Interest check -- leatherwork knife sheath class

Planning on teaching a leatherwork knife sheath class. That way we can get more people cleared into leather. Can someone tag leather sig leaders for approval?

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Interested! :heart_eyes:

definitely interested.

You don’t need my approval - but if you want to use any of the prepurchased leather or much of the DMS-bought supplies, we’ll need to figure out the cost for the class. But anyone is most welcome to teach any leather classes at any time.

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im interested

I’m definitely interested! I’ve been doing leatherwork on my own for a while, but I don’t have nearly all the tools for it.

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I need your approval though. Its very important to me.

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I am interested!

FWIW, I shared the InkScape files for these small holster-style sheaths on the Leatherworking Committee drive a few years back. I’m on mobile at the moment so I can’t check, but the files should still be there.

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thats actually a fantastic design i had not considered thank you I will dEFINITELY be looking into this one <3

also, as far as the leather permissions go i was more thinking, like, would my class clear people in the leather tools? could i just incorporate the syllabus for leather working? it seems we have a shortage of classes lately.

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That’s a SIG Chair question. @jnorine is the go-to on that.

IMHO, since the primary reasons for checkoff on the LW tools is safety and awareness, I’d think that theoretically you could cover that during the class, though it might add 30 mins or so to the overall duration.

I said “theoretically:” layout, cutout, tooling (perhaps), dying, stitching, finishing, AND tool checkoff is a lot to cover in a single class.

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Came here to second what Mike said. If you talk to @jnorine about it you could combine the 2. IIRC there’s a safety syllabus you would cover for the safety part and thats what signs folks off on the tools.

Rule #1 you can hurt yourself with the leather tools so don’t be an idiot.
Rule #2 use the damn poundo/HDPE boards correctly!

There’s some nuance in there but those were the biggies.

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I think if you wanted to combine a project with tool checkoff, something simple like this water bottle belt clip would be a better choice.

You skip the pattern creation and tooling steps I mentioned above. Decorating with stamps could replace the concho (and would introduce stamps, marble, hammers, poundo boards, et al.)

You could also skip dying and finishing as in my example.

The stitching is present but minimized.

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during class: safety syllabus / how not to break tools HDPE pounding surface diff between chroma and veg tan but not too long winded.

project: plan outline pretty simple one step procedure planned around the knife, barge cement, pound in stitching holes, knock in the grooves for the stitches to inlay (this covers concepts of decoration briefly)

saddle stitching would be started but not done all the way as it would just be something one would have to just sit and take the time to do, burnishing would be covered and likely would be something people do right after class.

not done during class but covered: dye, fancy coloring ideas, sealing finishing. edge kote.

I have plenty of my own tools to bring so i wouldn’t be relying super heavily on the makerspace having enough tools for everyone simultaneously. I would also do a quick show and tell in between all of this to demonstrate things that can be used for leather working that I have used like a nail, fork tines, etc

i think that just about does it?

i can pm a ton of leather projects ive done if the SIG chair wants me to demonstrate the wide range of what i know how to do.

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There are 5 student kits in the teachers cabinet that are numbered and fairly complete from a basic perspective. Just make sure when you collect them at the end to try and put numbered items away together. the cabinet is a virtual who’s who of what tools are there, but the kits help us keep consistent with the classes.

(my first post - be gentle!) I’m interested! I joined DMS beginning of April because of my new leatherworking hobby. I had no idea of the amount of fellow craftspeople and tools available. How will I know if the class gets posted? Just check the calendar from time to time? Is there a way to sign up for notifications?

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Some teachers will post on here that they have submitted the class, I believe that it’s 3 days from that to showing up on the calendar. The only way I know of for notifications is setting up something like IFTTT to check for any changes in the page.

What I created was a 3 or 4 page outline for the intro class. It goes thru the types of leather, types of techniques, and thru all the tools we have. For the tools, i demonstrate how they are used.

The “safety” portion is in the discussion of the knives, what surface to stamp on, rivet, punch, and stitching chisel. Like - don’t use the sharp things with just granite under the leather.

That class is about an hour long. A project class after would be great to incorporate that new knowledge.

But i don’t think the leather intro class is required to start. A project class can be the checkout by covering the portion on not getting hurt, and not hurting our tools.

Leather Basics - DMS.pdf (222.8 KB)

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Is “don’t stain leather on the HDPE boards” a part of that outline?

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Here’s a draft of what we’re hoping to turn into an online version of Basics a la the 3d Printing model. Still need to make some changes based on feedback from @talkers, @Webdevel, @Lordrook, @jrkriehn and others who have slipped my mind at this moment. I lifted most of the pictures from @talkers original document.

Leatherworking SIG rundown.pdf (604.5 KB)

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