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My interest in leathercraft was first aroused when I was stationed at March Field, Riverside, California. I was confined to the base hospital for nearly three months, following an operation, and to keep time from hanging too heavily on my hands, I attempted to make a billfold. My first efforts were a little crude, I confess, but after trying three or four more billfolds, I was able to turn out a snappy looking job. In fact, when I was finally discharged from the hospital, I was about $40 closer to my first million than I was before I was admitted. I made several cosmetic purses for the nurses and several billfolds and pocket secretaries for other patients and the ward boys.

Shortly after my release from the hospital Uncle Sam and I shook hands, fondly embraced, and said good-by. Talk about your happy moments—I can safely say that was my happiest.

WHEN I returned to my home at Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio, I was definitely determined to continue with my leatherworking hobby. But, alas, that is where I experienced my first letdown. I'm certain you are all aware of the difficulty one encountered during the war years when trying to purchase supplies and materials for any hobby. Leather was hard to find, as well as lacing, and as for leatherworking tools, well, it was like trying to find the impossible. I did, however, locate a skin of tooling calf (of questionable parentage), some goatskin lacing, and a few of the basic leathercraft tools. The tools that I couldn't buy, I made myself. I'm especially fond of the thonging chisels that I designed and made. These were machined from fine tool steel, oil hardened and precision ground. The largest chisel I made will make as many as sixteen slits at one time. Any leathercrafter, who has a few power tools available, if he prefers, can easily make his own mallets, eyelet setters, snap setting attachments, and metal templates.

For the first Christmas I was home, following my discharge from the army, I readily and inexpensively solved my gift buying problems and I sold enough leather articles to more than pay for the leather and equipment I had to buy. Now, as my reputation as a leatherworker has spread, I have been able to sell more and more every year.

Many persons who saw my work, wished they could learn something about leathercraft. That interest and an invitation from a new studio of handicrafts near my home to conduct leathercraft classes there, induced me to start teaching leatherworking as a profitable sideline to my already lucrative hobby of working with leather. I think I even prefer teaching others and selling leather, tools, supplies, and equipment to making and selling finished leather goods. There is a certain fascination and personal satisfaction in knowing that you have been instrumental in starting someone on the road to finding enjoyment in the pursuance of a hobby.

AT FIRST, I made only tooled leather articles, but as my interest in leathercraft increased, I purchased a set of carving tools, a leather carving instruction book, and taught myself to stamp and carve leather. My line of leather articles, which, incidentally, I call Hallcraft Leather Creations, now includes both tooled and carved billfolds, pocket secretaries, key cases, coin purses, belts, desk accessories, purses, and handbags. Just recently I added a form fitting moccasin, made from chrome-tanned horsehide to my list of leather goods, and they are proving to be quite popular. In fact, I make just about everything from leather with the exception of saddles, and someday I'm going to try to make a saddle. Ornate, hand-carved saddles have always fascinated me.

Even my wife, Geraldine, and our two sons are taking an active interest in my leatherworking hobby. She does practically all of the lacing and sewing. When I started to carve and stamp leather, she was so interested that she learned leather carving right along with me. She has three beautiful handbags to her credit. My oldest son, Charles, a boy of eight, had to have his own set of tools and scraps of leather so he could work right along with his daddy. He knows his leather, too. On one of my shopping trips to a leather supply store in Cleveland, the salesclerk was showing me samples of a leather shipment that he had just received. Charles was looking at the leather with an appraising eye, and when the salesclerk and I finished talking about the leather, he looked up at the salesclerk and seriously remarked, "Yes; this is pretty good calfskin. Now, let's see samples of your cowhide." My youngest son, Wayne Allen, at two, is just a little too young to be enthralled by leather, but I suppose it won't be too long before he'll want his own set of tools.

I experienced a little difficulty in trying to sell the first products of my efforts, partly because I possessed a slight inferiority complex and always hesitated to approach someone, saying, "Want to buy a handmade billfold?" Now, fortunately, I have overcome my inferiority complex and try to sell something made of leather to practically everyone with whom I come in contact. But as more people purchased leather goods from me, and they in turn passed the word around that I did leatherwork, I received more requests for custom-made leather creations.

My biggest thrill came when a traveling salesman friend of mine ordered an initialed billfold, and on one of his trips, out of state, a business acquaintance of his admired the billfold so much, he promptly ordered one just like it. Then, too, there was the time a husband ordered a carved handbag for his wife, and after seeing the handbag, ordered one for his daughter. I receive requests to make matched sets of billfolds and pocket secretaries for wedding parties, and one order I particularly enjoyed making was a matched set of carved knife sheaves for a collector of knives.

