Crafts - Market Tote

It seemed like a natural progression to start making a bag out of leather. I've made a lot of smaller accessories for some time now, but never anything as big as a bag. Mostly due to the fact that I don't own a working leather sewing machine and only sew by hand, which means, that besides cutting the leather and constructing the bag, I would also have to make a couple of thousands stitches by hand - one at the time. As you probably can imagine this is a rather time consuming project. 

However it seemed like a perfect opportunity when a friend of mine came by some time ago and started talking about the need of a "big leather bag", which I turned into "huge leather tote" in my head. As I finally had a couple of days off, I jumped at the opportunity and made that "huge leather tote", that she requested.

There is nothing revolutionary about the design, and that was never the intention. However I think I managed to add some details, that makes the bag stand apart. First of all it's completely hand sewn and besides that the handles are folded and sewn together and it's not just riveted unto the bag, but both sewn and riveted and it has an internal pocket, which is left open for easy access.

As I have tried to illustrate with these pictures, it can contain quite a lot of stuff, and will definitely hold enough stuff for a weekend trip. It was constructed as a one piece construction for durability and simplicity.

The interior is very simple. One pocket without any closing mechanism for easy access.

I couldn't resist the urge to put my name on bag. As you can't punch the football leather, I had to put in a small tag of the same vegetable tanned leather as used on the handles.

As this was a bag intended for a very special person I wanted to monogram it. I decided to use some mil-spec brass stencils, that I had bought from the US some time ago, but never really used before. Of course it's rather reminiscent of naval stencils on marine army wear, but it makes sense in this case, if you happen to know my friend, so I really like this personal detail.

Stitching came out quite nicely. I used a braided nylon thread from Barbour Coats. The thread was only glazed, so I waxed the thread myself using beeswax and paraffin. A rather nice, but also time-consuming, procedure. Unfortunately I can really tell that I need to work on my edge coating skills.

The handles caused some cussing, as it really took some effort to get them right, but in the end they are also, what I like the most about the bag.

There is no padding/backing added to them, but they are made of a 3/4 mm thick vegetable tanned leather, so if they were to collapse a bit, that wouldn't matter. I wanted them to soften with wear making them more comfortable. To add to the comfort I rounded all edges and burnished them with beeswax.

For extra durability I decided to secure the handles using both rivets and stitching.

From experience I know, that solid copper rivets age really well and on top of that they go really well with natural vegetable tanned leather. Perfect combination.

Burnished edges

All the copper rivets were backed using the same leather as the body.

I just can't enough of that grain and from working with this leather I've been thinking about finding some nice pebble grain leather, like the one that a lot of shoemakers use. But I'm yet to find a good source for it.

Most of all I can't wait to see the bag in some time. I put a lot of effort into to this bag and without sounding  like a big cliché I also managed to put in some blood, sweat and tears. I really hope, that it wears well and that it will give the owner a lot of pleasure in the years to come.

Crafts - Mil-Spec Lanyard

Here's a small piece of custom leatherwork, that I did for my good friend, Rasmus. He requested a new key hanger or lanyard, as his old (shitty) one finally gave up.

I know, that Rasmus is quite into jeans, so I made him a lanyard with some very nice details, that would go well with a pair of jeans. I'm actually quite satisfied with it. So much I'm making one for myself now.

These pictures were taken after a couple of weeks of use and it looks like it is evolving quite nicely. The leather I used is a 3mm thick vegetable tanned leather from Germany. I oiled it quite a few times with Neatsfoot oil, just to get the process going.

The hardware is a bit more interesting. It's from the Danish military and it is made of steel/nickel, that has been enameled. The buckle is deadstock, so there is no chipping whatsoever, but the snap has been used - heavily - so it has plenty patina. I'm hoping, that they resemble each other a bit more with wear. 

I secured the snap using a 6 ply waxed Irish linen thread. Sewn by hand, of course. And here you can see my custom maker's stamp. I've come to the conclusion, that it's too hard getting it perfectly centred, so now I'm just quickly punching it. So it always gets a bit crooked, but that's just charming, I think.

All edges have been rounded slightly and burnished using beeswax and good, old elbow grease. What you can't seen from these pictures, is that the buckle has been set using two solid copper rivets. This is a very rugged solution, and it adds to the character, once the ageing process really kicks in. Nothing goes as well with vegetable tanner leather as solid copper rivets. 

All photos by Rasmus Jakobsen and all words (and work) by Simon Tuntelder

Factory Visit - The Cobbler on Nørre Allé - Sandalmageren

A couple of days ago I decided rather spontaneusly to take my photographer friend, Niels, along for a small impromptu factory visit. I've been meaning to do some new factory visits, but I haven't really had the time, nor has it really been possible, as the few factories or craftsmen left in Denmark are scattered all over the country, which makes having a car or some other mean of transportation a neccessity.

