# Making A Strap



## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

I've got a couple of days off, and just had a watch delivered that needs a strap, so thought I'd make one, and post a "straps made the Toshi way" tutorial at the same time







. OK, so I have some leather and some tools now, so letâ€™s get to work!










Iâ€™m planning on making a strap for my Eterna Kontiki Super, so Iâ€™m going 20mm wide, and because I have big (very manly







) wrists I want the strap to be 85mm/145mm long. The leather Iâ€™ve got is 1.5mm thick, and I was thinking to use 3 thicknesses, but I think with a 20mm strap 3mm is thick enough â€" so double thickness it is.

Cutting the strap. Most important point here is to make sure you are cutting from a straight edge, so I start by making one side of the leather true â€" using a metal rule and a Stanley knife. Once thatâ€™s done I set the strap cutter to 20mm and cut a length.

Now I have a length of leather thatâ€™s 20mm wide. Knowing that I want the finished strap to be 85/145mm double thickness I cut two lengths â€"

The first (for the shorter end with the buckle) I will cut to two times the finished length plus 10mm = 180mm (it will become obvious later why +10mm)

The second (for the longer end with the holes in it) I cut to two times the finished length = 290mm

Iâ€™m also left with a scrap of 20mm wide leather â€" Iâ€™ll keep that for making the keeper later.










Next I mark out (on the back) the folds in the buckle end. I want the finished length to be 85mm, so I start by marking 75mm from one end, then 85mm on from there. This second mark is where the crew hole will go (for the tongue of the buckle). The longer strap will just have a fold at exactly half way.

I also need to â€œskive downâ€ both ends of the buckle strap. This is because on the buckle end the leather will overlap â€" if I donâ€™t shave it down it will be too thick at the join when finished. I also cut off the corners so they wonâ€™t catch when the strap is finished.










If the leather was thicker I would also at this point shave down the thickness in the area where the strap will join the watch lugs. This is because if itâ€™s too thick it will stop the strap attaching to the watch (I've made this mistake before, and there's nothing worse than spending hours making a strap just to discover that it is too thick to fit to the watch!







). As this is only 1.5mm thick I donâ€™t need to do this.

Now the strap is ready to be glued. Itâ€™s not really essential to glue the strap at all because the stitching will hold it together, but it makes it slightly easier for stitching later on. The long half of the strap is folded in half and glued â€" straight forward really.

The buckle end however has to be folded over twice (because it houses not just a spring bar at one end, but the buckle at the other). Now you can see why the extra 10mm is needed â€" 5mm overlap










Iâ€™ll leave the two halves of the strap for 30 minutes or so to stick properly. Good time for a coffee . Part 2 to follow a bit later

Rich


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## JTW (Jun 14, 2007)

Toshi said:


> Once thatâ€™s done I set the strap cutter to 20mm and cut a length.
> 
> Rich


Brilliant!

first question(s) - What's a strap cutter, and where do you buy them?

Cheers

Ian


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

JTW said:


> first question(s) - What's a strap cutter, and where do you buy them?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ian


Hi Ian

This is the strap cutter










They can be bought from specialist leatherwork stores, but they also come up on the Bay pretty fequently. Of course you can just use a long metal ruler and a stanley knife, but this is certainly quicker, and more accurate.

Rich


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Back after my coffee, so on to the next stage.









Now the strap is glued I want to shape the end and shave down the sides to make them slightly less sharp. The end Iâ€™m cutting using a punch â€" trying to get this done free hand would (for me) only end in tears. I prefer a slightly round end to a pointed end, but itâ€™s just preference and you can get punches for both. The sides are shaved using an edge shave. Don't worry about the appearance of the edges at this stage - they will be tidied up in the finishing







.










Next to mark out the stitches. Because this is a thickish tan leather strap Iâ€™ve decided to go with a thick brown linen thread (18/6) and large stitches (6 to the inch). First I cut a groove in the strap where I want the stitches to run. This not only helps me to keep the marking straight, it also allows the stitches to sit down in the leather slightly which IMO is preferable (especially on the back of the strap which will be against the wrist). The groove is marked front and back.

Next I mark out the stitches. Here I use a â€œpricking ironâ€ which not only marks the distance between each stitch but also the angle of the stitch to help the overall look of the stitching. Lightly tap with the hammer â€" Iâ€™m not cutting through the leather here, just marking it.










Once this is done itâ€™s time for the hardest part â€" threading the needle!!







The thread is pulled through beeswax first (to help lubricate it as it passes through the leather), and because I am going to use saddle stitch the thread has a needle on both ends. It's wise to cut a length of thread that is longer than you think you will need here - itâ€™s definitely not a good idea to run out before youâ€™ve finished (done that before too!







)










Sewing. First put the strap to be sewn in the clamp and tighten. The needles are harness needles (blunt) so each hole in the leather first has to made with a stitching awl. The awl has a sharpe point on it, but is diamond shaped not round, so itâ€™s important to always use it at the same angle so the stitching looks (relatively) tidy.










The stitching itself is quite simple (but time consuming). Itâ€™s a case of making a hole with the awl, and then threading the two needles through (back to front first, and then front to back), and then pulling the threads tight. Itâ€™s important when going front to back to make sure you stitch over the first thread â€" that way it leaves a nice â€œchainâ€ effect,










More to follow.....

Rich


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## Steve R (Sep 29, 2007)

Impressive stuff! I'm working from home today and my connection to the office has been down for the past couple of hours - keep it up Rich, you're much more interesting than daytime TV! 

S.


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Hi Steve - sorry I took so long (I hate threading needles!)

Anyway, to continueâ€¦..

