1st attempt at a possibles bag

[mikemeteor]

well, made a flinter and horn, so I guess I had to make a bag.
Didn't really read anything, just went by looks off pictures on web.
My lack of reseearch shows too! :shake:

anyway, got some deerhide pretty cheap off an Ebay store, cut out some pieces and sewed it up.
Nothing fancy thats for sure.

It looked too new for my taste.
So I decided to melt some beeswax into it to antique it a little and help weatherize it.

Grated some beeswax onto it, then hit it with the heat gun.
You have about 5 seconds to smear it aound once the pieces turn to liquid - otherwise it just sank right into the leather where it was.

Also learned I had to form a little bowl for the area I was working on (2nd photo) - otherwise the heat gun just blew the wax pieces off the work area before they melted.
You can really see the difference in the leather once it gets wax melted into it.

If ya use the household cheese grater like I did - clean it up well, or you'll be hearing from She Who Must Be Obeyed.
I think a little beeswax is good for ya anyway. :wink:

I used that little piece of belt leather to smear it around - its pretty hot on a bare finger.
As they say, don't ask me how I know.

Anyway, I sorta like the bees-waxed look.
The finish is still uneven in that bottom pic, but I'm working on that.
I'm using Stumpys MooseSnot to work in around the spots that are hard to get wax to.
At first it looks greasy, but if you hit it with the heat gun, it goes right in the leather and evens things out.

Still gotta put on a strap and front flap toggle hold-down - bone and leather lace or something like that.

 

[bwhoffman]

Looks Good:thumbsup:

a little trick I learned, IF there is NO METAL present, is to nuke your bag, (ball board, item ect) in the microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds. warms it up and allows it to accept the bee's wax or mix pretty well.
Your new bag looks great!

 

[necchi]

Nice job! looks great, it's tough getting that buckskin through the machine though aint it? :wink:
I've used Snoseal on buckskin to get the right look, the paste settles in where you want it, and you can add more to certain areas to get the uneven/antique-ish look.
I know one local guy that sprays the leather with oven cleaner, then washes it off for a rapid antique look, I don't like the look myself because I think they bought items new and they broke in, not something that looks 100 years old.
But to his credit, he can't keep those bags on the trade blanket for more than a few hours!!

 

[ladysmithtrading]

Nothing wrong with that one!

 

[rabjr]

Looks pretty good to me. :thumbsup:

 

[BillinOregon]

MM: That's a great-looking bag. The stitching looks extremely even and fine. It's nice to see deer leather that isn't golden brown!

 

[Chilidog]

1st attempt? Mighty fine, be proud! :hatsoff:

 

[mikemeteor]

Thanks BillinOregon.

The stitiching looks good because I did it on my wife's expensive Pfaff machine! :shocked2:
At one point, near the end, the computer read-out on the machine gave a "main motor overload" warning - and the wifey said "THAT"S IT ! NO MORE!!" :nono:

So I guess I'm into hand-stitching anything from here on out.

 

[Len Graves]

The bag should be about as water proof as you could ask. someone beat me to suggesting snoseal. Snoseal is mainly bees wax with something to keep it soft for spreading. Even smells nice. probably you would have gotten the same result your way. I think snoseal is much easier. It is not very expensive. and I use it on a lot of things even canvas. I sometimes melt it in with a hair dryer. (Don't tell the Wife).

 

[LRB]

It looks exceptional. Great workmanship, but I would suggest if you build anymore, Make the flap overhang the sides about an inch. That keeps stuff from falling in, including rain.

 

[rich pierce]

Great stitching for a first timer. You seem to have a gift for making things.

 

[mikemeteor]

Thanks for the kind words.
This forum has been a great teaching tool for me.
Here's the inside of the bag.
Aside from the main compartment, I got a front pocket under the main flap, and an identical pocket on the inside (with ticking piece in it), that hides behind the loose flap that I rolled up for the pic.
In use, that flap rolls down smoothly into the main compartment and sort of "seals" and "conceals" the back pocket.

The technique for these gusseted pockets came directly from Swampy's pocket tutorial I got from this site.

I sewed a tuck in the top of the side panels to try and keep them pulled in under the flap (wife's idea), but you're right Wick, the buckskin is so soft they still flop out too much - good rain catchers!

Still haven't quite figured out how I'm gonna attach the strap. :hmm:

 

[MSW]

great looking bag, especially for a 'first try!'

 

[vthompson]

I think that your bag looks great and I think you did a great job for your first time.

 

[Trkdriver99]

If you melt the bees wax first and paint it on it does a lot eaiser and quicker. Then heat gun.

Good looking bag.

Ronnie