Hi, Grant. I live down the road in Columbia, Missouri. Great to know of a kindred spirit just a hundred miles away. Dale

I've had fairly good luck using a pin to pop bubbles, though it is definitely better to catch them earlier and push them off. If I find that I have bubbles in an applicator bottle, before applying paint, I turn the bottle upside down to let the bubbles float away from the tip, then squeeze the first bit of paint onto a rag to make sure it is flowing without bubbles, then take it to the leather. During that session of painting, keep the bottle tip down or you have to repeat the process. Instead of shaking, I try avoid putting bubbles into the container of paint. Method 1: Stir gently. Method 2: With one hand on top of the container and one on the bottom, I turn it almost on its side and gently rotate it like a spinning wheel. Both approaches take longer than shaking but have worked well for me.

Great stuff, Phil. Thanks for the look.

I've always had good luck with Buckleguy.com. They carry some watch hardware: https://www.buckleguy.com/watch-buckles-loops/

It's a good start! You could call this bag "The Mitre" after the bishop's-hat closure.

Inspiring work, Martin! Thanks for sharing it with the group.

Check out the following link, which offers a rule of thumb for finding a good bench height for working wood with hand tools, such as handplanes, chisels, handsaws, etc. (https://www.woodmagazine.com/workbench/rule-of-thumb-guides-best-workbench-height) In my experience, you need more body weight over such tools than over a ruler for cutting a straight line and other leatherworking tasks. So, a leatherworking bench could be a bit higher than a woodworking bench. The other issue, for me at least, relates to freedom of movement of my arms. A high-enough bench could cause you to raise your elbows up out of ideal position and create a little more difficultly in performing finer work accurately and repeatably. I'm sure people figure out ways to overcome such circumstances, but I think it's better to build a bench that lets you use your body as efficiently as possible in the first place.

My strong preference is to build for standing work and get a chair that puts you at a comfortable height at the bench when sitting is the way to go. That's the best of both worlds, in my view. This setup has worked well in both leatherworking and woodworking. I find that many tasks -- cutting with a straight edge, in particular -- are much more easily and precisely and reliably done while standing. For instance, while on your feet, you can get your weight over the ruler and position your body so the knife runs true and at 90 degrees to the work. In contrast, for detail work like painting edges, I sit, sometimes bracing my elbows on the bench or the like. Good luck and let us know what you come up with!

Fadi, I had the same issue with two Uniters colors of several I bought. They were just plain runny. I tried the thickener but had to use so much to get a proper consistency that the paint didn't look good. So, I pinged the distributor, who sent me new bottles without question. The new bottles were usable but not as thick as some of the others. Uniters appears to have a quality control problem on this front. Does anybody have this issue with Giardini or Stahl? (sp?)

@alexdorand I just noticed that Buckleguy carries more than 80 gold-plated items, including D-rings. Gold over solid brass. Perhaps they are looking for a piece of the luxury market??

@waynecostanza Regarding the inset: What a great idea, and I'm impressed with the skill you brought to it! Very nice. If you've not done so already, I recommend watching Phil's videos on edge-finishing. As part of that, I strongly recommend you start using one of the edge paints he recommends. Using good tools and materials will help you gain confidence more quickly. I switched from Fenice edge paint to Uniters, and the difference is striking. I arrive at good-looking edges much faster with Uniters. Overall, it's a strong third project. You have much to be proud of here. I hope your wife appreciates your burgeoning skill!

For a third project, it looks solid to me. Keep working on edge finishing. Did you finish the edges around the zipper? Keep working, too, on consistency in stitching. Those are routine items for any beginner. Some people will prefer the aesthetic of a finer thread. The inset is an interesting detail. Does it mean something in particular related to your wife?

I think Phil mentions three edge paints in his video (as I recall). The first thing I'd do is switch to one of those. The quality of the paint makes a HUGE difference in achieving a smooth, rounded edge. When I switched from Fenice to Uniters, issues with creases diminished dramatically.

I agree with the posts above about using techniques allowing you to begin edge finishing with a smooth edge. However, if you find yourself with a gap between layers that would be too onerous to sand smooth, you can fill it with whatever edge paint you are using, then proceed to the whole edge. This adds steps. I consider it strictly damage-control mode and do not recommend it as a standard procedure. I don't know Fiebing's edge paint, but I can attest that Uniters achieves a smooth edge much quicker than the Fenice I had been using.

Do you mean the paint is absorbed into the edge? Onto the face of the leather like a stain? Other? Sometimes it helps to post photos if you can.

@Leathercraft Masterclass One day my soccer-crazy teenage son asked why Adidas would produce just 100 pairs of a single, very fancy, very expensive shoe design and promote it with great fanfare. We ogled the shoes together, wishing we could have a pair. Then I asked him, "What are we doing right now?" To which he answered: "Talking about it." "Exactly," I said.

@stephenkgavin A functionality value proposition almost certainly is not the main reason people buy luxury goods. After all, a grocery bag gets the job done of carrying stuff around. @philipjury has studied this far more than me, but what I've seen so far about buyers of luxury items points more toward motives along the line of declaring one's accomplishments, asserting high social status and the like. As a maker who aspires to produce luxury-quality goods, my motives are quite different. So, if one's goal is merely to carry gym shorts, then spending $40K on a bag would indeed be daft. If the goal is to signal membership in (or even at the top of) an elite club that can help maintain or elevate one's resources, then it may be a bargain.

Buckleguy.com has a selection of solid-brass D-rings, as well as other solid-brass hardware. Happy hunting.

Looks great, Daniel. I like, among other things, the contrasting colors and leather types (firmer body, softer gussets). I also like how the gussets are deeply inset and are only revealed at certain angles. Cool.

@Ramon Snellink I have had a Regad F2 and recently added the Crimson Hides F3. The F2 seems to work for projects in a range of sizes. I bought the F3 to experiment with it on larger bags, briefcases, etc. Can't comment on electric versus manual in practice. I like the idea of using manual creasers, but I'm not wild about dealing with the flame in my crowded shop.