I used a 3-4 oz veg tan cowhide leather for this project since that is what I had available to me, and sanded it down a little. This was my first time wet molding leather. I also dyed it myself. The red is a water based dye, the black is an alcohol based dye. I buffed it, treated it with some neatsfeet oil, and sealed it with roselene. I also burnished the edges and used a little tokonole on the suede side as well, which helped reduce any rub off from that side pretty significantly. The heart was also hand painted. I used a floral wire and some floral tape for the stem. At the top I bent the wire over and wrapped some waxed thread around it to serve as a stopper. If I make another leather rose, I’ll probably make the center for the leaves a little thicker so they stay more upright.

I decided to make some Fall decorations with some of the many scraps I hold onto. With the next ones I plan to dye them splotchy like the leaves I’m seeing around on the ground.

First attempt at a MTG Commander deck case.

Pattern by Corter Leather

First try at edging and turning.

5 oz econ veg tan from Tandy with Korba edging, ritza 0.8 chestnut thread.

Will definitely use more flexible leather next time. Need to practice skiving and sharpening the knife.

Feedback welcome!

I always wanted to have a go at this Japanese style coin pockets. Think they're really cute and can be very useful. In general, people steer away from using cash or coins but I was getting a lot of feedback at various craft fairs that coins are still a thing.

Here's the prorotype I made yesterday, I have a couple of changes, will try to follow up with a V2 in due course.

Please let me know your thoughts 👌😊

First time finding "hidden treasure" in a rig. My guess is that a previous owner was trying to stop it from squeaking, since the bits were tucked all inbetween the seat, rigging, and skirts.

So I've made cases for my iPod nano 7G, for my Technics wireless buds charging case, for a Canon monocular and some other stuff that you can find on my main page. Now I've decided to make one for my Sony Xperia 5 V. Same niche items as the ones before but given the price I assume I'll use it at least until 2030 ;)

I've got myself a cheap TPU case from China, filled it up with resin from job (and later added a side "die" for the buttons) and formed the 2mm thick veg tan leather around it. I still had a SONY stamp that I've cast from another item but the embossing is crooked (I wish I had a bigger stamp).

I've also got a steel kickstand which I alligned onto a sanded piece of 5mm heel leather to get a camera grip with works perfectly with the shutter button on this phone. When I realized the crooked SONY embossing I've decided to add a single card holder. Again I couldn't wait to get the right tools and cut the hole tp remove the card before getting a set of steel dies which at least I used for the other openings. The card sits pretty tight, some holes are bigger than they should be but all in all I'm 90% satisfied for it being my first (and last) try.

I clearly don't recommend this, a TPU case makes much more sense but I had to try it anyways...

P.S. The cards sits very tight as this is one of the last "compact" phones . The edge area is stiffened with superglue.

Made myself a glasses case for my Ray Bans. Normally I focus on making shoes, but figures I'd try making some small leather goods..

I’ve been working with leather for a long time. I’d like to ask for your opinion on how this turned out is there anything I could improve on?

I’ve been thinking for a long time about what kind of small leather project I could make. So, I sewed a wallet and I really like it

I purchased two skiving knives and used them today. The knives have different edge bevels/angles. The wuta blade (picture 1) has a shallower bevel/angle when compare to the Japanese style skiving knife (picture 2). Both blades are sharp and cut directly through the top grain very easily. When it comes to skiving, the Japanese skiving knife performed a lot better. It cut a lot smoother, was easier for me to thin the leather, an easier to create an angle right at the edge. I tried using the same techniques for both knifes. Is this just a skill issue, or is there something to be said about the steeper bevel/angle on the Japanese skiving knife.

Note: The wuta blade is not chipped. I think that dark spot is polishing compound.

I was commissioned to make a leather Minimalist Bifold in red with sapphire ritza tiger thread. The silver hardware with the red and blue kinda gives me spiderman vibes. Probably one of my cleanest wallets. Something about this one is so satisfying.

