Winter leather projects

It has been very cold here in Nebraska. Way too cold to make knives in the garage without a heater. I am too cheap to buy propane to heat so I have been doing some leather work in the house.

I started with a few wallets for my kids/cousin. I have never made a wallet. Turned out okay. I learned a bit about the process and think I figured out how to make them.










Next, I made a few rifle slings. Again, I have never made a rifle sling. One of the things that I want to learn was edge braiding. Specifically round braid. An online leather friend of mine helped me out a great deal. Thanks Ricky Mari Saenz!

I also wanted to learn how to make lace. My wife gave me a cheap Tandy lace cutter for our anniversary. Seems to work just fine.

I have also been doing a lot of research on braiding in general on Youtube. I can't wait to finish a couple of knives so I can incorporate that knowledge into a sheath or two. Looking forward to 2019.

Just need some warm weather. Let's go Spring!!!! I am so tired of cold, snowy, winter.

Looking good! You seem to have a knack for figuring out how to make stuff you've never made before. I'm especially impressed with the variety of rifle slings.

Johan Nel said:

Looking good! You seem to have a knack for figuring out how to make stuff you've never made before. I'm especially impressed with the variety of rifle slings.

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YouTube has all kinds of build-alongs for leather/knife stuff. I just find one that is close and modify it to fit my needs. Pretty simple. If anyone is interested, there is lots of leather braiding videos on YouTube.

Hey DeMo just move to Georgia near Augusta, we can work in the shop 11.5 months out of the year with no heater. Of course, 10 of those months you will sweat your butt off but fans are cheaper than heaters...

Chris Railey said:

Hey DeMo just move to Georgia near Augusta, we can work in the shop 11.5 months out of the year with no heater. Of course, 10 of those months you will sweat your butt off but fans are cheaper than heaters...

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Chris - Last year on March 1st the temperature was 70 degrees. This year it was -8 degrees. In Nebraska third winter is getting old. It is time for mud season. Winter is getting rather old!!

Dennis Morland said:

Chris - Last year on March 1st the temperature was 70 degrees. This year it was -8 degrees. In Nebraska third winter is getting old. It is time for mud season. Winter is getting rather old!!

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I do not own enough clothing to live somewhere it gets -8 degrees. I always see the weather scarecasters talking about -30 and -40 degrees and I wonder why they bother because once you get below 0 its too dang cold to go outside.. I went skiing once in WV and it was 0 at the bottom and like -5 at the top. That was enough for me to know I want no part of that kind of cold. The second you step outside all your nose hairs freeze in place it feels weird.

Great work Dennis!

Finished up the last one.

Those are awesome Dennis.

Nice looking work !

After word got out about the rifle slings, I got hit up to make a few more. Here is the first of five new ones that I am currently working on. I am getting a bit faster on the edge braiding. Just a bit...

Cool projects. I've always wanted to start some backpack leather projects but never had the idea how))

knifesgeek said:

Cool projects. I've always wanted to start some backpack leather projects but never had the idea how))

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If you’re starting, begin with a simple design with fewer seams and straightforward stitching. Look into vegetable-tanned leather, as it’s easier to work with and ages beautifully over time...

Dennis Morland said:

Chris - Last year on March 1st the temperature was 70 degrees. This year it was -8 degrees. In Nebraska third winter is getting old. It is time for mud season. Winter is getting rather old!!

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The opposite here in central Washington state. Above freezing for the next 11 days, then barely after that. All muddy out here in the boonies. That will probably mean 2 mud seasons.......UGH.
It's unusual and will probably mean lots of bugs and rodents next summer. Not enough hard freezing days.
VERY nice rifle slings by the way. I love the braiding work on them.