Swivel Knife in Action

From the letters we have been getting, it’s becoming clear that there are a lot of accomplished leather goods makers around the world who haven’t been much exposed to leather carving. We have a couple new vids ready to go up here, around the net and of course at LeathercraftStudio.com.

To make these intricate carvings, nothing is more important than your swivel knife. Get the best swivel kinife you can find, preferably with a ceramic blade (prevents sticking to the leather and snags). Then, get to work. It will take some time, but after enough practice the knife will become an extension of your hand, putting your images directly onto the leather.

A swivel is to a leather carver as a Fender guitar was to Jimi Hendrix (though we don’t recommend setting it on fire onstage – unless you’re paid a lot to do it.)

Mario Prada passed away in the 1950′s, and his granddaughter took over the company to make it what it is today. But, the heart of the Prada name was leather goods and leather craft. They cannot match a quality hand-made bag, but the design sense of Prada is something to emulate.

Now, for features, I was really taken by this bag from the inexpensive Japanese clothing chain called Uniqlo. It was cheap, and it was made of (shudder) denim. But it is super functional, and I have gotten compliments on it. It’s load with small zippered inside pockets, so I can leave all my keys, coins, flash drives, whatever, and quickly find them. It’s nicely partitioned, so I can keep my documents in order. It has handles and a shoulder strap – I use both. It has studs on the bottom to protect it from the floor. The list goes on. But it’s best feature is the long key chain you see in the picture. I am constantly digging around for keys, so this is perfect for me. You attach the keys to the chain, and drop it in your bag. The chain is anchored to the inside of the bag, near the top. When I need my keys, I just pull at the chain until they turn up – like reeling in a fish. The chain is also long enough that I can use the keys to open the door without taking them off. This item is one thing I would like in my perfect bag.

Now, everybody is going to have their own ideas, and this is what makes custom leather goods something that mass brands cannot compete with. When you make a bag for somebody, with all the bells and whistles that they want, and no annoying features, those customers will love that bag for life. In fact, they may love you for life, and come back when they need a wallet, a belt, or even a new bag.

Beckham is a guy who is not known for dressing well, at least not consistently. He has been seen in public in a  sarong, of all things.  Anyone with any taste knows that the only way to be seen in a sarong is either on a Southeast Asian beach or dead. However, even blind squirrels sometimes find an acorn, and Beckham is doing OK here, with a very stylish bag. It wasn’t cheap, but then he probably paid too much for the sarong as well. The funny thing is, this picture launched us at Leathercraft Studio into the man bag design business.  Not that you would know it. Our first design is out, and we will have to do it all over again for the DVD. Have a gander…

On the other hand, fashion monstrosities have their place, and it’s always fun to play around with an old piece of clothing or junk that you were about to trash anyway. The LED lights will hide any cheap leather flaws, and in fact will even hide the fact that its made of leather at all. And who knows what effect they will have in a nightclub? Flashing lights can be hypnotic. They may attract hordes of desirable partners. Or they may cause everyone to keep a certain distance away from you. Lately, I am more inclined toward wanting the latter.

And, even goofy and ridiculous ideas sometimes spark brilliant and sublime ideas. So, in the interest of inspiration, I am linking to How to Make an LED Belt.

Just don’t get carried away.

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.

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.

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.