Imagine if every time you sat down to do leatherworking, it was a joy. You could relish your crafting time and better connect with your work. Your practice would be almost meditative.
Learn simpler, more effective processes to make your projects faster and easier, resulting in cleaner, more consistent, and elegant creations.
What is it about making something that gives you such a sense of personal satisfaction?
What would it be like if you could think of a leather project and make it effortlessly? Picture being able to connect your thoughts to your actions and produce the outcome you intended.
One path is paradoxically to not care about the result but the journey. If you put technique and refining your skills at the center of your practice, you focus on the process instead of the results. By concentrating on your craft, you build a solid foundation. Soon, your cutting will be a little straighter, your seams will be more consistent, and your edges will be smoother. All of these refinements add up. Yes, you end up making a lot of ugly little treasures; I’ve made more than a few watch straps that had beautiful edges but felt like a rope around my wrist. Too tight, too thick, too firm. I was okay with that because I made my next watch strap thinner. It had the same great edges. On the next one, I changed the lining leather, and it was softer. It can be frustrating and challenging to stay committed. Recently, one of my students, Chris, said it best:
“Often, it comes down to applying what I know just a little more consistently and being unwilling to accept something I know is substandard as “good enough.” It’s frustrating to redo something you already have hours of work into, but it’s always the right call. …I’ve been making notebook covers, and I’m on my third pattern, not because the old patterns didn’t work, but because they weren’t quite right and forced compromises during assembly. It served as a reminder that to get it right, you need to start right.”
It’s frustrating not to know what will work. Which techniques work, and which don’t? How can I know that if I keep practicing, it will work and that I will improve? For many people, leatherworking is their solace. A reader, Dux wrote to me:
“I actually started collecting tools and pieces of leather over five years before I had the courage to put the blade to the hide. I work in a demanding and often dangerous profession. I am usually exhausted, frustrated, and occasionally even in tears by the time I head out at the end of the day. When I get home, I haul out my leather. If I have the energy, I’ll start designing, planning, or cutting out a new project to distract myself. If I’m frazzled, I may grab something from the stack of projects that are ready to be stitched up, put my feet up, and sew for a few hours.
Working with leather is my creative outlet. It is meditative. It provides me with an opportunity to make things that I can give as gifts, wear, or use to decorate my home. It makes me feel good about myself when I can teach myself and practice new skills.”
If leatherworking should be a relaxing time for you, it can be doubly frustrating when it’s not going well. What if you could know that while your approach is difficult now, it pays off? I recently wrote in our newsletter that I love the craft of making leather goods, but maybe, like you, my relationship to my practice is not purely for the craft of it. I love the simple satisfaction of doing my craft but am paradoxically also skeptical and impatient. I’m okay with toiling away, but I have to know that the path I’m on is the right path. I want to understand that the techniques I use, while frustrating now, will eventually work. It’s like believing vs. knowing. I’m a practical person, and I want both.
When I’m trying a new technique or building a new design, I want to fast-forward the VCR to see how it turns out. Does this method work, or is it a fruitless experiment? (a VCR was a device you used to put cassette tapes in to watch movies on TV. The first ones weighed about 170 lbs).
We don’t live in a world of VCRs and three channels anymore. There are an infinite number of places where you can see inspiring leather goods. It’s funny, though, that with all that information available, it’s still hard to find out how to install a zipper properly, skive more efficiently, and finish edges better. It’s getting better, but many of the best leatherworkers I know are too busy to share their knowledge, speak a different language, or are simply unable to travel everywhere teaching.
What if you could practice your leatherworking technique, knowing you were on the right path? Each step would be built on the other, a system, an underlying philosophy that helped you make each session improve your technique.
A while back, we hosted guest teacher Hajime Niwa in our studio. His work has inspired many leatherworkers to do better, higher-quality work. He’s also a photographer, and the combination of his photos and work is stunning.
We hosted him here for an in-person intensive where he revealed what processes he uses in his work and the foundational steps to build that practice. Many people attended; we hosted three sessions, but it was here in California, so not everyone could make it because of location or timing. Today, we’re changing that.
Introducing:
Refining Your Technique: With Hajime Niwa
The online leathercraft course for enthusiasts and intermediate-level leatherworkers who want to improve their fundamental skills by learning from a master craftsman.
In this course, you will receive:
- A
nineseventeen-part online series on essential leathercraft skills, including techniques on: - sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- preparing and sharpening your sewing awl
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing leather edges
When we first discussed doing a course together, I asked Mr. Niwa what lessons he would teach if he took a brand new apprentice into his studio and wanted to show them how to make leather goods as well as he does. You can find tutorials on improving specific skills like cutting and skiving, but the context of the artist’s overall practice is often missing. This course is more than a series of discrete lessons; it’s his preferred approach to learning and mastering the craft of making leather goods.
