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Everything posted by WyomingSlick
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Hi, I have a W560, a couple of Y654s, and a non lettered 652. What others do you have on your list? I have hundreds of extra tools, so perhaps I have others you are looking for.
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This is the hardest to find of all of Al Stohlman's books. I have seen maybe five copies come up for auction on eBay in the last ten years. This is also the only AS book that I am missing. The winning bid price has always been more than I was willing to pay. I am thinking the last one went for over forty dollars. Perhaps if we are lucky, TLF will see fit to reprint it in the future.
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I am thinking you have a metal lathe if you can turn down the knurling. Tell you what I did just for fun. I got some very small bearings on eBay..... turned down the shaft inside the yoke, and bored out the yoke just a wee bit......installed two bearings with a spacer between them by very carefully epoxying ,,,and wallah.....I now have a Craftoool old- time swivel knife with a ball bearing yoke.
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Answer 1 Eskimos 2. Tahiti
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Can Anyone Identify This Swivelknife?
WyomingSlick replied to NoName's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
I would guess that it was sold by Tandy under the Craftool name, although it may have been a Leather Factory Knife. Both seemed to have slightly differant models from year to year. I have five or six myself, all slightly differant, including one that was supposed to be a gold-plated aniversary model. All of them have the set screw length adjustment and the heavier cast yoke feature with swivel bearings. Some seem to be better bearings than others. It is interesting that most swivel knife makers never felt the need to brand their tools until recent years. Even Ray Hackbarth only marked some of his knives with his name. Same with Osbourne and HD knives. In any case, a good knife is a good knife, regardless of the name on it. -
Actually Bruce, I am not sure what, if any, relationship there is there. The above was something I posted many years ago and I believe I made an assumption that may not be valid. I really don't remember why I thought they were related. I know I only have a few CraftJapan stamps which came in an eBay lot I purchased. I haven't bought a new stamp from Tandy in over a decade so I have no idea what they even say on them as of today. I googled CraftJapan and didn't find out anything new. The post on this forum that was supposed to have a link to CraftJapan stamps took me to a site that had Craftools on it. Anybody know of any referances to the CraftJapan stamps and what company produces them?
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Have you looked at mylar gold thread? Google that and see if that will suit your purpose. Another possibility is gold colored Kevlar Thread that could be twisted into heavier threads and would add ultimate strength to the item.
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Need A Small Modeling Tool Holder --- Gizmo --- Thing
WyomingSlick replied to Elizabeth Chase's topic in Old/Sold
You need to check around and find an amateur machinist. Most any of them could produce a tool holder for you. You would be surprised how many guys have a small lathe in their garage and would be glad to make you a holder. You could even barter some leather item their way in trade. -
This is the guide that I posted on ebya many years ago and seems to have been accepted as the source for most sellers and buyers there. Disclaimer: The following is only my opinion as based on many years of observation of the thousands of Craftools that have been in my hands. It is not my intent to malign Craftools or Tandy in any way. The old saying: "You get what you pay for" applies very well to Craftools. In 1953, the average price of a Craftool was approximently equal to the average working man's hourly wage. Projecting that forward to the present, the average price of a Craftool should be around $12.00! That kinda brings into perspective the relative price of Craftools as opposed to the prices of the custom toolmakers, doesn't it? Craftools have been made since the later 1940's. Generally speaking; the stamps produced in the early years are better tools. If you compare a collector tool made in the early "craftsmanship" days of the 1950s to one produced within the last decade or two - the difference is readily apparent. The earlier tools will generally have better knurling and chrome plating. Tool finish will be better as most tools were hand ground by a master craftsman. In fact, many of the later tools were formed by die stamping on a machine and show no evidence of hand grinding, AND: as the dies wore out many inferior tools were produced. Of course the dies were replaced from time to time and the first tools made with them will be better than the later ones. The other problem is that the later tools will have been made by a factory worker who worked for an hourly wage and may have been motivated by production and not so much quality. The earliest Craftools were made by machinists who had to meet a quality standard or Craftool would not accept the tool. In my opinion; I am not too sure Craftool even had a quality control department in the later years. In any event, Craftool Co was bought out by Tandy in the early sixties and shortly thereafter, the lineup of availible Craftools was sharply trimmed back. That is why many of the older tools will not even be found in a letter-prefix version. On the other hand, they have introduced many new tools which are not to be found in an unlettered version. A great many of the "figure carving" tools fall into this category. A rough guideline as to age can be made from what is stamped on the handle; If it says: 1. CRAFTOOL CO - No Number-most likely made before Craftool started putting the numbers on the tools around 1950. 2. CRAFTOOL CO. - with only a number, it was made prior to 1963. 