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Cordovan Watchstrap
About
Regrettably, several critical errors unfolded right from the initial step of cutting the leather, rendering success impossible. Nonetheless, I intended to see this piece to completion for the educational value of doing so.
The leather used was a scrap piece of cordovan in a purple-ish brown hue. The color is unique as far as I have seen. Unfortuantely that also means that the strap can not be repeated.
While the pattern was adjusted for 18/16mm sizing, I forgot and used pieces cut for 20/18mm. Therefore, I tried to ‘sand-to-size’. I also forgot to split the leather down, resulting in the strap being too thick, especially for an 18/16mm size strap.
The construction of lug ends turned out to be less than optimal, with inconsistencies in skiving and gluing to form the lug holes. It became apparent that using a French pricking iron for individual holes wasn’t the wisest choice; a more suitable alternative would have been a small flat-head screwdriver. Additionally, the buckle pin hole spacing is uncomfortably close to the end of the strap, and the overall length falls short of the intended measurement.
In the photo, several elements have been corrected in post.
- Edge finishing
- Lug holes
- Stitching holes
- Pin hole buckels (moved one hole towards lug side)
