What is “Custom Leatherwork”

Custom Leatherwork (kəstəmˈ leT͟Hərˌwərk) “The art of actualizing unique one-of-a-kind creations out of leather to a client’s particular designs or wishes. Also known in certain circles as bespoke”.

That is my definition of actual high end serious custom leatherwork. When you start your search for a specialized truly custom leathersmith it’s going to be hard, prepare yourself. There are many leathersmiths and leather companies on the internet. Some bad, some good and some really really good. Unfortunately, due to the way the web works, it’s not always the really good ones that come up at the top of the internet search engines. Many leathersmiths consider and call themselves “custom”. It would be prudent, for you the client, to truly understand what a true custom leathersmith is and how we differ from the many leathersmiths available to you. True custom leathersmiths are in a completely different niche in the leather world. I would invite you to read on to really get a feel for the difference. DH

Custom leatherwork, what is it and how is it different from regular leather work? Long, long ago all leather work was custom. Each piece made by hand, one at a time based upon a specific need. As man advanced he learned that he could make multiples of a particular item and have them ready for sale at any time. Much quicker to sell items that are ready to go. However, after a time people would pass each other on the street and notice that the very nice handbag, case, belt (you get the picture) they had was also being worn by someone else. Well now, if you only needed the item to be practical and hold something, no worries. If, however, you bought the original item to not only “do” something but also to make a statement we now have another issue entirely.

Bespoke, Serious Custom Leatherwork… What is it? I’ve been giving this quite a bit of thought as it is all getting a bit confusing when you are trying to find someone to magically create an item out of leather specifically to your design or wishes. I have spent a good bit of time working on my website to ensure that it ranks very highly on web browser search engines under the keywords “custom leatherwork” and “custom leather work” (leatherwork being two words here). I do this so that those of you searching for a highly skilled individual working in leather on a purely custom basis can be fairly easily found. If you go to your search engine and search for “custom leatherwork” as an example, you’ll not only find Dragonthorn Leatherworks but a wealth of other companies doing leatherwork that really is not what I would call “custom”. In many cases it is good leatherwork and sometimes great leatherwork but you can still click on a “buy now” button, select your color, size, shape, etc. , pay your money and wait for your tracking number. Not so with honest, bespoke, seriously purely custom leatherwork. Is it all hand-made? Of course! As far as I know there is no machine where you insert leather in one end and out of the other end comes a shoulder bag. It all has to be done by a human. Whether they cut it with a machine or by hand, whether they stitch it by hand or by machine it’s all hand-made. Custom should mean something different. To me custom means just that, it’s custom (also known as bespoke in some circles). It is unique, different, created just for you and rarely, if ever, will you find or see another leather item just like it. That is what makes it so special.

Leather work comes in many different types and styles. Some get started in camp during the summer as a kid making kit belts, wallets and such which are usually laced together vs. being stitched either by hand or on an industrial leather sewing machine. Definitely “leather work, just not “custom leather work”. Many really great leathersmiths can be found on the internet that specialize in certain items. The biggest area currently is in knife sheaths and gun holsters. Many do only belts, bags, pet collars, etc. and it goes on and on. Everybody has a niche area that they either really enjoy or find that they are just really good at one type of leather item or another. An additional reason for sticking with one type of leather work or another is the equipment required. Many many specialty leather tools and machinery can be used on any leather project, for some it takes even more of a specialty tool and it can all get very expensive… trust me! Me?, I like the challenge of working on just about anything. If I have not bored you to tears read on…

I have a few other thoughts on custom leather work that you can read on this webpage under “what” in the menu bar above. I’d like to take this time to dig just a tad deeper so you have a better understanding of why some projects take a good bit of time. One day I may find the time to write a few in-depth articles as I know that many of you have questions and are considering either contracting a custom leathersmith or trying it out on your own. For now though I’ll keep it a bit shorter…

Leather, the key to it all – So many leather types, cow, horse, lizard, snake, frog … it goes on and on. Just about any type of skin can be tanned (leathered as it were). In addition to types of leather “skin” there are a multitude of tanning processes. Some processes make the leather butter soft and some more rigid with many in between. Some processes make the leather easy to “wet-mold” while others do not mold at all. Then we have leather thickness which is measured in ounces. One ounce is roughly equivalent to 1/64 of an inch. We then move into “where on the animal the leather comes from”. A good guide is on the Tandy Leather website here. Finally we get into color. Don’t think that leather only has to be in shades of black or brown. You can get just about any color of the rainbow as long as you are willing to search, find and pay the price. Oops, forgot to mention “quality”, most hides used by US leathersmiths come from the USA or Mexico. Big difference in the quality. All can be used but if you are looking at a “perfect” piece you will probably need USA tanned and even those hides are not completely perfect nor are they inexpensive.  In order to get enough leather for a large briefcase or portfolio I may need to purchase 2-3 hides in order to not have any imperfections in the hide itself. Personally I like the imperfect hides as range marks add a bit of individual character to the finished project. Much more to learn but I’ll leave the web search to you for now.

