Basic Leathercrafting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (How To Basics) Kindle Edition

This is an excellent beginner and intermediate book on leathercrafting. I only have one disagreement with one of the sections (see below).It is a glossy 8-1/2" x 11" book with very clear color photos of everything. I believe it is also available in a lay-flat spiral bound version. The topics covered includethe following:-Types of leather-Cutting leather-Tool, glues, lacing &thread-Dyes, finishes, waxes, conditioners-Laying out designs & using patterns for carving-Carving the design and stamping designs-Setting snaps and rivets-Stitching, sewing, lacing-Going through all the techniques again on two projects:-1. A fancy dyed belt with stamped design and silver conchos2. A fancy case for business cards with stamped design and stitchingA quibble: I do have have one disagreement with the book on the the section about using neatsfoot oil for un-dyed leather projects. Most leathercrafters rarely use it on new leather for several reasons.100% pure neatsfoot oil (not the lower-quality "neatsfoot oil compound") is best used only to restore dried out leather (which happens over time) so it is softer and more flexible. For new un-dyed leather, neatsfoot oil is not the best leather conditioner or preservative. The author shows dipping a nice un-dyed holster in a bucket of neatsfoot oil. On anything but very dry, thick leather, this can cause a limp, oily-looking, darkened leathercraft project. I have seen the appearance of some beautiful new leather projects ruined this way. And any adhesive bond or non-synthetic thread stitching you have on the item may come apart or loosen over time due to the absorbed neatsfoot oil.Today there are much better leather conditioners and preservatives that will allow un-dyed leather to stay much firmer than with neatsfoot oil and protect it from moisture and drying. (Many contain beeswax, which was a traditional leather preservative.) Search on Amazon for "leather conditioner" or "leather preservative" and read the reviews. Follow the instructions carefully. Only apply it lightly and try on a test scrap first to see the effect on color and any dye you have used. Keep any leather coatings off the stitching and away from any adhesive seams to not dissolve or loosen those. There are several good leather conditioners and preservatives from companies like Lexol.To read all about leather conditioners and preservatives you can see many info pages with a Net search on-leather + "neatsfoot oil" + beeswax + preservative + soften + conditionerSo in summary, a very qood leathercraft book with the one disagreement on using neatsfoot oil on your work.

Prior to reading this book my knowledge of leathercraft was just was I did as a Boy Scout - so basically non-existent.After reading this book I feel I'd be able to complete tasks with a better understanding of the processes used to create quality looking leather projects. This book really is composed of three parts:1) Tools - it gives a paragraph or two explanation of many of the tool you may need while dabbling in this hobby/art.2) Method - This section takes you somewhat step by step through the various ways to turn a piece of leather into a functional work of art. It includes guides on staining, dying, stitching, lacing, and most importantly tooling (adding design using stamps and custom patterns)3) Execution - This section puts part 1 & 2 into practice. It gives a step by step tutorial on building a card case, and a belt. The author did a great job on this section giving a brief overview of the step without fully repeating repeating the method, although referencing the page to visit if you need additional help.Overall this book is highly recommended by me. It's approximately 200 pages, but with the great illustrations and step by step guides you can easily finish this in an evening and truly get a nice beginners level knowledge on this craft. If you were like me, wanting to see all that was involved with this craft before buying the tools, you can't go wrong picking up this book first.For reference - I purchased the kindle version and read this on my iPad Mini. In the past I've had issues with reference books with lots of illustration not being formatted well enough to make the book usable as an ebook. This book was formatted exceptionally well and I have 0 regrets about buying the eBook vs the spiral or paperback.

I've had experience tooling leather, but not in a lot of years. Recently my son took up an interest in it, so I pulled out all my old books and tools. Then I got this book (Kindle edition). After going through it, it was a great refresher for me in exactly what it says- leather tooling basics. It's also a good book for someone just beginning like my son.It covers picking the right leather for your project. It describes the tools and gives a good run down of the essential tools for leather tooling. It also describes the various finishing products like oils, stains and waxes.Then the basic techniques, how to case (moisten) the leather correctly for tooling. How to stain, dye or paint your leather. How to set rivets and use some of the hardware available for leather workers. It also explains beveling the edges, how to neatly finish edges and make your finished projects water resistant. This is all done with a lot of photographs and good explanations that cover why as well how to use the techniques. Then there are a few simple projects that use those skills.I'm very happy with this book.