THE PRICES I charge for my leather creations are pretty close to the prices one pays for similar articles in a leather or luggage shop. I make periodical trips to downtown Cleveland to see what the better leather stores are featuring, and what they are charging for their leather articles. My billfolds sell for $5 to $12.50, and the pocket secretaries from $7.50 to $15. I charge from $25 to $45 for carved handbags. On special orders I charge according to the cost of the materials and the time spent on making the article. I've found out that by keeping my prices in line and not trying to make a fortune overnight, just because my products are handmade, I'll come out a lot farther ahead in the long run. By establishing a reputation for quality workmanship and not charging too high prices, you can greatly increase your chances for success.

Satisfied customers boost my sales. Believe me, when a customer is well satisfied with the workmanship and price, he or she doesn't hesitate to recommend your products. Of course, anyone who contemplates marketing the products of his home workshops and studios, should have his own printed letterheads, envelopes, and business cards. These are essential when writing to manufacturers and wholesalers. Last spring I had a window display of finished leather articles, leather, tools, and supplies in the window of the public library, and the company I worked for published a story of my hobby in its monthly house organ. This publicity did a world of good in advertising my products and classes.

Although leatherworking has provided me with a few extra dollars, I still consider it to be my hobby. I would like, however, to make it my regular and full-time occupation. As far as I'm concerned, I cannot think of any hobbies that are as satisfying as leathercraft. It's clean, relaxing, and can be profitable. At the present time I am working on a series of pre-cut leather projects that are completely different, and can be finished by anyone. I intend to market these through local hobby shops. Also, I have several leatherworking tools that I've designed, and found to be very useful to the leatherworker, that I would like to make and sell. In addition, I am preparing a leathercraft instruction book that would be particularly useful for those who would like to study leathercraft by correspondence. There are a lot of people so situated that they cannot possibly receive individual instructions in leather working, but would like to study the craft.

ONE OF the desirable features of having a hobby is that you never know where it's going to lead you. Having a hobby is like traveling on a highway that has many small, roads branching off into parts unknown. There are always new things to do, new ways to do them, and new results to be expected. To enjoy any hobby or craft, you must accumulate a thorough comprehension and knowledge of it. You just can't buy a book, read it hurriedly, construct a few of the projects, and call yourself an able craftsman. Only by constant reading, studying, and experimentation do you become adept in any field of endeavor. Buy, beg or borrow all the magazines, books and literature you possibly can relative to your hobby. Find out how the other fellow does things. Try his methods and try to improve them. Don't be afraid to experiment with new methods and procedures. It can be a lot of fun.

Leathercraft, as any hobby, can be made to be profitable only if businesslike methods are employed to achieve productive efficiency. Almost every hobbyist entertains the desire to earn a few extra dollars—dollars that can't be accumulated from his present business and occupational activities. And it has been definitely proved, through the increased activities of hobbyists and home craftsmen, that a hobby, if it can be made to be profitable, can provide you with not only pleasant and enjoyable leisure-time hours, but a few of those elusive greenbacks, as well.

In the course of my leatherworking activities I have found some shortcuts that might interest others. By employing these methods and shortcuts I have increased my production, cut the time spent on finishing an article considerably and my work has attained a more professional looking appearance. I have no monopoly on them, and if they can be of benefit to you, by all means, use them.

ONE OF the major factors involved in any hobby that is to be profitable is where to purchase supplies and materials at a reduced cost—and leathercraft is no exception. Try and locate some source of supply that will sell you your necessities at a discount. Saving a nickel or a dime on a square foot of leather, and even a penny or two on a yard of lacing can raise your margin of profit considerably. And, of course, the larger the quantities of any leather or lacing you can purchase, the lower the price will be. If it is at all possible, buy leather by the entire skin, or even several skins, and buy lacing in at least 100-yard quantities. When leather is purchased in small amounts, the cost is almost twice as much as it is when the whole skin is bought. I was fortunate in finding a supply house that would allow me a sizeable discount on all of my purchases. There are several reliable companies selling leather and lacing by mail almost at wholesale prices.

Another factor, of equal importance, is to employ semi-mass-production methods in your leatherworking. Of course, I don't mean that one should have complicated and expensive machines, but I do recommend that you employ little tricks and shortcuts that will reduce the time necessary to complete a leather article. Time is valuable, and any saving of time, naturally, increases your margin of profit.

