Leathercrafting

So, I got into watch building/modding due to the watch thread which led me to wanting to make my own leather watchbands. I'm still working on getting professional looking results, but I have already gone from watch bands to watch pouches, wallets, belts, and soon bags. I traded wire braiding for saddlestitching as my zen crafting activity. Recognizing that there are dedicated forums for leathercraft, I wondered if anyone here was into it, interested in it, etc.

 

I really like quality leather stuff. I bought a leather watch strap off Etsy a couple months ago, same style as the one in your pic that matches the belt. Really nice, not at all comparable to the Chinese leather straps on Amazon or wherever. Those are all some extremely thin leather fascia over a synthetic backer and they look & feel like poop.

Cruise around through Drop - they have a number of leather goods from small producers that might give you some ideas.

 

Quarantine project: New briefcase for the all the meetings that I am no longer going to in person...





Created my own pattern, but obviously based on a simple, classic design that has been around for forever. All hand cut and saddle stitched in my spare time over the last month. Materials cost was about $150. Only bags made out of Sedgwick Bridle leather like this one I have seen start at $500. So I saved myself quite a bit of money

 

That looks amazing!

 

That's beautiful.

 

I made a prototype leather headphone case for a friend using some Italian bridle leather in a similar style to my briefcase above. While this style bag has been around for ages, this is 100% custom designed to fit full sized headphones. Hand cut and hand stitched over probably a month from start to finish.

I suppose it could also be a very fancy lunch box or something you could carry a dozen of Ipads in.

 

Beautiful work!

 

Thanks! Handstitching leather has taken the place braiding headphone cables as my repetitive zen activity. End up with slightly more useful items at the end of it.

 

It really is awesomely crafted and the color is also great, good job!

 

goegeous, man!

 

Since I am still learning and experimenting, any feedback is welcome:



Custom case for my Sony WF-1000XM3. Made out of some oil-tan leather that Redwing boot owners might be familiar (same leather). Nice, rustic, durable leather. Learned an interesting lesson that I shouldn't use oil-tan leather with soft-touch rubber. In an ironic twist, despite trying to protect the case from further damage and discoloration, I ended up staining the soft-touch rubber on the case. So future iterations will be made from vegetable tanned leather so there isn't any transfer.

 

More audio related leather spam:




New test designs for both the Sony WF1000XM3 and the Apple Airpod Pros. Kept them together to show how much larger the Sony's are than the APPs. Nearly double the volume and the charging position and size required different designs for each. Oh, and these leathers won't stain the cases like my last one... For the leather curious, the Sony case is made from Sedgwick English bridle in Choco and the APP is made from Wickett and Craig English bridle in Medium Brown. So English English bridle and American English bridle.

 

Haven't spammed this thread in a while so here is something fun I did recently:


Got ahold of some Horween basketball leather (official leather of both Wilson and Spalding) made here in Chicago and made myself some accessories. I am a big fan of basketball (only sport I really follow) so am very pleased with the turn out. It is actually kind of terrible leather to work with (the back side is super tough and stringy and requires a lining), and it certainly isn't luxurious to touch, but I miss playing as much as I used to so having the leather for daily use items makes me happy.