One of the first books I purchased and was happy with it at first but once you really start working with leather you realize how little information is given on each step.

Great book! I'm a total beginner looking to get into working with leather. This book walks you through necessary and popular tools, technique, and some projects. This book is filled with great photos to follow along with. I highly suggest this for any beginner leatherworker.

nice book for novices, I don't like that Amazon's Kindle forces you to share a review before you re read it

Everything I needed to begin leather crafting. I have purchased several book on introduction to leather crafting, but many of the other books tried to describe what this book shows. The photos in this book let me see what other books were trying to explain and now both books made sense. This is definitely the book for some one just starting in leather crafting.

Lots of pictures and walks you through step by step. Very useful.

I purchased this book plus The Leatherworking Handbook by Michael. I prefer Basic Leatherworking as all the pics are in color and show a lot of detail which is essential for a beginner like me. However, this book appears to be more basic whereas the Leatherworking Handbook seems to have more depth and detail. Neither is perfect. I will probably pick up the Al Stohlman books too.

L'ouvrage en lui-même est très bien fait : nombreuses photos grand format permettant de très bien voir chaque étape de réalisation. Le texte en anglais reste vraiment accessible (je me débrouille dans cette langue, mais guère plus). L'auteur détaille tous les outils et matériaux utiles et moins utiles puis il explicite toutes les étapes du repoussé, de la coloration, les montages simples. Une ceinture et une pochette sont réalisées avec des pas à pas très complets. C'est un bon livre, personne ne peut dire le contraire. Cependant, je m'attendais à des techniques un peu plus poussées (c'est subjectif bien sûr), j'aurais aimé aller plus loin dans les détails... Par ailleurs, j'ai trouvé que les réalisations étaient un peu "grossières", pas de réalisations très raffinées, quoique du bon travail sans nul doute. Bref : bien, mais je pense que l'on peut trouver la même chose sur Internet, notamment sur YouTube. J'hésite encore à le garder car c'est un peu trop basique pour moi... Cela dit, je pense qu'une personne qui veut aborder l'abc sera enchantée par cette acquisition.

J'allais mettre 5* lorsque j'ai constaté que l'article ne propose pas des patrons, seulement un pour le carnet de chèques et une partie de ceinture, et un petit patron de dessins. Dommage cela lui enlève un peu de l'intérêt de ce livre. Il est très bien conçu, avec plus de photos que de de texte. Il explique une très grande partie du travail du cuir, conception des modèles, repoussage , et montage des pièces avec les coutures et presque toutes les opérations pour la réalisation de chaque pièce. Avec des modèles très jolis, une bonne fabrication et montage de chaque partie de l'ouvrage. Un chapitre complet sur tous les outils et le matériel pour la confection de très belles réalisations dans du cuir brut. Le livre ne se suffit pas à lui même pour entreprendre le travail, car ils manquent les patrons de modèles proposés, tant pour la confection comme pour la décoration du cuir. TAndy leather propose des vidéos pour la confection des modèles en cuir et propose gratuitement des modèles à repousser, et vend en ligne, de sets complets pour fabriquer certains modèles, comme porte- clés, carnets de chèques , sacs et autres.D'autre livres sur le travail du cuir sont en vente chez Amazon.fr et .com Leatherwork: A Manual Of Techniques Leatherwork][[ASIN:0764160818 The Art and Craft of Leather ] Leatherwork Manual Leatherwork: 25 Practical Ideas For Hand-Crafted Leather Projects That Are Easy To Make At Home The Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques And Projects Leathercraft Leather Braiding Leathercraft for Beginners: With Easy-to-do Projects Leathercraft ToolsLeatherwork: A Manual Of TechniquesLeatherwork][[ASIN:0764160818 The Art and Craft of LeatherLeatherwork ManualLeatherwork: 25 Practical Ideas For Hand-Crafted Leather Projects That Are Easy To Make At HomeThe Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques And ProjectsLeathercraftLeather BraidingLeathercraft for Beginners: With Easy-to-do ProjectsLeathercraft Tools

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