DIYSELF 100 PCS Exacto Knife Blades, SK5 Carbon Steel #11 Exacto Blades Refill Craft Art Knife Replacement Blade with Storage Case for Craft, Hobby, Scrapbooking, Stencil

Good design, fair stitching for a first attempt. After stitching, use a small hammer or mallet to flatten the stitches, it sets them into the leather and also, I think, improves the look a little. I'd say you need to use sharper cutting tools to get cleaner cuts on your pieces. I like disposable utility knives (aka box cutters) and X-acto blades. They're cheap, so when they start to dull you just swap them for a new blade. Invest a few buck in good quality handles for them, though, and they'll fit your hand better, which makes the cutting more comfortable and results in smoother, cleaner cuts. Next skill to develop is edge burnishing. I've tried a number of burnishing agents and tools, and I get the best results with Tokonole and a wooden slicker. I know it's expensive compared to beeswax or gum tragacanth, but it's worth it because a little goes a long way, and the results are terrific. A wooden slicker does the job well; I have both hand-held slickers and a couple that fit in my cordless Dremel. Another option for edging is edge paint, like Edge Cote. That's fairly easy to learn and gives nice results, but I'd stick with low-impact items like wallets for edge paint and use burnishing on high-impact stuff like holsters and belts.