Handmade leather pipe pouch, the early years

[Will46r]

I'm kind of having trouble with both on the buffalo. First, the leather is so springy that the groover won't cut it, and the marks from the overstitch wheel spring back pretty quickly. However, I can get a good enough line to see and good enough pricks to find with the awl. The worst is trying to punch it - I finally figured out where to put both fingers right over where the awl comes through, but I'm having an absolute devil of a time getting the holes to stay in a straight line on the back side due to the way the leather gives and bends.

Try using a fine pen to mark the leather in the points from the over stitch wheel. Have you tried wetting the leather before grooving? Try backing the leather with another piece of leather or thin wood with a small hole drilled in it.