tooling leather

Two Different Belt Basket Stamping Styles

This video shows two different ways to run any basket stamp on a belt in order to get a different look.

The Arrow Basket Stamp style has always been a popular one for us along with the Angled Basket Stamp variation.

Give these a shot on some scrap leather and see if you can incorporate these arrangements into your next belt project.

The Stamps that I use and review in this video were made by Clay Miller and you can click the link here to get in contact with him if you would like to give his stamps a try.

He makes really nice tools and is a good contact to have if you are a leather tooler. Great source for high quality hand tools.

New Online Leather Floral Carving Course in the Academy!

If you follow us on social media and/or our YouTube Channel, then you have heard us talking about building a new course for the DG LeatherCraft Academy. After months of gathering information, photos, and videos we have finally completed what we think is the most comprehensive online course on Floral Carving and Tooling that is available.

I will first say, there is no in person or online course that is going to make you a Master Floral Carver over night. Becoming efficient and proficient with leather floral tooling takes practice and study over a long period of time. What I wanted to do with this new course was to consolidate all the information in one place that is easy to follow and offers the best information possible. Along with this information, we created patterns and exercises that help to develop the skills and techniques needed to begin to build a quality skill set.

Our First Floral Carving and Tooling Course is Open for Enrollment!

Continue reading

How to Make Leather Knife Sheaths

This project video is one that I should have made a long time ago.  One of the best selling items we have ever made in the saddle shop has been our fold over knife sheaths.  In this video, I show you how to make these from start to finish.

If you are looking for a project that doesn’t use a lot of leather and goes together quickly then this is it.  This is also a great way to use up the scrap leather that may be accumulating in the corners of your workshop.  Floral tooled, geometric tooled, dyed, painted and even plain leather, these items will become one of your most popular selling items.

I have developed a set of patterns to use when making these that will cut out all the fitting issues for most knives.  My pattern uses the tooling window to size the finished sheath to fit a particular knife.  If you would like to purchase the digital companion pattern pack for this video, then CLICK HERE and you can purchase that from us.  This is a digital PDF file that you will download and print the patterns out on your own printer.  Along with the cut pattern for the shealth and the three different size tooling windows that I use in my shop, you will also get 6 different floral tooling patterns for each of the three different windows.  That is 18 different patterns to choose from.

Looking for a good source for Herman Oak leather?  Visit our friends at Maker’s Leather Supply as they are a Herman Oak dealer and can help you get the leather and any other supplies that you may need.

How to Make a Leather Money Clip Wallet

This Project video shows you how to make a leather money clip wallet.  These have always been one of our most popular items to make and sell in our store.  Everyone loves a cool leather wallet.  

This particular style is compact and designed to be carried in the front pocket.  It features a single pocket on each side inside the wallet for a few cards as well as a wire money clip for cash.  I mention in the video that I prefer to use a spring style money clip that is a little more professional looking.  

Here is the link to the clip that I get from Springfield Leather in Missouri CLICK HERE.

UPDATE:  I recently discovered that Maker’s Leather Supply also carries a very nice money clip that would work great with this wallet.  Check them out by Clicking Here!

We are also now offering a Material Pack for this project!  We have offer a Single or a 3 Pack which includes all the pieces of leather needed to make this and all pieces are out of Herman Oak Leather.  Click Here to check those out.

If you are looking for a great use of scrap leather as well as an item that you can make really quickly, then this is it.  I would recommend making these by the 1/2 to full dozen.  They are great sellers! 

I have a Companion Pattern Pack available if you would like to purchase that.  THE PATTERN PACK IS A PDF FILE THAT YOU DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OUT ON YOU OWN PRINTER.  That means that you will have instant access and can get to making some of these right away!  The pattern includes the cut patterns for the liner, body and pocket as well as an optional pocket if you would rather have the cards come out of the center of the wallet.  There are also 12 different tooling patterns included in the pack as well.  This will give you endless options for any customer wanting one of these from you.    

If you would like to purchase the pattern pack CLICK HERE. 

If you are looking for a knowledgeable group of folks to get Herman Oak Leather from for this project, check out our friends over at Maker’s Leather Supply:   

For all your sewing machine needs and the place where I will be getting my next machine to replace the old Singer Machine in this video,  visit our friends at Leather Machine Co.   

How to Make an Easy Leather Cast Iron Pot Handle Cover

I cook with a lot of cast iron in my kitchen.  The handles on these old pots and pans get pretty hot, so I came up with a leather cast iron pot handle cover.  These are really easy to make and of course I couldn’t just make them plain… I added a little tooling to them. 

In this video I show you how simple these are to make.  We go through the entire process of making these and what materials I use.    

There is a companion pack available for this project and this one is FREE!  If you would like to make some of these, click the link below and put your email address in the form to get access to this FREE companion pack!  

Click here to get FREE Pattern Pack:  https://dgsaddlery.com/pothandlepattern/  

The companion pack has the simple cut patterns for this project, as well as 8 different floral patterns that you can use to customize your own set of pot handle covers.  These would also make great gifts.  

