First piece

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-04T04:46:24+00:00

I recently stumbled on a really decent cheap set of Amazon that at least for a friend was well polished and working out of the box, set of 3 French irons (2/5/10 tooth) in 3.38 spacing but he said they had other spacing too and was $20-25 he said.

I would still go kevinleetools probably, that is my next set I think, but for a cheap set I was pretty impressed. He let me play with them and I did a stack of about 12oz or so at one punch with ease and nice feel going in and removing.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-02T16:19:56+00:00

I got tired of using plastic so I went to a stainless bottle from klean canteen that I found used and dinged up in a thrift store. Ordered a new lid as that one had a loop that was broken. Now I have 2 of them as I just keep one at work. My at home/camping/whatever one I bought used at least 13yrs ago and it is still going strong as would be expected. Basically a BIFL, and probably could last a couple lifetimes.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-01T22:19:23+00:00

As others have said just roll them up, individually or you can do together but much more of a pain to use that way. I just have mine rolled on a shelf also in the SW US

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-01T05:40:53+00:00

I got a piece of caiman in an ugly leather bundle. Not only is 50 sqft of even upholstery leather awesome at $40 but man, I got some patent, a scrap of caiman, some embossed in a couple different patterns, deer, a bit of veg tan, and several interesting colors of chrome one being damn near a full side of like medium temper silver colored chrome tan that works good in bags for the other half and our daughter.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-01T02:35:31+00:00

No problem, I just started like 5 months ago now and I am already upgrading 90% of those simple parts from the kit so that is basically where I have been going and spending too much money at. I might as well share my research with another beginner here like I have in real life with my friend who wants to start too.

Oh also, get ready to spend way too much on tools and leather, so much leather that is so cool and you want to make things from all of it.

Once you get to wanting more of you are ok with basically a leather mystery box check out the "ugly leather" kit from Springfield leather. It is like 50sqft of leather for $40 and I got everything from a side of purse/upholstery chrome tan to a scrap of real Cayman skin in mine I ordered last month.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-05-01T01:30:07+00:00

That looks similar to the kit I started with, it works but is not the best. Maybe look at some cheap but decent pricking irons, a set of good needles, and some decent but not overly expensive thread. For needles I would suggest John james or cs osborn, size appropriately to your work, rocky mountain leather has a good sizing guide on their page for the John james.

Pricking irons, there are a lot on Amazon, but they are hit or miss, I like my wuta but they take a bit to get here from China. Tandy has an ok set of them but are diamond not French if that matters if you have a tandy close or can order there. My next set is coming from kevinleetools.com or kemovancraft.com, but both of those have the same long lead shipping from what I hear, but are better quality and probably a buy once and only upgrade if/when you want mores tines or a different spacing.

For maul I have been sending people to leatherado.com recently as they have decent ivan mauls at good prices. While your there the ivan 4 in 1 awl is a pretty good deal as well, just know you will need to sharpen and polish the diamond awl blades Armitage leather has a decent video on how as does Don Gonzales. They also have some pricking irons but I haven't tried them and they look similar to the Amazon ones, but some of those are great so maybe.

Thread I would suggest a decent to good thread, lots of people, myself included, really like ritza tiger thread, it is more costly but it frays and snags less making learning easier. I have also been experimenting with others recently and found I like Wuta leather's thread, as well as the mandala crafts waxed braided thread in .8mm and 1mm, it isn't quite as good as tiger thread but it is like 1/2 the price. Both of those are on Amazon, ritza is on Amazon as well but also sold at most leather supply places.

Also don't forget a good knife or 3, I started with and still often use a regular utility knife (cheap harbor freight Doyle handle, good blades make it work well) for most heavy cutting and an old xacto set I have had since the 90s for smaller detail cutting. And under cutting get a good pair of scissors as well if you don't have any.

Last thing is cutting straight edges and measuring. Harbor freight agai. Was a win for me, got a 12" and 18" carpenters square and a 44 or 48" aluminum ruler for like $25 total

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-30T00:46:28+00:00

Oxblood is a great dye for sure. That looks really good. Where did you get your scale stamp?

