The Hand Tooled, Handmade Leather Purse

Many of the leather items that we make are often for family members and friends. I made and tooled this purse for my mother for Christmas 1998 when I was expanding my leathercraft hobby to include belts, purses and briefcases. The pattern came from an old Tandy Leather purse kit that I used to cut the leather and I found a pattern that I liked which I customized to fit this particular purse. I did what we call a Resist on the Flowers and Buds. A Resist is when you put a dressing like Super Sheen or Acrylic Resolene on a portion of the leather in order to Resist the color stain that you will use to give the purse its color character. After you have applied a couple of coats of Resistance and allowed to dry thoroughly, my recommendation is overnight, then you apply a generous portion of the stain to the leather and wipe it off to give the leather a fairly even color of the stain. You will also see the natural leather color coming through where you Resisted and the cuts will retain some of the stain which will show up as highlights for those cuts. All of which really adds to the character of the handmade leather purse. Note - Resist will only work with Stain and not Dye, dyes set in deep and will cover pretty much every part of the leather piece.

Mom has since passed and now my wife is using the purse with a few updates and modifications such as a new clasp, buckle on the strap to make it adjustable and our logo tag. The double loop lacing around the purse and the flap give evidence that this is a handmade leather purse. There is a little wear on the flap and the purse has developed a patina that gives it a unique leather look. This is a testament to how quality leather and leather craftsmanship can last for years and be handed down to the next generation.

Until next time, All the best.
Frank, the Leather Guy