Matt S

My maths teacher once proved that 2+2=5.

I wholeheartedly agree with you Chris. People still commission guns from Holland & Holland for 5-figure sums, even though a £200 Baikal will hit birds just as hard. Why? Marketing. A London Best gun, fitted, stocked, engraved and regulated to perfection by a factory full of blokes who have spent decades learning their particular, micro-niche skill-set is a desirable and beautiful thing. There are plenty of small firms hand-making just as beautiful guns as H&H for less money, and lots of larger firms like Beretta and Browning making technically fine guns for even less money. The fact that each of these firms continues to turn a profit tells us that not everyone in the world is looking for the cheapest product they can find. Who you promote your product to, and how, is the difficult problem -- the 1% that can afford a £100 belt? The 50% who won't pay more than £20? Or the 49% who have £40 spending money, can't find a decent belt in the shops, and understands the expense of buying cheap?

You'll have to experiment but acrylic paints, even cheap ones, might work on your suede. Easy to use, easy cleanup, lots of colours available.

Let's take belts as an example, since you mentioned belts. Your local conditions will vary but I think the principle applies. I can buy a belt in a shop for as little as £1. It will be made in China, made of plastic, and with a pot-metal buckle. It won't look great and won't last a month. "But it's only £1! You can't expect it to last!" they say. "Just buy another one when it falls apart." Most shop-boughten belts are in the £15-40 range depending on the brand stamped on them. All are the same (lack of) quality -- two layers of very thin leather glued over a core of foam and if you're lucky stitched all the way round. They last a bit longer than the £1 belts, but not 20x-40x longer. I make belts primarily from Italian bridle leather. 1-1/2 wide, edges rounded, burnished, end pointed, holes punched, turnback skived and a solid brass buckle rivetted on. Nothing clever. I can't buy the buckles for £1, let alone the leather, my labour, overheads... I sell them for about £35 each, a little more if I saddle stitch instead of rivetting. People love them because (to quote a lot of customers) "you just can't find these in the shops any more". They know it's going to last for years. I'm not going to a belt to every person who walks past. I get some negative comments on prices. But to the right people it's worth the £. As other have said -- and this applies to all manufacturing -- you can't compete with the likes of China on price. But price is not everything you can compete on some other aspects -- quality, customer service, design, custom/bespoke work... I voted "yes". I have several sewing machines that have already paid themselves off. I find it interesting that people call sewing machines "expensive" when it's a time-saver. If you're in business, time is money -- literally, that's called wages. Try sewing a 60" dog lead by hand, then by machine, and tell me which is cheaper! (Or tell your customer the price...)

Now that's a machine. There was a Singer 11-24 displayed in this thread: Quite similar to you Pfaff, though it does a zig-zag stitch whereas I think yours does a straight stitch only. That old factory must have some real vintage gems.

Modern pricking wheels by Vergez Blanchard go as fine as 12SPI and their pricking irons to 14 SPI. A 2-tooth 14SPI iron is about €33 direct from them. It wouldn't be difficult, with very basic tools, to cut a piece of square steel bar to suit the job, especially if you're just pricking rather than punching through the leather.

Very tidy machine Joerg. BUSM used to make a machine of similar purpose (probably at a similar timeframe) to your machine. However they need a thick paper tape into which the machine punches, which hasn't been sold for decades, so I've never bought one. That, and I don't make shoes... A video of your newly acquired iron beast would be very interesting once you lay hands on it!

Well that's weird. That looks like some real squashy and spongy belly, which is most likely related to your issue. Does the same thing happen in firmer leather from the same hide? I wonder if you have so much gap between the feed wheel, the knife and the presser foot that it's able to compress against the presser foot and ride over the knif, then spring back again once it's free of the skiver machine. What adjustments would/do you have to make to the machine to successfully skive the 'difficult' bit of leather? And if you put the 'easy' bit of leather through the machine on these settings what happens? Possibly related, but that's a very heavy skive from 0.95 to 0.23mm. Looks like you've gone too deep and are breaking through the 'valleys' of the embossing. Might need to raise the presser foot up a little bit, and the feed wheel if it then doesn't grip.

What does your digital thickness gauge tell you about this piece of leather? If we call the first skived edge A (the one that went fine) and the second skived edge (the one that didn't go very well) B, what is the full thickness of the leather immediately behind each skive and on each skive? What part of the hide is the piece of leather from? Squashy bits like belly could vary a lot. Heavily embossed leathers, like are often seen in handbags, often camouflage these grain variations until you start working them. What shape of skive are you going for -- tapered, flat... tapered skives can vary a surprising amount if the leather isn't brought up to the guide exactly the same each time. As Gigi mentioned, try sharpening and deburring your knife. The guy I bought my skiver off said that solves a lot of "odd" behaviours that can crop up. Bit like putting a fresh needle in your sewing machine I guess. As I said I'm pretty new to bell skivers. Most of my experience is with fairly firm chrome tans so I don't know how applicable these thoughts are.

