A Beautiful Leather Cover for my Double Edge Safety Razor
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This month it’s already Movember again so I am growing a mustache and try to raise some funds for prostate cancer research and other men’s health related topics. But that can’t be the main topic of this video, so I will also make a shaving related leather item: a cover for my safety razor. I got this double edge razor from my sister for my most recent birthday. It’s the environmental alternative to the cartridge razors, but the blade is open. That’s why I’m making this leather cover to protect it while on the road. This is a really easy leather working project. I made it even more easy for you if you download the template from my website, see the link below. This leather safety razor cover will is designed for the King C. Gillette double edge safety razor. It will fit most other razors as well since they are all designed to use the standard double edge blade.
You can download the free template for the safety razor cover by clicking this link.
Video transcript:
Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Tony Needs Hobbies. My name is Tony and it is Movember, so I am growing this mustache to raise awareness for men’s health related topics, but more on that later. First let’s quickly shave before making a leather protective sleeve for this double edge safety razor. Have fun watching!
I got this safety razor from my sister and her husband for my most recent birthday. I wanted one because it is more environmental friendly than the cartridge razors that are so popular these days. Anyway, you probably don’t want to see all these weird shaving faces so If you wait for a few more seconds, I’ll get started with making the cover for this double edge razor.
For this project I will use a scrap piece of 2mm thick brown dyed veg tan leather and the following tools: a rotary knife, an x-acto knife, a hole punch, pricking irons for the stitching holes, an edge beveller, a stainless steel ruler, a piece of granite as punching surface, a wooden mallet and the template that I made, which you can download from my website, see the link down below.
I first cut out the template and transfer it onto the leather before cutting the leather to size. The design is made to fit the King C. Gilette safety razor, but it will probably fit many other razors since the heads all have similar sizes to accommodate the standardized blade. The piece of leather will be cut to an 11 by 4.5 centimeter rectangle with the rotary blade.
Then I round of the edges to give it a more luxurious look. For this I use the x-acto knife which allows for nice curves to be cut. I also cut the straight part of the keyhole with this little knife and punch the hole out using the hole punch. A quick test fit confirms that the handle fits so I can continue with beveling all the edges, making a groove for the stitches and punching the stitching holes for easy stitching. Make sure that all lines have the same amount of stitches and that they are lined up well.
The next step is to finish the edges that will overlap after stitching. They will be hard to reach so it is better to finish them before stitching. I coat them with gum trag, burnish them with a piece of cloth until shiny, seal it with beeswax and finish them with a wooden burnisher. The hole is a bit harder to reach, so take your time to make it look nice.
This piece of leather looks exactly like the template which is available for download on my website, www.tonyneedshobies.com, and it’s totally free. Something that isn’t free is prostate cancer research and the reason that I grow this mustache is twofold:
- It messes with my wife because she absolutely hates it
- To raise some funds for prostate cancer research
If you have some money to spare, please check out my Movember webpage and make a small donation. No matter how small, every contribution counts. Alright, now I’m going to stitch this thing together and this little project is finished.
First I apply contact cement and let it dry completely before folding the leather over and putting it together. It is important that the stitching holes line up correctly, so I align them using a needle. Then I hold it tightly using these little clamps for another five minutes which I use to get the stitching pony set up.
Stitching is really easy. In fact I have another video showing how to make a stitching pony and one explaining how to use it to hand stitch leather. You might find them interesting if you’re new to leather craft. Anyway, I start by doing two back stitches, then do all of the stitches and finish with another two backstitches. I end by making one final stitch in between the leather so no thread ends are noticeable and it looks really good.
The final step is finishing the long edges in exactly the same way as the open edge after flattening the stitches with a hammer. I apply gum trag, polish it with a piece of cloth until shiny, apply beeswax and seal the edge by burnishing it with a wooden burnisher tool, and there you have it!
I absolute love the way the leather looks on this polished chrome razor, and the sleeve just fits like a glove so I am really happy with how this little product turned out. Now if you have enjoyed watching the video let me know by hitting the like button and please also consider subscribing to the channel for more content like this in the future. Now if you want to make a donation, check out my Movember webpage. I’ll post a link in the description for you to be able to do so.
That’s it for now. I would like to thank you for watching. Bye, bye!