For every leather article I make, with the exception of handbags and other large articles, I make a set of metal templates. These metal templates are extremely useful and save a lot of time when making a layout and cutting leather. My templates are made from either brass or steel, ¹/16 inch thick, depending, of course, on what type of metal I have available. Brass makes the ideal metal for templates as it is soft and can be cut and filed to size with relative ease. Templates made from cardboard or thin sheet tin are not too serviceable. Cardboard templates are easily ruined with a knife, and thin metal templates are apt to be dropped and twisted out of shape, rendering them practically useless.

You should have some system for marking and identifying each template. You can readily see that if you made templates for your several styles of billfolds, pocket secretaries, coin purses, etc., and put them all together, you would have quite a stack of templates and could easily be confused. I use numbering stamps, such as a machinist uses, and if space permits, I mark on each template just what it is, such as small pocket, large pocket, liner, etc. All templates for one particular project should be marked with the same identifying mark.

FOR PROJECTS that have snaps, eyelets, etc., I layout the correct position of the snap or eyelet on the template and drill a small hole, just large enough for a needle or scriber to be inserted. I place the template on the leather, cut around the template, and before removing the template from the leather, I make small marks with a needle on the leather through the small holes in the template. This way, I have the correct position of the snap or eyelet without having to use a ruler or compass to layout each piece separately. Using a template is an assurance that every piece will be cut exactly to size.

To cut gussets for carved shoulder bags, belt strips and handbag straps, I have an assortment of pieces of flat steel stock, of different widths. To round corners and cutting radii, I use circles of different diameters as templates. These may be cut from metal and turned true on a lathe.

I use single-edge razor blades to cut leather with the exception of heavy and thick leathers. Razor blades are inexpensive and possess a sharp cutting edge. Having clean-cut edges on any leather article, greatly adds to its appearance. When the razor blade dulls, I throw it away and use another one. This eliminates the necessity of always sharpening your knife. I cut eight-ounce cowhides with a razor blade with no apparent difficulty. Always make sure you cut clear through the leather before removing the template.

I make an inexpensive and efficient lacing needle from an old tin can. To make a needle such as I use, cut a square of metal, approximately 1½-inch square. Bend the metal double, and with tinner's snips, cut the extra metal away from the bend, leaving the needle about ¹/8 inch wide. Then file the edges smooth and round the tip. To insert the lacing in the needle, pry the needle apart with a knife, insert the lacing in the bend, squeeze the two sides together again with pliers, and tap lightly with a hammer. Any lacing extending from the edge of the needle can be trimmed away with a razor blade. For ³/32-inch lacing, the needle should be slightly wider than the lacing. This expands the slit slightly as the needle is passing through, making the project easier to lace.

TO MAKE the slits for lacing, I made thonging chisels that have from two to sixteen prongs. Not only does a chisel with more than three or four thongs reduce the time necessary for slitting, but the appearance of the finished article is further enhanced. Before beginning to make the slits, I make lines near the edges of the leather with a scriber, the distance I want the lacing from the edge. Using a thonging chisel with more than four teeth, I always put the first two teeth of the chisel into the last two slits made and then strike the chisel with a mallet. This insures evenly spaced slits.

Incidentally, one of the handiest tools I use is a scriber similar to the kind a machinist uses. An inexpensive scriber can be made by sticking a medium-sized needle into a short length of round doweling. I might also mention that I punch the slits before dampening the leather prior to tooling or carving. To some, this will appear contrary to popular practice, but I do this for a very definite reason. Leather, when tooled in a dampened condition, has a tendency to stretch, and as I lay out every project with a definite number of slits along each edge, this stretching of the leather would throw off my carefully planned layout. Every project should be carefully planned beforehand in order to get as an attractive finished article as you possibly can. Every craftsman, in any hobby, should attempt to make his products as neat and clean-cut as a machine-made article, but still possess the desirable qualities so apparent in any well constructed "made-by-hand" article.

Another one of my favorite time-saving methods, is that when I'm making more than one of a certain project, I do the same operation on each of the articles I'm making before going on to the next operation. In other words, if I were making six billfolds on one order, I would cut out all the necessary parts, punch all of the slits, tool the fronts, clean, wax, and polish each part before starting to lace. I find that I can make the six billfolds in a shorter time than I could if I completed one billfold at a time.

Methods like the ones I have just discussed can put your work on a semi-mass-production basis without taking any of the enjoyment out of working with leather. I have tried them all, and use them in my own work, and I'm certain other leathercrafters can put their leathercraft hobby on a profitable basis by using them.