Restoration and Modification of An Old Stitching Clam

Some time ago I managed to rescue an old sewing clam, which was being used as display in an suburban clothing store. A sewing clam, you ask, is something you use, when you sew leather by hand. The clam sits between your legs and holds the object for you, so you can use both hands freely for sewing. 

The condition of the clam was rather good, but it still needed a bit of restoration. However the length wasn't ideal for the way I sew leather, as I rarely use an awl for making holes, when I sew. Therefore I needed to modify it slightly by making it shorter, so it would sit in front of me. Therefore I brought it with me to my parent's place, as my dad has more tools and much more experience with woodwork, than I have.

This is how the sewing clam looked before it. It was quite hard for me to alter this old piece of genuine craftsmanship, but I wouldn't be using as much, as I will now. So I felt like, I had to do it in order to bring it back to use and back to life.

First we sanded it down. 

The length was shortened. Nerve wrecking procedure.

Then we drilled some holes in order to add a screw, that would secure the jaws without causing leg fatigue.

I gave it some shellac in order make it a bit harder - although the wood was extremely hard and dry.

After the shellac had dried I glued on some leather at the tip of the jaws. This was added so the object, that you're holding, doesn't get scratched.

Lastly a hinge were attached, so it can still be used the way it was intended.

The final result.

I Need More Tools

I just re-watched this little feature on BillyKirk. I don't pay much attention to this brand, but I'm sure, they make fine pieces. However I think you can get more value for your buck, if you go to some other leather craftsmen. 

What I did like from the feature, was looking at their work shop (although it's not where they create their pieces. Most of them are created by Amish craftsmen) and I totally love all of their tools and the machines they have. I would kill to have such a great collection. So if you know of anyone in Denmark, who has tools or machines for leather making lying around unused, feel free to e-mail me.

This Is Happening - A Lasting Impression

When it comes to putting stuff out there in the world, I always feel very self-conscious. This happens, when I write here and when I try to create something out of leather - or fabrics But somehow I'm getting more and more acquainted with the feeling, so I took what to me felt like a massive step and I had a maker's stamp made or actually two. This I something I never really thought about doing, but now that I have had it made, I can't believe everyone doesn't have one. It just feels good putting your name on stuff. I don't know why. I decided to have one made for my leather work, as I feel, that I'm quite proud of what I make - most of the time - and I want people to know, that I don't mind putting my name on it, as some sort of guarantee.

With a little help from the very helpful, patient and kind Brenda at Laser Gift Creations I had two stamps made to my specifications. I wanted something very minimal and small, so it doesn't draw too much attention away from the actual product. I'm not really fond of logos myself, so why should I make one myself. And I also wanted the Futura font, as it is my favourite. I had two made because I wanted one for really small objects and one for medium-large sized objects. But please keep in mind, that both stamps are very small, which you of course can't tell from the picture.

I hope you like it.

How to Saddle Stitch Like an Hermès Leather Craftsman

I re-watched this little clip featuring one of the leather craftsmen, that work for Hermès. And I have to say, that I find it very meditative, plus it made me want to do some leather work, which I can't find the time to do at the moment due to obligations at school.

The type of stitching is called saddle stitching and it dates back hundreds of years. It is a very strong stitch, that you use, when hand stitching leather. It is way stronger than a machine made stitch, in case you are wondering.

This diagram will explain it faster, than I'm able to. But if you have any questions regarding leather, leather crafts or want to learn about it, let me know, and I'll try to help.

I hope this will give some of you a better understanding of, why handsewn leather is so much better and why it costs more, as it is quite time consuming, because very few are just as fast as the Hermès craftsman.

Horween American Football Leather

Well, sort of... And then not quite

I just purchased some new leather and I have been wanting to show you pictures of it. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been friendly lately, so it has been impossible to take some pictures in good, natural lightning.

The leather was bought from a very friendly man in the US, who got the leather from his job. Now this isn't the regular football leather, that the American tannery Horween supplies to the likes of Wilson (check this video out), but it was specially tanned by Horween, according to this man. Knowing the relationship between Horween and the company, that he worked for, I do believe him.

Like I said, the leather was specially tanned for a very special project. Somebody got the idea that if the grain of the leather was inverted, then the ball would float better. Just like it is the case with the golf ball and its dimples. So instead of a convex grain, the grain was concave. The idea was patented - along with a lot of other things - but when the final project was realized, nobody seemed to care. They were all pretty satisfied with the regular football. This meant that the whole project was scrapped pretty quickly and instead the man, I finally bought the leather from, took it home with the intention of making leather aprons, but that didn't work out either.

I should probably have thought twice about buying two large hides of a leather, which were used in not only one, but two failed projects. But I loved the story and I love the colour and the grain of the leather. It is a bovine leather, but the grain texture is unlike anything I have ever seen. It could give the impression of an exotic leather, or possibly fish or bird skin. But it isn't and I have to say that the leather feels very hard wearing, although it is slightly thinner than the leather I normally work with.

If you have any good ideas to, what this leather can or should be turned into - not footballs, please - then please share your ideas in the comment section or send me and e-mail, I would love to hear from you.

Crafts - iPhone 3+4 Case

Lately I haven't quite been up to much in the basement. I have lacked time, energy and inspiration. But yesterday I decided to get down there and get to work! It was a struggle at first, but then I decided to make an iPhone case - another one - for myself and my girlfriend, as we both just bought one.

So yesterday I cut the leather and prepared the leather. Today I spent some time finishing it - although I must say that the edges haven't been burnished yet and the cases haven't been oiled. So consider them somewhat finished, but not quite.

The construction is pretty much the same as the previous one, except these cases were made in a darker vegetable tanned leather (from Italy) and instead of the polyester thread, I used a thinner (5ply) waxed linen thread from Barbour. I would have like to have used a thicker linen thread of 7 or 8 ply, but that's probably just me and I don't have that thickness in this colour at the moment. But besides that change and a couple of other twitches everything was the same, including the wet shaping.

Enjoy - and remember they are also on Flickr.

Crafts - Key Wallet - Quick Proto

The weather has been horrible today. Overcast and constant showers. I was hoping to spend this day taking some pictures of a new acquisition (in natural light that is) and some other good stuff, but that couldn't be done. So instead I stayed in the basement making a proto type of a key wallet, that I have been meaning to make for my brother-in-law for too long.

I say that this is a proto because I made it very quickly and I didn't have all the right hardware for it. For instance I could have used some smaller snaps and surely also some double capped rivets. And lastly I busted my leather scissor some days ago because I managed to use it on some metal, which is a stupid thing to do. This meant I couldn't round the corners, as well as I'm normally able to do. Anyways, enough with the poor excuses for being a bad leather worker.

For the wallet I used a new, very special leather (from Horween...) with a great story, that I'll tell about some other day and all brass hardware. The inside was treated with Tragacanth and the outside was just brushed over with some Neatsfoot oil, which is also why it seems a bit stained or uneven in the colour. But please go to Flickr and see some higher resolution pics - blogger portrays pictures very poorly.

I sincerely hope that it will get some good use and I sincerely hope that the political party, that my brother-in-law is so involved in, will get a lot of votes at the election this Thursday.

Lastly I would like to thank everybody for the great response that the laundry bag got. I will definitely be making more. Tomorrow I'll be going to Copenhagen to visit friends and family, but I'll still be blogging, albeit not as much.