This one left me a little speechless.
A shot taken by @conormcdphoto of his VICTOR Bifold sitting proud at Everest Base Camp.
Besides being an unbelievably good photo, the thought of somebody carrying one of our wallets on an expedition to the world's tallest mountain seriously blew me away.
To get a photo of it is unreal.
Massive thanks to photographer, mountaineer, WWF ambassador and local lad, Conor. This is one to remember.
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Credit: @conormcdphoto
One item. This is how many tools are needed to make just one item.
Can you guess which one?
To go from a huge swathe of leather, to the carefully finished piece is a true labour of love. At every step, just one slip and the whole thing is ruined.
It's this amount of work which the vast majority of people will never realise goes into their purchase. Most of us have become accustomed to comparing price tags rather than comparing quality.
It's also part of the reason I despise seeing so many "handmade" brands charging top rate for pieces which have clearly not been made by hand.
No gimmicks. No nonsense. Just hard work and honest results.
Proudly crafted ENTIRELY by hand in Liverpool.
#handtools #vintagetools #traditionaltools #toolsofthetrade #handcrafted #madebyhand #slowprocess #slowjanuary #creating_boldly #englishcountrystyle #madeinliverpool #madetolast #intheworkshop #workshopscenes #behindthescenes #workshopphotography #productdesign #themakingof #howitsmade #knipex
Been a hot minute since I last spammed you all with shots of the Liver Building.
Gloriously sunny down by the Mersey today, for a pleasant stroll to deliver some custom pieces to a local customer.
Even the dock geese were putting factor 50 on.
The classic. The original. The most popular. The VICTOR Bifold Wallet.
This is always my favourite item to work on. It just gives you the fizz. Symmetrical, timeless, and durable.
This one was ordered by @chefdaz5 and featured a lovely colour choice. Dark Tan leather with Racing Green hand stitching. Of course the embossed initials on the front finish it off perfectly.
Thanks Darren. We appreciate your support.
Repost courtesy of @nirman2012
This absolute beauty is Alex's VICTOR Bifold, which today has celebrated its 9th birthday.
Unreal scenes. Seeing something I vividly remember working on all those years ago, looking so good after constant use is truly one of the biggest perks of the job.
I love sending out crisp new wallets, but seeing them after they've been around the block a few times is even better.
Thank you, Alex. We'll have to come up with something special to mark the big 10 next year.
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Happy birthday Victor - today Victor turns 9. That's 9 years of use and #patina if you want something that will last #byhandmade and go check out @rawhide_custom for your next made to last purchase. #shoplocal #madeinliverpool
Reposted from @nirman2012
Belts. Belts. Belts. Working with this sturdy Bridle Butt leather is always a balancing act of brute strength and finesse.
Carefully bevelling, dying, and burnishing the edges. Before smashing the life out of 4 solid brass rivets on the anvil.
The end result; a belt which should outlast it's owner.
New stitching colours 🧵🪡
Now available on the site, we've got a couple of beautiful additions to the range of stitching colours.
Orchid - A more vivid blush of colour than our standard Pink.
Thistle - A stunning burst of purple, perfect for adding a nice touch of colour to your piece.
Aubergine - This was previously on the site as 'Deep Purple'. Same subtle tones, new name.
You can choose your favourite colour stitching on nearly the entire range of products, and of course since we're handcrafting every item to order, there's no extra charge.
Swipe through to see the beautiful detail on the back of these key tags.
Our lovely workshop neighbour Pam @cloverleacrystals is always full of unique ideas for very thoughtful gifts. She wanted to design something to celebrate her daughter Chelsi's engagement.
Chelsi and Joe got engaged in a stunning mountain location near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
Pam being so creative, sketched the mountain tops in the area and figured out the co-ordinates for the spot where the big question was popped.
We decided to position those details on one side, with the happy couple's names and the date on the other.
Once we were settled on a layout, @laserus.co.uk once again did a superb job of etching it all into the leather. Preserved forever.
The blue stitching finished things with a nice pop of colour, and a solid brass split ring capped it all off.
These made for a truly unique pair of gifts, and I'm sure they'll be enjoyed for many years of good use.
After a thoroughly enjoyable break from this social media lark, I'm back baby. The workshop has been up and running since early January, but it's probably time to jump back on the horse and return to spamming you all with glorious leather goods again.
The Christmas break was fantastic. Probably the most enjoyable in years. I managed to strike a bit more of a work/life balance for the first time, so actually got to enjoy some time not sat at my workbench, which for December is a novelty. Still a fair few 1am finishes, but overall it ran much more smoothly.
We picked out the best Christmas tree I've ever seen, cooked Christmas dinner for 9 and managed to not poison anybody, and enjoyed the build up to the big day as much as the main event itself.
It's a unique gift I get every year, to receive messages throughout Christmas day from those of you who have bought a special gift from Rawhide Custom, passing on the glowing feedback from the recipients when they've opened their new leather goods nestled beneath the tree.
This year there was more of a slant towards bespoke items, which was a nice change. I've got plenty of photos to share in coming weeks, but again I want to say thank you for choosing this independent workshop to create those gifts to last a lifetime.
I hope you all had a great break (though it already feels an age ago) and are enjoying a happy start to 2026.
Here's to a year of health, happiness, and plenty of adventure.
And here's to my Guinness World Record for the most belated New Year post.