Hi Chuck, I'm a relative newbie to the bell skiver myself, having bought mine only this month. However I've learned that they can be fussy things and that even a tiny variation in thickness or stiffness, that you might find in a single piece of leather, can make the difference between a good skive and barely any skive -- or a jam. Do you have a way to accurately measure the thickness of the leather around your piece? I use a pocket vernier caliper. You may find that there's a very small variation between the thickness on one side and the other. What sort of leather is it you are skiving? I find that softer leathers can be less forgiving. If it's something with a heavily corrected top surface it may be difficult to see the variations in the grain of they leather which, as you allude, can change the stiffness of the leather and affect how it skives.

Dubbin, or any form of grease or fat that was handy. Works fairly well so long as you appreciate they will never be Welly boot waterproof and you reapply the stuff frequently.

I find that a fast motorised burnisher is essential. It doesn't exactly burnish the leather, more stiffens/stabilises the edge. Then I rub in some beeswax and rub off the excess when it's hardened. This fills in the edge a little. A heated edge glazer tool may work instead of the burnisher, I just haven't had a chance to experiment much since I started using a lot of chrome leather.

I normally mix up a jar at a time, since it doesn't go mouldy on the windowsill behind the bench and I only have to do it once, which will do for several dozen belts. I don't measure it particularly, just put in a big dollop of PVA, top with warm water and give it a mix. If it doesn't penetrate the leather I pour some out and top with water. If it doesn't shine quickly when rubbed into a scrap of leather I pour a bit out and add more glue. I guess 4:1 water:glue is about average but it depends on what PVA I'm using at the time. The stuff sold to tradesmen seems to be "thicker" than the DIY stuff, or the stuff for glueing paper, but just about any PVA I've tried will work. There's nothing particularly magic about PVA, most water-based glues will work on veg-tanned leathers, or at least all the ones I've tried. PVA just happens to be readily available, doesn't go mouldy when mixed up, and I think it gives a slightly more water-resistant seal than most other glues. I believe it polymerises rather than just drying by letting the water evaporate.

Each particular leather responds differently, sometimes even different hides that are ostensibly prepared the same, and temperature can change the way they react. I can't really give you a list because I don't have one and the leathers you use will be different to the ones I use. I have "current favourite" methods for each type of leather I use but I try them out on a piece of scrap from the hide I'm using before burnishing a batch of pieces. Veg tannages burnish quickly with plain water but I find it goes faster and the result is more durable with diluted glue. I usually use PVA because it's readily available, seals the leather well and doesn't go bad like hide glue does. Almost any water based glue will work -- PVA, wallpaper paste, gum arabic, hide glue... Particularly greasy veg tannages like bridle sometimes need a little help getting the stuff to penetrate the edges so this is where I might use plain water first, or some soap. Experiment a little but keep it simple. The classical answer is that chrome tanned leathers don't burnish, but I've found that some will, to an extent, with a high-speed wheel and something like diluted PVA that physically seals the leather.

I have a very similar machine myself. In fact I believe the only difference is that mine is badged locally. I bought mine used for a lot less than you paid for yours and am reasonably happy with it until I can find a premium-manufacturer replacement for it at a price I can afford. I've had a very experienced technician service it and he wasn't impressed by the build quality. I would agree with you and him on that matter -- cheese-grade screws, plates soft as butter and castings rough as a badger's bum. However it does work most of the time, and for a lot lower price than a real Juki 246. It also can sew 30 ft of TKT20/V138 between bobbin changes, reverse perfectly, has a 4-motion feed-dog and has a cylinder end diameter only a tiny bit larger than that of a 335.

I use a wooden motorised burnishing wheel wherever possible. For thin stuff like that I keep the piece taut betrween finger and thumb of each hand and am careful to not tilt the piece at all. Exactly what substances I would use and in what order would depend on what that particular leather best responds to -- plain water, saddle soap, glycerine soap, diluted glue (hide, PVA, Arabic gum), shellac, beeswax...

Hi Danielle. There's certainly not as much "small guy friendly" leather machinery available in the UK as there seems to be in the US. I suppose it's a market size thing. Plenty of simple rivet/eyelet presses on eBay, from about £25. I have the very common/cheap green ones, which take a M8 threaded top die and 19mm bottom die. They really aren't the best but work fine and the price is right. Die sets start at £15. Punches (round or slot) are also available for these machines. There is very limited choice for clicker presses. The only hand operated one I've found in the UK is the Lucris. Last time I checked the dealer was charging £1300+VAT. Instead I bought a small bearing press for £60 off Amazon. These are hydraulic but you have to pump the lever up and down. Burnishing machines -- I know Tandy sells one in the UK now but let's just say I wouldn't buy it. I have a burnishing wheel from Nigel Armitage (currently £78) which I fitted to a £25 bench grinder with the grinding wheels stripped off -- the cheapest induction motor I could find. The motor's really not great -- it runs too fast and it overheats quickly but the setup works and works good.

