Card Holder - Workshop conducted by Obbigoodlabel (Part 2)

As you know, I always treat my leather with the necessary (necessary and babying them are 2 different matters :)) TLC they need.

Hence, after last night session of making the card holder, today I went on to apply Obenauf's leather oil on them and a coating of Heavy Duty LP (com'on, I bought the combo pack months ago and there are still a lot of them left)

Here are the pictures in just 1 day, with Oil and LP added:

The horizontal thin leather was the one that darkens the most first. I hope this will evolve into something thats unique and amazing.

And here is a picture of my favourite part. As you know, I like leather with unique grains, scars and even cuts. This nice grain happen to be on the frontmost and I just simply adore it!

Note the inverted "Y" looking grain there? Lovely, isn't it?

More pictures for today:

Card Holder - Workshop conducted by Obbigoodlabel

Finally, after the trial session held few months ago, I set foot on the OGL shop in Arab Street once again for a 1-day (or rather, 3-hrs) course on card-holder making. They had several lessons spread over several Saturdays and each session teaches a different item which you can hands-on and do it yourself. It was a very enriching and fun session where I can finally handle the tools that transform a simple piece of leather into a work that is made by yours truly.

Here is the overall look of the card-holder:

My sweaty palms and my attempt to dry them on my raw jeans was a big mistake. My hands were stained with the denim and it was too late when I realised it. Oh well, take it as another form of "character"

The session was started with our instructor, Fabian, telling us the basics of leather working and giving us an overview of the tools that we will use and the steps explained generally. We were then given a piece of natural veg-tan leather and started on the work under his guidance. This is A LOT like taking exams. You thought you know how it works but when you are given the tools and material, you had no idea where to start. 

I shall skip the technical details and those into leather-crafting should have more knowledge than me on these.

Here are the pics on my burnishing which I feel it is rather badly made:

And we were allowed to stamp our names on it but I decided to just stamp a "M" as my initial as I don't want to complicate the design.

This design of cardholder simply comprises of 2 compartments and a folding flap closure.

Overall, I am very pleased with my work despite the badly burnished edges, poor stitching and indigo staining even before it was put into my jeans. Reason being I love things that are made by myself. Just like how chefs enjoy eating the food they spent time and effort into making them from raw ingredients to a plate of delicacy.

I am intending to order the tools from them as they are slightly different from the ones from Tandy etc and I prefer OGL's tools personally.

To all leather craftsmen: Keep up the great work!

Swedish Army Belt (after 2 weeks of wear)

Here are some pictures of my belt after some wear.

I really love Natural Veg Tan belts. They got this unique characteristics that makes them so special. Like how the usual fold and rubs can make a mark permanent.

For example, this area is where the buckle rests most of the time and see how different it is from the rest. I just LOVE IT!

This belt's quality is pretty good, given its a deadstock item from decades ago. Here's the picture of an area on the belt which I love the most:

It has got this nice grain that I'm pretty sure this will develop a patina that's one of a kind. Pardon the poor quality pics cos the lighting is pretty here in my room.

And to end it for the day:

Have a wonderful week!

Problem with Red Wing Gentlemen Traveler (Beckman)

Sadly and finally, I found a problem with my Red Wing Beckman boots. As most of you know, the boots' soles are made of 3-ply of leather. Apparently, the first ply is starting to show that its splitting from the rest. Good news is, the stitching still looks strong to keep the soles from falling apart.

Here are some pictures I took on a sunny day today:

Here you can see the splits. On the arch side, the split will close up with I flex my foot straight. It will open up bigger when I flex my foot up. As for the split on the toe area, no matter how I flex or clamp it, the split won't close up anymore.

here are some pictures from the right boot:

All looks well and sweet!

Well, it was kind of disappointing for this to happen on the left side pair only. It wasn't a cheap pair (costs me SGD$442 during promotion for this pair) and I always thought that Red Wing's quality are top-notch.

The close resemblance and competitor brand 'Wolverine' don't seem to have this problem upon searching online. Most of the GT/Beckman models have this problem. Unfortunately, Wolverine's design doesn't appeal to me as much as the Red Wing's one although I will love to own a pair of Wolverine in time to come.

Here's a random pic for the day:

Red Wing Gentlemen Traveler GT Beckman .. again?!

Well, few posts earlier I mentioned I bought the Obenauf's Leather Cleaner for my leather goods. It was a nice, simple cleaner without the harsh chemicals. I tried it on my Clarks DBs first. Satisfied with the results, I decided to give a it a go on my beloved Red Wing Shoes.

Cleanse the boots with the leather cleaner thoroughly with a sponge. Then I left it to dry for about an hour. I then proceeded with the Leather Oil to replenish the oil lost during the cleaning process. And here's how it looks like being oiled. EEks

Leave it to dry overnight and the next day was a big sunny day! So I set it out to sun it further, also wanting the heat to prepare the boot for the next treatment, Heavy Duty LP! (sorry I forgotten to take pics when it was out suntanning.)

The warm boot absorbed the LP pretty quickly. Quicker than usual. Then I left it to tan again for a couple of hours before letting them rest through 1 more day. And now, I'm done lacing it back and ready to rock it again tomorrow!

As you can see, the tougher stains are still there. The cleaner, I suppose, is just a mild cleanser than won't remove tough stains. But hey, I will be more worried if any leather cleaner can remove such tough stains. It probably remove the skin as well! So I'm pretty satisfied with the cleaner as it does it basic cleaning job well without harming the leather. And with the new insoles on, I am ready to rock this boots again!

