1. Those are pretty cool. Good luck!

I know nothing about leather working.

[OriginalGeek]

3. Ahh, yeah - practice lol...

I hadn't even thought of that...but I bet I do not want to start right off just whacking away at my fancy leather...We do have Micheal's and a few other places around here....

[OriginalGeek]

8. Thank you sir or madame

And welcome to DU!

[In_The_Wind]

4. That's excellent advice ~ bathtime.

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[Chan790]

5. Have you thought about taking a class?

I mean I get the "not want to spend money to learn you suck at it." thing but anything worth learning to do is worth learning right. When your technical-skill catches up to your educational-skill, you'll immediately be better than amateur hobbyists because you'll know how to produce professional-quality work and all the untrained skill in the world will never get there. (That and they already own the tools so either you're going to have pay someone to teach you using their tools or you're going to have to buy the tools yourself.)

I'm not a naturally-gifted technical artist...but I work (and occasionally teach) in creative fields. It's because I learned my craft and having learned it, I found it easier and easier in-time to pick up other craft-skills...everybody sucks at first. It takes 10000 hours to learn to do anything well...the origin of the joke "What do you call a butcher with all his fingers? Inexperienced."

My first stageplay is a mess. My first screenplay sold and was never produced because it was un-shootable. I lopped off the tips of all my fingers, burnt off my palmprints, grated my knuckles and gave myself steamburns on my face learning to cook. I have glue-scars from learning to book-bind. You don't want to see the first 10 garments I sewed. I wasted $300 of film learning photography and developing techniques. I still can't paint or draw worth a f**k. It takes me 30-tries to get my graphic design work to look like I want it to. I think 90% of the copy I write is crap.

I'm better than most people at most of those things. I push myself to be but I seek out education first and aptitude later.

[OriginalGeek]

6. Indeed I have

My son was just telling me there was a workshop around here somewhere last year put on by one of the hobby/craft stores but he didn't remember which one. I'm going to see if I can find more like that...

We recently went to class on throwing clay and I found out that it was not Ghost-like at all. They wouldn't even let us take our clothes off! But it was way harder than I imagined it would be so I decided to try other things. I already draw but don't paint. I've watched a few clips on youtube of guys doing some amazing designs in leather and I think it's something my skill-set might could eventually translate to... with a lot of practice and someone showing me the ropes...

[kurtzapril4]

9. Try Tandy leathers.

I doubt Hobby Lobby or Michaels has any leatherworking tools. At least, they don't in my area.

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com

[OriginalGeek]

11. A friend of mine from Texas

just told me the exact same thing an hour ago...only he didn;t provide me a link. Some friend he is! Thanks K.

[Bertha Venation]

10. I found out by accident a good way to season a softball glove.

Take a small pumpkin to a friend's house on Halloween. At the end of the night, take it home because you don't want it cluttering up her house. To keep it from rolling around in your trunk, put it inside your softball glove. Forget about it. A month later (our league out of season) open your trunk to find a rotted, moldy, face-caved-in jack-o-lantern. Clean all the gunk out. Scrub it. Soak it over night. In the morning, let it drip for a couple of hours, then work it with your hands for as long as you can stand to. Then put a softball in the pocket, wrap the thumb & fingers around the ball, and secure tightly with a rubber band.

When it dries, it'll be supple, and molded perfectly.

I guess that's not what you're looking for, but I haven't thought about that in years. It's a good memory because of spending Halloween with my friend. So thanks!

[OriginalGeek]

12. lol!

Accidents is the mothereffers of invention!

[Bertha Venation]

13. Heh. They is!

[OriginalGeek]

15. Just found out there's a Tandy store here in town!

Guess I'll be wandering over that way this weekend or next...

[pinboy3niner]

16. Don't forget your Safe Word

[OriginalGeek]

17. Looking at some the needles and blades and awls hammer

I suspect my safe word will be OUWWWWWWWWMOTHERFUCKERSUNNAVVAFUCKINBITCH!


at which point my wife will come spank me for cursing.


Heck, maybe I'll just start with that and see where it goes...

[OriginalGeek]

18. good news everyone!

My wife came home today with the Tandy deluxe beginners kit and a hunk of hide for practice and signed up for a class this weekend.

It was my anniversary present.




the actual good news is she gave me this early which reminded me our anniversary was this Friday.



I think she has her eye on that nifty key ring fob in the kit. I'll stamp her a heart or something mushy on it.

[JNelson6563]

19. Oh, *that* kind of leatherworking!

Nevermind!

Julie

[OriginalGeek]

20. lolz

I did see a website with a lot of tutorials for making whips....

[Gidney N Cloyd]

21. Leather works for me...

[OriginalGeek]

23. That's a little beyond my current skill set

and that outfit probably is too...

[madmom]

22. My hubby used to and still occasionally does leather work...

He doesn't do as much any more because quality leather has gotten so expensive and nobody wants to pay what it's worth. He has many tools and such, dyes, patterns etc. just setting there gathering dust.
He really did enjoy it but just can't really afford it anymore.

[OriginalGeek]

24. Awww man

I hope some day he gets back into it...I haven't even started worrying about the expense because I'm still just worrying about projects for me and family...I can't even conceive right now of being good enough to sell stuff...I'm mostly hoping to make something good enough I'd want to wear it lol...And my wife wants a purse (probably why she really went and got me the kit)

[marzipanni]

25. I suppose you already investigated diy sporran in google...

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f144/my-diy-sporran-mex-sporran-31435/


http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f144/my-diy-sporrans-thanks-xmarks-forum-75815/


etc.

[OriginalGeek]

27. Yep - I even joined that site on general principle

for Kilt info and such in addition to leather...lots of good info and so far seems to be friendly folk at X Marks..


My immediate goal is to not be embarrassed to wear whatever I make. I might have to make a thousand of them before I get that far lol...

[OriginalGeek]

28. My first project!

Took a class at Tandy - they have them every week - this class was on lacing so we made a journal cover with a double loop stitch...Started with raw plain leather and cut, punched holes, stained and stitched and ended up with this:


I am pleased. I enjoyed the class, the work and the people and can't wait til next week's class on tooling. (didn't do much here - just stamping initials - because this class focus was on learning the lacing).