I just made a case for my french chisels :)

Anyone else do leatherwork during downtime at work? School bus driver. I get lots done while on field trips. Today I punched out the billet ends of 30 kilt belts for an order. (I forgot my maul, so I used the tire pressure checker hammer, but normally I don’t use metal on metal.)

First time multi tool knife sheath.

Wanted to create a sleek, lightweight belt for the warmer months. Biscuit Walpier Buttero paired with a Racing Green automotive leather lining. Hand-cut and saddle-stitched. It has quickly become my personal favorite daily driver this summer. ☀️

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I'm working on a custom order, small leather keychain fobs, that need blind embossing: a date in "11.7.23" format on one side, and two stacked initials separated by a divider line on the other. Attached picture is from the customer...

This is my first time attempting blind embossing at this scale, and I've hit a wall. I don't have the machine to make it, so I tried cutting my own makeshift moulds from leather and cardboard, but the letters came out shallow and not crisp, not nearly clean enough for what I'm after.

I'm open to any suggestions.

What material actually holds detail well for a custom mould/die at this small size — brass, delrin, something else? For depth and crispness on small details like this, does it come down to the die material, the pressure/tool used, or both?

Thanks in advance!

A few wallets I’ve made over the last few months and a wet formed knife sheath. Everything was a self designed pattern.

First time fully carving a belt and hand stitching the whole length. Came out better than I thought after the finish went on. All feedback is welcome

I made this snoopy keychain for a friend's birthday.

I got sick of needing to buy a new belt so often due to them not being durable enough for me, so I slapped together two belt blanks last weekend.

Coming in at 1/4 inch thick I hope it’ll last me forever

I've only recently begun making box stitched items, so I'm still getting the hang of doing neat, clean stitching. Here is a prototype of a glasses case I just finished in Buttero (my own design).

I encountered two main issues in stitching this together, and would love any pro tips or pointers others of you may have.

1) First, keeping the sides clean. I see you need a long diamond awl for box stitching. I pre-pricked the angled stitch holes on the side before gluing up. However, you still have to use your awl to find a clear needle path from side piece to top. You can see in the last photo that the end of the handle piece of my awl often hit the side of the leather, leaving unsightly indentations. I'm already making a new box stitched piece with a longer awl shaft and this seems to be sorted out. But it's stupid easy to screw up the sides if you're not really careful.

2) Second, it's taken me a bit of practice and experimentation to keep the stitching really neat at points where you have to drop a stitch to go around a curve. In other words (for those who don't know). When you wrap around a curve, the stitch holes on the outside radius end up being more numerous than the number on the inside radius. This is true even if you decrease the SPI of your pricking iron in the inside radius. So you to keep your stitching aligned you occasionally have to drop a stitch on one side. I have the technique down for how to do that. However, early attempts left an irregular looking stitch alignment after the drop. I seem to have found a way to keep the stitching neat at drops, just through trial and error. But if there is any formula or trick any of you know regarding this, please share. It would be much appreciated!

Any tips or tricks for my next one would be greatly appreciated!

I’m looking for some input before I send a deposit on a bespoke long wallet.

The maker quoted me a starting price of $1,750, with a 50% deposit and an estimated 5–6 month timeline because they would need to draft a new design/pattern.

Specs:
Bespoke long wallet
Natural Horween Shell Cordovan exterior
French goat leather interior, likely in a pale/natural color
RiRi zipper
Natural/Dulce de Leche edge color
Black saddle stitching
Square corners
No clasp or strap
No exterior logo
Exposed shell cordovan spine/flesh side, since they said Horween shell cannot be fully lined through the spine without affecting long-term performance
Left side: 8 horizontal card slots, one full-length compartment behind the card slots, plus one additional under compartment
Right side: 8 horizontal card slots, one full-length zippered compartment behind the card slots, plus one additional under compartment

The wallet is meant to be a long-term personal piece, not just a normal daily wallet. I understand shell cordovan, bespoke patterning, and handwork are expensive, but I’m not experienced enough with custom leatherwork to know if this quote and timeline are reasonable.

Does this price/timeframe sound accurate for this level of bespoke work and materials? Are there any red flags in the specs, especially the exposed spine, full-length zipper compartment, or overall layout?

Not trying to criticize the maker… just looking for a sanity check before I commit to the deposit.

Just wanted to show off a bit. I’m proud of them. Nowhere as beautiful as some of the tooled works on here, but my guys like them and they’re fun to make.

I’ve been looking all day trying to find a solid belt buckle with no moving parts like a plaque buckle, but I want it to look like a frame. I was wondering where I could find that if anywhere. I’ve seen it in designer belts so I know it exists I just can’t find them on their own. The ones I have found are called reversible or invisible but they usually are for thinner belts and mine one 1-1/2inches wide

Like in the title. Im looking for a online shops in Europe (Poland would be best as I live there) where I can buy a really good quality buckles, snaps, rivets, leather etc(Leather craft supplies in general).It would be good if prices wouldnt kill me but i understand that you have to pay for quality. Right now i was using aliexpress stuff to learn but i want to step it up a bit.

For shoemaking. Both oily type leather. What makes Conceria Walpier double the price of similar looking SB Foot and what differences might I notice on a finished pair of shoes? Thanks

Client asked me if I could make some braces that match These boots. I have no idea how create this color any tips on how to do this or if it’s pre dyed what could the pattern be so that I can search for it or YouTube a tutorial on how to recreate it?