Possibles bags

[Supercracker]

... bloodstains do not come out of leather.

:cursing: :redface: :cursing: :redface:

Hydrogen Peroxide. :thumbsup:

I think blood stains add character though.

 

[Big Lee]

A bag needs blood. Thats what makes it personal, wether its your bag or for someone else.

 

[david50]

here are a few i have made,most of these are double bags.

 

[Rodfac]

Great pics one and all...and some very original work as well. Taking your collective advice, I bought T C Albert's book, and used one of his patterns, modified it to my own taste, and built a bag. I'll post some pics when the boss comes home from a baby shower today. Overall, I'm happy the way it turned out, but need to make a 2nd one as this one is a bit on the small side. A good hunting bag, but won't do for a longer trek.

Spotted....11 stitches to the inch...wow...doing that through multiple layers of leather must be one heck of a test. The diamond awl I use for harness work and some holster/gun belts is way too big for that. Seven to the inch is about as fine as I can go.

Jock Scott...I used a pic of your bag from a different thread to modify Albert's pattern for my own effort. Beautiful work you've done there. I toyed with the idea of binding the top edge as you have done, but backed off for lack of thin, properly colored leather, and the technique involved. Great work there.

Cody, Spotted, Hanshi and David..many thanks for the pics...you've given me some ideas for further refinements in my next try. Good work...

Thanks to you all for the responses...Rod

 

[Rick Son]

One of the nicest things i own

 

[Rodfac]

Finally finished the bag. I used Mr. Albert's plans from his book, then modified them slightly to accommodate some ideas of my own. The leather is an oil finished type that I had here on the farm, weight about 4-5 oz...a bit on the heavy side for the size of the bag, especially when you turn it inside out, using Mr. Albert's technique. My next effort will probably use 2-3 oz. vegetable hide then a leather stain to add patina. I do like the gusset method and the welt; not too difficult if you tie off the welt at ten stitch intervals as Mr. Albert recommends; holding it in place while stitching at the horse.

The strap material came from a hand-woven piece picked up at Friendship during the recent shoot. The patch knife sports an antler from a yearling buck shot off our farm here in KY and the blade forged by the tomahawk guy there at Friendship (For the life of me, I can't remember his name). I did the 4-strand braid tying the powder measure to the bag using sewing thread from my leather working supplies.

The bag itself is gusseted, has a welt, and two pockets...one for the starter (self-made from another antler tip from the farm) and a small ball or patch pocket.

The bag's a bit on the small side for my taste (7"X8") overall, but will probably do for hunting. I'll make up another larger one later for general range use. Here are the pics. Thanks to all for the generous posting of pics which helped in the design...some came up on the site too late and I've got some ideas that I'll work into my next effort...replication is the sincerest form of flattery after all!

The camera angle in the 2nd last pic makes the bag appear smaller than it actually is!

The last picture is me at the stitching horse. It's the first time I've ever used one and what a difference...the plans came from Al Stohlman's excellent paperback on, "The Art of Hand Stitching Leather" from Tandy. I've had the book for 20 years, learned to work leather from its illustrations but never made up a stitching horse, in spite of over 30+ holsters, belts, and a lot of tack repair work I've done over the years. An easy project, about two hours to do the wood work, it turned out so nice and helpful to use, that I made up another, broke it down and shipped it off to #2 son serving this day in Kabul, Afghanistan to help with his off duty leather work. (Many of the special ops guys there use his leather rigs for their M9's.) He does leather work to keep his sanity when not flying the deep canyons and mountains there.

Guess that' about it...again thanks for all the suggestions. Best regards, Rod

 

[roger fisher]

Looks like a very well built bag. It will probly be in service long after you and I are gone ! I really like the gusset on the bottom, I've never seen one quite like it. As for the size, those great big "purses" that alot of people use are in my opinion too big. I think you will find the originals were generally quite small by todays standards. At least thats my understanding.. Nice work.

 

[David W.]

Very, very nice, indeed!

 

[David W.]

I'm looking to build a new possibles bag and would like some pics of your home built efforts...or professionally made ones for that matter too. Do you carry them on the right or left side and do you have any preference for internal pockets. Thanks in advance. Rod

Carry side is personal preference, no matter if one shoots left or right handed. The best thing to do is experiment and find out what fits "you" best. No one can answer this for you.

Some people like elaborate bags, some like them simple.

Here is a example of a simple bag:

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[MSW]

nice looking bag ... by the way, i really like the little knife ... gotta remember that design ...

for a finer awl (unless you want to enrich Tandy, although there's nothing wrong with that), you may want to go down to the hardware store...

not one of those ghastly 'big box' places with sodium vapor lighting and sales people who look like they belong in cocaine rehab, but a proper hardware store, with creaky wood flooring and ridiculously narrow isles, and a pressed tin ceiling, and loose screws in those little wooden drawers, and the little old lady who can tell by looking what's the pitch of the bolt you need, and if it's metric or SAE...

get a box of cut nails, usually used for masonry, and get them home and take a few out of the container... a bit of work with a grinding wheel, perhaps a short session to temper the end, and, viola, you have the business end of an awl which will make stitching as coarse or fine as you see fit. for the handle, i raid the woodpile for any suitable hardwood... you do have a woodpile, don't you?

:blah:

the best tools are the ones you maker yourself ... OK, that's the end of the tirade...

 

[Black Hand]

I use either a piece of harness needle or a length of music wire set in a wood or antler handle. The end is sharpened to a triangular point which will make a hole that doesn't close and it goes through far easier that a round awl.