Thread: Homemade leather bags.

Beautiful craftsmanship! I am truly awe struck. I looked for, but couldnt find what kind of leather and what weight leather did you use? I am inspired!

Originally Posted by Tsalagi44

Beautiful craftsmanship! I am truly awe struck. I looked for, but couldnt find what kind of leather and what weight leather did you use? I am inspired!

Who are you directing the question at mate? Myself or Jamie? If me, I just used some third grade 2mm cowhide stuff. Nothing fancy or great about the quality.


Mick

Resurrecting the dead here (Who said it was just something that god was allowed to do?! I don't see his patent on the thing! ). Well it isn't a bag, but it is a bit of leather work, and that half fits the theme of this old re-run. I decided I had to have a set of leather braces after my mate Steph (Nightblade) emailed me a link on some US Western style suspenders (we call them Braces because to us, Suspenders are what holds up ladies underwear stockings). However, there was no way I could afford to make a US purchase plus shipping. What's a bloke to do?! Well go out and make his own of course! Just what any real man would do isn't it?!
Anyway, they aren't totally complete just yet. They've had the rough edges smoothed, a few extra holes added and some trimming up done since these photo's were taken, and at the moment they are soaking up a little bit of colour and leather dressing, and remain unassembled and outside. I will put them back together for a final photo tomorrow. For now here are some random photo's I took along the way.





Mick

nice job Mick! I don't see any reason to buy something if you can make it, plus it's more fun.

Good looking suspenders. They remind me a bit of the German army WWII combat load bearing Y straps.

Bob

These would probably bear more load than the wearer could handle I reckon.


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

These would probably bear more load than the wearer could handle I reckon.


Mick

May your pants never get that heavy.

Bob

Et viola....Patience was never my strong suite. I made them be ready NOW. Apologies for the dark photo's. It is night time here at the moment after all. Nearly tomorrow now though. 10 more minutes for that. Thanks for the appreciation Gents.





Mick

Glad to see you back in the leather Mick,,,

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Glad to see you back in the leather Mick,,,

Nothing fancy John, just a couple of cowhide straps and a few bits of harness fittings. It's turned out to be a nice little foray into doing something different. I'm wearing these braces right now, which in itself is another part of the experiment. Steph (Nightblade) gave me his thoughts on this style of 'Galuse(s)' after he bought some for himself. He was left less than impressed. I'm finding one of his points/thoughts to be important to find a potential work around. Other points were more of a comfort issue, which is of course a highly personal thing.

The point of importance, and doubly so for this set that I have made, as they are different in one aspect to the set Steph bought, is the potential strain on, and tearing out of belt loops. It may be that with this style of braces, the rear belt loop will need reinforcing, or like most modern pants when it comes to braces, some modification in the form of a special attachment point be added to the waist band. Only time and use will tell me what has to be done, if anything.

The pair Steph bought for himself had elastic as the back strap. Mine rely on a compromise of adjustment in the fitting and are all leather, No elastic, hidden or otherwise. And the time to be concerned is when you sit, as that seems to be the time when most pressure is exerted on the rear belt loop. This is the one that would tear out in my opinion. The front ones seem to be fairly safe from this threat.

Being all leather, you don't have the benefit of elastic that will resize and stretch with your body movement, so in some body positions there is a distinct slackness or extra tension on the shoulder straps, and I can see how this could be a potential cause of a love or hate relationship of the style. An elastic backstrap would be a large improvement on making these more of a love relationship for those so inclined to hate, but not everyone will be happy with that, and again opinions are subjective and valid on this. Body shape would come into play as well. Size, build, slope of shoulders etc.

The one thing mine have going for them that Steph's did not. Mine are custom made and built to fit me just right. And that, I think, is the biggest difference between his experience and my own so far. I'm still going to continue buying various factory made braces as and when, need or want dictates because those elastic jobs can't be beat for all around body fit and comfort. They just don't have the same look or feel of leather. It would be a bit like trying to tell anyone here that they only need one cut-throat razor, as it will last them a lifetime and does the job it was designed to do. As we all know, that just isn't the point. It's about look, feel, emotion, mindset and many other factors that willingly takes these single razor theorists ideas, and brutally murders them in the most painful and bloodiest fashion possible.


Mick