If you didn’t already have enough reason to really want a laser cutter, here’s another: a beautifully cut wallet. Sure, you could probably use heavy scissors to make this, but Mat Thorne and Devin Montgomery instead use this more elegant cutter for a more civilized age. It also seems to produce a more civilized edge than scissors.
They make these wallets as kits, and they illustrate the process in the imgur link above (or check out the abbreviated version in the gallery below). The wallets start out as goat skin leather which is cut into strips. A laser then does its work to cut out the patterns. This results in repeatable wallet components that are then sewn together to make a holder for your cash and cards.
Thorne and Montgomery first learned to work with leather in Boy Scouts, but haven’t been extremely involved in the leather world until recently. Montgomery thought of the wallet design originally, but ideas were bounced around between the two, resulting in the wallet you see today.
If you don’t want (or have the tools required) to cut your own wallet, they sell them on fabnik.com as kits. The recipient just has to sew and burnish it.
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