Brass Steampunk Pouch

A pouch made of brass, nickle, and leather. Basically used with my steampunk garb to hold my phone and such.
This is a brass pouch I made for my steampunk garb. It's designed to fit onto my belt and worn around my corset. It's one of my very first metalsmithing projects I've ever made. It's 5.5 inches wide, 5.75 inches tall, and 2 inches deep, meaning it can hold my cell phone, wallet, and camera pretty well.

It took about 20 hours to complete, working for 3 hours every other day for 3 weeks. It's 20 gauge brass with 22 gauge nickel over it on the front plate and the lid. The only thing I didn't make on the pouch is the lock, which I bought at a leather store. I designed and cut all the pieces myself, though I'm not 100% sure on what type or size the leather is.

I also etched the front plate, though I do admit to having a lot of help with this part! My friend showed me how to etch with this blue plastic paper and acid, he said it's a technique used for print making. I honestly have no idea how it all worked, but it took about 2 hours in total.

It's all held together by quadrupedal upholstery thread. I had originally planned to use rivets, but time constraints made me use thread. It's surprisingly strong actually! Nothing moves that isn't suppose to, and it's held together very well with normal use so far.

The lid opens with a hinge, which I also made myself, but given a second chance at this project, I'd go buy a hinge in a heartbeat! I had a lot of trouble with this project and while it's not exactly how I'd like for it to look, all in all, I like it and I'd love to make another some time soon!