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As kgg mentioned, I've tried stitching with a sheet of copy paper under difficult materials. This made the stitching easier, but I had trouble removing all the bits of paper afterward. Perhaps something thinner that would dissolve in the water like tissue paper (the kind people wrap gifts in) or aluminum foil or wax paper or mineral oil or flour and water or cornmeal (ew!) or any of your favorite spices from the kitchen cabinet. Spitballing here, have not tried any of these 🙃

I struggle getting a highly diluted color across a wide background. Streaks appear where strokes overlap. If I leave my leather without color when I put on a coat of oil, the leather takes on a slightly pink/flesh color. Not a good look for my pieces.

I have a Barry King Maul for $60 and Vergez Blanchard style edge pliers for $50, honestly I think these a real Vergez Blanchard, I bought these so long ago that I just cant remember, I think back then they didn't print the brand name big on the side because you don't see copies of these, only VB makes them, $150 for both, $7 shipping each

Hello all! I'm selling my Regad style creasing tips as a set because they are meant to be used together, for just $100 plus $5 shipping it includes the following. I'm selling this cheap so please don't ask to break up the set. I included pictures of my work so you can see the stitch line and crease...BEAUTIFUL! it's the same spacing Hermès usesF3.5 Style: (used to create a stitch line) the FN2 has some carbon build up because it's the one I smoothed edge paint with and when I cleaned it off it didn't glide over the edge paint as nice but I can clean it for you but if I were you I'd keep as-is for edge paint work FN2 Style: used to put a perfectly spaced crease right on the stitch, this creates the rounded crease Hermès is known for FN2 round Style: used on curves, gussets etc FN2 Detail Style: use on hard to get to areas and small parts to crease

Nice work. Looks great.

Thanks for the reply. It is so well done I didn't even think about an inner sheath. Beautifully done!

Decided to update/upgrade my own wallet. My own design, version 2.0 Hand tooled, hand stitched as always. Was trying to make it look like an old tractor with the dye/paint. Didn't come out like I had it pictured in my brainus, but I'm happy with it. Questions and comments are always welcome.

No, that's a quilter. They'll sew long runs of little pieces together like that in their construction process. She'll cut them apart later and sew them to other pieces, so no need to lock their stitches. The Davis machines were fairly popular a hundred+ years ago, so who knows. EDIT: the plate you refer to above is a straight stitch plate. I hadn't thought of that and it reminded me - Have you played with the also often overlooked presser foot pressure?

Yes the leather is extremely thin and buttery soft but perfect for what I make. I agree with you that the qualities of the leather I love are also its problems. I am looking at trying a needleplate that has a hole only like the vintage singers. It still leaves the feed dog problem but maybe I could remove them and tape over the holes. Worth a try! I use standard Gutermann polyester thread and have tried all styles of machine needles, including leather usually size 80 or 90. I did previously use a heavy twisted silk thread from Germany which was excellent but is not produced anymore My list of several domestic machines include vintage (1980's) Pfaff and Husqvarna's, Singer featherweights, 201 and 99k, a new Brother embroidery/sewing and currently a Bernina 1260 which sews well apart from the sticky drag of the leather. I did mount a industrial wheel presser foot to the Singers which worked ok and was able to sew but still have the issue of the unsupported edge of the seam flapping around a little and the motors were a bit weak. I have thought about adding a servo motor to the Singer but that might be tricky to mount and sew slow enough. Ideally, I would love to try a wheel feed antique Singer but they are very hard to come by here , or even the machine in the video above... I have amassed quite a collection of domestic machines over the years in my search

Put your mind at ease by testing out your myth, tool scrap, let it dry right on your tooling bench, then re-wet it and tool it and see if your worries are even real. OR I use one of these. They work well for a few days and will keep your leather or whatever you put in it moist until it actually gets moldy. https://www.dickblick.com/products/masterson-sta-wet-palette-seal/ They come with a pad liner you wet, then place some plastic wrap between that and your leather.

Agree that an industrial would be overkill for my needs. That was an amazing video to watch and learn of a different type of machine. Its quite a mechanical engineering marvel! I don't like my chances of finding one here in Australia but who knows? Interesting that the person sews off on and off to a scrap fabric at the beginning and ending of each seam. I wonder if that's because it has ne feed dogs? Thanks again

I call those 'training treats' for training my dog, especially when tracking. You slice them up really small and drop the bits on the track. Heh. Serious dog people spend hundreds of dollars on high priced dog food, then give their dogs the cheapest treats imaginable... I very rarely eat hot dogs. There's a trailer at the local Canadian Tire that sells hot dogs, sausages and burgers, plus fries and a few other things during the nice weather. I always go for the sausages, which are really good. They come with free fried onions. The onions go on the bun FIRST. They have dozens of different toppings you can put on yourself - everything from sauerkraut to olives! If my favourite BBQ type sauce isn't available, I've been known to put some ketchup on the brat. Standard dressing for a regular dog in my part of the world, is ketchup, mustard and green relish. We were pretty poor when I was growing up, so we often wrapped our hotdogs in a slice of white bread instead of buying buns. Edit: Chuck, your post at the top of this page seems to have disappeared? All I see is your name.

There's a longtime, as far as I know ongoing, thread that began with questions about whether mineral oil is bad for leather that morphed into an informal experiment regarding the effects of different kinds of oils on leather as used in different environments. I think it's in the subforum on conditioners and finishes. You should check out that thread.

