EP. 01Origins
The First Cut
Marcus Reinholt & Del Yamamoto
How two craftspeople ended up sharing a microphone in a Texas saddle shop, and why the first thing they argued about was which swivel knife angle actually matters.
Jan 9, 202658 min
AWL
Chapter I
Nobody was recording the
real conversations.
It started at the Pacific Leather Show in 2022. Marcus and Del had been circling each other's booths for two days — one building western saddles in a shop outside Amarillo, the other hand-stitching bags in a Portland apartment — when they ended up sharing a folding table after the demos wrapped.
The official talks were fine. But after the lights dimmed, the real conversations started. About which stitching irons held their edge. About the three burnishing methods nobody wrote down because they assumed everyone just knew. About whether vegetable tanning was a craft or a religion.
Nobody was recording any of it. So they bought a decent microphone, drove back to Marcus's shop in Texas, and started Awl.
"
We build things meant to outlast the person who made them. That deserves to be talked about.
M
Marcus Reinholt
Saddlemaker, Amarillo TX · Co-host
The workshop, station by station
Chapter II
Every Conversation,
Archived.
Episode one is free. Always. No account needed.
6 episodes recorded
EP. 02Technique
Edge Work
Priya Sundaram
Priya has been edge finishing bags in Chennai for twenty years. She explains why the bevel angle changes everything and why most tutorials get it backwards.
Jan 16, 202651 min
EP. 03Saddlery
Saddle Fit
James Whitfield
James has been fitting saddles to horses in Kentucky for thirty-one years. He has opinions about tree width that will make you reconsider everything.
Jan 23, 202664 min
EP. 04Finishing
Dye & Wax
Tomás Herrera
Tomás runs a small tannery outside Guadalajara. The conversation starts with neatsfoot oil and ends with a recipe for a finishing wax he has never written down.
Jan 30, 202647 min
EP. 05Business
Quitting Your Day Job
Amara Osei
Amara left a marketing job in Atlanta to make bags full-time on Etsy. She explains the math, the fear, and the first order that made her cry.
Feb 6, 202655 min
EP. 06Technique
Thread Theory
Kenji Watanabe
Kenji stitches wallets in Kyoto using techniques passed from his grandfather. He has a calm, precise opinion about why waxed linen will always outlast synthetic thread.
Feb 13, 202660 min
Chapter III
The Techniques
Library.
Three free clips, no signup. The kind of thing that used to only get passed bench to bench.
7 minFree
StitchingEP. 01
Saddle Stitch Tension
Marcus demonstrates the wrist rotation that keeps both sides even.
5 minFree
Edge FinishingEP. 02
Tokonole vs. Gum Trag
Priya's side-by-side test with the same piece of Hermann Oak.
9 minFree
ToolingEP. 01
Swivel Knife Angle
The 45° debate, settled by someone who has cut 10,000 patterns.
6 min
DyeingEP. 04
Alcohol Dye Layering
Tomás explains why three thin coats always beat one thick one.
12 min
SaddleEP. 03
Tree Fitting Basics
James on the one measurement most beginners skip entirely.
4 min
StitchingEP. 06
Stitching Iron Spacing
Kenji on 3mm versus 4mm and when each choice is correct.
Chapter IV
The Craftspeople
at the Bench.
Every guest has spent more hours at a workbench than in a meeting room. We keep it that way.
Marcus Reinholt
EP. 01 & 03Saddlemaker
Amarillo, TX
Third-generation saddlemaker. Has built over 400 working western saddles. Co-host.
Del Yamamoto
EP. 01Bag Maker
Portland, OR
Self-taught. Went from software engineer to full-time leather artisan in 2019. Co-host.
Priya Sundaram
EP. 02Artisan Leather Worker
Chennai, India
Twenty years finishing edges on handmade bags. Teaches workshops across South Asia.
James Whitfield
EP. 03Equestrian Saddler
Lexington, KY
Thirty-one years fitting saddles to horses. Certified by the Society of Master Saddlers.
Tomás Herrera
EP. 04Tanner & Finisher
Guadalajara, Mexico
Runs a small vegetable tannery. The only person on the show who makes the leather before working it.
Amara Osei
EP. 05Independent Maker
Atlanta, GA
Left marketing to make bags full-time. Top 1% Etsy seller. Still answers every DM.