Hi Folks,
I just wrapped up my 6th leather project, an 8”x 8” Appalachian shooting/hunting bag. This bag’s inspiration came from Bob Hill and Jim Webb, hence the title.
Bob recently gave me a big piece of pigskin, with the offer, “See what you can make out of this.” That got the wheels spinning while I was finishing up the last bag. Bob makes some really fine bags, so that set a high bar for this gift leather.
Jim Webb makes delightful, intricate bags, and I want to take home some of his creative work every time I see him. Jim is extremely patient and generous with his time and knowledge, and has endured many questions from me. The idea here was to try to create something along the lines of Jim’s bags, realizing I possess but a small fraction of his talent.
The bag here is made from Bob’s pigskin, with a suede calfskin lining. The rolled edging is deerskin, and Jim showed me how it is done. The strap is cowhide, made in three sections. I tried out various decorative two-color stitching methods on this one, including a “rope” design under the bag front opening.
The strap is hung from a gusset on each side. That took some thinking to get all of the stitching right. There seemed to be miles of hand stitching in this bag before I was done. The tabs behind the buckles are for attaching horn hangers (learned from Jim).
The pigskin is waxed finished, with the feel of oilcloth.
The iron buckles are from an antique mule bridle. Ron Hess found this bridle in an antique shop, and with great generosity sent me the buckles. After soaking in lye, wire brushing, and finishing, I think they work well on this bag. Thank you Ron!
I think the key take away here is friendship. I’ll will always view this one with thoughts of great friends.
God Bless, Marc