Here are some helpful links you may also find useful for this project:  

Slicking edges:  https://dgsaddlery.com/how-to-slick-edges-on-leather/ 

Oiling and Antiquing Leather:  https://dgsaddlery.com/how-to-oil-and-antique-tooled-leather-projects/  

Here is a great source for materials and supplies:  https://makersleathersupply.com  

If you are in the market for a Cobra sewing machine then check out either Maker’s Leather Supply or get in contact with Leather Machine Co directly:  https://leathermachineco.com

Complete DG LeatherCraft March Tooling Series

Our “Tooling Series” videos are back in March!  In this tooling series video, i go through my entire tooling process.  In each video we will work through a certain number of stamping tools to complete the pattern shown in the video.  In March, we are tooling a much requested skull… with a twist… this one is wear an indian headdress.

This series will show techniques for not only floral tooling, but also detail work of tooling a skull as well as getting realistic feathers.  When this pattern is completed, we will do a video showing the paint and dye work on a piece like this.

Take a moment and click the link below to grab your FREE copy of this pattern in a PDF format.  Just enter your email address and you can download and print your copy of this pattern and then tool along with us through this series.  Here is that link to grab the digital pattern for FREE:   https://dgsaddlery.com/marchtoolingseries/ Continue reading

How to Make a Simple Bible Cover

A Leather Bible Cover is probably one of the most popular items that leather craftsmen create for their customers.  They are also one of the most popular projects for a new LeatherHead to test his/her skills when it comes to making a book cover.  Bible covers offer much more room for leather tooling artwork which in turn allows for a lot more customization.

In this video, I show you how I make a simple leather bible cover.  This bible cover has no type of closure nor the use of zippers.  For a very clean and professional looking book cover, you can’t beat this style.

I used an NIV Personal Size Bible that I purchased at Walmart for this project.  The actual size of the Bible was 5.5″ X 8.5″ and the leather front and back panels ended up being 6″ X 9 3/8″ to allow for a comfortable fit.  My spine piece was 2.5″ wide including the 3/4″ allowance on the sides to allow for the thickness of the Bible that I used.  The brand of the Bible was Zondervan.  You can certainly adjust your measurements to fit any Bible or book that you choose to use for this project.

This is probably one of the shortest project videos that we have created.  This should let you know how simple this project is to create.  If you have been searching for the perfect project to offer to your customers or just to make for family or friends, this is the project.  I make this Bible Cover in three pieces which allows for easier use of your scrap leather, but you could certainly make the outside from one solid piece if you prefer. Continue reading

Figure Carving a Horse Head into Leather Video 3

Here is a much requested video from your suggestions both here and on our facebook page!  For the July Leather Tooling Series we are showing how to figure carve a horse’s head into leather.  I am not the greatest figure carver out there and I still have a lot to learn on the subject, but I will attempt to show you what I do know.  After that, you can seek out guidance from some of the greats out there… and there are many amazing figure carvers that you can learn from.  Jim Linnell and Peter Main would be the two that I would highly recommend checking out if you haven’t already.

Here is a link to Jim Linnell’s website

You can find Peter Main on facebook

If you would like to tool along with us in this tooling series, here is a link to a FREE copy of this pattern Click Here.

Just enter your email address and we will shoot that out to you.  It is a PDF file that you can download and print on your own printer.

This is video #3 in this series.

Tools used in this video:

-Modeling tool – Peter Main

-Modeling tools

-Craftool Thumbprint

Here is the photo of the horse in the pattern for you to use as reference.

The model for this project is an unknown Bay Gelding that resided on a place that borders us.  I just liked the way the horse looked and took many photos of him for artwork reference.  Not sure what happened to him, but we haven’t seen him in a long time… I like to think that he is somewhere on the rodeo trail or maybe just retired and moved to Florida.

Online Leather Classes with DG LeatherCraft Academy

The biggest request we get is “Do we offer any Leather Classes?”

I’m going to cut right to the chase… we have a Big Announcement to make this month.  After a year or better of researching, planning, cussing, discussing and finally building… we are finally ready to reveal the biggest digital project we have ever created.

Based on the inquiry for leather classes and feedback that we have gotten over the years from amazing fellow LeatherHeads like you, we felt there was a real need in our industry for this type of product.  It took us some time to choose the right platform as well as build out all the components that go into creating something like this so that it offers the most value with the least amount of hassle on your end.

We think that we have done just that!

I would like to introduce our newest addition to DG LeatherCraft,

DG LeatherCraft Academy

 

DG LeatherCraft Academy is our new platform where we can create Online Courses that go in depth on different topics and areas of leather craft and design work.  Much further than we can on our YouTube channel or on our blog.  The Academy will be home to all of our future Premium Courses for those who want complete leather classes on particular topics and certain areas of the craft.

These courses will be completely online so that you can go through any of our leather classes at your pace on any device.  No set dates, times or having to travel out of state.  Once enrolled in a particular course, you can go through the curriculum all in one sitting in order… or you can do a lecture a day in any order you want.  And when you complete the course, you can go back through it again anytime as many times as you want.

Worksheets for these leather classes can be downloaded and printed so that you can work along with us throughout the course.  Then after completion you will have these sheets to reference if you need to. Continue reading