steveb’s leatherworks

At steveb worldwide global llc inc co. we pride ourselves on unleashing a veritable torrent of innovation on our unsuspecting friends, neighbors and yes - our customers. Here at the training centre (notice the affected  “e”) we like to think of it as cruel and unusual..but really it is neither. It is actually a positive and good thing. We even care about the environment, when (as with any global, leveraged mega enterprise…or Wall Street) it is in alignment with our own self-serving goals.

So being the CEO of our global enterprise, it falls to me to lead my staff of faithful workers to business nirvana. It is a tough job, but i have my minions of no-nothings and rump-kissing support staff to help me carry the increasingly heavy mantel of leadership. Don’t laugh - this isnt small stuff ya know….anyway…

The R&D team and i were kicking around some ideas and happened upon this one. The idea driving this unreal innovation in “wallet-ry” is to reduce the wallets carbon foot print, by eliminating the (brass or stainless) traditional “steveb lobster claw clasp”. By eliminating this single piece of metal, it has been quantitatively proven that we’ve saved 10 icebergs and avoided putting 3kilotongrams of carbon in our environment. Cool Stuff, I think you’d agree. I think that they put our carbon in some Mongol pencils, try the #2’s….

So with that little Jeopardy-worthy factoid in the books, the Customer Service and Satisfaction team decided to add this little accessory (at no additional cost mind you - how wack!!)  to every wallet that leaves the Secret Location. Adds more work and effort to the production of these cutting edge products, but innovation is a necessity and you - our valued customers deserve nothing less. Don’t forget about the carbon thing either…we do well by doing good - ya mon.

And hey…hey, before you go-> get yer order in, like NOW - if you expect it by Xmas, that’s all I got to say about that!!

Excuse the slight roughness and lack of snarky finish of this particular piece, it is mine, and it is a prototype (and as such, a bit rough). You guys get the good stuff…..

A week or so ago three of us busted out for a quick ride up to squirrel country and had a chance to view the last of Fall’s optimists in action. Going to get down in the low 30’s tonight and i think these idyllic 2008 moments will be rare from here on out.  In answer, and to “celebrate” this change of  clime, I put the Shiny Penny on the charger.  Bummer.  Need to find a sheet to throw over it (and I know not to take one of the “good” ones out of the closet).  Probably should give it a righteous bath too…This time of year ya never know when your next ride is going to be, so you make the most of every opportunity that presents itself.

Utility..let me ponder Utility - one of the key guiding principles behind the design of my work. Stuff has to work well first and foremost. You wont find leaherwork that is uncomfortable or unusable coming from my shop, no sir, sacrificing style for utility or comfort aint gonna happen. You might need to break a piece in, but I offer for your consideration - that that be considered an investment

My specialty is making utilitarian stuff look cool.

You can go to other guys for the 10lb wallets with 2inches of “exotic” inlay, giant silver skull-i-tacious key chains, and silver cross dingdongs. I tried carrying that crap on my person years ago, and simply don’t find it realistic. The key chains ding your paint and pull the keys out of your ignition, they pull at your belt loop, suck to carry in a back pocket, act like a rasp on your butt-ox and are a little too “show-boaty” for my East Coast sensibilities and graying hair.

This aint LA and I don’t live in Hollywood - I am in and out of subways, buses, cars, trains, on bikes, walking - I am on the go, and need my stuff to be tight to my person, not stoopit flashy or jangly. In my opinion Leatherwork must be durable and reflect that the person who designed the damn piece actually used it, wore it, tried it on and took the time to make the tweaks to make it better.

This iPhone/iPod earbud case came out of the ongoing hassling/wrestling with the damn phones cord. The blue-tooth headsets just don’t work for me nearly as well as these old-school earbuds, so I’d stuff the cord in my pocket and when i needed them, I’d pull out this tangled mess of shite.

A little thinking muscle applied to the challenge resulted in this bit o’ design. Scrap leather, one snap, one copper rivet - not bad, eh?  Carry’s really easy, is easy as pie to load and access the cord. I’d say problem solved for now, although refinements will be in the future..no doubt!

I digress from leather work and motorcycles for a day to pay props to my pal - Paco. More dog that cat as those that have met him will attest, Paco is one of our cats, and he is my buddy.

Mr. Fancy Fur (he is a full blooded Russian Blue it turns out) was found in a dumpster, he’s been with us for a few years and cracks me up with his antics. No matter the mood of the day, Paco is good to go.

the latest and greatest from Nov.08

check it out on Photobucket <click on the above link>

check it out on YouTube

check it out on YouTube <click on the above link>

I began taking orders for tool-bags again. Figured it was time. I got alot of requests and dont want to turn away the work. I make these bags out of such heavy leather, that it is a fight putting ‘em together.I never break sewing needles and with this latest bag, i broke two, this stuff is iron!!  Makes for a durable and beautiful bag, but man, my ass just gets kicked by the material and what I am asking it to do (demanding it do, is more like it).  Bag Rassler is my Swedish name. I understand why people don’t make things out of heavy material now…it is work.

