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When you become too addicted to aftermarket straps... | Rate Topic |
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Posted: Wed Sep 15th, 2010 11:35 am |
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1st Post |
GX9901 3T WIS
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...you end up making some yourself. At least I did. LOL! I've been buying straps for my PAM312 like a madman. After reaching 9 new straps in a matter of 2 months, I decided that I'll make an attempt at a baseball glove strap since I've always wanted one but they don't come up for sale very often and when they do they're not always what I wanted. So I read up on strap making on the internet and gathered some tools I needed and an old glove and went to work. I first practiced on an old belt. It was very simple with minimal stitching. I don't even remember where the belt came from but I think it's probably some low grade leather. The finished strap looked OK so I proceeded to work on the old glove. Here's the result: This strap is probably too soft as both the glove and backing leather are really soft. But it is pretty comfortable to wear, and I was excited to be wearing something I actually made myself. I had actually used the glove as a kid in Taiwan (notice that it's made in Taiwan) 20 some years ago so there's some added sentimental value. After the first strap, I decided that I want to try more stitching around the strap, so I got a couple more tools and some remnant leather from a local leather shop and ended up with this: To be honest it turned out much better than I thought it would. For whatever reason the stitching was actually straight! I figured for my first try it would be pretty sloppy, but I guess when you got the right tools (in this case stitching hole puncher), it takes care of itself. So now that I gained some confidence, I went to the next project, another baseball glove strap made from a Kirby Puckett model glove I got from ebay. Puckett was my favorite baseball player growing up and I thought it would be cool to wear a strap with his signature on it. For this one I planned to stitch around the various baseball glove letterings. Here's the result: The stitching didn't look as tidy as the last strap, perhaps because I didn't take enough care punching holes straight, but I'm still pretty happy with the results. This one is stiffer than the first strap I made because I used a stiffer backing leather, but it may have been a little too thick overall. It does seem to wear fine on my wrist though: Anyway, it's been a lot of fun making these straps. The tools only cost about as much as a good custom strap, so I figure I'm ahead already since I have 3 new straps and a lot of fun making them. One thing I know is that I'll definitely be making more straps. They are fun little projects and it's pretty rewarding to be wearing a strap made by myself.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15th, 2010 02:57 pm |
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2nd Post |
Paladin 3T WIS
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Pretty Spiffy!
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Posted: Wed Sep 15th, 2010 05:09 pm |
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3rd Post |
Janner 3T WIS
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Well done, those straps look great.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15th, 2010 07:32 pm |
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4th Post |
bigrustypig 3T WIS
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I liked the 2nd one you made, GX. I think you can also blacken the edges to make them more...hip. Big Congrats!
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Posted: Thu Sep 16th, 2010 02:29 am |
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5th Post |
Graham 3T WIS
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Some really nice work there!
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Posted: Thu Sep 16th, 2010 11:28 am |
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6th Post |
GX9901 3T WIS
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Thanks guys! I know these are far from what the pros can do, but for me it's been very enjoyable and certainly gives me a new appreciation to the work done by good strap makers.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17th, 2010 05:24 am |
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7th Post |
ndburley 3T WIS
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Impressive, They are all good efforts and I would be proud if I had made them. Make some more....what other materials can you have a go at?...soft plastic floor tiles?...I would be turning the house upside down to use anything as an experiment.....maybe I will. Again brilliant!! If those are your first efforts you will be an expert in a month maybe
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Posted: Fri Sep 17th, 2010 06:58 pm |
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8th Post |
KenC Admin
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BRAVO!
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Posted: Mon Sep 20th, 2010 06:09 pm |
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9th Post |
blueradish 3T WIS
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Very nice. I like really thick straps, I have some that are 6-7mm. A good thick hand made strap really has presence on the wrist IMHO
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Posted: Tue Sep 21st, 2010 02:26 pm |
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10th Post |
stew77 Admin
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Very cool baseball straps GX!!!! Bravo!...I think they look great especially for your first attempt!! ...that PAM312 is no slouch either!!, and would probably look great strapped to bailing twine for that matter...gorgeous piece.
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