Hand-made leather backpack/boxpack

Howdy, folks. I decided I wanted to make a unique backpack. Here are a few photos of it!

I started by looking at similar designs and making sketches incorporating the features I liked from them. Ultimately I came to find that I really liked the look of squared off, rigid box style packs. Here was the sketch I decided to work from. Not everything from the sketch ended up being practical, but for the most part I think I got pretty close.

Before cutting any leather, I made a mockup out of my sketches and measurements with a far cheaper material, leftover cardboard. Most of my measurements and notes were pretty good! I came across a few serious things that needed addressed before making the real thing, so this prototype saved a lot of headache, wasted time and money.

I unfortunately got too focused on the build process and neglected to take a lot of photos of it going together, but really there isn't much to see that these few photos don't show. Here's the basic form of the box going together. One long piece makes up the front, bottom and rear, and two gussets form the sides. I used a very stiff piece of vegetable tanned leather for this project. It was a huge pain to get the folds made, but due to the stiffness it made the box very sturdy and rigid once the sides got riveted on.

Whenever possible I try to run load bearing points through to rivet behind the main body of leather. This produces a cleaner look and also serves to distribute tension better.

Here's a shot of the back before attaching the straps and sides. These D rings are what the shoulder straps will attach to. They're removable, so it can be carried by the handle without the straps getting in the way.

Sides all riveted on!

Making the shoulder straps required some extra fortification.

All done. This was my first time designing a harness like this so it could fit a little better than it does, but that will just be an improvement for next time.

My mother always gets first crack at modeling anything I make. The straps don't work too great with us short folks, but a larger person would probably wear it better.

Kitty tax. Thanks for looking!