However I knew, that there was a cobbler close to my place, that makes sandals, when he isn't repairing shoes, bags and other leather accessories for his customers. Furthermore I knew, that he has some very nice machinery stashed away. We did get to see some, but not all unfortunately, as most of it is located in his other workshop. With that in mind we decided to go for a walk and meet up with shoemaker, Helge Larsen.

Helge Larsen sailed the seas, when he was young, but after some years at sea he met a beautiful girl in Aarhus, which made him decide to end his seafaring days. A rather classic sailor story. But that didn't make him take up shoe making, instead he worked odd jobs, until he decided to become an apprenticed shoe maker almost 5 years ago. Working with leather wasn't some kind of new found hobby for him. He has been doing it for many years. It first became a time consuming hobby, when he started making bags for motorcycles for himself and friends.

Years later he decided to get his apprenticeship as a shoemaker, which he did in Aalborg and he even got a scholarship for being particularly skillful. It was also as an apprentice, that Helge acquired valuable skills, contacts and machines, that now ensures his daily bread. He told, that while his fellow students enjoyed their free time after school, he would pick up his bike and drive around to fellow shoemakers and thereby he learned the tricks of his trade. Or as he stated in Marxian terms "Knowledge is power"

Helge walks us through the process of making a pair of sandals. The parts are all cut using a clicker press, then the parts are either stitched together on one of his amazing sole stitchers or riveted on his rivet machine, which we unfortunately didn't get to see, but I'm sure, that it's as nice as his other machines. Finally straps are added and a lot of other different processes like attaching the buckle, rounding the edges on the straps and cutting holes on the straps.

One thing is sure, Helge has his equipment covered. He has been buying equipment from other shoemakers, that closed its doors, old factories and from retired leather craftsmen. Therefore he has quite a lot of equipment, that was produced on the Vilhelm Pedersen factory in Høng. The Vilhelm Pedersen produced machines for a lot of different industries in Denmark. Among others the shoemaking industry, which basically was totally shut down by the 70's, but up until then it was quite a thriving industry.

Among leather geeks Vilhelm Pedersen is known for making its own edition of the iconic Junker&Ruh SD28 (please follow this link) hand-driven sole stitcher. And Helge has one of these machines, but we didn't get to see it, but we did get to see the pride of his machine collection - his Rapid E. The Rolls Royce of sole stichers.

When you see this machine, you'll probably be quite awestruck. It's a monster. The thread, that it uses is thick as a rope and the needle looks like a knife. You could potentially sew through a brick with it. He told us, how he got his first Rapid E stitcher for free basically (he now owns three of them in more or less working condition). It didn't work, but he still bought it for a friend. He fixed the machine himself and made it sew again. Helge has no education, when it comes to fixing machines or refurbishing machines, but he is still almost always able to do so himself. He told us stories of how he would take things apart, when he was a kid. As he got older, he would also start putting things together again. He needed to know, how things work. Apparently he also learned, how the Rapid E works, as he has managed to increase the stitch speed from 300 stiches per minut to almost double speed at 500 stitches per minut. Time is money, as he puts it.

Now for some images of the sandals, that we came for. There aren't many makers of sandals left in Denmark, however I know of two other producers, which will of course eventually be featured here. The sandals are made of a 3mm thick vegetable tanned leather and they are equipped with a rubber sole. They carry the name Sandalmageren, which basically translates to "The sandal maker" In case you are wondering the buckle is a pretty standard solid brass buckle. They are made in both sizes for men and women. Although I think a lot of men are put off by the thought of wearing sandals either by hippie-connotations or images of old men wearing them with socks. Many of these Danish made sandals are quite masculine and very solidly built - or as Helge says "The only problem is, that they last a good 10 years, so it takes a while before I see the customer again"

The sandals are available through Helge's own website. Or I'll gladly swing by and help you find a pair.

In the back of Helge's workshop I found this box of Vibram soles. I don't think I'm much of a sandal man myself, but if I could have them equipped with a mini-lug sole from Vibram, I would definitely think about it twice. Maybe I'll take this idea to Helge to see if it could be made. 

Or at least I know, where I can have my boots and shoes equipped with a new Vibram sole and I know, that his Rapid E will stitch through anything.

Now if you are in Aarhus, Denmark, and in need of shoe repairs, I'm sure, you won't find anyone as capable as Helge. I'm also sure, that he'll throw in some free advice on how to maintain your shoes. He is a very straight forward man, that will give his honest opinion on just about everything. 

Lastly if you work with leather and in need of something special, I'm sure, that Helge is the right man to find it. His network is big and he has a nose for finding things. Again, "knowledge is power"

All words by Simon Tuntelder and all photos by Niels Hjorth

Photos have also been uploaded to Flickr