Matt S

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

Dubbin is traditional and doesn't leave a shine. It does soften and darken though. Remember that leather is never truly waterproof unless you coat it in plastic... At which point it doesn't look, smell or feel like leather any more.

Whatever denatured stuff you use to clean brushes when painting, I use methylated since that's the cheapest I can get.

How long did you allow for drying? 24 hours is not unreasonable. Also, bear in mind that Fiebings dyes are like fruit juice: they need to be diluted to taste with alcohol. For saddle tan I go about 50-50. Incidentely, Fiebings Pro "Oil" dye is not oil based, it just uses a different mix of solvents than their regular spirit dyes.

This is a known problem with Ivan creasers, according to Ted at Batchelors. "Real" creasers are made from steel, for which melting is not a problem. Dixons screw creases are around £35 new. Vintage ones go on eBay for a lot less, they're a very common and useful tool but not very glamorous.

Yet another user of dividers...

Goretex and other "breathable" membranes only work under limited environmental conditions. PU nylon is cheaper, lighter and more easily worked.

You got a knife and a piece of wood? Then you have a mallet.

I'll add my weight behind what Bruce Johnson said. Some pasted backs can be what I call 'flinty' -- bloody hard. Almost ruined a stitch groover with some mystery veg-tan. Usually it's some sort of starch paste so I wouldn't have thought it would be corrosive but that's not to say I know for sure about yours.

My Barnsley head knife came with a round handle. I whittled it into a rectangle-with-rounded-corners cross-section then soaked it in oil. Job jobbed.

In the brushing video it appears the craftsman is using "English bridle" leather. This is a veg tan which has been dyed and then treated by "hot stuffing", the addition of fats, oils and waxes while warm. When it comes from the currier (craftsman who finishes leather) it has "spew" on the surface, excess treatment which is sitting on the surface. It appears to be this which he is brushing off.

Use the smallest needles, the eye of which you can fit your thread. If you taper the ends of the thread by scraping with a knife this can be surprisingly small. I use the smallest harness needle, which is James Joyce no.4 -- even with relatively heavy threads. If Osborne no.2 is the same as JJ no.2 those will do well for starting, that's what I started with using 18/3 linen thread.

Describing a smell is always difficult but the traditional leather smell with which I am familiar is a result of using fish oils on the leather. (Yep I was sceptical at first too.) The initial smell is not... great but after a few days the oils fully oxidise and leave "that" leather smell. Cod oil from the health food aisle works fine.

Zigzag edged 2-1/2" diameter concho punch made by C.S. Osborne (Harrison, N.J.) in excellent condition. Some very minor rust inside and a patina all over but possibly unused. This thing is substantial -- just shy of 1 kilo (2 lb). Your grandkids will be passing it down to their grandkids I'm asking £40 plus shipping. Cheapest USA shipping will be about £14 -- UK and EU will be less, Anywhere else and contact me for a quote.

Ropp might also have been the owner. Many craftsmen used to stamp their tools with their name; they weren't cheap even then!

It's only something I've seen rather than tried. Supposedly it removes much of the wax and oil and allows regular contact cement to work. As I say, I've never tried it.

You tried swabbing the seam with solvent before glueing?

Not used much of any Yew before but I imagine it would not make a great deal of difference. I would try on a scrap first, applying an even light coat of dye reduced with alcohol, allowing plenty of time to dry between coats. Build up to the shade you want in layers, remembering that it is easier to add than to subtract. Also that any dealer or oil you add will darken.

The one from Le Prevo is apparently by George Barnsley or hours son's coolant Woodware. The same tool can be had for less money from JT Bachelor of Islington. I use car polish paste as rouge.

I happen to know that a piece of leather damp with fiebings pro dye will seep into white ash, even with a heavy wax-oil finish on the latter. Quite resistant to removal too...

What length of stitching is marked per hit of the mallet.

Joseph Dixons of England makes them in many standard sizes, and can make em to any size or shape you like. They are sized by length (1/2 inch, 1 inch, 1-1.2 inch etc.) and stitches per inch. http://www.josephdixon.co.uk/products/One_Inch_Pricking_Irons.html

Fiebings dyes are popular, and for good reason. I like the "Professional Oil" ones.

Where are you located, Malcolm?

UK suppliers: Tandy (not a fan of most of their stuff) Le Prevo (good, but mail order is a pain) Metropolitan Leather Abbey England (got to register to see prices but a good selection if you know what to look for) JT Bachelor, Islington (They will mail order over the phone) The Identity Store (never tried, nothing especially interesting to draw me there) Whereabouts are you in Dorset? Got some mates near Ringwood, and another in Poole.