HOW TO MAKE A LEATHER STRAP BY HAND
Handcrafted leather watch band is the ideal unique and versatile accessory you need to make the timepieces in your collection stand out if you're a watch or fashion fan. Our love for handmade leather served as the inspiration for building the brand name "Topleather" which makes and brings handmade items of high quality and durable. Our creations are made to match any outstanding timepiece and go with any mood or attire.
Our labor of love and care for leather goods goes into each Topleather's products. We take great pride in devoting all of our time and care to producing premium watch bands that are fully compatible with both your new and old timepieces. Besides that, we incessantly research and develop other products such as wallets, card holders, key tags, leather trays, and coasters,...
Are you curious about how to make a leather strap? Now, let's discover the process of making a leather watch strap. We'll walk you through each stage of production while talking about how to create watch bands that complement your personal style.
Watch Band Tools
The use of highly accurate instruments is an essential step in producing a recognizable and trustworthy product. We employ sophisticated precision equipment at every stage of the handcrafting process to guarantee the quality of the leather watch bands.
The Handmade Leather Watch Band Crafting Process
STEP 1 - Choosing the Leather
Selecting the material leather plays an important in making a leather watch strap. It determines the quality of the final product and has an impact on every other manufacturing process.
The finished product greatly depends on the quality of the materials used in the hand-crafting of the watch band, thus the time spent finding the best leather is time well spent.
Choosing the correct thickness, color, and texture for your watch band model comes after determining which leather to utilize.
STEP 2 – Trimming the Width
After selecting the ideal leather for your product, we construct a strip by cutting it through with a premium, well pointed skiving knife. Before each usage, the skiving knife is meticulously sharpened on a paddling knife strop.
The typical watch strap widths range from 18 to 24 millimeters. Precision tools are used to measure and cut out a leather strip that is the right width for the watch strap. To do this, the strip is measured for the distance between the watch lugs and cut accordingly.
The leather strip must be precisely cut in a straight line. Since it will subsequently go through the trimming by pattern process, it will be slightly broader than the required end width.
STEP 3 – Trimming the Length
The length of the leather strip needs to be cut for this step based on how long the watch band will be at the end. The maker takes into account the desired number of holes as well as the wrist size for which the strap is intended.
There are two sections on the leather watch band: one long and one short. The lengths of watchbands range from 120/70 mm to 145/90 mm. While the shorter piece is the fixed end, the longer section is the adjustable end.
The Topleather craftsman marks the leather strip and cuts it to size using a pattern after determining the desired length. Once more, cutting straight is crucial. Thus, meticulous attention to detail is necessary. The two overlapping layers won't line up when the strip is glued together if it is cut unevenly.
STEP 4 - Strap End Thinning
If your leather is thick, you have to strap end thinning. Because the leather strip will be folded, the strap ends and the folding points must be thinned. This is done with the help of the finely sharpened skiving knife.
STEP 5 – Applying the Glue
For the leather watch strap's longevity, this procedure is crucial. The craftsman must use great care and precision when applying the glue.
First, glue is put to each portion of the leather band that folds, and it is then evenly spread to the edges. This helps prevent the edges from fraying and any adhesive from dripping onto the leather strip. In order to secure the leather sides in place and guarantee the strap's endurance, our Topleather artisans utilize only the best varieties of cement glue.
STEP 6 – Clamping
Clamps are used to hold the leather strip in place while assisting the glue to cure and dry after it has been correctly applied to all of the leather strip's sides. Where the spring bars will be attached after the watch band is complete, a metal spindle is utilized to prevent the leather strip from folding.
STEP 7 – Trimming the Watch Strap According to the Pattern
Using a sharp cutter, the width & length of the leather watch strap is cut to match the pattern dimensions.
STEP 8 - Punching the Sewing Holes
STEP 9: Sew by Hand
Saddle stitching is a crucial step in the next stage of making a leather watch strap. By locking in each stitch, saddle stitching prevents the entire line of stitching from coming undone.
The Topleather craftsman sews the leather by hand using this highly time-honored and trustworthy method, utilizing only premium wax threads.
STEP 10: Punching the buckle holes
In conclusion, there are lots of methods and processes to make a leather trap. Depending on the design of the strap, the process is different. The above methods are basic, you can apply them for all types of leather.