For example, Mr. Niwa primarily uses one type of blade, an upright knife, for cutting, skiving, abraiding surfaces, gluing, and more. There are several reasons why he does this that are not apparent if you only saw him cutting leather using an upright knife. I see many stores selling upright knives as skivers, so people get that knife for skiving and another for cutting. If you do that, you’re missing the larger context of that style of leatherworking. And that context is this: by using one type of knife, you can focus and get exponentially better at using that one tool. To quote Bruce Lee, “Fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
If you learn to use just one knife and use it for everything, you’ll get really good at using that knife. When I was in his studio, I noticed that Mr. Niwa had at least eight upright knives. I asked him about this, and he said that when he works, he will use one knife until it gets dull and immediately switch to a new one. That way, he doesn’t have to change his cutting style. They’re close by, so he just reaches beside him and pulls a fresh one out when one gets dull.
Even more useful is that when you learn to sharpen, a hard skill that many leatherworkers skip, you only need to learn to sharpen one type of knife. When we were covering sharpening, Mr. Niwa said he would sharpen all his knives at the end of the day. Since he mainly uses one kind of knife, sharpening is that much easier because he doesn’t have to change his sharpening technique either.
Expanded Course with New Sections
We almost doubled the size of the course. The initial course was nine parts that trained you in improving the above techniques. The newly expanded course, in seventeen parts, shows you how to apply those lessons to a project and how to adapt them to its unique challenges. Our course is not just static content; it includes:
- over four hours of video showing detailed walkthroughs of the techniques
- over 40 pages of content online and on email
- an email series with additional tips and exercises to help you learn the content
- access to our online community to get individual help with your practice and
- live Q&A sessions to answer your specific questions
Seeing [Mr Niwa] was definitely a highlight and what ease he goes through each step is a really helpful index for the skill level I aspire to. Also being able to take my time and play courses over and over hs been really great. It wonderful to be able to take this at my own pace.
– William M.
Translating Language and Context
Mr. Niwa’s primary language is Japanese, so we transcribed and translated the video into English so our readers could benefit from his teachings. I used to live in Japan, where I learned the traditional craft of carving Noh drama masks out of wood. Understanding Japanese is hard enough, let alone the nuanced meanings and difficult concepts of a traditional craft. I personally translated every line of the lessons, incorporating what I know about learning a craft in a different language. Equally important to the direct translation of the words is the translation of the mindset and approach. We incorporated this into the course’s translation and the accompanying materials.
Simple But Not Easy
Look at the above example of his work. It is simple. There are no complicated lines or embellishments. In fact, it’s a work in progress; you can see the offcuts around the perimeter. And yet, this snapshot is so compelling. Part of the appeal is the great photo. Another part is that is simple. The craft and execution speak for themselves.
The seventeen parts of the course build on each other. If you look at each part, they seem simple. But like many things, the sum is greater than the whole, so by layering each of them up, cutting better, gluing better, and sewing better, you can see the simple, elegant piece. Below are some highlighted sections from the course. All of them went into the above project and more. When you join Refining Your Technique, you’ll learn how small improvements to each aspect of your craft can add up to better results.
Course Section Highlights
- Preparing For Sharpening
- Sharpening a Knife
- Sharpening an Awl
- Sharpening a Plane
- Cutting Leather
- Cutting Curves in Leather
- Over-Cuts
- Flat Skiving
- Curved Skiving
- Stop Skives
Watch a Course Preview
It’s hard to detail Mr. Niwa’s approach to leatherworking fully. Like all great artisans, he places technique first and foremost. You can see it in the way that he works and his approach. In the first module, we created an introduction to the course and his approach. Watch a preview now:
Information is Not Enough
Our courses are not just a bunch of videos. One of the reasons we set a time limit on registration is because we help organize students to take the course. I will help students with the techniques and exercises through live online Q&A and demonstration sessions.
I surveyed our list about taking courses, and one of them said this: “While the products displayed in e-mails are very nice, the courses are too expensive compared to information I can get from local leather workers and YouTube videos.”
I LOVE this quote.
It embodies the hubris of many crafters. I thought this way for a long time until I took courses from true masters in their subject areas, where they helped me find (and sometimes dragged me to) a better way of doing things, whether that was leatherworking, woodworking, or writing.
Information is important; you need to know what to do to succeed. But knowledge alone is not enough. If that were true, I could just tell you how to be an amazing leatherworker, and you could, right? This course, and all of our courses, are built on systems. A well-crafted system strings together individual lessons into a coherent practice; it presents the information so you can better understand it and helps you not only learn the information but put it into practice. Your practice so that you can make the leather goods of your dreams. When it works well, everything is a little easier. Like gluing:
Try Refining Your Technique for 30 days 100% risk-free.
If you apply the lessons from this course to your work and it doesn’t get better, I would be happy to give you your money back.
I invite you to try the techniques, starting with part one, part two, part three, part four, and all the way to the end. If you practice the techniques for 30 days, I’m confident your leathercrafting will improve.
This course isn’t about selling you some made-up esoteric concepts that might work. These are lessons hard-won by years of experience from a working professional meant to improve the quality of a piece and hone your skills. If you are not satisfied, request a refund within 30 days.
Join Refining Your Technique: With Hajime Niwa
Lifetime Access to the Course
Two Course Options
Option 1: Get just the Refining Your Technique online course or
Option 2: Get the online course plus add the tool package to take home an essential bundle of items. The tool package contains the following:
- Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.
Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.– SOLD OUT- Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl.
- Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.
- 4oz contact cement.
- Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.
- Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.
Get the above tool package for an additional $200. Normally, this bundle is $233, a savings of $33.
Option 1. Access to the Online Course Plus Tool Kit
- Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.
Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.– SOLD OUT- Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl.
- Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.
- 4oz contact cement.
- Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.
- Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.
- Lifetime access: take the course at any time.
- A seventeen-part online series on essential leathercraft skills, including techniques on:
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing leather edges
- over four hours of video showing detailed walkthroughs of the techniques
- over 40 pages of content online and on email
- an email series with additional tips and exercises to help you learn the content
- access to our online community to get individual help with your practice and
- live Q&A sessions to answer your specific questions
Note: Kits ship approximately one week from purchase.
International customers, please note that you will receive an invoice for shipping.
Option 2. Access to the Online Course
Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl.Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.4oz contact cement.Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.- Lifetime access: take the course at any time.
- A seventeen-part online series on essential leathercraft skills, including techniques on:
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing leather edges
- over four hours of video showing detailed walkthroughs of the techniques
- over 40 pages of content online and on email
- an email series with additional tips and exercises to help you learn the content
- access to our online community to get individual help with your practice and
- live Q&A sessions to answer your specific questions
If you have any questions about the course, please feel free to call or email us.
1-415-800-2978
store@fineleatherworking.com
We’re happy to help!
FAQ: What other tools and materials do I need for this course?
If you have been doing leatherworking, you should already have most of what you need: knives, awls, irons for punching stitch holes, thread, etc.
Vegetable-tanned leather is used for the demonstrations; however, you can substitute chrome-tan for everything except part seven on edge-finishing. Cutting, gluing, skiving, and sharpening are all the same techniques.
There are tools that Mr. Niwa uses that you may not have. These are in the kit: a mini-plane, a sewing awl for shaping into an almond point, a glue spatula, a wide-mouth glue container, and contact cement.
Lastly, there are tools that you might have or a modified version of them. This is chiefly sharpening stones. Many of your existing sharpening setups will work, and some will need modification. There were too many variations to account for, so we omitted stones from the kit. In most cases, if you have a sharpening setup, it will work. The sections on sharpening review this in more detail, and you can choose which setup best works for you.
A Course Vetted by Real Students
When we were creating this course, I flew to Japan to record the lessons, and I also had Mr. Niwa come to California to teach the course. We had three full sessions of his course, and everyone I communicated with took away significant learnings from the course. Like all of our courses, we don’t just toss out techniques and hope they work. We put in the time and research to ensure people benefit from them. It’s one thing for a great craftsperson to be able to do something; it’s another thing entirely to teach that craft to someone else. We work to ensure that our education content provides results and is doable by our students. Read from the students who took the in-person course:
Mr. Niwa’s techniques for finishing the edges to look professional were amazing.
– Angelita F.
Working with Mr. Niwa on the techniques that are unique to the Japanese style of leathercraft (gluing, skiving, cutting) was fantastic. I also really enjoyed/appreciated learning how to sharpen my Japanese knives, seeing as how I had incorrectly sharpened them with a severe angle to the bevel in the past. Seeing the cultural/mental aspects of why he always starts with sharpening was enlightening and interesting. Lots to reflect on!
– Tim H.
I most enjoyed the simplicity of Mr. Niwa’s process, yet the dedication and depth of understanding that process makes it work so well.
– Maynard H.
Access Forever and At Your Own Pace
Register and pay in full or in three installments and view the course at any time. After that, access the course forever. There are no additional monthly fees or time limits. You can also take the course at your own pace. Do one section per day, per week, or do them all over a long weekend. The live version of the course took three full days. If you do practice lessons and the project, I estimate four or five days to complete the course on your own. I would set aside two or three weekends to focus on the course.
Option 1. Access to the Online Course Plus Tool Kit
- Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.
Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.– SOLD OUT- Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl.
- Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.
- 4oz contact cement.
- Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.
- Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.
- Lifetime access: take the course at any time.
- A seventeen-part online series on essential leathercraft skills, including techniques on:
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing leather edges
- over four hours of video showing detailed walkthroughs of the techniques
- over 40 pages of content online and on email
- an email series with additional tips and exercises to help you learn the content
- access to our online community to get individual help with your practice and
- live Q&A sessions to answer your specific questions
Note: Kits ship approximately one week from purchase.
International customers, please note that you will receive an invoice for shipping.
Option 2. Access to the Online Course
Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl.Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.4oz contact cement.Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.- Lifetime access: take the course at any time.
- A seventeen-part online series on essential leathercraft skills, including techniques on:
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing leather edges
- over four hours of video showing detailed walkthroughs of the techniques
- over 40 pages of content online and on email
- an email series with additional tips and exercises to help you learn the content
- access to our online community to get individual help with your practice and
- live Q&A sessions to answer your specific questions
If you have any questions about the course, please feel free to call or email us.
1-415-800-2978
store@fineleatherworking.com
We’re happy to help!
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