TACCO Leather Insole

I guess there is not much reviews out there about an insole. But I find this worthy for a review and some pictures because this is a L-E-A-T-H-E-R insole. :D

This is a leather insole from TACCO, a company in Germany that manufactures insoles. I've been looking for a pair of insole for my Red Wing Beckman Boots because it is 1/2 size bigger than my usual size (refer to my earlier posts on why I did that). I need an insole for it because there isn't any for the boot in the first place. I feel that although the boot are very comfortable, I think some additional shock absorbing factor will be even better.

I tried all sorts of insoles namely LP insoles, Scholls and those generic insoles from Pharmacy stores, but none provide me with the sort of comfort that I'm looking for.

So I came across this brand at a cobbler store near my house (Mister Minit). I remember seeing this brand been mentioned at a forum. But can't remember what was the details. Anyway, I decided to give it a try and the leather looks very nice for a pair of insole.

Here are some before and after wearing (for 1 day) pics:

If you are wondering why is it that I have 1 pair of new insole and 1pair of worn, here's why:

I passed by the store and bought size 43 because they don't have size 44 and the next bigger size is size 45. As I didn't have my boots with me, I guess I need the size 43 one for my RW GT. As expected, it is a lil small for it, about a gap of 2-3mm around the edges. It may not seem to be much but you can feel the gap when walking as the foot pressed down on the boots. So after a day of wearing, I went to get the size 45 instead. And this time round, I brought my shoes along to test for fitting on the spot. Size 45 is an exact fit and hence, now i got a pair of size 43 and size 45 insole. Guess I could use the size 43 on my Clarks DB since the DB is a lil smaller than my RW GT.

All in all, this is a good insole to invest it. Good comfort and build quality. Bought mine for SGD$28 a pair at Mister Minit.

Cleaning my Clarks Desert Boots

Recently, due to work, I had to walk around houses under construction. My shoes were met with dust, sawdust, dirt, oil, and many other things that you won't want it to stay on your leather shoes for too long. Hence, I decided to give them a lil' clean up using Obenauf's Leather Cleaner. I'm a fan of Obenauf's products!

Here are some pics prior to cleaning and after cleaning (with the dirty one beside it)

After this, I will apply some Obenauf's leather oil to it as per instruction on the cleaner.

So here goes:

Swedish Army Belt (Brand new) Part 3 - After Oiled, after LP application

After the oil is pretty much fully absorbed, or rather, totally absorbed. I went on to apply the Obenauf's LP on it and here's the outcome:

This picture is taken with the LX3 Neutral Picture settings, hence the gentler shade and tone.

 This is taken with the Dynamic Setting and hence, the stronger tone and color.

In actual fact, the color is somewhere in between these 2 shades. 

And here is a comparison pic of the before and after treatment picture on the nice grain portion on the belt

Top: After application

Bottom: Before any treatment

As you can see, the Leather Oil and LP gives the leather a very nice finish and color tone. It not only protects the leather but also beautify it. Very outstanding product. 

Besides the product praise, the leather is also excellent in its own way.

The leather is soft and felt very strong. 

I am very sure it will look even more awesome in time to come. Stay tuned!

Swedish Army Belt (Brand new) Part 2 - After Oiled.

After a good night's sleep, woke up to see hows the belt color had change or not.

I shall let you see the pictures to let you decide.

What I did:
A thin coating of Obenauf's Leather Oil

As you can see, the color only darken A LITTLE BIT. The pictures looks dark but in actual it's only a little darker than the brand new natural leather you get.

After this, I will apply Obenauf's Heavy Duty Leather Preservatives (LP) and it will be good to go!

Update of Ammo pouch + EDC

Got a message regarding my ammo pouch and what are the things I carry inside. I'm glad to show you what's inside and I like to interact with my readers. So do drop me a message if you have any request(s) on my leather goods. 

Here is what I carry everyday to work.

A Faber-Castell Pen
A Faber-Castell Pencil
A Victorinox One-hand Trekker Knife
A Stanley Tape Measure

These are the must-have items in my work. After putting all these inside the pouch, there's still some space left for occasionally receipts/small notes to put into when I don't want them to get lost in my pocket.

You can see some scuffs and scratches on my pouch but I don't baby it at all so I don't mind it.

Swedish Army Belt (Brand new) Part 1 - Just got it. Unoiled, untreated.

A couple of posts earlier, I mentioned I had ordered a deadstock Swedish Army Belt from eBay.

And VOILA, here it is. Rather fast shipping. Took about a week of wait and this parcel arrived.
Opened it up and posed it for some photoshoot before I start to oil it with Obenauf's Leather Oil.

Some of you may ask, why the Leather Oil so quick? Well, if you heard of this belt before, it's a deadstock army belt. Deadstock meaning the production had stopped for such belts and all these are brand new old stocks. NOS as some people like to call it (New Old-Stock) Having left out there for so long, I decided a little coat of oil will give it the nourishment it has been yearning for.

Will post more pics of the "after oiled" pics tomorrow.

Oh, and I love this picture especially. The grains are o'so-lovely!

 

I highly recommend the seller for his credibility and friendliness. His reply was fast and prompt. 2 thumbs up for him!

Shop Link

Product Link

As of today, there's left only 4 of this belt in his inventory. All the best!