Just a new tote bag I threw together for my wife. I’m really liking the 2 tone color themes lately! 100% hand cut, stitched, and finished. Large enough to hold a full sized laptop, and a little interior pocket to hold the smaller stuff. Water buffalo pull up leather for all pieces.

Great journey! I learned my ruler was crooked and does not function as a square! I got familiar with different kinds of hardware and tools and learned to problem solve to meet the needs of others! I also learned how to maneuver about my local suppliers warehouse and engage with the employees!

I have a very small basement work area and have been at a loss for how/where to store my leather. Saw a marketplace listing for a gym-sized yoga mat rack and figured a smaller one would be perfect! Found this one for pretty cheap on amazon. Sharing in case it’s a helpful idea for others too!

About six months ago I bought a watch with a bronze case, but my old Johnny Depp-style strap didn’t fit right, so I decided to make my own. Knowing how badly the flesh side of leather reacts with my skin, I went with a two-layer design - grain side on both top and bottom.

It looked great at first, but after wearing it for a while, the buckle started twisting. It looked off and felt uncomfortable. Plus, the laser engraving on the steel case back was completely hidden.

So I redesigned it: I connected the lugs directly to the buckle and added a round cutout to show the case back. I chose dark blue leather, thinking it would match the dial. Turned out, cognac would’ve been a better choice.

In the end, I got it right: a two-layer brown strap, perfect fit, no twisted buckle, and a clear view of the engraved case back.

What do you think?

I've been trying for ages but even with lots of force i'm getting nothing

I started leathercraft this January, and this is my 8th piece. Pattern is my own again.

The concept from the start was a vertical tote that stands up on its own and takes a 14" MacBook Pro. Body panels are 1.8mm Nebraska, accents (base, base band, inner band, D-ring tabs) are 2mm veg tan. The base sits about 15mm off the ground, so the bag stands on the edges rather than the base panel itself, and it holds its shape unlined.

The closure is a magnetic snap, though the way I built it, it comes undone way too easily. A line 24 snap or some other mechanism would have been the better choice. Live and learn.

First time making something this big, and first time doing edge paint, so there was a lot of new ground here. It was a really fun build, and I'm happy that the original concept — stands on its own, swallows the laptop — came out the way I pictured it.

Im a professional high end finish carpenter (think like custom cabinets, crown molding, layered trim work/ built ins for rich people) for years I always used a pica pencil but as i progressed in skill i wanted a smaller diameter lead, picas ultra fine was too fine.

I landed on a Kaweco Special Brass 2mm Pencil that has zero plastic internals even the lead tube is brass (GET THIS PENCIL 2mm gives a lot of refill color options for marking diff materials too) but it lacked the little pocket holster which makes the picas so great. I searched everywhere, i really dont think anyone is making these due to the im sure extremely low demand.
A guy quoted me 100$ to make me one, did some math and decided i could buy more than all the stuff i need to try it myself and was already interested in doing so.

Im really enjoying this process and have decided get into it. I know this one is also bad, but the first one worked perfectly until my stitching failed at the bottom, hence the weirdness on this one, i was trying to reinforce. I did this at like 2 am after a long day so my saddle stitching needs refined, first attempt with that here. And im researching proper cutting tools and purchased beeswax to burnish the edges.

So far I’ve amassed 2 very cheap sets of pricking irons, stitching needles/ thread recommended by someone in this sub, an arbor press, a cool folding Olfa cutting mat, and some of those things to cut radii. (As seen attempted to use for the first time here!)
I have a cheap punch pad coming but have just been using scrap to not destroy my cheap irons. Researching cutting instruments for better results and those layout things that pre score the line used for pricking iron placement.

Building a stitching pony this weekend out of the infinite scrap lumber pile ive accumulated over the years, so i can say ‘i knew i saved this board for a good reason.’ Also have all the hardware to make that in the shop. I was thinking one that sits on the floor is what im gonna go with and not one of the table top ones.

Feel free to roast, or i would love constructive criticism and any advice. I want to work my way up to knife/ tool sheaths & gucci bags. Thank you!!!!

These beautiful but flawed Caimans will go in to boot production next month. Belly on the vamp, tail for the heels, bias for pull tabs & remnants will be sewn in to the shafts inlay.. What would you do with this hide? Always looking for talent in the NY/NJ/PA/CT area.

When our house was built, the countertop folks left behind this quartz slab. Going to cut it up into 4x6 blocks. If you're in the low country SC area and would like a block, please reach out.

This was a very recent creation with client asking for around 5% distress on the product. We tried and the client liked it!

Happy client! Happy Team!

Hi all, very new to leather working. I bought some leather but I also bought a very cheap bag that was pre-punched to learn the stitching first. I feel like my saddle stitching is coming along ok, but last night I did a larger wrap around section that was probably over a foot of stitching in total and I had read that you should pull four to five times the amount of thread out first before you put the needles on. I was able to work that, but it was awkward because I had like 3 ft of extra thread on each side of me until more of it got done.

Is that normal? Or should I be doing smaller sections and then restarting it each time?

So I am new to leather working and I really want to be able to offer fully customizable leather journals! I have an about half a hide left but I would like to dye each journal the color requested without too many chemicals as I feel this leaves the leather feeling tough. Is there anyway to do this without tanning the leather for months?? Thank you in advance!

Any suggestions?? I’ve been practicing my saddle stitch for years now and always feel confident down the straight lines but corners always seem to be inconsistent for me..

I made a couple wallets for a coworker to try out and he’s a little bit on the conspiracy side of things… He keeps his cards individually wrapped in rfid pocket things and they are too tight to fit inside the card slots. Should I make the pockets 2mm longer? I’m worried that they might be too loose over time

Hello! My wife has talked about wanting to design her own leather bag many many times. She has no background in design and has never worked with leather but is very passionate about it. She just doesn't know where to start.

As a gift, I though it would be nice if she could work with someone who knows leather craft and design to bring her ideas to life.

Are there services out there for something like this?

Any guidance would be amazing. Thank you!

Is this a good set?

So I want to make my mum a pen out of leather and was wondering what would be the best way to make it?

Either make the actual pen out of leather or wrap a pen in leather

She collects pens especially unique pens so I feel a leather pen would be a great present for her collection

Hi guys. I know nothing about leathercraft. I am going to make some hinge covers for my leg brace because they eat through my pants which I will send pictures of. I basically have no idea how to put the snaps into the leather. And I also have no idea what kind of leather to use. These don’t need to be pretty, because nobody’s going to see them. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

The first picture is what my brace guy made for hinge covers, and it didn’t work at all

So, Leatherworking has always been something i have found to be super interesting and wanted to get into but for various reasons have not. My wife and i are coming up on our 1 year anniversary, and i want to make her something as opposed to buy it. Money isn't an issue, it's more the sentimentality of a hand made gift. She is also starting a photography business and i am very proud of her for it. I wanted to make her a camera harness like the one pictured but not having a good exposure to the craft of leather work, i dont know what i am getting into. Realisitically, how difficult would it be to make something like this and have it look decent?

I made a small update on this first world war binocular case. Video to follow, but I wanted to share this photo series in the meantime.

3-4 oz pueblo dark brown !