Wet-formed bullhide sporran

[Joshua]

Hey guys,
I've been working on an experiment, to make a MOD styled sporran completely out of bullhide, wet-forming (pinning in place with clothespins) the corners for rolled edges around the seams.

Mostly out of necessity, as the only "thin" leather that I have/can afford is upholstery leather which I thought was a good idea at the time, however now have unanimously declared "it looks like ***". Trying to match color match the cheap upholstery leather with fiebings "light brown" has been a nightmare, so I've decided to save the upholstery leather for fur-faced sporrans or any application where the leather won't be seen.

Also, I've wanted a simple MOD styled sporran for quite some time, and I thought using thick tooling bullhide would make the "tank" equivalent of a sporran... bombproof.

I'm about 1/2th of the way through stitching the side panels to the front, and the stitches look good (saddle stitched through awl-punched holes).

Is there any major structural problem with using thick bullhide? I'm kinda seeing where some potential for extra stress on the stitching can come in as the leather dries and tries to pull away.

[artificer]

Depending on how thick you are going, wet forming would indeed produce a side panel. I would hesitate to call it a gusset at that point, as it's going to be pretty solid.

I guess you are going to have to balance thickness/thinness vs durability and weight.

You might have some "hand access" issues as well if you don't make the side panel deep enough (front to back). A more flexible leather will shift side to side and forward/back to accommodate a fairly large hand.

Matching leathers to dyes can be very time consuming and frustrating, if you plan to continue it, I'd recommend going to Fiebings oil dyes if you are currently using spirit dyes. They are more forgiving with less blotchy absorption/streaking issues. They also won't dry out a leather like the spirit dyes do.

Make sure to post pix when you're finished.

ith:

[Tobus]

Is there any major structural problem with using thick bullhide? I'm kinda seeing where some potential for extra stress on the stitching can come in as the leather dries and tries to pull away.

In a word, no. If you're using heavier leather (say, 8-ounce or thicker), with the appropriate size thread, I doubt you'll ever have to worry about anything. Just make sure you do a good 3-4 back-stitches at the end of your stitching.

After you wet-form and let it dry completely, dye it, then oil it to soften it back up, and let it sit a couple of days before putting on a finish. And don't be afraid to oil it regularly later if you notice the leather getting stiff. Since sporrans are low-stress pieces (compared to other items that people usually make from this weight of leather), you should never have any problems. I'll bet the stitching lasts longer than the leather, if it's done right.

[AKScott]

No trouble with 6-8oz bullhide. I built mine in vegetable tan, finish is Lexol conditioner only, but lots of it.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...utility-64887/

I have actually gotten to like this sporran in the fullness of time, I'll likely bump the thread in a few days with fresh pictures.