Leather Safety Razor Travel Cover/Protector

I saw this idea at a local farmers market and had to give it a go. It was a solution to a problem I had been thinking about for some time. It will save my travel clothing from getting all chopped up and sliced by a rogue razor in my bag. I hope it works for you too.

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Step 1: Step 1: Tools & Paterning

In the vane of "measure twice, cut once", this step is critical to the final function and look of your end product. It is much easier and cheaper to cut new paper patterns than to cut raw leather.

Tools:

Leather (2-4 oz works well. You don't want really thick leather for this one and you might want to choose a smooth leather over a sueded leather. I chose suede for its look and feel.)

Waxed senue or thread (use heavy thread that is waxed for water repellency and durability)

Leather sewing needle

Large hole punch

Small hole punch

Cutting wheel or art knife

Hammer

Awl

Measuring tool

Take your safety razor and lay it onto the paper. I used heavier paper for rigidity and ease of use. You can get this from the dollar stores cheap. Map out the shape of your razor by rolling it back and forth to get the overall length and width. Once you have done this, you can now figure out how much extra room you will need for the stitching. I used approximately 1/4" extra all around and it seemed to work well. This is where experience will be your best guide.

Now cut out the paper pattern. I used a straight edge ruler to make clean/straight edges.

Measure the center of the pattern and draw a straight line across. Now measure half of that and find the center of that half section and draw an X. This will be the location for your handle hole and entrance guide hole.

Step 2: Step 2: Leather Cutting

Take your pattern and trace it onto your leather with a pencil. Make sure not to make too dark a lines. Depending on your leather, it may not come out or leave an indentation.

Mark the location of your handle hole and guide slot.

Punch the handle hole with a large hole punch that matches the width of your handle base. This may vary by manufacturer. Now cut the handle slot to the width of your handle base so it slides smoothly into the slot. This is not critical as a little smaller width will become bigger when you are finished.

Now cut your leather out and you are ready to start the fun parts...stitching.

Step 3: Step 3: Stitching

Mark your leather in the middle and cut it in half.

Take the two pieces and lay them back to back to make sure they are the same size. If not, cut another piece to match the other.

Mark the location of your stitching holes. I used a leather hole guide, but you can just swag it. 1/8" from the edge of the leather should be good enough.

Now punch your holes with an awl or small leather hole punch. Make it the smallest hole you can make.

Once you have your holes, take your thread and needle and start with the first corner hole. Pull the thread almost all the way through from in between the two pieces of leather so that a little tail is sticking out from the middle of the two pieces when they are put together. Now loop the thread through both pieces of leather and start going in and out of the holes, working your way around the edge of your cover until you get to the other corner.

Loop the thread through the corner and around the edge a couple times for strength. Just a couple times. You aren't trying to hold up the house, just keep it from tearing easily.

Now thread in and out back the other way so there are no gaps between the stitches.

Once you are back to the other end of the cover, loop the thread again as you did to the other side. With the last stitch, go through only one half of the leather and pull the needle and thread out the middle of the two pieces of leather so you have another tail sticking out. This keeps the stitching from coming out and your cover coming apart. You can also just tie the thread off at the ends, but I think this looks sloppy and isn't as secure. This is up to you and your skill/comfort level.

Step 4: Step 4: Fit & Finish

Now you have your completed cover. Try it on and see how it looks. GREAT WORK!!!!

Here is where you have options.

1) You can finish the leather with some leather conditioner for longevity and long term good looks.

2) You can soak the leather and put it back on the razor and work the leather for a custom look, getting all the crevices of the razor into the leather and then stick the leather into the over to "cure" and harden a bit. This will give you a very custom and slick look.

Nicely done. Thank you for checking out my Instructable. If you liked this one, please vote for me in whatever contest I have entered it into. Also, I love comments, critiques, and alternate ideas that make this even better.