@jae, you are amazing! In the past few weeks I have been pretty productive and getting some projects I have been thinking about for a long time. But I still have a block in regards to leather. You have inspired me so much with these projects and I’d like to do something. Maybe I just haven’t found the right one. I could use a laptop bag though. Someday.
Thank you so much for the documentation.
Technically, I’m ‘not working’ when I’m posting in Made on a Glowforge, but…
If you haven’t already seen it, the team put together a really nifty guide to what settings do that you can find here: https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033633574-Working-With-Manual-Mode
The section on Vary Power covers working with gradients but there’s lots of other good ‘how that setting works’ stuff in there 
What I’m hearing is that @geek2nurse and I need to recruit you into the Dieselpunk Army. You might find Tony’s “Postman” bag to be just the intro product you’re looking for 
I swear I just looked at every single one of his bag patterns yesterday, and never saw that one. Argh! Decisions are HARD!
The good news is I won’t be back home for over a month yet, and I’m trying to resist buying any leather sides while I’m camped out in a hotel room, so I still have time to try to decide… 
Where are you holed up, away from home?
Right? I’ve been debating about a Postman or the Bicycle Bag for the last bit of this double shoulder. I’ve got about 20 inches by 25-ish inches of material to work with and I want that wrap-around body design (as opposed to a long center gusset like the Motoko bags.)
Every time I look at it though, while I like the simplicity of the body of those bags, I really don’t like fiddling with Sam Browne button studs for closures, and once I get into redesigning straps and closures I start to prod myself about just designing the whole bag from scratch… and then I’m back to Decisions are HARD!
I’m on a locum tenens assignment right up here in Glowforge’s back yard, in Tukwila, WA. 
Man, I love that Bicycle Bag. And the Ladies Bag…and the Witch Doctor Bag…and the Laptop Bag…and some deep dark masochistic part of me really wants to build the Explorer Bag, too… sigh
There’s a roll of leather that a kind soul in the office put my name on that I think deserves to be an Explorer Backpack…
I badly want to be able to say "I’ve made one of those! " Also, I value my sanity… and I’m afraid I wouldn’t use it enough to appreciate the work that went into making it.
On my own list of “someday…”
Man, I need coworkers like yours! Okay, mine keep people from hitting me, so I have no room to complain…but yeah, that would make a great Explorer backpack!
I surreptitiously took a photo of this leather bag in one of the airports on my way up here, which is probably what got me obsessing over them. It just looked so classy next to all the synthetic luggage everyone else was toting around!
I’ve done a few of both Tony See and Prince Armory patterns. They are fun and challenging. You did a GREAT job on your projects!
I recently ordered my own Glowforge, eagerly awaiting it’s arrival. I’m planning to use it for leatherworking ALOT.
So creative! Great job!
I’m thinking leather is one of the materials I want to focus on, but I’m looking for a “style” that suits me. I think the stitching is going to be an important area of style, for me.
I know. It’s like those people using X-Acto knives. I mean what’s up with razor sharp blades? Anyone can cut with those. It’s not like they’re using authentic tools like real leather workers use. You know, Flint napped blades and their teeth 
Should just acknowledge it’s factory made once you’re using unnatural tools since a factory made those super sharp stainless steel knives.
There is no better wire stripper than your teeth!
Flint knapped tools!? No, that’s a short cut. Remember Carl Sagan: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. Clearly, we need to get back to our workshops to start on our universe creation
What an incredible write-up. Thank you for taking the time to share oh, and I especially love the fancy bag and how that turned out.
Wow! Great progress. I think I still have some of those early stamps from middle school, which is the last time I made much of anything in leather. I love the idea of making your own stamp though.
I’m in a GF hiatus. Just moved my pro from New Jersey to Virginia. But no place yet to work. It’ll give me time to add to the scrap bin.
Great work!
Incredible craftsmanship!
