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Hi to everyone. I'm a noobie to this forum and a beginner leather worker. In the past, I fabricated some axe and hatchet masks as well as some knife sheaths. For the sewing"holes' I first stamped some holes with a 4 mm Craftool then drilled these out with a 5/64 bit in a drill press. I saddle stitched the pieces together with Tandy Harness Needles size 000 and some thick waxed thread of a size I no longer know. I would now like to fabricate some belts for friends and family. I've spent hours researching needle size and pricking irons and am now more confused than ever. Some (much?) of this confusion is due to the limited number of suppliers up here in western Canada. Can someone steer me in the right direction and provide me the correct needle size and 'hole maker' I need to sew with .8 mm Ritza thread. If you can recommend a source here in Canada that would be a bonus. Bobby B

Can any one explain the different types of edgers? I have seen the following straight edgers round edgers cowboy edgers bisonet edgers common edgers French edgers I need an edger that will work with 7/8 and 6/7 that will cut tight curves and make my edges round. any advice ?

Heck yeah, nice work!!!!

Let's see the blade and how you hold the tool. Why do you put it in the fridge? It will stay too wet All you have to do is mist your work, then put some plastic wrap over it and seal it up. You don't have to rewet it to the point of soaking it, nor keep it that wet when not working. The idea is that you get it moist and keep it moist enough to work when you want to work it, not supposed to be a process of overwatering then waiting hours for it to dry every time you want to work. PS, it takes years to learn to tool well. youre doing fine. Merry Christmas!!!

First, Thanks for the quick help! I‘ve launched some inquiries to the mentioned adresses! Merry Christmas to all the leatherworkers out there!

It looks like a combination of a couple things. Too wet & dull swivel knife. I have also seen belly leather do this.

A local industrial sewing machine guy is a valuable asset. The 280-L appears to be one of the many machines like the 111W series and it should have reverse. Most of us equip a machine like that with a servo motor and a speed reducer. But that's a rabbit hole you can burrow into of you decide to pursue it.

It's a good question and I'll be interested in what the mad geniuses here have to say. Does it happen before or after you refrigerate it? Or does it matter?

@Irishleather It looks really good! A seat is a difficult project due to all the curves and swooping shapes, so I think he did ha great job. I think the colour is spot on. It will be a joy to ride once the entire motorcycle is completed. Brgds and merry Christmas Jonas

HaHa, did you see that? Like I said, we both limped after it was all done. Many adventures on that first attempt at a bag, or pretty much anything for that matter. That little project pushed both the machine and I beyond our capabilities but we survived! I'm just shameless enough to show it on this forum.

After reading that, I must admit that my hands have toughened up over the years, pulling on thread isn't so difficult , but these days it's arthritis, carvers cramp, and my left hand seizes up holding a stamping tool,can be painful at times. I like dikmans idea though. HS

Price drop; £650

Wow, that's stunning!

I'm embarassed to ask this when I have experiented with tooling this long already. Seems fundamental or elementary. I put red dots near what I mean. The slightly raised ridge lines with tiny stretch marks pulled along with them. It's good leather; HO. I did have to stick it in the fridge overnight after tracing lines, to work more later on when I had more time, but that's going to happen a lot in my life. If I'm moistening it too much, esp. to bag and refridgerate, I'll have to get a handle on it. t's more moist than the color looks here; a whack on a shader burnishes nicely. If it's because my blade isn't sharp enough... I don't know what to do. I have worked at that art of sparpening until it will shave some skin off my thumb. Surely that's at least as sharp as some guys who do great and claim personal sharpening deficienies. It is stroped to mirror smooth and all. I didn't start or end those visible lines very gracefully but, neverminding that -- ...could I be cutting just too deeply? It's 9 or 10 oz. and it just didn't feel like I was cutting through too deeply relative to the leather's thickness. But I guess going deep enough may force the line so wide, with a standard blade, that it eventually reaches the end of the bevel on the blade, even. Maybe that could cause pulling as well. I'm a little lost on something here that's obviously such a beginner thing I should never have gone this long without asking. Sometimes I luck up and only have this happen on one side of lines that I'm going to bevel enough to cover it up. Back beveling doesn't help as much, lol. Thanks for your thoughts. Too moist and too deep?

@Zonker1972 For future reference, either reply 'sold' or you could use the "Report" function in the upper right corner. We lock them and move them to Old/Sold. Like I'm about to do here ...

Nice save! Sometimes the leather decides the design for you, and working freehand ends up giving it way more character than a perfect transfer would have.

this tippmann boss has been sold but i can not figure out how to delete the post. any help is appreciated. thanks

Thank you sorry if I posted in wrong section.

Two Kingsley Hot Foil Stamp Machines and accessories. These were my Dads machines and I don’t know much about them but they are clean and both work. Model M-100-A and AM-60-AS Asking $1250 OBO Located in Orange County California Some reason I can’t load photos, email me and I will send

Thank you AlZilla. I read through Wiz's thread, very comprehensive and loaded with interesting and technical information. I'll keep working with that little 130 trying to improve my skills and enjoying the process. The little 130 I found for just $30 and had to buy a motor, belt and rebuilt the old lamp in it. Admittedly I don't know much about sewing machines, but believe she is doing pretty good and is the one I can use as the fancier 332's needle hits metal when the zigzag moves to the left. I haven't worker on her for a while and hope to get her fixed and sell it eventually so that I can fix the 226 and keep it and the 130 for my personal use. You mention the Singer 306 and I am yet to look it up and see how she is like the Pfaff 130. Now if the Singer 206 is that tiny, possibly portable, machine. I've seen some around in the ads and they go for a lot of money. I am hoping to pick up a Nakashima 280L and make that my first "leather sewing machine". It is at a local shop where she will be worked over, a servo motor installed and be a "turnkey" purchase. It might be priced on the high end of the spectrum but the shop is staffed by someone who seems to be a very honest gentleman who is always very helpful. I feel there is value in that. If I do, I'll be sure to share the information in this forum. Thanks again! Now I'll go look for the306 via Google before getting to some computer work I've been putting off.

Outstanding work!

Thank you. Thanks. He saw some sample tooling and approved so it won't be a complete surprise. Randy

Oh that jogs a memory. I've got a deal in the works to buy this machine that has two foot pedals. It might be for raising the presser foot though 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, a lot of us learn that the hard way. Partly because a lot of semi-scrupulous sellers market them as leather machines. You could put a bigger motor under the table and a torque increasing speed reducer. But you're still limited by the needle and thread size. But ... Let's talk about these Pfaff's! I haven't found one yet because they usually bring a premium price. You have multiples! I believe Singer bought the rights to make a machine based on the 130. If you look at Singer 306's you can see the similarity. A friend of mine recently found a Singer 206, of which I am most envious. It's a pint sized version of the 306. You have a great machine and I suggest you look into making some denim bags. I made a bunch from thrift store jeans and people loved them. The skills you learn will mostly translate to to a bigger machine, once you find one. Then just start keeping an eye out. I started my industrial adventure with a Singer 111W153, commonly called an "industrial walking foot" machine which is a good range to land in. It's a good all around general purpose machine. Many other kinds serve equally well, maybe better in some cases. Have you looked at Wiz's treatise on leather sewing machines? https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/25239-the-type-of-sewing-machine-you-need-to-sew-leather/

Very impressive! Looks like a lot of work, I'm sure he'll love it.