Are you considering getting into the leather trade? Well, congratulations. You have, indeed, made the correct decision. Let us tell you why.
To begin with, the leather business is one of the easiest segments to get into, primarily due to its worldwide popularity. In addition, it also doesn’t require you have a specific skill set to flourish in this division of trading.
However, before you jump right into the boat, we’ll ask you to check out our beginner’s guide to ensure a better trading experience. Let’s get started!
Working With Leather – A Definitive Guide
Whether you want to create ornate artwork or work on practical projects, leatherworking can be an excellent skill to have. Nonetheless, if you’re a novice in this business segment, you may need some assistance before getting started. Hopefully, this guide can help you out!
1. Learn About The Tools
Unlike other segments, you will need to use a plethora of tools while working with leather. Therefore, knowing a little about them should be ideal for you.
- Awl (used for punching, piercing, or sewing leather).
- Burnisher (with it, you can harden and smoothen the leather edges).
- Beveler (utilized for removing square corners of leather edges).
- Maul (tooling, stamping, setting rivets, and other related purposes).
- Leather glue (should be ideal for suede and leather).
- And leather stamping tools (for creating designs on a leather-made object).
- Sewing equipment (for sewing purposes)
2. The Types Of Leather You’ll Be Working With
In essence, there are three types of leather available out there in the market. They differ in tannage, finish, and temper and, therefore, should be handled accordingly. Here’s what you need to know about them.
- Cowhide-made leather is the most common option used by almost everyone to create leather-made products. It’s pretty versatile and, thus, can be used to create almost everything, including – purses, handbags, gloves, jackets, etc.
- Chrome tan leather is generally tanned by using chemicals. Hence, it tends to be a faster yet less-expensive option. However, chrome tan leather is much less durable than usual and comes with a thinner density.
- For veg tan leather, you will have to use tannin-rich vegetal oil, which has been taken from tree bark. Unlike its chrome tan alternative, it takes quite a lot of time to create. However, the density for the same will be much heavier and more durable.
3. Skillset Needed For Leatherworking
When it comes to leatherworking, you will need to add various basic skills to your armory. The following are a few of them –
- Edge finishing
- Saddle stitching
- Cutting
- Gluing
If you want to work on a more advanced and refining project, you will need to learn how to –
- Skive
- Box stitching (a unique stitching procedure required for creating ornate projects)
- Sharpening knives
- Casing leather
- Dyeing and burnishing
If you’re starting out, we’ll ask you to choose only basic projects to work on. Once you become proficient enough in using knives and Leather Stamping Tools, you can move on to the more advanced ones.
What Can You Create With Leather?
When it comes to leather crafting, you can create a plethora of items with it. In this section, we’ve mentioned a few of them and offered some insights on the tools you might need for your project. So, keep reading!
- Keychain (tools needed: a suitable glue and a pair of scissors).
- Cable tie (tools required: a knife and a button to hold its edges together).
- Coin pouch (tools needed: awl, maul, and leather glue)
- Sunglass sleeve (tools needed: beveled, sewing equipment)
- Leather jacket (tools needed: burnisher, leather glue, awl, maul, sewing equipment)
These five are the most common items that you can make with leather. However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to this center only. Once you are efficient enough, we’d ask you to create something on your own to add a sense of uniqueness to your business.
The Bottom Line
Starting out on a solo leather project might not be easy, especially for a beginner. Therefore, if you need any assistance regarding the same, make sure to go through our article again. In case you have any questions, you can also ask them in the comment section. We’ll try to answer them as aptly as possible.
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