This is an older project that I finished recently and I am pretty happy with how it has turned out so far.
Awhile ago I purchased a journal cover from etsy and after sticker shock I decided that this was something I should be able to do. I am not exactly a seasoned leather worker but I fancy myself a jack of all trades so I took a shot.
The project that inspired it was as I mentioned a journal cover but I made mine a cover for a 3 ring binder instead as I felt that this would have more utility in my day to day life.
I will say that this project taught me to check my ventilation carefully before every cut because the smell that came off of the laser cut leather was just… just terrible.
It is sooooo much worse. Much more of a sulphur smell, must be something about the chemicals used to process it. But I have actually been more happy with the leather stuff I have cut than pretty much any other medium. Seems to take the cuts cleaner and easier than anything else.
My advice is get a simple project kit, like a wallet or something, as the kits will often give you some of the basic tools and you can learn some of the basic skills on cheap leather before you laser cut anything so you can make all the newbie mistakes on cheap leather. You can also buy leather scrap off of amazon to practice things like stitching and such cheaply. I am still a newbie by any stretch when you look at my work but the kits I have done taught me a ton, which is good because good leather is expensive.
Cool! It’s giving me ideas about my various 3-ring binders. From your description, I wonder if the leather was other than veg-tanned which I understand lasers quite well. Some of our leather experts can chime in here, but my understanding is that veg-tanned works better, or maybe more reliably. Never heard that it had an awful smell, either.
I cant say if what was my favorite would be yours. I tend to find things that I will actually use when they are done preferable to otherwise. I can recommend tandy.
They have a wide collection of kits so I would recommend you pop into there and find something that you think you might use or appeals to you. Personally I never learned how to do the stamping and artistic side of leather work (since I just use my laser cutter) but the wallet kit I made taught me a lot about stitching up and joining leather.
Again I am not an expert by any means but I have jury rigged a number of things using skills I have learned in other crafts, which might not be wholly kocher to real leather workers but use you imagination and don’t find yourself getting stuck just because you think whatever you want to do isn’t done in leather working.
I’ve never lasered leather, but I’ve heard that both smell vile–after all, it’s burning flesh. I’d imagine chrome-tanned is worse, though, because of the chemicals.
Check out my other link to my SVG library and there is a bunch of Zelda images, including the ones I used here. I am also working on another binder that is more ornate and uses more cutting but I have run out of leather and funds at the moment. But I will post more pics when it is done!
Super appreciate the resource and looking forward to your next binder!