I might just stick to a little Olive Oil (OO) but -- Since I don't make a lot of items or big items, more expensive oil isn't a big deal if there's any, eventual non-spoiling advantage. I have Neatsfoot Oil (NO) but, as you guys know, it makes things darker than OO in short order. My question is -- have you tried fractionated coconut oil and does it immediately darken more like NO, or is it lighter like OO? Thanks! Commentary: I'm still green at tooling and many construction techniques, but with basic veg tan DIY items like quivers, simple little sacks, andsoft cases for Native American-style flutes (NAF's), I have some experience experimenting with different oils for a couple decades, branching off my experimenting with oils for the NAF's (esp. mouthpieces). I really like oiling at least a little, rather than skipping it. Since Neatsfoot NO darkens so much more than OO, I use OO lately in my tooling practice (make the antique paste stand out better... esp. when I do better, hehe). I also like the bacteriostatic formula I made for the wooden mouthpieces but, because it has essential oils to abate spoilage, you have to like a blended whiff of essential oils. I like it, but some people mightn't, and some have allergies. I was thinking of trying fractionated cocnut oil (that doesn't solidify at too high of a temperature like a mild winter day, like regular coconut). I've never had any, Just regular coconut oil that was not noticeable much until it got cold and I had a lightly-buttered flute case. Thanks for weighing in if you have any fractionated coconut oil thoughts.

I want to thank everyone for their input on this! I think I'm reasonably sharp on the blade but will keep an eye on angle (even subtle angle seems to matter when too moist), and the 'fridge method is keeping the leather a bit weird-moist including the very, very surface, at first (what with condensation adding to the mix). To answer a question or two put forth and explain a bit further: Isee to have no real issues, regarding moisture, when doing a small hat patch, or doing scrap practice, anything where I get the job done fast, including how much to moisten of keep moist all in one session. But I want to make giant-breed dog collars (ornately tooled, decently, eventually). But I work slowly, just yet, and a belt or giant collar can take numerous sessions of slipt-up-time, as time allows. My schedule is weird and it could take a couple days before I get back to a project, spend a while, skip two more days, etc... And So: 1) Fridge option: I am afraid that leather kept moist all week, working off and on during "spare time", will rot or spoil after that long, unless it is refridgerated (but I'm inevitably staying too moist or weirdly-distributed moist) 2) Dry/Moist/Dry/Moist option: I am also afraid (and it would be nice if I were wrong...?) that if I just let the leather dry out completely (out on a shelf, open) and moisten it enough to tool more, and potentially repeat numerous times... this goes against my suspicions that yu are not supposed to let leather dry out completely if you have more tooling to do. Somewhere I got this in my head that it sort or work-hardens (?)... that a piece of Herman Oak leather wet, dried fully, then wet again won't tool quite like virgin Herman Oak anymore, and that it starts acting like cheaper or crummy leather the more you moisten and fully-dry and moisten again. That's why I thought you had to retain some level of moisture until fully done tooling. That would be great if concern #2 was non-existent, at least in terms of wetting/drying/wetting less than 4 or 5 time, lol. Then I'll just let 'er dry overnight and re-wet the next day/hour I have available to tool. Otherwise, my second choice seems to be to compromise and let the leather's surface dry a bit out after taking out of the fridge so it behaves better, but isn't totally drying out between sparse sessions. Eventually this 'fridge or no fridge / storing in between tooling options should become moot as my tooling speeds up and I just commit to get tooling done in one session, or at least to get the rest done the very next day (and then I can keep it covered at room temp like I think Chuck123wapiti was suggesting). Thanks to Chuck and everyone who reads and answers my posts! I tried to do this scrap fairly quickly... I can see where I messed up and/or can do way better, but I'll keep practicing. I had to blow out the pipes after being tied up for weeks (months really) and wanted to work toward a viable or practical speed (so definitely skipped the bargrounders for nlater, lol)

Looks like you have made some progress. At this stage, I suggest you think about rigging placement. Unless it is used exclusively on a pony, standard rigging placement is tough to make work. Randy

I realize that this is probably after the fact, but my thought on this was that a Rougher might work: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/products/hand-rougher-tool That would be similar to the other Dwight's suggestion of using a laser etcher, but I'm thinking that a hand tool might give you more control.

I don't have one of these tools, but I went to the Weaver web site to take a look. On the page for the tool they have a couple videos showing how to set up and use the tool, including how to leave a blank space by releasing pressure, advancing the leather, and then re-applying pressure. I think that is what you are looking for? The page for the tool is at https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/products/master-tool-creaser-and-embosser The videos are at the end of the list of photos. Hope this helps.

That sounds like you make what we call a 'pig in a blanket' edit to amend; it sounds a bit like pig in a blanket. That would do good on sales, a mini two-bite hot dog

I make the cheapest chicken dogs ever, with teeny wraps as buns, and tell everyone they are called 'glizzies'. One day, a friend will go to Illinois and unwittingly start a riot.

I have some of those I didn't think anyone still made them. They work really well if you turn your hook rigs end for end and put the sharp ends inside the opening with the line loop on the springy thing.

Just in case someone else is searching for a synchronised biding attachement for a 545 I found two more sources : AE : https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005004038229846.html? DIY made :

The .3mm thickness is really thin leather. The .3mm would sort equate to about 3/4 oz in leather which is about the thickness of three sheets of regular copier paper. I suspect the problem is mainly do to the leather thickness. With such thin leather it will lend itself to stretching which will throw consistent stitch lengths off and the leather probably is being sucked / forced down ever so slightly into the needle hole of the feed dog as well as along the outside edges of the feed dog in the space between the feed dog and the needle plate opening. I have seen this type of problem with my Juki DNU-1541S when I am sewing thin flexible items as it has a large needle opening in the feed dog and just loves to suck things down that hole. I have used regular weight copier paper placed on the feed dog side of the items with some success in the past. A couple of questions. Which domestic machine are you using, what thread size are you using and what size of needle? kgg

I use the second pedal for reverse, but I really don't see a reason why wouldn't you use it for a foot lift. Just connect the pedal and the lifting rod either with a chain or a wire.