Iâ€™ve finished the stitching now. Had trouble (as always) threading the needles (takes longer than the stitching sometimes







), but I got there in the end!










Next I had to make the keeper. I like the keeper to be the same width as the strap (seems more in proportion that way), so I used the offcut from the 22mm strip cut at the beginning. This is going to be a loose keeper (i.e. not stitched into the strap) and it must be long enough to go round 2 thicknesses of the strap (4 thicknesses of leather). I measured and cut this length out (remembering that there will be 5mm either side overlap), and skived down both ends. Then itâ€™s simply a case of marking the stitches, and stitching it.

Once this is done I press it onto a loop stick and gently hammer it to help it keep a â€œsquareâ€ shape.










Next itâ€™s time to punch the holes in the strap. This is where I have gone wronf before, and it's annoying (to say the least) when the first hole goes in off-centre. Because of my inability to centre things, I use a chinagraph pencil to mark the centre line, and then mark out the holes to be punched. I aim to use the centre hole and punch 3 either side of it.










Then it's simply a case of punching out the holes.










Using the same tool, I now have to punch out the crew hole for the buckle. There are special punches for this, but at Â£30 a hit I make do with the hole punch. Once thatâ€™s done the strap is ready for the finishing










We're nearly there, but another coffee first though!

Rich


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## Steve R (Sep 29, 2007)

ooooooooh y'big tease!!


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Nearly there now







.

The next thing to do is to finish the edges. This isnâ€™t absolutely necessary, and some people prefer a less finished edge, but my preference is a shiny sealed edge. I use a leather edging dye and carefully dab it on, before rubbing with a bone folder to seal the edges and bring up the shine. I also like to dye the crew hole. This is the strap after the edges have been finished.










On the back of the strap I like the stitching to be as flush with the leather as possible (so it doesnâ€™t scratch my delicate wrist







) so at this point I gently hammer down the stitching. The only thing left to do is clean the strap and fit the buckle. I use a leather product called Sedgewicks, but there are many others out there. It cleans off all the fingerprints and marks from the chinagraph etc, as well as conditioning the leather (and smells lovely). Once thatâ€™s done the buckle can be fitted, and the strap is ready for the watch.










And here it is on the Kontiki Super!



















..... and so I finally get to wear it!










Now all I've got to do is tidy everything away before the 710 gets here!









Rich


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2007)

Thank you very much Rich for the effort and the great info you have provided. I guess I have to go shopping now to buy all those tools... Seems like, even a bloke like me is capable to create a strap with such information provided!

Oh, btw the strap looks cool!

all the best

Jan


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

I'm waiting with baited breath for the next installment!









Oops. I guess we posted at the same time. Thanks very much, that was very interesting and informative. Now I'm thinking "Hmm, I could do that".


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## Steve R (Sep 29, 2007)

Bravo that man, looks great - a good day's work there and a very interesting read!









S.


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## johnbrigade (Oct 15, 2007)

that's excellent

a job well done


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## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

This is a brilliant guide. Really interesting. Makes it look easy... though I bet it isn't









Can I ask where you are getting the leather and the buckles from?

Thanks a lot Rich


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## JTW (Jun 14, 2007)

Rich,

Thanks for the tutorial, that must be so satisfying.

Congratulations on your new skill,

Ian


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

mjolnir said:


> This is a brilliant guide. Really interesting. Makes it look easy... though I bet it isn't
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the leather has come from a tannery called Marcus Gear. I was looking for decent quality analine leather, but wanted a thickness of no more han 2mm (because I'm not paying Â£400 for a splitting machine!) which they could supply.

The buckles are from a supplier in the US - it's been surprisingly difficult to find buckles in the UK!

Rich


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

that looks superb!


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## foztex (Nov 6, 2005)

brilliant mate,

that's a really excellent tutorial. Thank's for sharing your experience, I've been tempted to have a go for ages and this has really convinced me I should.

Andy


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Fantastic post!

Thanks for sharing your work...

Now PM me your paypal address


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## nursegladys (Aug 4, 2006)

You make it look so easy mate, brilliant job, those straps look cool, don't they Mach??


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## hippo (Jun 27, 2006)

nursegladys said:


> You make it look so easy mate, brilliant job, those straps look cool, don't they Mach??


PMSL nice one Andy









Nice strap Toshi, I can see a side line developing here if you not careful


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Thanks for all the kind words guys!











hippo said:


> Nice strap Toshi, I can see a side line developing here if you not careful


Well, I have some leather left (black or tan), so of anyone wants one PM me and we'll talk. I'm not promising to get them made in hours mind - as you can see from the timeline each strap takes 3-4 hours (and I do have a day job normally)







.

Rich


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## alfinson (Feb 2, 2006)

That made it, I have to do some straps my self? However, could you please tell me (us?) where to get all the tools?


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Rich thats superb. I love the fact you just got right down onto making one when the Eterna arrived, that shows great commitment. Well done


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

wow you don't hang about do you? Away for a weeks course and the next week bespoke straps!

Muy bueno!


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Top job Rich









BTW Look out cows....


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Great stuff, Rich. Now all you need is a tool to stamp "Toshi Original" on the back.

And if you're looking for somebody to market 'em over here in the States, I'll gladly accept a sample strap...for demo purposes only, of course.


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## 11oss (Jun 15, 2007)

Very Nice. top job


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## Sparky (Nov 2, 2005)

Excellent Rich, keep up the good work!!

Mark


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## strange_too (Feb 19, 2007)

Nice work


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

Excellent wish i had the time and patients to do something as good as that well done Rich.

bowie


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## Alexus (Apr 9, 2003)

An artisan among us. Thank you for your willingness to share.

Alexus


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