Rayskin Strap - work in progress
Posted: September 15th, 2020, 9:01 am
Hi,
to shorten the wait for german customs to handle the dials coming in for my current build I got bitten by the bug and started to attempt something I‘m not sure I can pull off...
I want to make a strap from untanned rayskin - the kind you‘d use for a sword handle. This stuff is tough as nails and about as stiff as kydex. I do love the looks and feel though and you never know when you‘ll have to grind some wasabi on the fly...
I went on and cut a stripe on my bandsaw, softened it with water and skived it down as far as I dared to. Then I contact-cemented it to a piece of 3mm leather taking care to give it the proper bend to start with. After shaping it on the beltsander I dyed it with fiebings and glued and riveted it to form the loop to attach it to the watch.
It is more of a bracelet than a strap right now...
The copper needs blackening with liver of sulphur.
I might have to build a custom clasp for this, as I doubt it will conform to a buckle.
Anyway, this is just a test and I might go and scrap it to get some soft rayskin down the road - I‘m not sure it will wear comfortably. Another problem is that I don’t know if I can trust the cement to hold the strap together. Over time it might come apart and sewing is not an option... well not an easy one at least. Id have to carve a channel into the „pearls“ to lay in the thread and drill the holes to take the stitching.
What do you guys think? Is it worth the endeavor? What kind of clasp would you think could work?
Bests,
Chris.
to shorten the wait for german customs to handle the dials coming in for my current build I got bitten by the bug and started to attempt something I‘m not sure I can pull off...
I want to make a strap from untanned rayskin - the kind you‘d use for a sword handle. This stuff is tough as nails and about as stiff as kydex. I do love the looks and feel though and you never know when you‘ll have to grind some wasabi on the fly...
I went on and cut a stripe on my bandsaw, softened it with water and skived it down as far as I dared to. Then I contact-cemented it to a piece of 3mm leather taking care to give it the proper bend to start with. After shaping it on the beltsander I dyed it with fiebings and glued and riveted it to form the loop to attach it to the watch.
It is more of a bracelet than a strap right now...
The copper needs blackening with liver of sulphur.
I might have to build a custom clasp for this, as I doubt it will conform to a buckle.
Anyway, this is just a test and I might go and scrap it to get some soft rayskin down the road - I‘m not sure it will wear comfortably. Another problem is that I don’t know if I can trust the cement to hold the strap together. Over time it might come apart and sewing is not an option... well not an easy one at least. Id have to carve a channel into the „pearls“ to lay in the thread and drill the holes to take the stitching.
What do you guys think? Is it worth the endeavor? What kind of clasp would you think could work?
Bests,
Chris.