Dyes – again, many types… water based, alcohol based, oil based. Personally I try and use nothing but Fiebings professional Oil Dyes. I have found through much experimentation that its the best on the market. Dyes well, streaks less and bleeds little. Believe it or not, black is the hardest color to dye. Takes many coats and must dry completely between applications (24-36 hours in some cases). Why dye? Why not just buy the leather already dyed you ask? Sometimes I do, however I find that most of my work is with vegetable tanned leather which cuts well, edges best and molds just about perfectly. The only problem is that it only comes in a natural color, hence… bring out the dye.

Thread ties it all together (with a bit of glue in strategic locations). Thread sizes vary and a book could be written on different types and applications. In addition we have to determine what it’s made of for each application. Most professional leathersmiths use nylon bonded. Meaning made of nylon and treated so that its smooth. Does not rot as cotton or natural gut does and lasts forever. Also stupidly strong. Then you have specialty thread like nomex (high heat resistance) and even Kevlar (beyond stupid strong). Sizes also vary per application. I utilize primarily sizes 69, 92, 135, 200 and 235. Size 69 for really fine work and on up to 235 when you really want the thread to stand out. An artificial gut is available which is really nice but does take complete hand stitching as it will not run through a machine (At least not that I have figured out how as of yet).

Sewing, hmmmm, hand stitching is the most cost effective if you are doing it yourself but the most expensive if you are having someone do the project for you… why? Time! To hand stitch you’ve got to get it all together properly, mark out the stitch hole locations, punch the holes (you don’t want to try and punch a needle through a piece of 9 oz. horse hide) and then stitch. With an industrial leather sewing machine I can punch through 3/4″ leather in one stroke. Much more expensive if you are doing it yourself as a good machine will run you well over $1,500.00. Much more cost efficient if you are having someone do it for you (again, time is the issue). Something that can take 2-3 hours to hand stitch can be done on a good machine in minutes. I currently have three machines (not including my hands), a Tippmann Boss (great machine and hand operated. Kinda like a mechanical hand-stitcher), a Techsew 2700 electric (for thinner leather and long thread runs) and my latest find a 1909 Singer 29-4 (Treadle powered, as in your feet, and still works. Believe it or not you can still get parts for them. Has a very long arm and a rotating presser foot).

Other tools are priceless. Knives, gouges, punches, groovers, scissors, and needles are only part of a custom leathersmiths tool set. Again, a separate article would need to be written and there are many good websites explaining all of this.

Why am I telling you all of this when you only wanted to know what custom leatherwork is? Because to be a custom leathersmith you’ve got to take all of the above, plus design the project, build a template and then use all of the information above to finalize just what your going to use out of the above list to make it all work. Which leather, what lining, thread choices, glues, edging materials to finish off the project so that it looks like it came off of Bond Street in London. How do all of the materials interact? How do you put a slick edge on a soft piece of leather? The skill set is immense. Not to mention the fact that if you screw something up  then 9 times out of 10 you’ve got to do it all over again. When sewing with cloth you may have the opportunity to cut the stitch and do it again. Once you punch through leather in the wrong pace you’ve got a hole that you cannot cover up.

Suffice to say that a custom leathersmith is actually both a craftsman and an artist. A single project takes a good bit of time from customer communication to determine ”exactly” what the customer wants to project design to project construction to finishing. Most of us “custom leathersmiths” are working on multiple projects at a time. I mean if your dyeing leather and waiting on it to dry, or waiting on a piece that has been glued to dry you might as well starting designing or cutting out your next project in line, especially if you do this as a business and not just a hobby.

With the growth of globalization (read the pacific rim; China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the sub-continent; India and Pakistan) leather goods were everywhere. Shoes, bags, belts, wallets, cell phone and smart phone cases. Not that this is a bad thing, as many items from these countries are pretty nice and very affordable as well. However, again we run into the “pass the guy on the street with the same thing” syndrome.

What can be done? What do we do to prevent this travesty and loss of the fine art of leathercrafting? Very simple solution actually; Support your Custom Leathersmith! Would I prefer that you purchase your custom leather items from Dragonthorn? Of course, however it is important that you realize that you can actually have any item you wish, made in exactly the way and with the precise specifications that you desire. That bag should have another pocket here? A longer strap with a different buckle? “Gosh, it would be perfect if it only did this!” How about that knife sheath that just didn’t show off the custom knife you just spent, well…we’ll keep that secret for now. I think you may be starting to get the point about this time…..

Custom leather smithing is an art (note that I have shifted from leather crafting to leather smithing). It takes years and I mean YEARS of practice to be a really good leathersmith. Each individual piece of leather has its own spirit, its own properties. Not all leather can be utilized for all projects. What do I use, how do I stitch it? Like I said, years of practice. Anyone can make an item out of leather and anyone can do a pretty good job of it with the proper tools. The question is, do you really want to spend the time paying for and learning to use the special tools required? If so, more power to you. There is a wealth of information on the internet about how to get started and a goodly amount of companies you can purchase your items from. For those of you that wish to have it done for you the custom leathersmith is standing by and awaiting your phone call.

(Shameless plug here) Please allow me to introduce my self … your own personal custom leathersmith.  DH