Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

A lot of reenactment level work is about learning appropriate historical crafts and skills. This board is for all general skills that don't have their own forum.

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Brandwyn
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Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Brandwyn »

So I spent all this money on quarter cow hides and am finally getting around to making something with it all - well with some of it anyway.

Check out the belt pouch I am making. These are the first pictures - considerable assembly still required:



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And my Couriers Satchel. I am done with it except for the rings and the shoulder strap and then I have to cover it in shoe polish to seal the leather - or something since it is suade, I am not sure about a finish. Going to leave it like it is for right now I think.



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I need the clasp too and not sure exactly how I am going to do the clasp. I am leaning toward two disks of leather and a string like the way a manilla envelope seals.

But not too shabby for the first leather work I have done in a few years. It is not great work, but it isn't too horrible.

I need to practice tooling and hole punching though. Lots of practice...
Brandwyn
"They are dangerous at both ends, and - crafty - in the middle." Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows (Robert Downey Jr. in character on the subject of Horses)
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Eledhwen
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Eledhwen »

Very nice. :)

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Manveruon
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Manveruon »

Looking good! I love doing projects like this for my kit! It's really satisfying to say you made such-and-such yourself, by hand.
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Peter Remling
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Peter Remling »

Looking good. Regarding the suede, leave it natural, anything you put on it willmat it, even spray treatment. If you want to test some products, use a piece of scrap first.
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by kaelln »

Pete's right, anything will mat it. In my experience, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want it to continue looking like suede, don't put anything on it. OTOH, if waterproofing is more important to you, you can rub in shoe polish or mink oil, and you will wind up with something that looks like a kind of low grade leather, inexpertly tanned, but waterproof. Sort of like something a Ranger might have done for herself out in the wild, using just the materials she had at hand. So it depends on what you're going for.
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Ringulf
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Ringulf »

Looking good sweetie! I just finished mine this morning so I will put up some pictures too, I love doing projects together! :mrgreen:

OK here are the pictures of mine. When we were together last week in VA we worked on a few projects and this pouch was one we did after coming back from our Tandy trip to Richmond. (BTW the folks there are realy cool and may be dropping by the site as they were very interested)

Brandy cut out two sets and we went to town on them. I love working on projects with her because we work together but have very different thoughts on how the project gets done and what the final outcome will be.
This becomes a very healthy and happy exercise. I love her things and she is very creative, which spurs me on to be so myself!

Anyway, this pouch became a new pouch for the Dwarven Ringulf of Middle Earth to add to my kit. (I will of course use it in the SCA as well but as it has our bronze star brooch, and the runes are Angerthas Moria, I was focussing on Merf kit.)

It is saddle stitched all around and tooled then gilded (Dwarven secret process sorry I can't tell you any more about it without making you a dwarf).

The belt loops are different as I needed this pouch to go around my weapons belt which is rather wide, and this gave me the most versitility.

The Star brooch is firmly affixed but can be removed easily if I require to use it for it's intended purpose. The little Rohirim Meadras hook is an omage to my love of the Horselords culture and I stumbeld on the looping and tentioner totally by accident. the three close ups show how it works.

All in all I was quite pleased with this project and thank Brandwyn for inspiring me to do it. :mrgreen:

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I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by RangerKellen »

Ringulf, can you tell me what your pouch says around the edges of it?
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by E.MacKermak »

Looking good folks. Looking forward to the finished project(s).
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Ringulf
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Ringulf »

RangerKellen wrote:Ringulf, can you tell me what your pouch says around the edges of it?
I could, but it would be better if you worked it out yourself! :wink:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Dinendir. »

Looks amazing. Great work. :D
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by kaelln »

Wow Ringulf, really nice work!
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Mirimaran
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Mirimaran »

Looks great, both of you! Ringulf, what do you intend your pouch to be used for mostly?

Ken
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by wulfgar »

When you say that it is "suede", is it actual suede or are you referring to flesh side of veg tan leather. It looks to me like it is a vegetable tanned leather with a smooth and a rough side. If it is veg tan, you will probably want to put something on it, like neatsfoot oil. I use a mixture of neatsfoot oil and beeswax. Imagine veg tan leather as your skin, your skin needs moisture and protection other wise it's gets hard and cracked.
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Brandwyn
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Brandwyn »

Thank you for the comments everyone. They are very encouraging!

kaelln wrote:Pete's right, anything will mat it. In my experience, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want it to continue looking like suede, don't put anything on it. OTOH, if waterproofing is more important to you, you can rub in shoe polish or mink oil, and you will wind up with something that looks like a kind of low grade leather, inexpertly tanned, but waterproof. Sort of like something a Ranger might have done for herself out in the wild, using just the materials she had at hand. So it depends on what you're going for.

That is funny you should say inexpertly tanned leather, because the courier pouch is made from Tandy's scrap leather from the bin that's 1 pound for 3 bucks and it was all pre-punched - so it IS badly tanned leather and not really suede. LOL I got some neatsfoot oil and I thnk I am going to treat it with that.
wulfgar wrote:When you say that it is "suede", is it actual suede or are you referring to flesh side of veg tan leather. It looks to me like it is a vegetable tanned leather with a smooth and a rough side. If it is veg tan, you will probably want to put something on it, like neatsfoot oil. I use a mixture of neatsfoot oil and beeswax. Imagine veg tan leather as your skin, your skin needs moisture and protection other wise it's gets hard and cracked.
Yes you are correct it is the flesh side of the leather and it is badly tanned - at least the front and back. The sides of the courier pouch are the good 4-5 oz. leather. So, can you explain further on how you do the neatsfoot oil and the beeswax? Do you put the oil on and then rub in the beeswax or do you melt the wax and mix it with the oil and then apply or do you do something else?

I would like to try that on my pouch.

Now here are some more pictures of stages two and three of the pouch: Tooling and dyeing...


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So now it is down to the sewing part:

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Hopefully I will have pics of the final sewing up by the end of the weekend.

I wasn't happy with the streaks in the dye job, but as it has dried it has grown on me. It makes it look more rustic and worn. I used the prefab clasp because I like the way they look and the ease of opening them and I didn't have anything else readily available.
Brandwyn
"They are dangerous at both ends, and - crafty - in the middle." Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows (Robert Downey Jr. in character on the subject of Horses)
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Ringulf
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Re: Brandwyn's leather pouches projects

Post by Ringulf »

That realy looks great Sweetie! You are doing a fantastic job!
If that Tan was the eco flo I can understand the streaking, I had the same problem with the Acorn Brown. I found that with the waterbased stain if you thin it slightly and apply an additional coat it will cover more evenly.

However I tend to agree that it adds character to the piece when it is a bit uneven, but that is just my opinion.

Keep going! plenty more to do when that one is done! :mrgreen:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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