I dunno where my obsession with small belt/hunters bags came from, but a good guess would be the great examples some of you coyotes was putting up on this board.
Not only is it a fertile field for upcoming hunting season, where Muzzleloading Hunters don’t want to carry a truckload of accoutrements, but it is also a good forum for discussing tools and re-making or re-purposing leather goods.
Get a load of this guy…
Found at the bottom of a box, this forgotten piece was probably something associated with toys or capguns, judging by the large Hopalong Cassidy Concho. Its drawback is that it is loaded with misplaced holes, sloppy seams and odd-ball dimensions. Probably somebodys grandsons saddle bag for a rocking horse…
Its assets are it is huge, has an enormous gusset and, if downsized and repurposed, has a lot of leather to work with. Moreover, wear and dye job fading have given this piece a great patina. It is wholesome enough to take apart without tearing or shredding. The plan is to downsize this into a hunters belt bag. My Master, Waldomir, taught me when I apprenticed that the Cobblers Guild was licensed to re-make a shoe by downsizing it, but forbidden to make new shoes by it’s parent guild of Cordwainers. Re-made shoes stocked pickle barrels in some general stores, and folks could outfit themselves cheaply….If the shoe fits, wear it.
Same idea here. The footprint of this bag can be downsized, and the gusset will make it a roomy little item. This guy will go into the woods rather than hang on a belt at a paper punching match. So let’s butcher it here in Part A. We will put it all together in Cobbler 12 Part B.
THE HOOK KNIFE. If you don’t have one of these, go get one. It increases the range of cutting you can do because it does not have a point that will wander and scar work. I trim soles with this all the time, you can trim excess welt off a bag whether or not you turn it inside out and, as seen here, it is adapted to undo a stitch line without slicing the leather.
When undoing your seam, the non-cutting hand is especially important. I like to pin the leather at the wrist and palm of my left hand while separating the seam with my index and thumb on one half and my middle finger on the other half. One stitch at a time.
THE WHADDYA CALL IT Not a project goes by without my using this bad boy and I STILL don’t know what it is called. Shown here undoing thread from a seam, it will also burnish edges on things like sheaths or axe head covers.
Downsizing a bag like this has to start with a vision of what the final product will become. Here, we’ll reduce both height and width of the pouch to go from what looks like a saddlebag to a smaller, more compact belt bag. The gusset forming the sides of the pouch will be tapered and trimmed on the sides of the pouch, so, for a belt bag, it’ll be plenty roomy.
CUTTERS. Sometimes you’ll spot a bag that includes rivets. The two piece, silver colored rivets often used today are almost exclusively a twentieth century product, so for this 18th century pouch they’ll have to go. Rather than hack away with a screwdriver or other tool to pry them off and scar the leather, some coaxing and a steady hand behind cutters like these will pop rivets like the one pinning the toy steer’s head concho. The buckle will go a little later
THE MOON KNIFEIN cutting off the top and flap of this pouch, I want to make sure the cut line is straight and true…even on both sides of the pouch and through the front and back in one shot. This is where a moon knife, with a steel ruler, works better than one of the straight ( clicking) knives. An awful lot of leather working professionals have used this knife down through the centuries. It’s got to be kept razor sharp to prevent the explosive slipping or wandering. It requires a steady, firm and tactile awareness to be effective. It pays to strop this bad boy before every use, taking nothing for granted.
Some saddle makers will use a hold that grasps the blade behind the edge and pushes the butt of the handle with the palm like this…
I was never a big fan of this only because I don’t work often enough over time to have developed a firmer hand. I have also seen some craftsmen use the knife like a draw knife, where very little use of the handle is practiced. I suspect this is also good for suicide…
When cutting along a ruler for a straight edge, I want a firm grasp of the handle and tend to make use of the curve in a slicing , steady push. My wrist and forearm are off the cutting surface.
Although a hold where the cut is made mostly with the point and the forearm resting on the cutting surface works well with curves, you need to be firm and deft with the other hand that is holding the work so you can pivot it and help the point make the turns in your cut…
Sometimes the front face of a pouch will have a top edge that dips gracefully toward the center for easier access. A moon knife is very handy for this type of cut because of the flowing, even nature of its cut; the edge will be shaped in one continuous motion.
To downsize or re-purpose a piece, the cuts are often a little awkward and demanding. The black lines on this torn apart piece show where the cuts are to be made. Next post will re-assemble the entire bag with a completely different set of tools.
Don't shoot yore eye out, kid,
Greg Geiger
The Capgun Kid
