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ddunn68
Apr 27, 2024
In Help From The Community
I am in desperate need of help in sharpening these little devils. The more angled they are, the harder they are to sharpen without "rounding" the blade! I consider myself "pretty good" at sharpening, but these are next level difficult for me. I even took them to a professional sharpener who gave them back to me no better than I could do. Has anyone here used a little sharpening jig that can hold a skewed blade at the perfect angle?
Sharpening madness with angled or skewed blades content media
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ddunn68
Apr 27, 2024
In Share Your Projects
I am sharing the results of my first shoe that I have made. It is a copy of the Birkenstock Montana. I thought "why not take a crack at making a pair of shoes? How hard can it be? Well, harder than I thought, but not too hard really. And there is something very satisfying about making shoes that you can wear!
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ddunn68
Sep 28, 2023
In Help From The Community
I'm about to attach some hardware on Alpine Shrunken Calf lined with soft lambskin. This means there is a certain amount of "sponginess" that I've got to contend with. Any tips or tricks on how to do that with rivets so that the hardware is nice and tight against the leather?
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ddunn68
Jun 30, 2023
In Help From The Community
I'm looking for feedback on the actual finished difference of a turned bag with piping using regular stitching iron teeth vs round hole teeth. I've heard that round holes produce a cleaner look, meaning less likely to show stitching holes. I haven't had that issue yet, but I've only made two turned bags with piping. The main drawback I've heard about using round hole teeth is that they are much harder to stitch because they're smaller. Any thoughts?
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ddunn68
Jun 07, 2023
In Help From The Community
Hello All!! I am looking to make a daily use handbag and am considering using lambskin for the lining. This one in fact: Given its softness and suppleness, I have a concern about a couple of things. 1) Long term durability and 2) Stretching with use. Anyone have any general experience and input with regard to these two concerns with lambskin? Thanks in advance for any feedback! David
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ddunn68
Mar 13, 2023
In Help From The Community
So I saw a video of someone installing a lining into a long wallet with two bent sections similar to what I am making. In that video, the person is seen applying glue only to the flat areas of the wallet, and the edges of where the bends are. I tried that using a rounded block of wood for the bending part and am now left with the lining on the top flap that ends up with a sort of "bubble" that comes after opening the top flap straight up, as it will be used when the owner of the wallet is trying to access the inner parts. It's not really a functional problem, but it does not look great. This is my first attempt at a wallet like this. I am now wondering why I didn't just glue down the entire lining when using the bending tool. So my question is this...is there anything I can do about it at this point? Materials I'm using are Ostrich outer layer, Sully goat lining, Salpa is the interfacing material to add structure. I used Barge contact adhesive for the glue. The first two photos show the bubble, but the third photo shows that it goes away with rubbing it lightly and then closing it more fully. Any help is greatly appreciated!
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ddunn68
Jan 12, 2023
In Leather Tools
For those of you who have a skiving knife similar to this one, do you have a secondary bevel or just a primary bevel? I have a primary bevel and find it extremely difficult to keep the entire plane flat on the sharpening stone when sharpening. I've thought having a secondary bevel would make sharpening much faster and easier. Anyone have similar challenges? Tips?
Sharpening help!  content media
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ddunn68
Dec 08, 2022
In Leathercraft Techniques
Is it possible? Anyone here done one? Photos?
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ddunn68
Jun 30, 2022
In Share Your Projects
Great project. Lots of fun mingled with moments of frustration. Turning the bag right side out was super satisfying! I don't know if I want to ever work again with Sedgwick English Bridle leather. What a pain! Cutting, skiving and creasing are just a bugger. I hope it wears like iron though. I'm looking forward to working with shrunken calf again. It seems like a great option for stuff you want to wear well and look great.
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ddunn68
Jun 03, 2022
In Leathercraft Techniques
Does anyone here know of someplace online that teaches how to both design and create a pattern for handbags? I ask because I am currently making the De Havilland travel bag and I have wondered how does one go about designing that pattern and know how long the zip gusset needs to be, why the ends of the main body of the bag are tapered and how to determine how large the body of the bag needs to be vis-a-vis the zip gusset. Phil, have you considered doing a course on bag design where each student would have a completely unique design at the end, or is that beyond the scope of your courses?
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ddunn68
Mar 30, 2022
In Help From The Community
Hey everyone, Just wondering if someone has a tried an true technique for cleaning up edge creaser tips?
Cleaning up filleteuse tips content media
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ddunn68
Mar 11, 2022
In Share Your Projects
Finished Turenne bag. What a cool project and great instruction from Phil. Please do not repost photos on social media associated with my name. It's a special project and gift for a friend and I'd hate to spoil that.
The Beautiful Turenne Bag content media
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ddunn68
Jan 29, 2022
In Help From The Community
I'm not very familiar with a lot of hardware that's out there so I'm reaching out to the community. If I want to have a smaller piece of leather that can pivot around a point on a larger flat piece of leather, what would be the best hardware to use at the center point to allow that to happen? I was thinking maybe a Chicago screw might allow for some tweaking on the pressure at the center pivot point and I could put some blue Loctite in it that could be broken free, tightened and re-Loctited again if it gets a little too loose. I should also say that I need this hardware to sit as flat as possible. Your thoughts?
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ddunn68
Jan 19, 2022
In Leathergoods Business
I would like to hear the feelings of you all about the importance and relevance of hand stitching to "the customer" at large. Do you feel people really care in general? If you could include where you are located that would be great because I'm curious to see if there are differences geographically in how people place importance on hand stitched leather goods. Cheers, David
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ddunn68
Jan 09, 2022
In Leather Tools
I am on my third brush using this pot with Aquilim 315. The red plastic ferrule keeps cracking. I don't have any issues with a second pot just like it using pva glue so I am thinking it is something to do with the Aquilim glue. Anyone else having this problem? I'm wondering if I might have the same issue with Saregum since it is a similar water based contact adhesive. If I can't rectify the problem, I will probably switch to a solvent based adhesive even though I'd prefer to stay with water based for a few different reasons. Any help would be appreciated.
Glue pot brush problem content media
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