I use this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8894421?clickPR=plp:7:29 I find the mains powered vacuums are better at getting leather fluff of carpets. Tile or wood, battery powered is fine.

Yeah, you won't look back!

Beyond impressive Jeff, especially considering it's your first time working with zips! The quality of finish is there for sure.

Hi JR. I've never encountered an issue before, and I store all my knives on a magnetic rack. They sharpen and hone in the same way as my pocket knives or hunting knives which are not stored near a magnet. If you want to simulate the situation, take a knife with a strong magnet attached to it and attempt to sharpen it. That should reassure you.

Quite possibly, or it was just a fashionable combination at the time. Yes, you can dye pre-waxed natural threads using alcohol based dyes. Most waxed linen has very little wax in it anyway, that's why we have to do it ourselves before stitching.

By far it will be off-white, which is just raw flax linen. Yellow, brown and black are close behind. For as long as people have been dyeing leather, they have been dyeing thread. You can use the traditional aniline powdered dyes on both quite well. Many times I've not had the right thickness in the colour I want, so I've grabbed some white linen in the right thickness and dyed it with a leather spirit dye. Oddly enough, grey and blue were popular choices to go with tan leather. You don't really see that anymore.

Really nice work Feather! Well done. The inlay is very clean and looks great with the matching stitches.

Yes, veg-tan isn't going to need the same kind of reinforcement that chroome-tan needs. It will likely be firm enough already. If you think it's needed, you can always glue in some thin fabric like rip-stop to prevent stretch in certain areas though.

I don't think the Bolide uses a block form to install the zip, so probably not necessary. If it does use some kind of form, it would probably have to be a 3 piece block so it can be removed after the zip is installed.

Wow, well done for figuring out how to thin down leather with a block plane! A popular option that's similar is a spokeshave. Bookbinders use them to thin down leather. Quite messy I imagine, and they do require modifying I believe. I was wondering what the wallet is going to look like with the tactical color switch, but after seeing the images, I have to agree with Feather, it's a nice contrast that works with the burgundy.

Yeah, it will need some kind of flap closure then. Alternatively you could drill a few holes along the top length that you could then fill with disc magnets of a matching thickness. Either in addition to, or instead of the flap and clasp. Just an idea.

I agree with Feather, it may be best to trim your edges after stitching. Or, make one side slightly oversize, then after stitching, trim to the side that was cut from the original pattern dimensions. Don't be afraid to use some sharp scissors on soft leather, a round knife is designed for cutting thick or firm leather and may cause soft leather to stretch due to the friction from that big blade. I've never heard of using contact adhesive and water to burnish an edge, this may be where the issue lies (if I understand correctly). Ideally PVA glue is one of the best glues to use when you glue two parts together which will be finished with a burnish. I hope this helps!

It's difficult to see from the picture, but it looks like that's only one side of a frame. This may be the frame used on a 'kiss' lock bag, but the lock isn't there. Doing a reverse image search, it looks like you got that pic from Weaver leather supply. It might be worth asking them for examples of use.

Hey Steve, welcome to the forum. It's great to have you here. We'd love to see some of the goods you've made so far!

Yes, crepe rubber works. You can find nubuck and suede 'brushes' with the shoe care accessories in most supermarkets, or online.

Welcome to the forum! It's great to have you here. Philip

Hello Tia. I want to make sure I understand the situation before advising, so reading between the lines here, I am assuming the following: 1) You have purchased some nubuck leather 2) There are marks on the leather 3) You have contacted the seller to complain 4) They have recommended sorting it out yourself 5) You want to know if anybody has done this successfully and if so, how. Is this correct?

Hi Jo, welcome to the forum! Thanks for stopping by to say hello.

Hi Martin, sorry I completely missed this post. If you are using thick leather and a stiffening board, a box stitch would be appropriate. If you are using leather and wood (ply for example) then you can stitch or use nails and trim just like a trunk. From memory, box stitching can be seen in the following courses: The box stitched watch case Solid leather box making Round leather box making The Bloomsbury attache case

I wouldn't advise using any re-positional contact adhesives for leatherwork. If you can easily pry glued pieces apart, you won't have a strong instant bond, which is the whole point.