Hi guys, I started learning about leathercrafting a month ago with the main goal of creating high quality leather straps for my watches. This is my first project and I'm very pleased with the results. Here to share my thoughts and hopefully gain some valuable knowledge and advice for my next one which I plan to start right away!
The strap is made using a green goatskin for the top and tanned goatskin for the lining.
I definitely got a little lazy and started rushing towards the end on the stitching and making the keepers.
Aside from my horrendous knife skills I think some of my biggest difficulties were:
1. Stitching - Just so many errors here. Kept splitting the thread, I think I had to use 4-5 threads for this (Philip uses 2 in the video). Didn't backstitch on one of the sides.
2. Pricking - maybe my lighting is terrible but I had a hard time using the line made by my wing divider to guide me to a straight and consistent line for pricking. I caught myself several times during this phase where I went off the line. Also noticed that my holes were not aligned from each side which caused some trouble when it came to gluing down the buckle flap on the lining (holes didn't match well)
3. Skiving - I struggled with this throughout the project but started getting the hang of it. I generally thought I didn't have to be as precise with my surfaces for the parts I needed to skive but in the end it made quite a difference on the lining side.
4. Edge painting - I had no idea what I was doing here, I used an edge paint roller I bought from amazon and just painted the edges. You can definitely see it bleeding over the sides and some finger marks here and there on the actual strap xD.
5. Keeping my work station clean - I'm not the cleanest guy, but I recognize and value that a clean workspace = cleaner product..but boy was it difficult to keep a clean work area. Just so many tools and scrap pieces of leather flying everywhere.
Overall, I was a harsh critic to my initial work but upon fitting it on a watch and wearing it, didn't look too bad at all and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process!
Thanks for reading!
@grantkang5 Well done Grant! Mostly for being able to identify areas that are ripe for improvement.
I would recommend writing down all the issues you see with the project, then writing a possible solution right next to each one. Then you can refer to this when you are working on your next project.
Another tip is to set a timer that goes off every 2hrs and perform a '20 tool put away'. Only keep tools on the table that you will immediately be using next. Lastly, give the table a brush down onto the floor, that's what a broom or shop vac is for ; )
Hey,
Yes, the strap is far from perfect, BUT considering it is your first project and proper watch straps are actually a bit of an advanced project, or at least advanced intermediate one, your result is quite good!
You pointed out all the areas where you need to improve, and that's the first step :) just keep practicing.
1- What thead are you using? It looks like Tiger maybe?
2- For having a straigh line of pricks, a trick is to lower you eye to level of the iron's teeth when you are aligning them and seeing them from behind (And not from the top). From behind, a small deviation in regards to the line will be easier to spot.
5- I also make a mess when working. Something I tend to do is use "Sanwich Paper" (it is the cheapest paper i could find here) and work on it, and i keep throwing them out and using new ones regularly throughout the project. Helps a ton to keep your item clean.
Congratulations on your first project, and wow, you certainly have had a steep learning curve! I hope you keep enjoying the process :-)