Part of the joy of putting these bags together  requires I punch slots in heavy 10oz waxy latigo leather. This is a bitch to do by hand, plain and simple. No finesse here, punchin slots just requires a firm grip, a strong swing and an accurate eye. There is simply no way I can punch through two 10oz layers (the bag and the “backing plate”) necessitating that I punch through the back plate part first, before i attach it to the bag with glue, sewing and rivets…

Growing up in NYC, I have a pretty good idea of what pizza is about. You’ve no doubt read my scintillating review and dissertation on New Park Pizza in Howard Beach Queens previously and i will continue the story line here.

When i moved to New England some years ago, the pizza situation was pretty bad…greasy, limp, too saucy or cheezy..it was vile stuff. in expressing my opinion on the “state of the pizza’ one day I was told to 1) stop compaining and 2) to try this place in New Haven called Pepe’s…because it was “the best”. Ahem, yea right…i know better than to trust my friends “the locals”.

So one weekend me and the Boss found our way to Pepe’s original location in New Haven and waited outside in a line for 30min (I have a thing about waiting….I dont) and i was good, i was patient due in large part to the Boss’s directive to “be good”. So we got in, ordered our pizza and 20min or so later we got our pie.

The pie was HUGE and was crisp to the point of being burnt, was really thin and very different to what i traditionally considered “killer pizza”. So we dug in and i liked it, good taste, the burnt crust thing was kind of weird but thats what ya get with a brick oven pizza I learned..ya see at home, we never had brick oven pizza, we had steel and gas oven pizza…the best of bourgeois.

About 5 years ago Pepe’s opened a 2nd location (and have since added a 3rd) close by the secret location, making access much simpler. Me & Freddy wandered up a few days ago to feast…and dug in so quick i never got a pic of the pie before we kilt it!

East Coast Rules!!!

Belts… might seem a little weird, but i invite you to meditate on the true nature of a belt with me. Sometimes in steveb land, we like to dig into the mundane and peel back a layer for contemplation, not that a belt is mundane, mind you. A  belt can be as simple as a rope with a knot, a plain strap of material with some way to tie it off at a given length. It need not be rocket science. If that’s the way you see a belt (plain utility) you aren’t going to be a customer of mine.

I like to complicate shit. A personal quirk i guess..i love to dig into and explore the little details. I see a belt as an opportunity to show some low key, not-too-flashy-smart-style. I see this as a way for a person who shares my sense of style to stand apart with a necessary utilitarian accessory - a killer belt, a one-off,  something made just for them, with their input. 

In a time when our heroes are politicians who promise the world, finding someone to actually make you something personal, for you alone, that you’ll use everyday, for years and years is rocket science…  How many people do you know that can take some raw dead, crap and make something beautiful and useful from it? In my estimation the people that can accomplish that, should be our heros. We’d all be better off if they were. It is one of the reasons I love being near the bike business… making stuff is great, making stuff that has class and moves you along at 60mph is super great, putting a smile on your customers faces is also great…and that sorta, kind of leads me to the point of this story, before i went off on this rambling, half-a-rat-rant…Lisa’s Scrapper belt.

So as it turns out, Lisa is Kirk Taylor’s wife, Kirk being Kirk Taylor of Custom Design Studios fame - the bike builder/painter/fabricator/stylist of great talent and renown. I met Kirk some many moons ago, at a Custom Chrome shindig in Morgan Hill, Cali through my friend Johnny Chop (RIP).  A small group of us went to what passed for a topless joint in that neck of the woods…imagine my surprise when the girls simply parade around in bikini’s!! LOL Guess they aren’t allowed to go topless in this area, so needless to say I was a total dick and tortured Chop about that for years…”you Cali rookies cant even find a decent boob bar for a few beers…ha!” I’ll say it again, East Coast Rules!!  Jesus, let me get to the point..anyway - Lisa saw my Scrapper this summer in Sturgis and said “i want one”. This is a lady who gets what she wants!

where was I?  Yea, the belt - so I designed this belt I call the Scrapper - basically made from half pieces and scraps from belts made previously. Constructed from three distinct pieces, it allows some really different decorative treatments. I made myself one of these belts, dressed it up with two domed penny conchos i made with a dapping block from pennies from my birth years and happened upon a winning formula - the Scrapper - a high contrast, classy “sumpin different” production. This is what i mean by making stuff complicated, this is as far as you can get from a plain strap, insofar as decorative aesthetic. Yea right. Lots of sewing, pieces, skiving - really a big pain in the ass to make, but i love the look - hope you do  too!

Quick joke:
Ever hear of the dreaded Amish flu?
First you get a little hoarse.
Then you get a little buggy. 

nyuk

Amazing isnt it - with an empty town and sleepy Main Street, some numb nut has to part 6 inches from my ride. What is up with people?  The passenger of this car had to get out the drivers door after they saw me looking incredulously out the front window. Wanna bet this would have ended up with a dinged saddlebag had I not looked?

what happened to Fall?

Got this from Jason, an operative of the steveb worldwide network, and proprietor of IronThread, a high quality embroidery and design company.

http://www.ironthread.com

The pic speaks for itself.
Fall is fracked, winter is the new kid in town and Vermont is one beautiful place to call home.