Hi Nav. There's certainly not as much "small guy friendly" leather machinery available in the UK as there seems to be in the US. I suppose it's a market size thing. Plenty of simple rivet/eyelet presses on eBay, from about £25. I have the very common/cheap green ones, which take a M8 threaded top die and 19mm bottom die. They really aren't the best but work fine and the price is right. Die sets start at £15. Punches (round or slot) are also available for these machines. There is very limited choice for clicker presses. The only hand operated one I've found in the UK is the Lucris. Last time I checked the dealer was charging £1300+VAT. Instead I bought a small bearing press for £60 off Amazon. These are hydraulic but you have to pump the lever up and down. Burnishing machines -- I know Tandy sells one in the UK now but let's just say I wouldn't buy it. I have a burnishing wheel from Nigel Armitage (currently £78) which I fitted to a £25 bench grinder with the grinding wheels stripped off -- the cheapest induction motor I could find. The motor's really not great -- it runs too fast and it overheats quickly but the setup works and works good.

Nice machine @chrisash -- she's a beaut. I'm looking forward to seeing her run! V sizes like 92 or 138 aren't really used much in the UK. Most thread is sold by TKT number. The chart Constabulary linked to is really great. V92 is equivalent to TKT30 and V138 is equivalent to TKT20.

Looks really solid Gary, more so than my sorry but serviceable efforts! Is this going to be your only workbench for leather? My main bench is 8x2 ft as I mostly make strap goods and I only have 150sqft of space to work in, which has to also accommodate 4 sewing machines, a second bench, a splitter and a skiver. The length of the bench really comes in handy and I can fit a half butt a or a back entirely on it, but not a side or double shoulder because it's not deep enough. Because I usually break down hides elsewhere I could survive with this bench being a little narrower but no shorter I reckon. You might want to consider going all the way across that alcove if possible.

Designing, prototyping, manufacturing and retailing a tool to a small, niche market can be surprisingly expensive. The setup costs (which will be similar if you sell 10 or 1000) are spread across far fewer customers so the unit cost simply has to be higher. Those stamping tools look to my untrained eye to be very carefully made -- there's crisp lines where you want them and the (for want of a better term) drafting angles are varied, smooth, and in places curved and radiused. In other words, made with care and skill, which are expensive. Commission a die engraver to make you one of these and he'll probably charge you more than $40 just for the quote ;-)

I've not seen it mentioned much but having bought lots of dead saddlers' tools it seems that a common way to get a fine awl blade is/was to seat it very deeply in the handle, so only say 8mm sticks out. This avoids the fiddliness of grinding a tiny piece of steel freehand. Is your 0.6mm thread flat braided or round laid? I have stitched plenty of 18/3 (3-cord) and 18/4 (4-cord) round laid linen thread using a Osborne no 43 awl. These are both finer than 0.6mm round laid thread. The Osborne 43 is about £10 and comes already mounted in a handle that isn't terrible if you remove the varnish. John James also makes very good awls at just a few £ for a blade but they are rough and need a lot of smoothing/sharpening/polishing. Also they only come naked -- but at least this gives you a choice of handles.

You can achieve results similar to the examples shown by whipping the two cords with some heavy thread. I'd probably stitch them together first for extra strength. For extra detail on longer runs try coxcombing. Alternatively you could crimp on a ferrule, apply heat shrink tubing or stitch on a tight leather collar but I think a long whip will achieve the result you want best.

Marlinspike work is beautiful -- I frequently resist the urge to get into it. Do you use the backstitch when sewing canvas? If so you can use this with leather too, even heavy stuff. I think it's just as strong as a saddle stitch but slower and takes more thread. Canvas needles may work in place of glovers needles on thin, soft leather but I've not tried it.

Hi @taketothetrees, love your ditty bags. Do you sail? I've never been struck by Tandy. I have a trade account which gives me their Elite pricing and even then there's very little I purchase from them. Their prices are, frankly, ridiculous even when on sale and the quality of the tools I've had off them is not great. That's not a dig at the staff -- I've had great service from both UK franchises. Perhaps my opinion would differ if/when I visit a branch in person. For mail order I far prefer Le Prevo in Newcastle and Abbey England in Cheshire. I can very strongly recommend both of these suppliers, and for a beginner I especially recommend Le Prevo. If you want a one-stop shop they will sort you out for a good deal fewer beer tokens than Tandy. As to the stitch groover, save your money. There are very few occasions when a sunken thread is actually required -- the main ones being shoe soles and certain horse harness applications (e.g. the inside of shaft tugs). A stitching groove pulls all of the stitches into a straight line which can help the beginner make a neater job, but IMHO this is a blind alley and a bit of a crutch. Better to learn how to saddle stitch neatly first time than have to unlearn bad habits later down the road. You'll probably also find an overstitch wheel superfluous. Cobblers' hammers are great. They have a very large radius convex face which prevents marring the leather. However since tidying up my workshop I can't find any of mine so I've been using a ball-pein hammer for months. Works fine, as would any slightly domed hammer so long as the face is free of any marks and is polished fairly well. Round knives are, frankly, brilliant. Le Prevo and Abbey both sell the Barnsley/Woodware brand which is a no-nonsense English made workman's tools. Under £30. I have round knives from Dixon (old and newer) and Osborne and it's the £15 quarter-round Barnsley that I reach for every time. However there is a learning curve to round knives, which includes sharpening as well as safe/correct technique. You can do a lot of work with a Stanley knife, though a round knife is a better option in the medium-to-long term.