steveb leatherworks: the blather

When i worked for American Iron Magazine I had the pleasure of judging a few bikes shows. At least I went into it thinking it would be a pleasure. Winds up, that judging a show, and really doing it right – requires alot of work. To boot, a deep knowledge of VTwins and bike construction is required if you’re going to do things respectfully. In the […]

People talk about what makes a biker. Or more to the point they talk about what a biker isn’t. Most of this jaw-flappin’ is for the sake of divisiveness. People love to categorize, they like to exclude. they like to rate, they like to compare and contrast. We are all guilty of it… we draw the lines in the […]

seeing as how we are in a recession, depression, downturn, doldrums, lull, economic downturn and basic malaise. I thought in response I would test an “economy of verbiage”, as it is known i like to run my…keyboard. So here ya go, if this new format works for ya, let me know. it sures makes it […]

This just came in over the steveb worldwide international and domestic news wire.  TPJ Customs, supporter and friend of the steveb, leather network, has dominated a “judged class” (wtf class it is, I have no clue) at the Easyriders Show in Pomona. My boy Bryan just kills!!  Now, please excuse the handwritten nature of the documented proof of this win.I know it looks […]

Not much info here: The year 1942, these guys were  US sailors and they gave this pic to Mom. I’ve seen these 2 in other photos, so I am assuming they were best friends, and hung together.. thick as thieves… they are  kids really, but the story’s I bet they could have told

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4EH1Ny7_5s[/youtube]Read in Cyril’s blog today that Jerry Graves had died. What a shame – this was one young, talented and innovative bike builder that had a unique over the top wild style., a wild personal look and a fun super detailed flair.  All of the bikes that i saw that Graves built were wild…take this […]

Freewheel’d a skull over a cuppa joe recently No scrap goes-a-wastin’ in the shop 4″ square called out for attention Tough to freestyle with the swivel knife, it’s a fighter Fun stuff, i prevailed – crude, but then…perfect Feels good to turn scraps to trash   ha – in an effort to trim word count…should i write […]

ok – being a major force in the global quest to improve the design, class quotient and overall utility of  leather stuff like wallets, belts, sheaths and other things of huge importance, honestly, is a burden.  I’ve found that i just cant do it alone. No one I know is willing to come out into the shop and work with me. It is always some crap about […]

I’ve  been productive as hell  and here’s just one of the latest pieces to leave the shop. I am proud to introduce you to a very utilitarian piece o’ work – the steveb Front Pocket Jounal Cover. Amazing innovation it is – this front pocket. It allows you, the user, to put all kinds of stuff […]

Geez, where to begin with this set of classic shots from the family vault…..? I don’t have all the particulars, damn I wish I did – this is one of those instances where I grew up with these pics -they were of Mickey (mom) and Max (grandpa) during the days of their performing the “act”  during WWII – […]

Here is a little something to delight.  Let it be known, I am always looking for something to do with scrap. So in this never ending quest, I came upon an improvement of the traditional corrugated coffee cup cuff and got to use the unloved scraps of good stuff that I loathe to throw out. I like little […]

Time frame : early 90’s Duration: we were on the road for about a week Players: Pupkin, Paulie-boy, Gavin & me Bikes: 3 fxr’s and one softail. Destination : NYC to Virgina Beach Scenic Stops: H-D York PA, Assateague, Chincoteague, Ocean City, Skyline Drive, etc Memorable moments that have endured: scrapple in Front Royal, crabs in MD, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia Beach […]

Thinning out a piece of leather (skiving) is a common and important chore when making something that needs to blend, or blend. Leather is not one of those things you can just bend sharply and not expect it to crack, so you need to skive. I have a few blades that can skive, you’ve already met the Mighty […]

Recently received some pics of steveb gear in use…in this case it’s on the fire truck.. Fireman Beau was kind enough to send pics. This leather has been put to hard use. That’s the idea. If I could ask some of you slugs to please take some pictures (at work or not, c’mon be creative) […]

Digging back in the archives for this feature. Had a little celtic thing going here with this belt. Love the off kilter red dot center…. As I recall this was one belt of a set of 2, with the other one being the tried and true tribal flame belt design. 

Winter in NYC these days aint shit. Back in the day, a snowstorm shut it down Getting shut down was a pretty normal event growing up. Typical scene here. You can see my car buried in front of the house, while my old man’s had 4+ feet of snow on top of it drifting off […]

You believe in ghosts?  Well I do.  I grew up with them in the pictures that I saw as a kid, in the stories that I heard the adults in my family tell and now, in being the guardian of their memories. Ya see, in my heart of hearts, I am afraid that all of […]

I dye alot of belts and use an airbrush when browns, reds or any fade is called for. Great way to make a big mess.. using airbrushes and not having a spray booth or backstop. I needed a way to secure a belt in a spot that I could dye it. ..minimizing over spray, maximizing […]

As I have mentioned in posts past, making a set of leather goods is a kind of special affair, most folks buy one piece at a time, so getting the chance to do a few pieces for one person at one time is cool – i enjoy tying a belt and wallet together with a […]

Fortunate to have family members that live in fairytale film sets (see example below), I spent the Holiday here with part of my clan. Funny how being in a place like this puts you in the mood to eat vast quantities of rich food and burn plenty of wood. Of course, I would be remiss […]

Sitting here with a full stomach, visiting relatives on Xmas day with snow on the ground, it feels like the last time i was on a bike was a year ago. Looking at the shots on my camera, i must admit that this is not wholly true. Only 24 days ago Shank, Dan-o and me […]

For your Xmas consideration – another in the series of Journal covers I’ve been producing…presented here for your viewing pleasure is a real sweetie. This Journal came out nice. Deep and dramatic stamping really sets this Journal off the hey-now scale, you must feel it in your hand to appreciate just how good it feels – its that tactile point of difference i look […]

After nearly 20 years of faithful service my novelty jockey helmet needed a rebuild in a pretty big way. Back in the day, most any self respecting NYC biker wore a jockey helmet – this was most certainly a *club* style influence.  Growing up at ground zero in the moto scene, there was never really […]