Frequently asked questions

How do you make your leather goods?

All my products are hand cut and hand finished by myself. My process is rather low-tech. I use some of the best hand tools on the market for a truly unique, high-end leather good. Every piece of leather is cut out by hand and sanded relentlessly for a smooth finish. I sand, burnish, crease, and melt wax on all my veg tan edges for the best finish. Hand-stitching every item using the traditional saddle stitch technique is another finishing process I utilize. A machine stitch is usually easy to spot. In person, the thread looks loose, overly thin and generally uneventful. Hand stitching allows the thread to be pulled tight making each stitch look like it has a purpose being there. Machine stitching may take minutes at most, where hand stitching can take an hour to finish.



How do I choose the proper length for my watch strap?

The best way to determine what strap length you need is to measure a current watch band you own. An important consideration though is to first measure the thickness of the strap. A 4mm thick strap needs to be longer than a 2mm thick strap. Since my straps are typically 3-3.5mm thick, measuring a strap you currently own that falls in this range will provide the best measurement. If you do not have any comparable straps on hand to measure, the chart below can be used:

5.6"-6.0" wrist = 110/65mm

6.1"-6.5" wrist = 120/70mm

6.6"-7.0" wrist = 125/75mm

7.1"-7.5" wrist = 130/80mm

7.6"-8.0" wrist = 135/85mm

8.1"-8.5" wrist = 140/90mm

**Please note that just using a tape measurement of your wrist size and then subtracting the length of the watch head(i.e. L2L measurement) may result in a strap that is too short. This is due to the thickness of the strap Vs. a tape measure that is paper thin.

As always, you can message me for more help or additional questions!



Why Catalyst Leatherworks?

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." - Benjamin Franklin Quality over quantity has been a lifelong personal mantra for me and embodies the type of product I wish to make. I spend an excessive amount of time trying to perfect each product rather than find shortcuts to lower my price point. As you can see in all my listings, I leave nothing to the imagination in terms of what you'll receive.



What thread colors do you offer?