u/InterPan_Galactic

Hello all! I’m very new to this craft (only a couple months in) and I don’t always know how to search for what I need!

My wallets are starting to look nice and I’ve begun adding ID slots. This usually involves cutting a rectangle and then cutting out another rectangle inside of it so I’m left with a border. I hand cut everything because I’m trying to avoid buying expensive machines.

I need some kind of decent quality corner punch for the interior rectangle cut-out. I searched online a bit and mostly found belt end punches? I also found some really huge rounded ones that I assume are for bags.

Anyone doing this find a solution? I can hand cut them but it just always looks a little off. Thanks in advance!

I’ve been making increasingly successful small leather products for a couple of months now. I’m really happy with how my stuff is turning out. I have a growing box of wallets, key holders and other such nonsense just piling up.

I shop leather sales and buy the Springfield surprise boxes to keep working on things (cheaper but you don’t get to pick what you get).

I make decent money but definitely don’t want to just spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on leather monthly. Has anyone been successful selling small goods for cheap prices? To be clear, I’m not looking to profit on the hobby, just trying to offset some cost. Facebook marketplace maybe? It also just feels wasteful to have all these very decently made products just piling up. They are by no means perfect but I do think they’re good.

Any suggestions or experiences are appreciated!

I’m very new and having a great time! My little wallet projects are getting progressively cleaner (and boy am I spending more money).

Where I am just not finding a solution is how to get clean punched holes on both sides of a project. I have both diamond chisels and pricking irons, and I have the same issue with both. I’m watching a lot of Tandy videos and Weaver Leather videos. Most of the time I see advice saying you should punch the files from the side that will be showing, and I get why, because the holes on the other side don’t really look as clean. But what if you’re making a bifold wallet and therefore both the exterior and interior stitching line is visible? Should I punch the pieces separately? When I try this I have a really difficult time lining everything up.

Any advice would be so appreciated. I think this is the main thing holding me back from much nicer looking pieces.

Hello! I’ve just started my journey and I’m having a blast!

My biggest pain point right now is the stitching punch tools. I bought a beginner’s kit on Amazon and I realize these tools are the cheapest of the cheap. They’re also extremely thick prongs, so I bought some new (slightly nicer but still probably cheap) ones with thinner prongs.

Every project I work on is severely complicated by punching the stitching holes. Regardless of whether I do it by hand or by the punching press, the stitching punch just refuses to come out of the leather without me having to yank so hard I’ve warped the area. I tried waxing the prongs and that only helped a little. Right now my husband is punching the holes with the press and leaning all his weight on it to release the punch. It’s ridiculous.

I watch Weaver Leather on YouTube and his seems to come right out. I’m willing to put some money into tools. Any suggestions? I’m also looking for nicer beveling tools, but the punches are really testing my patience.

Hello! I’m looking to up my handbag game but I’m struggling with where to buy. I typically go for clean and simple (the Kelly 25 aesthetically is my perfect bag albeit completely unattainable). I prefer silver hardware and that seems to be a big issue as I often find only gold available.

I don’t love a lot of the designs from some of the major names (Chanel, Prada, Gucci and LV are lovely but just not my style traditionally). I can’t afford Hermes but I’m willing to go up to about $5,000 on a really nice bag.

Any recommendations for high end leather bags outside the major popular luxury brands? Or, perhaps a popular brand I’m not familiar with that fits my aesthetic?

Update: thank you for all the wonderful recommendations! I also just discovered Alaia (like what, almost “as if” I hadn’t seen Clueless) and I love the Le Click!