I´m probably one of the first who hand sew a iPhone 6 cover out of leather. I went yesterday with the specs of the new models by Apple to the carpenter next door to get models out of wood. There have to be some little adjustments to be made, but basically the size what I have taken for the leather were ok. The leather is still a bit wet from the shaping over the form but in about an hour or two the leather will be a nice chestnut.
Actually my mother gave me the task to finally field test if a dishwasher damages the sharpness of a blade by giving me a kitchen knife with a broken plastic handle. But instead I took the hammer and got rid of the plastic crap and see if I could attach a new handle.
A while ago at my Schachenmayr Tannery visit I got a piece of Cowbell leather, extremely thick and real hard and durable. I cut out the rough shape for the handles out of this leather and riveted them on the handle with some solid copper rivets. Then I started to fine shape the leather by cutting more and more off. Not a stunning beauty but this knife was saved from the trash bin and probably (due to the leather handle) will no longer be but into the dishwasher.
Ok i lied it´s an American Penny and not a Pfennig but I hope it works just as well as a talisman. I have to do some research in my drawers to find some old Pfennige but as a first draft the belt turned out pretty well. Sharper tools and a bit more space for the penny will give the belt a more professional look. The belt or the idea for the belt was born when I was asked to make a small belt (50cm) for the two year old daughter of friends. But a penny is too big for that little belt so I had to change plans. How do you like the – raw version? please comment.
Since the locking mechanism of my Zeno watch tend to open sometimes or a lot of times, the decision of getting a replacement was on the list. After seeing the DIY guide by Wood&Faulk on sewing a Nato style watch strap I decided to give it a try. Ok, I give posting a about leather a break now.
Inspired by some great leather crafters I decided to give leather a try. Leather is such a great material in so many variations. I started to get stitches straight with a normal round awl just to find out, or better be told by Simon and Uwe that this is bullshit. Switching to the diamond shaped awl brings in another task to align the blade right. I made some progress but actually it really helped me to improve my judgement about good quality leather crafts and crap. If you actually make the experience how hard it is to master “simple looking” tasks you evaluate products differently.
My first project was to sew a dog collar for my dog, he is not too picky about stuff and a very good tester for durability. The seams hold really well so far! Then I continued to work on buckles and belts and now I did a couple of IPhone Sheaths / covers. Above you see the last one, getting better but still not in any way close to be too proud of.
I don´t own a smartphone but you can get dummies for a mold for less then 10 bucks. It´s tricky to create and to dimension the template, esp. when the leather is a thick one. Probably the most challenging thing are the curves and corners and to cut them out evenly. However you learn by your mistakes and messy results, and the goal is to develop skill by what you do. Punching holes and sewing can be meditative in some way and its nice to see something developing and done with your own hands.
Just recently I got the hint to have a look at the Wood & Faulk website. Not only does Matt crafts great objects, he also shares the process with his clients/visitors. Superb made images fitting well to the scenery and the great products. A fine example how to set up a business nowadays.
Home coffee roasting with the Whirley PopOn sunday, coffee run out. Or better the roasted coffee beans, so i lured my sister into turning the Whirley Pop for about 30 minutes. The outcome was better than I could have done it. However, I still found a few beans who got burned spots, which should be avoided and you can see it clearly on the least image. You also should cool the coffee beans down after they got the right roast – asap. For that I use the big bowl and to get rid of the bitter skin of the beans as well.
Laguiole self made set – Bausatz:
Another great present my sister and her boyfriend gave to me for my birthday. It took a while to finally start to assemble the Laguiole knife. Getting the bolts (esp. the last) in, with the tension of the spring was the most difficult task. The rest was just polishing and smoothing the edges down a bit. Not bad, not bad I would say for my first pocket knife.
The Smokehouse – Rohan Anderson aka wholelarderlove:
Another great video about Rohan Anderson known for his website
wholelarderlove.
Smith joined forces with Victorian grower, gatherer, hunter and cook Rohan Anderson to build a pioneer-style cold smokehouse on his property just outside Ballarat.
copyright by Rohan Anderson and Smith Journal
Undusting my homegym:
It has been a lazy 4 weeks, I did not do any sport. But this week I started again to hit the punching bag and to train a bit. Feels great and the weights and tools needed some attention. To quick spiders and plants take over my litte home gym. No need to pay some fool monthly for training machines and “free” energy drinks. All it needs is some iron and dedication. Sometimes a friend who kicks your ass is also quite a motivation.
Turning 40 next year there is a unfinished project. I really have to do my first Muay Thai fight. So i better get back in shape. I even think about letting my beard grow until the day of the fight. We will see.
If you are sick of gyms and need some inspiration, check Ross Enamait Website
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