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What is watch modding? To me, watch modding gives you an opportunity to breakdown, build, rebuild, customize, and to re-construct your time piece to exactly the way you want it to be. You can modify every part of your watch, starting from the watch case, dial, hands, needles, watch glass, down to the body/end link screw, and last but not least, watch bands.  Speaking of watch bands, the difficulty to look for that one particular watch band that matches and fits perfectly with your wrist and watch is nearly impossible.  Watch bands are normally one of the first things people would look to change/swap when it comes to watch modifications.   Some people may go above and beyond to create and design their very own watch band.

List of materials & tools required to make a leather strap

  • Fine skiving knife
  • Soft wood burnish stick
  • Hard wood burnish stick
  • Knife strop paddled
  • Needle marker
  • Japanese skiving knife
  • Burnt brown leather dye
  • Mark 00 edge beveler
  • Gray wax thread
  • Beige wax thread
  • Diamond lacing stitching chisel
  • 0.7 mm hole puncher
  • Hammer
  • Sandpaper stick
  • Presser
  • Cutting mat
  • Punch chisel mat

Here are the steps to show you how to make your own leather strap.

  • Select a piece of leather of your choice; color, type of leather, quality
  • Trim the width from the selected piece of leather according to the lug width size of your watch
  • Length Trimming- trim the length of the selected leather from the piece of leather according to the measurements of your wrist
  • (Strap End Treatment) End Thinning- Thin out the selected measured area on the selected piece of leather
  •  (Strap End Treatment) Burnishing, seal off leather fiber- Burnish and seal off the selected area with leather conditioner like substance
  • Skive Both Ends
  •  Applying Glue- Apply glue on the measured area on the leather pieces
  • Clamping Until Glue Dry- Apply pressure/force to the glued leather pieces with a clamp
  •  Preparing Back Leather- Skive the end of the back side of the leather pieces with a skiving blade
  • Apply Glue For Back Leather- Apply glue on the measured area on the back leather pieces
  • Attachment Paper Pattern- Attach the paper pattern template onto the leather pieces and to hold/secure the position with a piece of transparent tape
  • Punching Sewing Holes
  • Trim By The Pattern- Cut and trim the leather pieces according to the paper pattern
  • Beveling The Edge On Both Sides- Edge trimming around the edges along the sides of the leather pieces with the edge beveller
  • Seal The Gap Edges To Help With Dye Infiltration- Sealing and filing the edges to prep for edge color dye process
  • Edge Dying- Apply color dye to the edges on the sides of the leather pieces
  • Seal Off- Seal off the edges with a burnish stick
  • Color Dye again to ensure color consistency- Repeat process to ensure color dye consistency
  • Edge Fiber Seal Off, Repeat Process Until Satisfied- Repeat process to ensure all fiber are burnished and sealed off
  • Saddle Stitching- Place the leather piece onto the saddle block to initiate the stitching process
  • Finish Stitching- Upon stitching completion, heat seal the end of the threads to avoid loose ends
  • Checking- Final check
  • Clasp Installation- Insert spring bars into the leather piece to complete the clasp installation process

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