3. CRAFTOOL CO. - with a letter prefix & number it was made about 63' to 68' 4. CRAFTOOL CO. USA - with a letter and number it was made after 69" 5. CRAFTOOL USA - with a letter and number it was made more recently, and 6. CraftJapan - made very recently AND in Japan So what happened? In the early years, Craftools were made by machinists. These machinists were readily available as the postwar years left a great supply of out-of-work machists available and many of these produced tools for Craftool among others such as RBS, Cal-Carv, etc. As the years went by these craftsman retired and the market for good leathercarving tools declined. As the Golden Era of the Westerns (movies and television) slacked off, fewer people were taking up leathercraft. Another factor was that Craftool was bought out by Tandy and the operation went from a job-lot operation to a factory type one. So for these, and other reasons, Craftools declined in quality. It reached the point by the mid-70's where most serious leathercraftsmen wouldn't order a stamping tool by mail anymore. They would wait until they were able to visit a store and select the tool from the store inventory. My best advice when buying Craftools on eBay? Buy the older pre USA tools if you can find them. Look carefully at the pictures for signs of neglect such as excessive rust and of course damage to the tool face. Be wary of bad pictures-sometimes there is a reason why they don't have a good picture
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Actually it should be legal under the free use provisions
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I wouldn't be worried a bit about using them on items for sale as long as you don't suggest the leather item they are used on was made by the HD company. I would think any copywrite issues would have been settled between the stamp maker and HD a long time ago and that would have included the use of the stamp on whatever.
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Dyi: Making Tool Rack For Leather Stamps In 15 Minutes
WyomingSlick replied to Suicide's topic in How Do I Do That?
I wouldn't recomend this as a means of traveling with tools unless you are going to put them into tool rolls, and then put the tool rolls in the box. Just putting the stamps in loose would allow them to bang into each other and perhaps ruin the chrome plating, not to mention wear and tear on the tool faces. For traveling with tools and needing minimum storage space: the best solution I ever saw was a fellow I ran into twenty years ago. He kept all his stamps in tool rolls with three or four hanging grommets. The rolls were then hung on a folding wire rack he had built himself from heavy coat hangers. -
Yes, I think they are a good buy also - I bought one five months ago. I emailed him and he is plenty willing to make custom sized ones for people who want something differant.
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Attaboy Mike!!! Not only did you get yourself a couple of pieces that look like they will do fine, you also demonstrated that you are a good person. A heartfelt thank you goes a long way in these days where so many seem to just take things for granted.
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Another possibility is to locate a local gunsmith. He should have a quality setscrew that will do.
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Nice contribution to the forum. Looks like a nice cheap alternative for those who are still toying with the idea of a custom stamp and are not sure what they want. With this method, they could make several differant styles, and see how they work out for their products.
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Looks to me like Amin. doesn't give a damn. Some of them have been there for 4 months.
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So......what is with the strange blog entries? There are a number of blog entries that are very nonsensical and as far as I can tell; have nothing to do with leatherwork. In fact, they seem to be just gibberish for the most part. Checking out the profile pages of the submitting parties, I found nothing to enlighten me as there is no information on the members. So......what do we have? A group of patients from a mental institution??? :wtf: Or is it something more sinister? Perhaps it is a terrorist cell using the blogs to pass information in code .
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A while back I aquired some stamping tools that seem to have been made for folks with small hands....kids? .....elves?.,,,munchkins?.....I don't know? The small basketweave on the left measures only 3 1/4" long while the others are around 3 1/2 inches. The Craftool shown, by comparison, is about 4 1/4" long which is about average for most leather stamps. The basketweave is chrome-plated and has a numeral "6" or "9" stamped in the shaft. The other wee tools are unplated steel with no markings at all. All of these are well made and make decent impressions........so......does anybody know anything about em?
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Ray Hackbarth's Swivel Knives - Ahead Of His Tme
WyomingSlick replied to WyomingSlick's topic in Leather History
And here is a scan from Leather Secrets showing F.O.Baird using a Ray Hackbarth swivel knife. That should come as no surprise since Baird worked for a time at Porter's and likely knew Ray Hackbarth. -
A while back I finally aquired a Ray Hackbarth 1000D swivel knife for much less than I ever expected to pay for one on eBay. This was due to the fact that the knife was not identified as a Hackbarth knife in the auction and everyone else was sleeping, LOL! While I have seen several regular 1000 model knives sold on eBay, this was the first and the only 1000D I ever saw. I have to put this one down as one of my top five eBay buys of all time. Do I sound tickled? You bet I am!!!! Long before most leatherworkers ever heard of Don and Barry King; Ray Hackbarth was producing top bench leather stamps and swivel knives down there in Phoenix, Arizona for many of the saddlemakers who worked for N. Porter Saddle and Harness Company. Ray also advertised in magazines and sold tools through the mail. His advertsement in the May-June 1948 issue of Western Horseman as shown below seems to indicate that he not only was one of the first to use stainless steel for his stamps, he may also take credit for being the first to use a ball bearing in the swivel knives he made. Also shown in the first picture is the cover of Ray's brochure (circa 1950) and the swivel knives he offered within. And here are my two of my Hackbarth knives complete, disassembled, and a close up of the Hackbarth name on the barrel of the 1000 model. The 1000D does not have Ray's name on it. I know that I have seen model 1000 for sale on eBay that also did not have the name on them so perhaps he only started putting the name on the later knives he made.
