custom leather straps

[lowpassat]

just tried myself at making custom leather straps.

let me know what you think

[absoluteczech]

nice. saw your post on wus

[lowpassat]

thanks!

I think i found a new hobby now! lol

getting addicted fast to this :S

[OptimusGlen]

I've been thinking about getting into making leather goods, also as a hobby. Any direction sir? Your bands look great.

[malik71829]

I've been thinking about getting into making leather goods, also as a hobby. Any direction sir? Your bands look great.

I'd wear on on my panerai

[lowpassat]

long time i didn't make any updates!

it has really became a hobby and a passion now and i have done many since the first!

here are some of them! hope you like those

vintage look made out of new leather








black calf skin with bright orange stitching, super soft!







orange sea snake







tan vintage look with heavy teal stitching (again, made with new leather)








baseball straps made out of a vintage 1960 baseball glove


















wwII swiss ammunition pouch













another ammo pouch strap, made in a wwII soviet pouch








grey bullfrog







vintage look again









diamond stitches



black with white stitches



hope you enjoyed! i have many more coming too!

[yz1337]

Seriously, how can I get in on some of these?

[evosky]

these are some awesome straps man! do you have an online shop to browse at all? or do you just post on WUS ?

[Saabstory02]

Seriously, these are amazing!

[lowpassat]

you can always go like my fb page guys

www.facebook.com/bondtailoredstraps

i don't have much that are already done. i work by special orders so it's all customized to the customer's needs and taste

turn around time is between 1-2 weeks, depending on if i have the leather or if i have to order.

i'm waiting for black frog skin to go on a tissot t-race moto gp 2009, stitched with thick red thread and red liner for the back of the strap

can't wait to do it!!

[lowpassat]

just finished this new one!

smoke grey amazonian frog, thick red stitching and red suede backing!

installed on a watch just to show how it look

[malik71829]

nt

[Mr Roo]

For those not on Facebook, how do we get your info. I really want a baseball leather strap for a watch I have.

[lowpassat]

people can always contact me via pm


new ones!

first is premium tan latigo leather, thick and very soft! i love working this type of leather! so comfy!











and this one is ostrich hide (not legs, the texture is very different)



might do more tonight, i bought some new leather

[JohnEcanuck]

Nice work... I've been making my own straps for about 3-4 years now.

This one is cool... the hide upon which the watch/strap are sitting is the same hide the strap is made from. It's just got two years of patina.

[lowpassat]

nice one John! i like the color!

i did 2 new ones

one with teal/blue ostrich legs for my gf's nixon



and one with a vintage baseball glove for a friend's b&r




new ostrich legs too!

[JohnEcanuck]

I like the blue ostrich!

Here's a brown/burgundy gator I made about a year and a half ago:





And here's a blackgreen one I made this past spring:

[lowpassat]

pretty nice John!

is the croc one's cowhide embossed or real croc?

[JohnEcanuck]

pretty nice John!

is the croc one's cowhide embossed or real croc?

genuine gator AFAIK.

[lowpassat]

i need to try to do a gator/croc soon now lol

[JohnEcanuck]

i need to try to do a gator/croc soon now lol

I didn't do rolled edges because I figured it would be a total PITA to do by hand and with the limited tools I have.

BTW, are you hand stitching or with a machine? When I taught myself how to make straps, I made a crapload and gave a bunch away to friends to try out. Now I maybe make 1-2 a year. I had a lot of $$ invested in hide and it was sitting around so I sold them off to two of the bigger Panerai aftermarket strap makers around. Win win.

I find it difficult to find hides without having to invest a couple of hundred for waaaay more leather than I need. So when I find some scraps I can use, I'll make a strap. I was tempted to line the green strap above with red hide on the underside, but meh.... to christmasy. LOL

BTW, the gator strap I made is lined on the inside with tan snake skin. Also... you're in Montreal... I'm in Ottawa. Have we met at a paneristi or TZ GTG?

[lowpassat]

no, i never went to those gtg.

i understand what you mean by the cost of the materials. i might have about 1000$ or more worth in leather lying around lol! i buy it in small quantity, mostly 3-4 sq.feet.

i do all my stitching by hand too. longer but i prefer the result

[JohnEcanuck]

no, i never went to those gtg.

i understand what you mean by the cost of the materials. i might have about 1000$ or more worth in leather lying around lol! i buy it in small quantity, mostly 3-4 sq.feet.

i do all my stitching by hand too. longer but i prefer the result

Where do you get your small pieces of hide?

I'm essentially limited to Tandy (which is poor selection and expensive), ebay, if you can believe it (but not seeing before buying has issues), and there's a leather shop in Kemptville I can buy small scraps from, like maybe enough to make 1 strap, so it's hit and miss, but very cheap. But I made my dad a strap out of his old daytimer cover and I made a friend a strap from his old briefcase.

[Aonarch]

[impact]

Your work has inspired me. Now I am wondering if it would be possible to make a custom watch strap from a bike tire (kinda like those bike tire belts you can sometimes see for sale on the web - http://www.etsy.com/shop/julienjabor...ion_id=5254209 ). Not sure how to make the locking mechanism.

I'm thinking an old mtb tire and a g-shock would go well together.

[99blackmagic]

These are some incredible pieces. I don't have anything worth putting them on, but i think it would be fun to make them.

I'm always looking for new ways to invest way more money into a hobby than just buying something outright.

Can you drop some tips as to where to start, for a newb? What sorts of tools are needed? Books?

[eurotekms]

You bastards may have just forced me into adopting another hobby


Seriously though, any tips for someone that wants to get into this?
Good instructional vids? Good resources for the resources?

Many thanks.

[In 4 Bagels, Left Hungry]

These are some incredible pieces. I don't have anything worth putting them on, but i think it would be fun to make them.

I'm always looking for new ways to invest way more money into a hobby than just buying something outright.

Can you drop some tips as to where to start, for a newb? What sorts of tools are needed? Books?

I'm curious as well.

[lowpassat]

best thing i can say is watch the video on youtube of daluca strap. you will learn all the basic from there.

in all, it cost me over 600$ and counting just in tools. i'm not talking about the leather yet. i stock for over 2k$ just in hides and exotics

[val@illicitvw]

Thanks to Jonathan for a nice strap he made for me. Attached are a few shots ive taken.
Follow here to see some shots http://min.us/mbyRcR5ESIfYb9

[Hostile]

lowpassat, what do you think you can do for my Oris? The odd 11mm lug width is making it tricky to find any online.

I found some pics at WUS where someone made a combat strap so it seems doable.



If you think you can make something that works hit me up on PM.

Thanks!

[mtbscoTT]

I have seen one ready made strap for the Oris "integrated lugs" advertised on Timezone and Watchnet sales forums, but can't remember whom. You might peruse those.
Otherwise I'm quite sure lowpassat could make you something using the rubber strap as template.


Edit, found the link to TZ seller: http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=6440351&rid=0

[Hostile]

Thanks for the info and link Scott!

[lowpassat]

everything is possible!

as Scott said, i would need the rubber strap in order to make the first.

i will make a template and won't need any strap after that!

i sent you a pm

[ceese]

everything is possible!

as Scott said, i would need the rubber strap in order to make the first.

i will make a template and won't need any strap after that!

i sent you a pm

Nice looking straps.