I think belts area great place to start learning how to work with leather. There are several useful techniques involved in making a belt that apply fairly universally, and the tools you need will form the basis of your main kit.
Strap cutter - for cutting the belt blank
Craft knife - for trimming ends and shaping the belt tongue. (A Stanley knife is fine.)
Stitch groover - to add edge detail (optional)
Edge beveller & burnishing wheel - for edge finishing
Hole punch - for rivet and buckle tongue holes
Slot punch - for fitting the buckle.
Rivet tool & anvil - for closing your rivets.
Hammer - for hitting things with (hole punch, slot punch, rivet tool, and on occasion your thumb.
You may like to buy a rotary hole punch and they are very useful. Single punches are also useful for when you want to make a hole further across the leather than the rotary punch will reach.
When I first started out I thought mail was the way to go - I was intrigued by the process of making it, and the result had the same functional beauty of any object uncompromisingly designed for a specific purpose. Having made a couple of hauberks (short-sleeved shirts), and a coif for myself I began to understand the impracticalities.
A mail shirt made to an authentic design, using a similar ring size to an original will use 40,000 to 50,000 rings. My work rate is around 250-300 rings/hour, giving a build time of around 150-200 hours. There's just not enough hours in the day!
Making mail is straightforward - at its simplest you need a bag of washers and two pairs of pliers. And a lot of time. Have a go, it's a rewarding if time-consuming experience, and you'll end up with a beautiful object.
I'm very pleased I've actually made myself some mail shirts but I doubt if I'll be making many more commercially. I am still making mail weave jewellery and smaller pieces though, and I'm interested in using the machine made micro-weaves as a fabric - it has an amazing drape and flow - watch this space.
This entry is where I will post any news on the web site - changes, and new items etc.
Sept 11, 08 - Just updated the Testimonials page today, adding in the latest half dozen or so comments from people who were kind enough to let me know what they thought
of my work.
One of the things that differentiates good quality leatherwork from the rest is the level of finish, and part of this is edge finishing. Unfinished edges, like you see on many belts, are square-cut and although leather cannot fray, the corners will wear and the fibres rough up.
I finish edges in two stages:
- First using an edge beveller, to take the edge off the square-cut corners left by a strap cutter or when cutting blanks from a hide. Edge bevellers are available various sizes, depending on the thickness of leather. I tend to use only the small or the large one.
- Second, burnishing the edges using Gum Tragacanth. This settles the leather fibres and gives the edge a smooth, glossy finish. For thinner leathers you can use a burnishing wheel.
A bevelled and burnished edge is more resistant to wear and lets belts and straps slide smoothly in loops and buckles. It also looks a lot nicer. It's quite a bit more work, but definietly worth it.
Burnishing is one of those little tasks that is very satisfying as you can see, feel and hear the rough fibres settle to a glossy, squeeky finish. It's just as well, because I do a lot of it.
It's not easy keeping to schedule with the demands of a day job. Delivery dates can slip all too easily and although most people seem to understand that craftsmen such as myself often have other jobs too I don't like disappointing them.
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