PDF template and STL File to 3D print this template: morleykert.com...
Believe it or not, my EDC wallet has been a bulky, storebought bifold made of fake leather for the past few years. As someone who regularly makes stuff out of leather, I had to upgrade!
I've had the idea for this "living hinge" canvas and leather wallet for some time. By using canvas for the majority of the structure, you end up with a super slim, low-profile wallet. I designed the wallet with four single card pockets, because 95% of the time, I only need four cards with me - my drivers license, credit card, debit card, and a transit card.
I designed the wallet in Fusion 360 by modelling a standard size card, and building the wallet out from there, taking into account how much exposed canvas I would want on the "living hinge". Finding the right balance was tricky - I didn't want too much canvas exposed, but needed enough so that the wallet would fully close. Luckily, I think I struck the perfect balance!
The leather pieces are made from 3-4 oz veg-tan leather. I found the cattle brand on a big side of leather, and thought it would be cool to feature this on one of the wallet backs. For the other side, I designed a leather stamp in Fusion 360, featuring just the hand outline from my logo.
I've been experimenting with 3D printed leather stamps, and have been really happy with the results. For this project, I dampened the leather and then hammered the stamp to get an impression. Since making this wallet, however, I've gotten great results with soaking the leather and forming and impression with clamping pressure. This forms a really crisp embossing, and is easier, more precise and more repeatable than the hammering method.
Since the canvas is a synthetic textile, I lightly ran my lighter over the cut edges to vaporize stray threads and melt the fibers into a more cohesive edge. This works pretty well, but the edges will still fray slightly over time. I may experiment with coating the edges in the future, but I personally don't mind the imperfect edge.
The leather edges are burnished with gum tragacanth, and the pieces are attached with contact cement, then saddle stitched together with white woven waxed thread.
I think this design has a lot of potential, and I'd really like to make more of these wallets! The 3D printed templates worked great, and this is a technique I'm definitely going to continue to use. While laser cutters seem to be the go-to for digitally fabricated templates, a laser cutter doesn't really make sense in my tiny apartment workshop. I was happy to see that this slightly more accessible digital fabrication tool can be an empowering addition to a leathercraft workshop.
Thanks for watching!
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STUFF I USED IN THIS VIDEO (affiliate links):
Edge Beveler: amzn.to/2OkEzZz
Edge Groover: amzn.to/3hkAUsu
Leather Dye: amzn.to/3jNYrDF
Carnauba Creme: amzn.to/2O709lb
Stitching chisels: amzn.to/2q7kkqs
Gum tragacanth: amzn.to/30LcCR7
Prusa i3 MK3S 3D Printer Kit: shop.prusa3d.c...
VIDEO/AUDIO EQUIPMENT (affiliate links):
Camera - Panasonic Lumix G85: amzn.to/2WJhYdk
On-Camera Microphone - Rode Videomicro: amzn.to/2WFGU5I
Voiceover Microphone - Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic: amzn.to/3dvrffV
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