Matt S

Oil!

Well, anyone who has used a punch to mark a position in any material will you that one solid blow is better than tap tap tapping away. And a blow that in one piece of leather will simply prick an inch of stitch marks will completely perforate a different piece.

I agree, single hand (aka back stitch)

Lekker work, ox! I'm scheming on making myself a pair of those. What are the uppers made from? Looks like a roughout oil tannage of some sort. I'm having trouble getting a decent pair of lasts, what did you use?

Not if the awl is properly sharpened and polished. Can be surprisingly fast once you get into it. Admittedly damp or poor quality leather make it a little trickier.

You'll need to practice a little first anyway, a great opportunity to make some samples with different sizes and techniques.

A large portion of Stohlman's third volume on case making is dedicated to gun scabbards and bags for a wide variety of guns. As usual I think it's better to look there as it teaches you how to develop and adapt patterns to your specific need rather than hoping to find exactly what you need already designed.

We have Abbey, Leprevo, Batchelors, Metropolitan... Fiebings dyes from Leprevo cost about £4+VAT, from Abbey a bit cheaper.

With a pricking iron the stitches semi-recess themselves.

Yeah no2 needles ought to do for thread of about that size. If you have trouble threading them, taper the Emma of your thread.

Remember that soap is not just a compound of tallow and lye, it is the result of a chemical reaction between these ingredients.

Looks like it's something that has seeped through from the backside to the topside (or backside side if you will). Oil is a good guess. Though it does remind me somewhat of a stain on an English riding saddle, where a lady rider had... introduced iron to the veg tan. Why worry? If it starts to mold, cross that bridge when you come to it.

Thread is cheap, leather less so. Marring a piece of work due to being stingy with the thread is a false economy.

Almost. Nubuck is topgrain that has been sanded and dyed to hide blemishes and look like suede. If a hiking boot (any hiking boot) doesn't withstand a wetting it's not fit to be sold. If water gets inside your boots your feet will get wet whatever they're made of The top side of the grain (the bit you'd see on a live cow) is the toughest bit of the leather and less absorbent than the flesh side. That's why I like it on the outside of boots. Remember that the history of Red Wings, impressive as it is, is just that -- history. Ever worn a pair of Levis 501s? I've had a few. Every pair gets thinner and crappier and lasts less time, yet the history of Levi's is that of a good value workwear company. Not what I'd expect for a £85 pair of thin jeans that don't last. I've never owned a pair of Red Wings, always been put off by reports of their current production. (See J Hayes' above post.) Yet notice that Levis and Red Wing spend a lot of time cultivating their brand, their image -- which is in fact quite similar. They don't sell too well to labourers or outdoorsmen any more. As to whether they measure up I'll leave that for you to decide.

Your fitness is better than 90+% of people I know (including my own) so no problems there. I would agree that you don't *need* supported ankle boots if you are sufficiently fit and strong and not carrying ridiculous packweights. People got along just fine for millions of years before the high-and-tight boots became popular . They're a fullgrain vegtan. No fillers, no padding, no rubbish. Moulded leather insoles, quadruple-stitched vamps, stitched soles, nailed on heels. Don't see that on many boots these days. They drink up the dressing (I use dubbin) and are certainly well stuffed. They seem fine initially but after you've been in the water any length of time a certain familiar damp seepage begins. It's a damned shame since they are great boots otherwise. It's not so much that the topgrain works as a waterproof layer in leather in general. Certainly it's less absorbent than the flesh side but it's not impermeable, unless you use a heavy coating like an acrylic or saturate it with wax but neither is ideal with boots. There is a certain consensus that leather is never truly waterproof, though certain preparations and treatments can delay the wetting or mitigate its effects. Beading treatments (like Scotchguard) help when there is rain or mist -- but don't help much in heavy wetness and wear off quickly. Heavy waxing or acrylic finishes don't work well on boots -- too hard/inflexible and acrylic would probably crack. Greasing and such (e.g. dubbin) help, and keep the leather in good condition, but water will eventually seep through. Many bootmakers try to get around these issues by laminating with a membrane, often something in the "waterproof but breathable" category such as Goretex, eVent etc. -- but these don't work nearly as well as the manufacturers claim and the membranes wear out and grow holes quite quickly. Fully waterproof boots are not desirable as the surprisingly large amount of sweat your feet produce in a day has nowhere to go. Trenchfoot is not fun (trust me on that). My humble opinion is that roughout boots are only useful to hide the signs of their use for longer (that and hiding manufacturers using cheap suede splits as you mention). For your requirements the standard advice I would give to most people is to find a quality boot of a type (and perhaps model) that first-world militaries tend to issue; topgrain smoothout leather, about 10 inches high, decent soles and decent woolen socks with a thin wool or synthetic liner sock. Change socks regularly, avoid putting on wet socks, and wash as often as you can. Accept getting a bit wet and maybe have a lightweight set of shoes for use around camp. This is almost verbatim what most people who actually live and work outdoors will tell you (as opposed to park strollers, dog walkers and dayhikers). Coincidentally it is pretty much verbatim what militaries teach their recruits and is borne out by experience in the field. You might be able to relax some of the above; a pair of 'proper' leather boots will weigh about 2-3 times what you are used to and unless you will be carrying heavy packweights is possibly excessive considering your fitness level.

