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Adventures in strap making
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FREDMAYCOIN
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Dsloan
·At risk of polluting this fine thread with my shoddy craftsmanship, here is my first official strap. I can assure you that it looks even worse in person. 😁
I've got endless amounts of things to work on, but it's a start!
Thanks to @Duracuir1 for pointing me in the right direction and helping to get me started! Hopefully, I'll have some better examples to share in the near future.
I've got endless amounts of things to work on, but it's a start!
Thanks to @Duracuir1 for pointing me in the right direction and helping to get me started! Hopefully, I'll have some better examples to share in the near future.
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CBM1590
·At risk of polluting this fine thread with my shoddy craftsmanship, here is my first official strap. I can assure you that it looks even worse in person. 😁
I've got endless amounts of things to work on, but it's a start!
Thanks to @Duracuir1 for pointing me in the right direction and helping to get me started! Hopefully, I'll have some better examples to share in the near future.
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DaveK
··Yoda of YodelersAt risk of polluting this fine thread with my shoddy craftsmanship, here is my first official strap. I can assure you that it looks even worse in person. 😁
I've got endless amounts of things to work on, but it's a start!
Thanks to @Duracuir1 for pointing me in the right direction and helping to get me started! Hopefully, I'll have some better examples to share in the near future.
It’s a great start 👍 Sewing elegantly takes time. You can mark 100 feet of stitching lines on some scrap leather and practice for a few weeks, that’ll get you over the hurdle
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Dsloan
·It’s a great start 👍 Sewing elegantly takes time. You can mark 100 feet of stitching lines on some scrap leather and practice for a few weeks, that’ll get you over the hurdle
Yeah, I got in a hurry - thread is too thick, template slipped on me when punching holes, scriving was uneven, etc.
As you suggest, I'll have to take a step back and practice the stitching especially.
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DaveK
··Yoda of YodelersIf I can ever find some time, I’m going to join you in your new endeavor. @Duracuir1 and @DaveK have inspired me as well. Congrats on your first strap!
@Duracuir1 was my gateway drug into leatherwork.
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DaveK
··Yoda of YodelersFinished making a replacement strap for my wife’s Dynamic today. The watch is at the watchmaker, so I’ll have to take it in tomorrow for a test fit. The original strap was tired, worn, and stretched from use, so it’s hard to tell if I got the shape just right. We shall see ☕.
The white leather was harvested from a thrift shop Coach purse. A pretty well made bag I have to say, I had to harvest the leather in a hurry so it stayed in the leather shop and didn’t enter my wife’s purse collection. The liner leather is Zermatt leather from France, which is an exceptional product for liners, that or pig skin. In between the two is a layer of a non-stretch product called velodon. A heated creaser makes nifty edges around the perimeter, and white edge paint finishes the look. Not bad for a first attempt. Ooops, I forgot to make a keeper, back to work 🤦
The watch is shown on the original Omega strap, the new strap is shorter to better fit my wife’s wrist
New strap on the right side
New strap on the right side
Watch in the original strap
The white leather was harvested from a thrift shop Coach purse. A pretty well made bag I have to say, I had to harvest the leather in a hurry so it stayed in the leather shop and didn’t enter my wife’s purse collection. The liner leather is Zermatt leather from France, which is an exceptional product for liners, that or pig skin. In between the two is a layer of a non-stretch product called velodon. A heated creaser makes nifty edges around the perimeter, and white edge paint finishes the look. Not bad for a first attempt. Ooops, I forgot to make a keeper, back to work 🤦
The watch is shown on the original Omega strap, the new strap is shorter to better fit my wife’s wrist
New strap on the right side
New strap on the right side
Watch in the original strap
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CBM1590
·Used today as a relaxing leather-harvesting day. A pair of my nearly 25 year-old Rockports were headed to the trash. Decided to keep the leather around for a future potential strap from the shoes that have carried me well for a metric-ton of miles. Before, during, and after pics…
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DaveK
··Yoda of YodelersWell, these are straps…for pocket watches. Just finished these two pocket watch belt pouches today. Hand cut, dyed, tooled, sewn and braided. Vegetable-tanned cow for the body, veg-tanned kangaroo for the lanyards.
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Dash1
·In case this might be of interest to someone, I stumbled across this great looking vintage leather working tool website:
https://www.tooltique.co.uk/antique/leather-working-tools/
Based in the U.K. but if anyone needs help with shipping just pm me.
(Btw, I have no affiliation with the site and haven’t tried buying anything.)
https://www.tooltique.co.uk/antique/leather-working-tools/
Based in the U.K. but if anyone needs help with shipping just pm me.
(Btw, I have no affiliation with the site and haven’t tried buying anything.)
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CalgaryJim
·Just finished making these 20/18 125/75 straps with Pueblo Sapphire Blue leather, Velodon reinforcement (for the lug ends), Salpa reinforcement to make the straps thicker, and calh skin grey leather as the liner. The stitching is ftom RMLS Masterfil waxed linen thread, 0.45mm.
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Duracuir1
·Just finished making these 20/18 125/75 straps with Pueblo Sapphire Blue leather, Velodon reinforcement (for the lug ends), Salpa reinforcement to make the straps thicker, and calh skin grey leather as the liner. The stitching is ftom RMLS Masterfil waxed linen thread, 0.45mm.
And like DaveK, CalgaryJim is a gentleman. (In case OF members hit him up for a strap).
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CalgaryJim
·Jim, this is the finest you’ve shown. Well-done.
And like DaveK, CalgaryJim is a gentleman. (In case OF members hit him up for a strap).
I don't have any plans to start selling any, at least at this point, because even now every set of straps is fraught with stress on my part, so easy for me to make simple mistakes for tasks I've done over and over and over. I'm hoping by the end of the year the simple tasks become second nature.
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UNLucky
·@Duracuir1 do you sell?! I'd love to support any OF members that make straps. I am trying to create a small collection of them for any future watches I restore. ABSOLUTELY love all the work on this thread. Lordy some skill in here!
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Duracuir1
·@Duracuir1 do you sell?! I'd love to support any OF members that make straps. I am trying to create a small collection of them for any future watches I restore. ABSOLUTELY love all the work on this thread. Lordy some skill in here!
I do local repairs and some of my own creations. A couple Saturdays ago I had visits from two watch collectors in a row. I did not know them but they saw a few of my straps and I did some work for them.
This past Saturday we had a nice visit from Archer and his beautiful wife. We had dinner together at the shop.
No… not much work and that is perfect for me!
And I design my own backpacks and once they sell, I make another. Each one is different.
But I don’t take special orders for backpacks. They are my artwork. This way I make them at my own pace, without someone breathing down my neck.
Thank you for the nice comments.
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CalgaryJim
·Not much. I have opened my shop to the public (3 days a week) and if you look at the photo, it’s more of a hangout and museum.
I do local repairs and some of my own creations. A couple Saturdays ago I had visits from two watch collectors in a row. I did not know them but they saw a few of my straps and I did some work for them.
This past Saturday we had a nice visit from Archer and his beautiful wife. We had dinner together at the shop.
No… not much work and that is perfect for me!An old school bike helmet that I am making from scratch.
The boxing gloves needed fixing. They fit right in with the look.I make a few belts every week.
And I design my own backpacks and once they sell, I make another. Each one is different.
But I don’t take special orders for backpacks. They are my artwork. This way I make them at my own pace, without someone breathing down my neck.
Thank you for the nice comments.