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Ed, what equipment/materials and procedure do you use for sharpening/honing these?
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Actually Ron, they can be sharpened. But, because of what they are, that is "RUBY", which is only one step down from diamond, which is the top of the hardness scale, the only thing that is going to work is a diamond stone and/or diamond paste. The "rubyat blade" was designed and produced to never need conventional sharpening and never should - unless: the edge is damaged. The original listing in the Tandy catalog stated : "Rubyat Ever-sharp Gem Ruby Blade NEVER needs sharpening, stropping, or honing." Tina is absolutely right - only strop them on a clean piece of leather. This should pull of any residue which is causing the blade to drag. For tough gunk, soak a bit in soapy water. Do not use any solvents which may break the cement bond between the ruby and the brass! Technically, stropping them on any strap with compound should not hurt them since ruby is harder than stropping compounds, unless they are ruby or diamond based. But then, they won't do you any good either. As to sharpening: if the blade is nicked, then it will require re-sharpening. I believe it has been stated on here that Bob Beard, the toolmaker, offers this service. I haven't tried him since I'm kinda of a do-it-myself guy. I had one chipped rubyat blade that was my brother's when we were kids. I put it back in action by carefully honing it back to a sharp point on a bonded fine diamond honing plate and finished polishing it up with diamond paste on a piece of thick plate glass. I have also used the diamond paste on glass to polish up ceramic blades that were dragging a bit. I actually do not use any of my rubyat blades often as the ceramic blades work just as good, and are much easily replaced. The only problem with ceramic blades is that they do not come in some of the thicknesses that I prefer. And basically" a properly sharpened steel blade will cut that hide fine as it is much harder than any piece of leather.
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I was pleased to see that Electrathon added the qualifier as to the older Craftools quality. I, myself stopped buying tools from Tandy through the mail in the late 70's after an extended problem getting a decent rose shader from them. The ones they kept sending me looked more like an oversized background tool in that they were nearly flat, and not curved side to side, and toe to heel like a proper shader. After that, I only bought from the store when I could personally pick a tool from the selection they had on hand. More than once, I left the store without the desired stamp as none were acceptable. I feel that anyone is better off buying Craftool stamps off of eBay rather than fron TLFs current line of Craftools. I have aquired hundreds of Craftools off of eBay and now can boast of a vintage (no letter prefix) set of all, except a few, of the stamps offered in the Craftool catalogs from 1947 to 1963 when TANDY started adding the prefix number on the tools. Tandy bought out Craftool Co. in 1961. LOL - things went downhill since then! Anyway, the thing is that a lot of Craftools were bought in the fifties, and many of those are showing up on eBay as the original buyers pass on, and their heirs dispose of their tools. Some of these were well taken care of, others were not. If you just want basic tools like the 104 mentioned above, they can be had for far less than the new price at TLF. Of course, the rarer CC (Craftool CO) stamps can be much more expensive. I urge any members who are interested in buying older Craftools to check out my eBay buying guides at http://search.reviews.ebay.com/members/wy-slick You may also find various articles on my blog page here on the leatherworker.net to be informative. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=blog&module=display§ion=blog&blogid=31 There is a Craftool Index that I compiled there of most of the older Craftools. I would also like to encourage readers to post comments and any questions they may have. Also suggestions for future postings they would like to see. And the topic is not limited to Craftools, I also collect Cal-Carved, RBS, Ray Hackbarth, McMillen, and other stamps. Getting back to the 104 that broke, here are two examples of early Craftool 104 stamps that were sold on eBay. Can you picture either of these two breaking?? Makes a fellow wonder why they stopped making the tool like that and started producing a weaker design tool????
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I agree with WinterBear; this is very versatile stuff - I have it in many differant colors. The fact that it can be split down, or combined to make exactly the size you desire is a big plus in my book. I have also split it down and then twisted it up with several Kevlar threads to make a "bulletproof" thread when I wanted a thread of exceptional strength - the natural artiificial sinew and the yellow Kevlar blend together well.