Some of my Leatherwork

This all pre-dates my "going Pro" and you might see a few repeats from the other categories. None of these items are for sale unless noted elsewhere, but they certainly could be re-created. This page is a little clunky at the moment, having been simply lifted from my personal site, but I figured folks might like to see it. Click on the thumbnail for an enlargement, and hit Back to get back here.

Items in my personal collection.

I built this hanging Pillory with hand tools on the balcony of my Virginia apartment. I could make a MUCH better version now.

One of the first things I made, when I bought my first entire side of leather were long straps. I made four of these, 6' long, with a hole every inch. They come in very handy. Although I probably should make some shorter ones sometime.

I also got pretty big into making cases and boxes and such. You'll find these look kind of beat-up in the big pictures, but that's because they've been working pretty hard. I have made a few "innovations" along the way, for example, the big case closes better because the snaps are on a flap, which makes the cover fit tightly against the rest of the box. It also has snap-open belt loops so you don't have to partially disrobe to put it on your belt, and it has lacing rings to use with a shoulder strap. All of the cases have small wooden supports behind the snaps so that you don't crush them trying to close them.

I made a "Box Holster" for my Taurus PT99AF, but I don't have a picture because, frankly, as a first effort, it's ugly as hell. But it works wonderfully, holding the pistol and two magazines while giving no indication as to what it contains.

Blindfolds are great. The first is a creation going back to Virginia. Leather on the face, backed with closed cell foam, with rubber (Truck inner tube) going behind the head. The other is simply a pair of swimming goggles painted black inside and out. Very effective, and it can be worn inside one of those ubiquitous Israeli gas masks.

"Bunny Thump" is an ordinary ping pong paddle covered with leather on one side, and bunny fur on the other. There's actually only one of these. But PhotoShop makes anything possible.

I once met JG-Leathers, the man in Canada who makes that amazing ponygirl gear. I live in awe of his work. He had these cuffs that were secured with handcuffs, and used studs to keep the cuffs from sliding off. Now, I have a passion for Asian and other petite women, whose wrists are generally too small for standard handcuffs. These babies take up all the extra space, provide padding and protection, and look really spiffy, maintaining the aesthetic of a cuff closed halfway. There's a trick to these too. How is it that the screws for the studs are covered by the lining, when the lining is secured by the studs? Heh, trade secret.

The Cuffs are Fury 15900 high security cuffs. I simply love them. It's a wonderful design.

Wartenburg Pinwheels are neat sensation toys, but a bitch to carry around without some kind of a case. I was experimenting in my Vancouver apartment with various noxious chemicals, including polyester resins, plastic pigments, and two-part urethane foam. Thus, I created this case. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I learned how to polish the resin to a mirror shine, and I learned that I'd need a vacuum chamber to get all the bubbles out of it. The leather wrapping the case is so well formed that I had to hold the case open for the interior shot.

Another experiment with the noxious chemicals produced this form-fitted handcuff case. I plan to eventually make an even better one in a wooden presentation case.

Things I made for other people

My latest creation (December 2002). This is a steel collar I made for Nikki (see below). I later made one for myself just so that I could show it off to other people. I also figured out a way to get an even shinier finish. I've switched to braising to protect the delicate countersink in the hinge, and I'm refining my design. Next step, attachment loops.

"Liz" was a very special young woman. She was an attractive Filipina who walked into The Wet Spot one August night and immediately captivated me. She was as close as I've come to finding the right girl. Needless to say, it didn't quite work out. But we did do an all day scene together, and for that occasion, I built this bench. One kneels at one end and rests one's forehead on the pad. It has 11 eye bolts for various fastening options, thick dense foam padding, and a vinyl cover - my first attempt at upholstery. It's 17" high, and 21" long, not counting the adjustable headrest. Were I to do it again, I'd leave off the beaded detail around the edges.

Unfortunately, on February 15th, 2000, Liz had a fatal asthma attack, suffering from cardiac arrest, she could not be revived. I take some comfort in the fact that she had found a community that loved her and gave her something she so dearly wanted.

Nikki is a friend of mine for farther back than either of us will admit. She's also a bit of a Goth, and I offered to make a collar for her. I think it came out rather nice.

Again, note that the ends butt, (Although in the fifth pic, she has her arms up holding her hair, which is stressing it slightly out of alignment). The inner layer of leather is actually three pieces to make up for the space needed for the loop holding the D-ring. It has a certain aesthetic balance, ne?

This somewhat dark picture is a sling I built (1999) for The Wet Spot in Seattle. I hung it up in my van to take pictures of it, since no cameras are allowed in the club. You could lift an engine block with this puppy. The 5" triangular D-Rings I bent and welded myself. The spine of the sling is 8" wide. My one regret is that it was designed to be hung level, and someone at the club keeps hanging it at a steep angle, which has caused it to stretch and distort.

Two friends of mine, one of whom that spiked collar below was for, wanted a matching set of collars and bracers made. It was my first attempt at bracers. I wanted to make them a proper conic section, so that they would curve properly and present a straight edge when worn. Pulling out all the old trig to find out what sort of radius I needed, I quickly discovered that algebra came into play and all the trig canceled out. The actual formula for what radius to use is really simple, but I'll try to make a trade secret out of it.

This set also shows off a couple of features I consider personal trademarks. First is the proper mounting of the billets (The short bits of belts) through slots in the leather, as they should be for strength. Second is the use of multiple layers of leather in my collars (As well as the lining, which is Elk in this case). And the third is that the collars are custom fitted, and designed so that when buckled, the ends butt together evenly, rather than overlapping. My collars are NOT one size fits all.

One of the first collars I ever made, this one features 25 spike studs, and a nice thick, soft, Moosehide lining. That Moosehide is wonderful, and I really hope I can find more of it soon.

This is the predecessor to one of my most ambitious commissions, which I don't have pictures of. Imagine this with a built-in blindfold, and the blindfold with tiny eyeholes that are covered with velcroed flaps. The gag portion has a section of rubber glued to it to protect the leather from saliva. I also really like the design of the chin strap. It works very well whether you have a lot of chin, or not very much at all. The other interesting feature is the split strap in the back, with the wire loop used to hold the section together. It was kind of an afterthought I came up with when I discovered that the y-formation, while allowing the buckle to be in the center, didn't allow the harness to open enough to take one's head. But the end result is terrific.