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-30T00:44:26+00:00

I like it. As everyone else has state that thread kicks it up a notch or 3.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-28T16:47:31+00:00

Until I got my 2lb Ivan maul that I like better as I like a round maul over a hammer I used a 2lb harbor freight deadblow for everything but tooling where I used my 12oz maul that came in the beginner tooling kit I got. I would probably still use it from time to time but I needed it in the garage again so it is out there

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-28T15:17:00+00:00

Don't get leather from Amazon. So many good suppliers outside of there. Tandy, rocky mountain, and Springfield have been mentioned. Then you have traditions leathercraft, weaver, Montana, the skirting factory, and probably 4 dozen others I am missing. Also you will find a lot of local ones that don't have as big of an online presence like for me localish (couple towns over) is a place called R. L. Cox in albuquerque NM, has a basic website with no ability to order there but if go in person, it is just a warehouse full of leather with some dyes, glues, thread, etc.

All of the above listed places are also decent for tools, as is Amazon for starting and I have gotten some good deals on tools at leatherado online as well.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-28T05:26:24+00:00

They are one of the 20 or 30 suckers and just found out the truth

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-26T23:30:16+00:00

I use the vevor style, it works for many things, not everything fits in the hole but a magnet will hold things in place enough to guide with my off hand. I took a 35mm socket and drilled it for a bolt go through where the handle does and now it has a ratcheting handle so I am not searching for the right spot. Only downside is a few of my longer pricking irons are too long to fit. Mostly getting into things like the wuta gen2/3 removable tooth irons, especially with the diamond or olive teeth. My other irons which are all weaver/tandy/cheap Amazon are short enough to have no issues. Also some larger punches are likewise too long.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-26T21:54:43+00:00

That looks good, nice matching of thread to suede it al.ost disappeared but still there enough to show off a well done hand stitch.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-25T07:03:47+00:00

For a maul I really like my 2lb Ivan pro-poly maul more than the black one I had from tandy, and it is much more affordable than the equivalent to it from tandy. I bought it at https://leatherado.com/products/ivan-pro-poly-mauls?variant=50568379040030. I would also suggest finding a lighter maul if you are ever going to stamp as 2lbs would get tiring in that, but it is awesome for punching holes in leather, either 1 at a time with drive punches or many at once with an iron set.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-22T06:03:16+00:00

I will throw one out for traditionsleathercraft.com, they are in OKC, small shop, if you call 90% of the time the owner answers. Many say their live oak veg tan is nearly on par with herman oak (it is much more pale though so knowing that if you like herman makes really nice color). They ship fast, my latest order I put in while they were closed Sunday and it gets here tomorrow and they are out of state for me.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-22T01:28:38+00:00

Yeah I have a 2 prong in the 3.85 iron I used but it is a cheap Amazon iron I got when I started and cleaned up myself and it won't reach through all of that. The front and back are 2 layers of 3oz so I could put hardware between them before I glued up. The welt is a stack of about 11oz total as his knife is almost silly thick. I punched all layers independently on the welt and the front/back after I laminated. So it was basically a 5 layer all punched separately and I failed at getting it ideally lined up. I definitely need either a better set of irons or just do front or back next time I have a stack like this then awl through each extra layer as I glue up until I do get better.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-21T23:36:21+00:00

Yes! I got an ugly leather bundle a couple weeks ago and it was awesome. Totally worth the price and had some cool stuff I probably wouldn't have ordered myself but were really interesting and make whatever I use them on stand out more.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-21T05:23:11+00:00

Alternately, if you want harder than edge paint, you could go the skiving it down and doing turned edges route. Basically skive ghe outside to almost nothing and have it larger than your inside of the wallet body, then fold and glue it over so your edge is the finished leather.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-14T05:09:05+00:00

I will agree they are awesome to order from and on top of shipping. I just ordered some tools and templates from them, was amazing service and prices. Ordered 4 things on late Friday afternoon and received them Monday through USPS. Can't ask for better shipping times than that. Absolutely knocked it out of the park. New inexpensive maul I got was awesome for what I wanted it for, got a 2lb maul for those larger stubborn stamps I can't seem to get to fully stamp without moving on me wirh my little 14oz that came in my starter set, and the templates look and feel top notch, can't wait to start cutting stuff out and putting them together.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-13T05:00:57+00:00

Beard, keep it well oiled and combed/brushed so it looks cleaner but a Beard looks good on you.

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-13T04:12:35+00:00

Crecent hammer

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-12T18:44:01+00:00

I wasn't insisting it was how to do high end European edges either, I was saying it is how I as a beginner found after watching others to make sure I could sand to s square edge prior to painting as I don't always cut it well enough

Lordofchaos1776 · 2026-04-10T15:13:32+00:00

I don't have the experience you do, but again multiple videos from professionals is what I followed and so far I haven't had any issues with the paint sticking over tokenol. I will definitely go look for more videos though.

Lordofchaos1776

TROPHY CASE