A simple demonstration of tracing a shape out on translucent, wet leather, and then cutting the shape out. In this case, a knife sheath. On the video page.

Japanese leathercraft is something that came to the country in the aftermath of the war. There, of course, were leather goods before that, but some American servicemen and their families brought over the concept of leather tooling. Intricately carved Western leather gear fascinated many Japanese, with their love of detail, and the art form took off on its own from that.

However, once imported to Japan, things are known to change a great deal. Japanese leather artists began to make design that suited their own tastes. Also, unlike in the US, the majority of those attracted to leather tooling and leathercrafting were women. An entire art form has blossomed from leathercraft’s humble origins, and the Japanese work is among the best in the world. Since we are focused more on practical applications, I selected a picture of handbags rather than some of the really stunning display pieces in this book. Click on the image to get a larger view.

This nice picture has what to do with leather?

Well, we added a couple new videos on the video page.

The first is how to make a monarch butterfly mask.

The second is how to sew a spinning stitch, which really resembles the spun thread in the photo to the left. The stitch is being done on a shoe, but it’s applicable to just about anything you make with leather.

It’s really important to put a lot of effort into stitching your leather goods. It can be repetitive work, but it is vital to a product’s integrity and beauty. Quality hand stitching has been a mainstay of fine leather goods and, as people learn to get more for their money, it will be a major selling point for your own line. Fine stitching distinguishes a product from expensive machine stitched goods and poorly crafted hand-stitched “craft” goods.

Top grain leather, a dirty little secret:

The ad proudly says “We carry 100% top grain leather.”

Watch out, fair buyer. Top grain leather is a sneaky marketing term used by leather goods dealers. It literally means “low quality leather with a fake grain embossed on it.” That last slogan was not so catchy, eh?

Top grain leather means they take cheap leather and buff it, then emboss what looks like leather grain on top. Marketers often talk about turning a negative point into a positive one. I suppose this falls into that category, but really does a disservice to the consumer.

The proper name for this leather is “corrected grain,” though don’t look for that term in any sales pitch. Full grain leather is what you are looking for.

Oh, gosh. Whatever sells, eh? I added a video (to the video page) of a guy that tools naked women on guitar straps….you know what I’m talking about.  Meanwhile, on the tutorial page, I added a short hand-sewing tutorial. Go ahead and get the video out of the way first. Meanwhile, I have to get started on my own guitar strap.

All the name brands have outsourced to developing countries such as China. Even if the bag says “Made in Italy,” this only means one or more of the following:

1- Made in China, where they also kindly produced the “Made in Italy” label.

2-Made in China, India or some other country where the workers get $3 a day, and brought to Italy for final construction – which means that they sewed the buttons and buckles on in Italy (and even that was likely done by cheap imported labor).

3- Made in China, but the label saying so is placed in a very discreet location, such as the bottom of an inside pocket.

4-It might also mean that it is mostly made in Italy, though this is very rare.

The leather brands of Gucci, Vuitton and Hermes were built on the hard work of their leather artisan founders, who produced hand-made works of leather beauty, utility and quality. In recent years, with the availability of outsourcing, coupled with the desire of every survival wage earner to own a brand bag, they have gone down-market.

The names now guarantee nothing but a high price, and that you will look like everyone else who was silly enough to pay too much for their leather accessories.

While this is awful for those tarnished, once grand names, it is a great opportunity for leathercrafters. There is already grumbling from those with money and a modicum of taste, and they will be clamoring for unique and high-quality handmade leather goods.

Who knows, maybe someday in the future, your rich ancestors will be using your name and heritage to sell overpriced brand junk!

Welcome to LeatherCraft Central!

In conjunction with the developing LeatherCraft Studio, we will scour the net and bring you everything we can find about leatherworking and leathercraft – absolutely free! That makes this a good place to start out and see if this is for you. You can find Tex-Mex cowboy stuff, exotic stuff, and expensive brand stuff (don’t forget, Gucci and Louis Vuitton were leather-crafters, first and foremost!).

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Have fun!