Old Leather Tools

[Handstitched]

G'Day,

Recently I attended a massive auction in the Central Wheatbelt , Western Australia.

It was a deceased estate, with a lifetime of collectables on offer. Old tools , old cars & parts etc., kitchenalia & old appliances.... too numerous to list. And the prices people were paying were way OTT , way above their real value and just plain silly, they just didn't know when to stop.

But, I was able to get myself an old saddlers clamp. ( or , saddlers clam)

It's 47" high, 3 1/2" wide at the top down to 1 3/4" at the bottom.

Theres no names or brands. Not sure of what type of wood. But its in very good useable condition, which is the reason I wanted it.

With that were a couple of hames, rusty, mismatched, one good, one not so good.

I paid $100 (Australian) . Not sure if thats a good price(?) mainly for the clamp, but thats as high I was prepared to go anyway.

The other item/s I was able to get, was a shoe stretcher. I think it was originally from the 'Magic Polish Co. in Leicester UK . The patent number is 3155 ,3133 or 31 88? Its a bit hard to see.Although theres a lot of surface rust, its in good working condition. With that, was also a box full of old leather soles & heels.

( a bit off topic, but the box is from the 'Kraft-Walker' Cheese factory)

I also paid $100 Aust.

I also wanted a collection of old shoe lasts, many of which I could use as anvils, but they went way too high.

There was also a cobblers leather shaping machine, a bit like a mangle, two rollers, , but I didn't really have a use for that, nor do I have the space in my workshop. But that went way above $500+

Anyway, have a look at the pics, and tell me what you think.

Thanks

All the best

HS

[Hi Im Joe]

Very cool stuff. That saddlers clamp is SWEET!

[cem]

That's a good price for a clamp in Australia, especially in WA as the older ones don't come up that often. I've always wondered if some of the old leatherwork machines splitters, skivers etc are hiding out in the country towns as they sure don't make an appearance in the metro area.

[MonicaJacobson]

Cool! I'd love to run into that situation.

[mlapaglia]

That Kraft box could be worth some money.

[Handstitched]

G'Day ,

Thanks peeps

There was a lot of other things I love to have a bought, but like I said, the prices were just going crazy.

People were buying on impulse & without thinking.

I'll give the clamp a clean up and an oil up and some TLC, put some pieces of leather on the jaws ready to use.

The shoe stretcher, although quite old, is still useable. But the leather soles & heels,

were mainly collectables. Although saying that, its a bit of a pipe dream, I do fancy myself being a cobbler....one day

Thanks

HS

[Handstitched]

G'Day again,

I did give the saddle clamp a good clean and oil up, and now you can see the grain of the wood.

WOW, what a difference.

I just simply started with a light sanding with light/med grade sanding block, and pretty soon many years of dust, grease & garage grime started to come off to reveal a nice grain underneath.

And just a wipe over with some turps, and a coat or two of oil and a few off cuts of splits on the jaws.

I'm not a woodworker, but is the wood Beech?

There a few 'before & after' pics.

I'm quite happy with that.

Thanks

HS

[Handstitched]

PS.

You can just see my stitching ponies, 3 different sizes, hanging under my bench in the back ground.

I made those.

HS