Tandy Leather Card Case w/ Money Clip

I started dabbling in leather work within the last year, thinking it would be an easy hobby to get into and master.  I ended up buying the Deluxe Leathercraft Set from Tandy Leather.  Needless to say, the projects that I completed form the kit were less than satisfactory in their final outcome. But as I worked through the projects included in the kit, I did see my skills improve. I'm far from good at this stage, but am getting good enough where I am comfortable showing my poor skills. 

While at my parent's house over Christmas, my wife and I drove into the Tandy Leather store in Independence, MO and looked around for awhile.  I ended up buying a Card Case w/ Money Clip, while the wife selected a Roper Wallet Kit. 

This article details my attempt to complete the Card Case w/ Money Clip.

Card inserted in the Card Case kit

The instructions that were included in the kit can be seen at this link Card Case w/ Money Clip instructions.  The photo below shows almost everything that came included in the kits.  The parts included the front and back leather pieces of the wallet, two rivets, a metal money clip, needle and thread for sewing the two pieces together and a piece of cloth to cover the metal money clip on the inside of the wallet (not shown.)

Tandy Leather' Card Case with Money Clip kit

After procrastinating for almost a month to begin the project, the first thing I realized is that I didn't really care for the oak leaves or flower patterns that were supplied by with the kit.  So after thinking for awhile, I decided to try and put a trout on the wallet.  A Google image search for pictures of rainbow trout eventually led me to this photo which I doctored slightly in Photoshop and printed off. I do not have the means to color this fish on the leather so will be making a "black and white" interpretation." 

Rainbow trout image

After printing off the image, the next step was to trace the image on some tracing paper so that I could eventually scribe it onto the leather. 

Image with tracing paper.

I don't have the steadiest hand in the world, but traced it out fairly accurately,

Being a lefty probably has something to do with the margin of error. 

Completed tracing

The next step is to get the leather ready for tracing.  This step, in terms of the leather world, is called casing.  It's really rather simple.  You can some clean water and sponge, dampen it and then wet down the leather until it is damp, but not soaking wet.  This leather was very dry so I cased both the front (smooth leather side) and back (rough leather side.)

Preparing to case the fron

Completed casing the font

Completed casing the back

After casing, you want to wait awhile to allow the moisture to distribute evenly throughout the leather.  While I waited, I put the money clip onto the rear piece of leather. The steps are laid out well in the instructions. You slide the back of the clip (with holes) through the slit in the leather at the bottom of the wallet, line up the wholes and the attach the rivets. It's pretty simple, you just place the anvil (round metal disk) under the rivet, pop the top on the stud, and then hammer it down with the rivet setting tool (long cylindrical object below.)  A couple of good whacks with the hammer sets the rivets firmly into place. 

Tools needed to set the rivets.

The next step is to trace the image of the trout onto the front (smooth) side of the leather. I placed the leather piece on my granite worktop and then taped down the tracing image over that after centering the image on the leather.  Afterwards, they recommend that you use a fine-tipped stylus to trace out the pattern making sure you trace all the a lines. I havne't bought a stylus so used a tool that helps create fly fishing knots.  In the end, you'll end up with an outline of your pattern on the leather.

Ready to trace onto the leather.

Tracing completed, next step cutting out the pattern.

The next step in the process is to cut out the outline of your pattern using a swivel knife.  This is the area in leather stamping that I am the weakest.  I still find it difficult to follow the lines of the pattern.  All the information see on leather carving gives good advice, I guess I just need to practice some more. 

Carving out the pattern.

Still carving....

Even more carving.

After completing the carving, it's time for stamping the leather.  I only used three stamps for this design, a beveler, seeder and thin pear stamp.  the first tool that I used is a number Z-B701 beveling tool.  This tool is used to make the image stand out form the leather in 3D.  Then I used the seeder tool, Z-S706, to create the fish's eye.  Finally, I used the Z-A104 background tool (a thin pear shader) to create the impression o depth in the fishes mouth.  Finally, I used a simple awl to punch holes in the leather to create the appearance of spots on the fish's back. 

Hard to see since I'm a lefty

Learning how to use the beveler properly is something I've gotten better at, but still need to improve. 

Completed beveling

Close-up completed beveling

After completing the beveling,  I used the pear background shader on the fish's mouth and then used an awl to create the spots on the back.  I also used the swivel knife to carve lines in the fins.  I think I'll also carves light lines down the length of the fish to indicate where the colors in the body should be.

Completed except for color lines. 

Next, I had to give the leather upper time to dry out before stitching the two pieces together. Before stitching, I glued a piece of cloth (included in the kit) on the the rough side of the back leather piece to cover up the metal money clip.  This is to prevent the clip from scratching any cards you put in the wallet.



Finally, the stitching began.  I followed the instructions on how to complete the stitching.  As soon as it gets warmer, I'm going to build a stitching pony to help this part of the project.  I have all the materials, but no place to work that's warm.

The final step step was to apply some Eco Flo Super Sheen Leather Finish to give the wallet some protection.

I hope you enjoyed this.  I think I'm ready to start on some bigger leather projects, but need to put together a few more tools.