A Newsletter for People Who Work with Their Hands

AWL

Vegetable-tanned · Hand-stitched · WeeklyEst. 2026
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Close-up of weathered hands pressing a pricking iron through dark bridle leather on a wooden bench, thread and awl visible nearby
Issue 1 · Saddlery & Bridle Work

Eleanor Marsh

Lexington, Kentucky

1 / 9
Leather craftsperson workshop bench with tools arranged neatly — spokeshaves, awls, and edge bevelers lit by warm afternoon light through a dusty window
The Bench

Hermann Oak bridle leather, 12–14 oz, pulled from a 40-year-old side.

Osborne #47 pricking irons, re-filed to 4 stitches per inch.

Ritza Tiger thread, 0.8 mm, waxed by hand with beeswax block.

A granite surface plate for trueing edges — the same one her mentor left her.

2 / 9
The leather tells you when you've skived too thin. You feel it before you see it — a softness where there should be resistance.

Eleanor Marsh

On Skiving and the Geometry of a Clean Taper

3 / 9
Hands using a wing divider to score a straight stitch line along the edge of a slim natural tan leather wallet panel
Issue 2 · Small Goods & Wallets

Gabriel Osei

Portland, Oregon

4 / 9
Compact leatherworking bench covered in small wallet panels, bone folders, edge paint applicators, and a worn leather strop beside a stitching horse
The Bench

Wickett & Craig natural veg-tan, 2–3 oz, conditioned with neatsfoot oil.

Tandy wing divider, adjusted to 3 mm from the edge — consistent every time.

Tokonole burnisher on a wooden dowel, run against the grain for a glass edge.

A single overhead lamp, no shadows. Mistakes hide in bad light.

5 / 9
I sell at markets where people can feel the work. That changes everything about how you finish an edge. They will touch it before they look at it.

Gabriel Osei

Selling at Markets: What Customers Actually Handle

6 / 9
Hands carefully casing a thick piece of natural leather with a damp sponge before wet-molding a holster form on a wooden shaping block
Issue 3 · Holsters & Structural Goods

Ruth Nakamura

Tucson, Arizona

7 / 9
Leather workshop with a large cutting mat, French curves, swivel knife, and stamps organized in rows on a pegboard behind the bench
The Bench

Tandy Craftsman 9–10 oz for holster shells — consistent temper across the side.

Swivel knife reground to a 30-degree bevel for tight radius cuts.

Casing water kept at room temperature; cold water shocks the fiber.

A carved wooden form for every model she makes. Forty-three forms and counting.

8 / 9
Wet-forming is a conversation. You push, the leather pushes back. If you rush it, you get a shape. If you listen, you get a fit.

Ruth Nakamura

Wet-Forming Fundamentals: Reading the Leather's Memory

9 / 9
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