New Items in the Shop

- Classic Zippo Case -

Canyon Tan or Dark Brown

Uses: Lighter, Guitar Picks, Coins, etc

 - LARGE Travel Bag 001 -   

Dark Brown 

Dimensions: 16" wide x 12" tall x 5.5" wide

 

 

 

- Calling Card Case - 

Redwood, Natural Tan, Brown, Canyon Tan

Uses: Calling Card, Business Cards, Credit/Debit Cards, etc

- LARGE Travel Bag 001 -   

Rustic Brown

Dimensions: 16" wide x 12" tall x 5.5" wide


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To see more items like this please visit our Etsy Shop:
etsy.com/Shop/MLLeather

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Featured Artist: R.C. Smith Leatherworks

Reagan Smith

A pair of sandals Reagan Handcrafted.

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 Reagan has been a great friend of mine for sometime now. 

There is a bond I have with this guy and his Brother, Nathaniel, that I cant explain. 

Maybe it came from the night of dumpster diving manikin heads and setting them all around San Marcus, TX or the great conversations we have carried through the night. Either way they are like family to me. 

To Check out Reagan's Etsy page click here: R.C. Smith

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Thank you for reading,

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New In The Shop

Three New Leather Travel Bags 001 - 

We have the Classic Brown,Whiskey, and new Rustic Light Brown. 

Check them out here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MLLeather?ref=si_shop

Brand New Gadget Camera Bag!

It Has over seven pockets and two card carriers! Padded down with 1/4 inch cotton foam and lined with either tobacco goat skin or and earth tone cattle side.

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Handmade Antler Knife Necklace

Handmade Antler Knife Necklace

For one knife: $49.99
or buy two for only: $90

                        Genuine deer antler handle and hand sharpened saw blade for the blade potion.
Handcrafted in the good ol' Ozark Mountains of Missouri.
This handmade Knife comes with genuine leather sheath and lace to hang around your neck.

The Smith Brothers, Nathanael and Reagan. Reagan sporting two ML Leathers Creations. A wrapped buffalo tooth necklace and Knife Sheath Necklace.

Yours Truly. I never leave my squat spot without wearing mine. I use it for eating, crafts, general use, etc

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Creation and Designer Tips

Believe it or not I put a lot of passion and stress into designing a new item for ML Leather. One of the main things I try to focus on is the key role of this item in someones life. I am a firm believer on if it is not useful its useless. To some folks that is just a crazy thought but believe it or not there are millions of other people out there who live on less than a dollar a day and do not "Store up stuff in Barnes" .


So here is some tips and thoughts on designing things that you may be wanting to create. The example I am going to use is one of my favorite products. The Nomad Satchel

1) Inspiration
Find something that sparks your interest in the project. For me it was the idea of a person being able to transfer his most precious items from a motorcycle, a horse or even a bicycle and wear it as a hip bag.

2) Be artsy.
You are not perfect so why does your creations have to be. I mean work towards the goal of being satisfied with your final project but don't be so anal on symmetry or perfect stitching. I believe it gives character to the item and something so much more personal then some machine made item.







3) Think of Use/Multi Use
As I stated before If it doesn't have a use it is useless. So come up with ideas of how the project your working on could be used. For Instance; some people see a piece of rope just as is. But some folks see it as a fire starter, guitar strap, entertainment, Luggage strap, jewelry, etc.
Keep an open mind.

4) Simplicity
I am a very detailed kind of guy. I am also very complicated. But once I realized how simple life really is I realized that if I spend all my energy on focusing on that simplicity I can pass that on to other people. It make people happy once they realize how simple something is. Make others happy. Its a great thing to pass along.


5) Use every resource/ Don't Waste.

Would you throw away a package of vegetable seeds that couldn't be used this planting season? Hell no! You would keep them for the next season.
Whatever you have that you don't think you could use, find a use. For Example, when I first started leather working I had boxes and boxes of scrap leather and half the time I would throw them away or give them to buddies who were into the same craft. Then one day I snapped out of my American way of thinking and figured out how to make zippo cases, bracelets, apparel, etc out of scraps I would have thrown away!
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Leather Buying Guide

Types of leather

Chrome Tanned Leather

This process uses soluble chromium salts during the tanning process which results in beautiful quality leather that is typically very soft and supple.

