link to film for making a sporran our of leather

[budd4766]

But it *is* easy...

All you need is:

• A bunch of tools, some I've never seen before.
• A rock-steady hand
• A good supply of leather
• A life-time of experience

Jeremy looks over that list, trying to see if he has any of those...

Really, all you need is a trip to your local Tandy Leather Factory store. All those tools are there, though some have been replaced with different ways of doing the work, and some you really don't HAVE to have to make this sporran. Most Tandy stores also offer classes if you ask nicely and are really helpful..

[Chirs]

Wow! I am thrilled to learn that it only takes a little over 15 minutes to make a sporran! The next time I have a half-hour with nothing pressing to do I'll whip one up. (if only!!)

That said, it looks like something to try, but I'll give myself a little more time. And, as it turns out, we have a Tandy in town!

[hylander]

The tools he uses I found most difficult to come by are the pinking punches he uses on the tassels.

[artificer]

The tools he uses I found most difficult to come by are the pinking punches he uses on the tassels.

They are still available, but tend to run in the hundreds of dollars per-tool.

ith:

[hylander]

My point exactly . . .

[artificer]

The tools he uses I found most difficult to come by are the pinking punches he uses on the tassels.

They are still available, but tend to run in the hundreds of dollars per-tool.

ith:

My point exactly . . .

Ah, I thought you meant "difficult to find" rather than "difficult to afford" (a feeling I share with you on this).

ith:

[hylander]

I guess I actually meant both! I think I did see something on Leatherworker.net that there is a guy, Greenman Forge, who made custom pinking punches, his website seems to be defunct but here is his contact info:

Green Man Forge
1143 Bleistein Street
Cody, WY 82414 USA
Phone: 307.272.9368

Not sure what he would charge for a custom punch.

I was able to snag a 1/2" straight pinking punch a while back on ebay, but when they do come up they usually go for $100.00 or better. The one I have I had to file back into usable shape.

[Damocles]

you know you can do almost every thing he dose with some vary basic tools.
you can use a finish nail for a punch. the back side of a butter knife for a stitching gouge. a utility knife for cutting or a good heavy pair of shires is the leather is light. a basic needle point to stitch with and some good rubber cement.
a smooth paper folder to crease and shape edges. you can get that at any hobby store for under 10$US. what more do you really need other then some skills and a good hand an eye for details and construction om working on my version of the sporran all post the pictures tomorrow i just have to stitch in the gusset then its finished

[Damocles]

i forgot if you are working with Kidd leather which is vary light you can buy pinking shires that have round cutting edges instead of the old pointed one they make all sorts of shires to do decorative edges and if your doing strait lines or not to radical curves they have rotary cutters that have decorative edges with replacement blades for under 20$Us at Joann's here in the US
Necesety if the mother of invention

[hylander]

You can pound a nail with a rock, but does that you give you the best result? If all you want to do is recreate one sporran like the sporran he skillfully executes in the film, you of course could use any number of objects to hack out a similar look. For me the point is the artist in the film doesn't use a butter knife in the process, he uses a tool appropriate to his trade and appropriate to the work at hand. I like making sporrans, I like tools, I like having the right tool for the job. I found in anything involving tools that the right tool makes the job easier. I realize that many here aren't interested making leather work a full time obsession as some of us have, and for those folks your suggestions could be helpful. But for me the film was instructional in seeing what tools he did use to create the sporran he made. Some of those tools I have, some I don't but would like to have. I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't make a sporran without the tools in the film, but there are levels of artistry that are achieved with the right tools. For example, I could make a tassel as he did, but without the pinking tool I would be cutting each pinked slit with an xacto knife, 10 cuts per slit x 8 slits, 80 indiviual cuts per tassel, in the film he achieved the same result with 8 whacks of a mallet with his pinking tool, I'd rather do it his way.