A customer contacted me asking for a bifold wallet and requested that it have three elements that held special meaning. The elements were a dungeoness crab, a shipwreck and waves. The rest of the design was left up to me. As is usual with all custom projects I sent a preview of the artwork for approval then begin the 11 step process of making the wallet by hand.
All of the wallet parts are cut out of a select side of Hermann Oak vegetable tanned cow hide. The outer shell is wet cased, then the design is drawn on the leather, carved with a swivel knife then tooled and cleaned up with a modeling spoon. All of the parts are then oiled overnight to add flexibility and prevent cracking. The parts are then dyed and finished.
Once the finish is dry, the wallet is assembled with contact cement and hand stitched. The edges are sanded, beveled, burnished and finished and a coat of waterproofer is applied prior to shipment.