Okay well like I say I prefer a round/head knife but a boxcutter (I think that's what you call em over there) utility knife will do quite well within its limitations, and you probably already have one. Get a new blade, strop it (polishing compound on manilla card works) and you have a knife for leather. Its drawbacks are that the blade can bend if you press too hard, you can't make curved cuts (cut in several straight sections, then cut the corners -- like forging a square bar to round), you can't make rolling or push cuts. But they do okay if you plan your work and the price is right! Let's see what else do you need... I would suggest for a minimal/budget setup: Small round clickers awl for marking out and general use (though a ballpoint pen might do) Harness awl and haft -- The smallest size is about right. Avoid Tandy. The Osborne 42 is great. See Nigel Armitage's excellent guide on sharpening/polishing No2 harness needles (smaller than you'll get from Tandy but immeasurably better) Thread -- I like linen but most work. General purpose would be 18/3 size. Small pair dividers (you probably have these already) -- 101 uses including marking stitches if you're patient Beeswax -- again 101 uses, main ones being waxing thread and sealing edges Wet&dry paper for smoothing edges Read the basics in the Stohlman books, read what you can find here and watch Nigel Armitage's excellent videos. Oh and don't be afraid of asking questions.

Before the leather the thing that struck me was the sole. IMHO totally unsuitable for the sort of thing you want to do; not enough grip and will likely wear out before long. For arduous use I would look at something with a commando sole (probably in Vibram). Secondly those don't look like they have enough ankle support; far too flimsy. Although these have the name Red Wing the company has been producing a lot of 'lifestyle' products in recent years, along with many previously premium outdoors and workwear manufacturers. They may look the part to the uninitiated but that's about all they do. Without intending to cause offence, what is your experience level with outdoorsiness? Your fitness level? Your foot shape? Your budget? These are things to consider first. Then find as many 'proper' outdoors shops in your area as you can. Ones that know what they are talking about and will fit you and find you a correct type of boot. It is not something that you can do online. I have been hiking, camping and running the woods since I was a kid, laboured outdoors for a few years in all sorts of weather and then still learned a lot when I went to sell outdoors kit for a living. Finally, I don't think I'd buy another pair of roughout boots. They have been issued by several armies, including the US but I found with my ones (French Army copies of the US roughout) the same issues as them; the idea is that the flesh side will absorb dressing/dubbin to a greater extent than the grain side but it just doesn't work like that. They absorb water very fast, even saturated with dressing. Then they get cold and wet inside. It also means that grit gets into the fibres of the leather faster and that's when it starts degrading.

Cutter? If you mean for cutting leather, a round or head knife is IMHO the best option; very versatile but it has a learning curve to it. Boxcutter/Stanley knives work surprisingly well within their limitations if you strop the blades regularly though.

Wax is used for several reasons. It can stick the yarns of the thread together; it can give the thread water and rot resistance; it can lubricate the thread being drawn through the stitch hole; it can help the stitches to stick to one another. Different wax preparations do these jobs better than others. Beeswax is the most common and works okay.

Not a bad thought, but most are about 1/2 to 3/4 inches between wheels. Since posting this question I have seen the referred to as pricking wheels for tailoring, where they are used to mark seam allowances.

Why do you think that loops would be so labour intensive? Plenty of gunbelts have them.

Why don't you make up a sample and find out? It's great practice, costs virtually nothing and will result in an answer that applies to your specific materials and techniques.

No, that's an opinion based on your circumstances. Other leatherworkers using different leather and under different time constraints, with different standards may prefer other methods. Let them.

Remember that the colour you see varies with a factors. Probably most significant: heaviness of dye application; dilution of dye; number of dye coats; production batch of dye; heaviness of oil application; type of oil; variations in leather (even from the same tanner); lighting and camera colour balance. My starting point would be Fiebings pro mahogany.

Joseph Dixons are great quality but not beautiful. Blanchard tools are near worlks of art.