Great for: Upholstery, garments, liners, bookbinding, horse collars, trim, craft projects.

Vegetable Tanned Leather

Vegetable materials derived from tree bark and barious other plants are used during this tanning process. Leather tanned this way typically is very firm and rigid with little or no stretch left in the leather.

Great for: Belts, harnesses, leather armor, tooling, straps, embossing, crafts, art projects, saddles, bridles, gun holsters.

Sub-Types

Bridle

Firm, rich-colored leather with just enough oils to withstand weather. Great feeling leather can be oiled for darker hues. Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belts, straps, fine pet collars, leashes, gun belts.

Chrome Oil Tanned

Beautiful, durable leather has just the right amount of oil for a soft, supple feel.

Great for: Chaps, cases & bags, boots.

Deerskin

Very supple, beautiful quality leather. Chrome tanned whole hides with very little waste.

Great for: Garments, pouches, linings.

Kipskin

Very clean piece of leather that dyes and stamps beautifully. Produced from smaller calf hides. Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belt liners, personal leather goods.

Latigo

Latigo leather is combination tanned to make it rigid but very pliable, great for use on products in which strength and flexibility are needed. Chrome Veg Retanned.

Great for: Tack, straps, belts, pet collars, leashes, cinches.

Natural Strap, Tooling & Molding Leather

Perfect leather for tooling, embossing, molding, dyeing & oiling. Uniformly absorbs dyes and oils. Dries to a firm, long-lasting shape. Vegetable Tanned.

Great for: Belts, straps, holsters & sheaths.

Shearlings & Sheepskins

Beautiful quality wool sheepskins in a variety of thicknesses. Available in both veg tan and chrome tan in a variety of shades and colors.

Great for: Lining saddles, padding, ect.

Suede

Finished by buffing the flesh side of the hide to produce a “nap”. Chrome Tanned.

Great for: Chaps, garments, trim.

Upholstery

Soft, supple leather is very strong and durable. Tanned in whole hides for little waste and for use in automotive and restoration upholstery where larges pieces of leather are desirable. Chrome Tanned.

Great for: Upholstery, garments.

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Hide Sizes & Patterns

What cut/pattern of leather is best suited for my project?

The total size of your product along with the total number of individual pieces you are making will determine the cut of leather you should use.

Typical pattern sizes listed in square feet(sq.ft)

Whole Hide: 45 - 65 sq.ft

Side: 20 - 30 sq.ft

Back: 18 - 28 sq.ft

Double Shoulders: 9 - 15 sq.ft

Double Bend: 20 - 25 sq.ft

Culatta: 16 - 20 sq.ft

Thickness:

The vast majority of leather is sold according to its area. The leather is placed through electronic measuring machines and its surface area is determined in square feet. The thickness is also important, and this is measured using a thickness gauge.

Most thickness measurements are listed in either ounces per square foot(oz) or thickness in millimeters(mm). The weight or thickness is usually given as a range because the inherent variability of the material makes ensuring a precise thickness very difficult.

Typical uses for different weight leathers.

1 - 3.5oz: Linings, Garments, Upholstery, Bookcovers.

3.5 - 7oz: Bags, Shoes, Boots, Cases, Chaps.

7 - 11oz: Belts, Strap Goods, Cuffs, Bag Straps, Leashes, Pet Products.

11-14oz: Harnesses, Saddle's, Rein's, Extra Heavy Belts & Straps

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Black Leather Nomad Satchel

$200

My Etsy Shop :

I have been coming up with this design for a long time and I am finally happy with the product that you guys now see. I made this product to be able to provide the needs for every nomad!

This Leather satchel is great for every traveler. Made for the Train Hopper in all of us.

I made the first Nomad Satchels in early 2011 after selling a handful and actually giving one off my back, I stopped making them to work on some new features that I thought would add so much more to this amazing product.


A percentage from this products goes to Nomad's Land, located north of Birmingham, AL
Go check them out at http://www.thenomadsland.org Pin It