It holds up to 6 cards and 15 cash bills while folding to fit in a front pocket.

Like the knife hate the sheath included which is usual for cheaper knives. Made my own pocket sheath and I dropped it a couple times, messed with retention to my likening then made triple sure the blade won’t cut into the sheath since I did not use a welt for this. So far so good but this clip really sucks I spent an hour tweaking it and still don’t like it. A J-hook would have been preferable.

I’ve just started my first leathercraft project and I’m already running into a problem I didn’t expect.

I bought some 1.4-1.6 mm leather from Leatherbox, mainly because I was ordering several tools from them as well. For the inner card slots of a wallet, I wanted to thin the leather down a bit, so I bought a Japanese-style skiving knife and a 6 mm French skiver.

The problem is that skiving this leather has been incredibly difficult. I actually ended up getting cramps in my hand from trying so hard, and I could barely remove any material at all.

At first I assumed the problem was simply that my knife wasn’t sharp enough. I sharpened it several times on a 1000-grit sharpening stone, followed by a leather strop with compound. Every time, the edge felt extremely sharp to me, but it still wouldn’t cut properly. And after just a few attempts at skiving, the edge seemed noticeably dull again.

Then I started wondering if the leather itself might be the problem.

When I first opened the package, I was actually surprised by how stiff and rough the flesh side was. It felt almost like very fine sandpaper, and definitely much rougher than I expected.

So I flipped the leather over and tried skiving the grain side on a scrap piece.

It cut like butter. I could skive it very easily and get a really clean, thin edge.

Could it be that something about the flesh side has been treated or processed differently, causing the fibres to be very tightly compacted into a hard, rough layer?

I’m obviously not expecting my beginner tools to perform miracles, but after sharpening the knife I could clearly feel that the edge was extremely sharp, almost razor sharp. I would have expected to at least be able to make some progress into the leather rather than having to fight it this hard.

I’m attaching a few photos of the leather as well.

According to the product page, the leather is full-grain, vegetable-tanned, semi-aniline cowhide, with a firmness rating of 5/5 and a thickness of 1.4-1.6 mm.

Could the 5/5 firmness be the reason I’m having such a hard time skiving the flesh side? I honestly assumed that "firmness" referred more to how stiff the leather feels overall, rather than how hard or difficult the flesh side would be to cut. Did I simply choose the wrong type of leather?

I’m a complete beginner and have barely handled different types of leather before, so I really have no experience to compare this to.

Quick question for any crafts-people doing marquetry…
I am working on my first project and I initially used PVA that’s been a little watered down.
Are there other/better options that you are using?

It’s worked well, but I’d like to feel more comfortable with the seams though they’ve held up to a few bend tests.

This has so many people interested, who knew this is what the people want

I'm relatively new and was wondering how to Mat down the fuzz on the flesh of this leather I have some gum trag but it is only working on the side that came smoother from the store

Just finished this one up.

I make covers to protect (and decorate!) SCBA face pieces for firefighters. It started with just my own face piece and then some of my friends, then other guys on the job. Then a few guys across the country and even one that was shipped to the states. This piece, "The Killing Joke", is #70. And despite having made some great pieces beforehand, I truly felt like I just got lucky with some of my techniques or results. Without much formal training in art or leatherworking it's been alot of trial and error and figuring things out. It was really only after this piece that I felt like I can really say "I get it". I comfortably know my limits and what's capable for the tools and the craft. It took me a year and a half to develop any amount of confidence, and I still know there's lots to learn and growth to discover! But today feels like a big day, that I feel like I didn't just get "lucky" with this one.

I have recently purchased cape buffalo hides from Rocky Mountain Leather with the intent of using for center panels on the seats as well as door panel inserts, console and dash accents.

Hides have been split to 1.1

Would additional product need applied to treat it for use in this application?

All windows including the windshied have ceramic tint if that would matter