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One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:19 am
by SierraStrider
Okay. 2 days, but yesterday I just cut the pieces and stained them. This is my first leatherworking project since scout camp--the first ever that wasn't just a clunky die-cut wallet kit or key fob or something, and I made it up as I went with no pattern. With that in mind, I'm pretty damn proud of it.

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The bag is about 6.5x8 in (15x20 cm).

I made it from a couple different consistencies of veg-tan leather dyed with Eco-Flo antiquing gel. It'll probably get darker once I condition it for water resistance (Neatsfoot oil and beeswax is a pretty good bet, yes?)

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I used a sewing machine as an awl to make hole spacing easier, but all the stitching was ultimately done by hand with hemp thread.

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Capacity is probably ~48oz/1.5L. It's more or less a perfect fit for 3 soda cans, stacked up on their sides.

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The mouth has a drawstring that cinches it down a bit, so that the top flap fully covers the opening and rain can't get in/stuff can't get out.

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...I'm going to try and ignore how much it looks like a pig.

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 6:45 am
by Iodo
Nice work :P and I like your design

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:45 am
by SierraStrider
Iodo wrote:Nice work
Thanks very much. And thanks for encouraging me to give leatherwork a try!

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 9:03 am
by Iodo
No problem :P

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:32 pm
by Taylor Steiner
Yes very well done! The color looks great!

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:49 pm
by Elleth
That's your first from-scratch leather project? WOW! Nicely done. :)
(For what it's worth: a plain old dinner fork also gives you great spacing for leather sewing, if you want something cheap and easy to find)

Also yes - about a 50/50 mix of beeswax and neatsfoot oil works great for leather. Or at least it does on vegtan leather.
It will darken up over time, yes. Be careful about melting the wax - I've been told it can be a fire hazard, though in a double boiler everything should be fine.

Your closure looks interesting - I assume the knot in the thong on the flap is captured by the loop in the thong at the base of the pouch?

I've been experimenting in the same general space to see what feels right:
goatskin-belt-pouch.jpg
goatskin-belt-pouch.jpg (202.35 KiB) Viewed 13468 times
I like the idea of the toggle-and-loop closure, but this still doesn't feel quite right.
Metal buckles feel too high-class, antler buttons feel too mountain-man, etc etc. Maybe a wood toggle? Maybe a Birka-style strap? Not sure.

Regardless, I see why folks do the "dropped below the beltline" style of pouch now. It does seem easier to get to.

The capacity on yours is nice! I assume this is sort of a "everything you need for a dayhike in one place" kind of thing?

AND I LOVE THE PIGGY PICTURE. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:08 pm
by Ghostsoldier
Awesome work! And now, all I can see is Peppa Pig, lol. :P

Rob

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:10 pm
by Greg
...but...but I LOVE pork!

Er, I mean...pigs.

Nice pouch! GREAT first piece!

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 11:04 pm
by SierraStrider
Elleth wrote:That's your first from-scratch leather project? WOW! Nicely done. :)
(For what it's worth: a plain old dinner fork also gives you great spacing for leather sewing, if you want something cheap and easy to find)
That makes sense for indenting the hole locations, but what do you use to back the piece while you drive the awl through?
Your closure looks interesting - I assume the knot in the thong on the flap is captured by the loop in the thong at the base of the pouch?

I've been experimenting in the same general space to see what feels right:

I like the idea of the toggle-and-loop closure, but this still doesn't feel quite right.
Metal buckles feel too high-class, antler buttons feel too mountain-man, etc etc. Maybe a wood toggle? Maybe a Birka-style strap? Not sure.
The "Pig nose" piece of leather is the toggle. The lower thong loops up around that and then cinches tight...ish. I think I need a wooden bead to add friction to the thong.
I would've gone with a smaller toggle, but I'd already punched the holes in the flap itself...

I really like the birka type closure--it feels like the type of closure one would implement if possessed of a large amount of skill but comparatively little material wealth. Unfortunately...I don't feel confident in how much skill I possesses to make that work well, and additionally this specific bag can be anything from quite flat when empty to quite plump when full, with the flap resting at a different place on the front of the bag based on that. As such, I don't think a birka closure would work for this specific situation. A toggle and loop, where the loop can vary in length, is a lot more usable.

A simple but well-made wooden toggle feels like it'd fit well, like these guys. I feel like a bone, antler or horn toggle would also be fine if it was actually a worked piece of material and not just made intentionally 'primitive' feeling.
The capacity on yours is nice! I assume this is sort of a "everything you need for a dayhike in one place" kind of thing?
Yup. Although, honestly...it'll probably largely carry my camera gear for the most part. In-character, it'd probably be things like a tinderbox, coinpurse, and copious snacks.

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 11:13 am
by Elleth
SierraStrider wrote: That makes sense for indenting the hole locations, but what do you use to back the piece while you drive the awl through?
What I used when just getting started was;
- a piece of scrap wood (I think an old 1x2 from my Dad's workshop or something)
- an old fork hammered flat to space the holes
- a regular hammer and nail to make the holes. (I think I used brass decorative nails after realizing the iron nails darkened the leather. )

What I use now (and it's not terribly expensive) - is a bit of scrap heavy-weight vegtan leather from another project ages ago, on top of a piece of MDF with a bit of leather no-slip mat glued to the bottom.

I use these for holes on light leather:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071FG86WK

And the chisel that came with my very first basic Tandy set ages ago for heavier leather.
I'm not certain exactly what it is, but it looks like this one, minus the black finish:
https://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Cr ... B005WB4T6I
(I punch when the leather's wet)

Neither needs an awl for more than cleanup/forcing a hole open afterwards: I use a plain round awl for that.

At some point I may see if I can get a proper set of period tools from Daegrad, but I'm not certain how much difference that would make in the finished goods.

The "Pig nose" piece of leather is the toggle. The lower thong loops up around that and then cinches tight...ish. I think I need a wooden bead to add friction to the thong.
I would've gone with a smaller toggle, but I'd already punched the holes in the flap itself...
Oh oh oh!!
NOW I see what I'm looking at.
Awesome. :)


Yup. Although, honestly...it'll probably largely carry my camera gear for the most part. In-character, it'd probably be things like a tinderbox, coinpurse, and copious snacks.
Gotta have snacks. :)

Re: One-Day Belt Bag

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 4:40 am
by Manveruon
With regard to the Birka style flap closure, I have to say I have done it on basically all of my belt pouches so far, and I'm quite fond of it. It's very secure, relatively easy to open and close with one hand, and it doesn't include any shiny metal bits of any kind. Simple, elegant, and effective.
That being said, it does have the single disadvantage of not being terribly adjustable. So as you mentioned, when the bag begins to fill up, the closure can become a little more difficult to secure.