Had the treat of making a two-piece set for one of my business associates, specifically, the gentleman who silk screened my most recent t-shirt. Sean, of Otherworld Graphics let me go to town with this set - dealers choice totally - how cool is that, I ask? Well, personally I think it is pretty damn cool to be let loose like that. So in turn this wallet is a bit more off the hook than usual. Complicated meander stamping, funky basket weave pattern with a border treatment turns this into a wearable piece of art. The colors came out great also - with three shades of brown. This wallet will wear great over time. The interior has a pretty wild colored fade interior, another trademark of mine.

The matching belt has a larger meander running down the center and has a more mottled coloration, giving it alot of character. Top both pieces off with some brass hardware and you’ve got one heck of a nice set of personal leather goods to enjoy every day. I know Sean will enjoy and  wear his new goods, based on the call he gave me when he got the box.

As usual, you can get tons of detail from the pics below. I don’t hide a thing, never have, never will. As a matter of fact, who shows close-ups of their work as consistently as yours truly?  No one, that’s who. I can tell you that with complete assuredness. Dig in kiddies, this set came out nice!  Contact me to make one for you!

Well, if she was still with us, she’d have been 81 today - but that isn’t the case as she passed on in 1996. I dont even know where to begin describing her as a person, as a Mom and as a friend. The pics speak in very small part to the rich palette of experiences she enjoyed in her life.

Here’s to you Mom *clink*!!

Handy tools to have for a leather crafter include ones for skiving - as way of an explanation and as I have relayed before, “skiving” is the thinning of a thickness of leather. Many tools skive and are made for this purpose, and I will touch lightly upon two here… you’ve already heard me tell of the fearsome splitter.

Favorite tool of mine appropriated (but not designed) for this purpose is the razor blade plane, the Little Giant being a go-to unit. Date of birth undetermined, the Little Giant takes double sided safety razor blades. Being the frugal sort and using a fresh blade every-time I use the tool, I buy my blades on the cheap, usually of Indian manufacture. Use them once and chuck ‘em.

Another good tool for skiving includes this unit from Blanchard, a French company. Sharp as hell, this blade is a heck of alot tougher to use, requiring a firm purposeful hand controlling it. With both of these tools, it is exceedingly easy to ruin your material as both tools want to dive into the leather once they gain purchase and “bite” into the material. These are good tools to respect and keep sharp. Amazing how dangerous a dulled blade is, and so, it is good idea to leave the strop out and give your tool a hit every time you use ‘em.

I’ve had a Full Dresser in my life since 1996. Since i travel great distances on this most revered of models - the FL series, I need to be prepared for most any contingency. On a motorcycle, weather is the greatest threat to safety and fun for the most part, motorists in cages notwithstanding. Preparation for “who knows what” includes a good rain suit (I could write a dissertation on this subject), warm dress and these tough guys - soft lowers.

Soft lowers are easy on, easy off, takes 2 seconds a side - they buckle on with Delrin buckles, easily adjusted in those rare instances, with handy velcro straps and are made of tough as nails Cordura. They take the spray off your legs and boots in the rain, and in the cold, they save your legs from a direct blast of icy frigid-ness. I can say without a doubt  that this is probably the best accessory H-D sells for the Touring rider. I dont know where i got them, or when, but they’ve been stuffed in my saddlebag for years and years, have taken a beating and still look new - and even fit from Big Blue to the Shiny Penny - probably the only part in existence that would fit both models equally well.

I had these on the bike that 40deg morning when i took out the Worlds Dumbest Grouse, and thought i had washed all of Mr.Grouse off the lowers, that were gore covered. I am not a very good cleaner. These tough units took the brunt of Mr. Grouse’s impact without a whimper! Thumbs up to the MoCo for putting out a good one with these units.

Black kind of sucks for the leather crafter. Dying a piece black kind of guarantees that alot of the detail put into a piece gets lost. Not the first time I’ve said this. So if I produce a piece in black, i try and “texture it up”, with a dramatic stamping pattern - while trying to keep it simple to the eye. Alot of the quality of a stamped image lies in preparing the leather correctly to accept the impression (wetting agents, lotions, potions and rituals), using a great tool, that is the right scale/size for the piece with a clear sharp “cut” to it and a good mallet/maul -wielded with the knowledge of how to swing it. Laying out the design is a whole black art that looks much easier than it is.

This basket weave pattern for this belt looks clear and crisp, the pattern that runs along the edge pulls it all together. My basket weave stamps are from Elko, NV, handmade and, as with most anything worth  a damn.. expensive. Comparing the impression of this basket weave stamps impression to a store brought, Tandy stamp is laughable - these are so much deeper, crisper and dramatic - keeping my basket weave work from looking like a cheap embossed  Sam Browne ranger gun belt rig for a Mountie. Take a look at the Fin wallet from 4 years ago. That was a state of the art stamp for the day. My newer stamps are much sharper and will punch through leather pretty easily, so care is required… but they also look the shit!

For this belt, the white stitching gives it that little bit of zing, bling…what have you. Nice black belt for those special times your wearing jeans and hobnobbing at the polo match with the VanDickel-Dyke’s …know what I am saying?