Petros

Wow, my hats off to you for such a nicely executed machine. Looks to be quite affordable to construct as well, for the budget minded individual. Good job!

Well Kate, after monkeying around with the pressure foot deal and making a few demos, I don't think I'm gonna put anymore time into it. The parts are so small and delicate that it's not to feasable. When I made a more robust foot, it was too big for tight up close stitching. So I took Steves suggestion and ground the groover off the foot and polished it. I have been pre grooving my stitch lines and all is happy for now.

Thanks for the reply CW. Funny thing is I gave up on Osbourne after the crummy email I got back from them about steel. They said " we don't give out that information". Well same day I got the email, I recieved the Weaver catalog that stated the knife was 1075. So I purchased the Weaver Master Craft knife they offered. Seems to work great and I have had a very easy time sharpening it. The handle looks a little shorter than the Osbourne from the pics but The Weaver shape and function is right on for me. As for Osbourne, I told them not to respond to my email if that's the way they roll. Just really disgusted me to get a reply like that.

Yep, I spose I'll have to call them to get the inside scoop. I was/am hoping that it has a little more carbon content than that. Typical swords usualy run 1050 steel and don't get or stay sharp for long, but sure can take a beating. Maybe if it is that low, I'll hit it with some Kasinite and trace it out before reassembly. I think it will due untill I go to the next step though. Thanks for the info Art.. Petros

I just noticed this question and thought I would give my .02 cents on what I use. I use the metal banding straps from freight to secure goods to pallets. This stuff is free and can be had in multiple widths and thicknesses. I found that it is quite springy but one can still file and drill it without much hassles. The finish on the strapping is also relatively tough which seems to help keep any rust stains ay bay. This stuff can be found behind most any store/ business that recieves freight for nothing more than asking for it. Petros

Good day all, After searching through the site quite a bit for a head knife I ended up ordering the #71 Osbourne. This is not my first choice, but all that I really found that was easily obtainable. I have never had this type of knife before, so making one would be sketchy being I'm not certain what the dimensions are on them. I did see the Danny Marlin through I believe Hidecrafters, however there was no pic and poor info. Weaver also had an alternative, but info here was again sparse. So anyways I ordered the #71. I have everything for making regular knives, but all my stock is 1.5 inches at the widest, so attatching a tang/handle propperly at 90 degrees could be hit or miss. So while not wanting to experiment because of labor and time involved from a scratch made item, I decided to possibly recontour and heat treat a unit already manufactured. My question is.... Does anyone know what type of steel these head knives are made from? If I can determine that, the heat treating tempering is pretty easy. I do have a digital heat treat oven, so I am not limited to guessing what shade of red or when the magnet ceases to stick for a good heat treat. Thanks much, and by the way I did shoot an email to Osbourne, but don't usualy hold my breath for a reply from most places. But who knows, I could be surprised this time with an answer.

Hi there, A little tip for ya to ease using a diamond awl if you go that route. My holsters are stitched before moulding so basically I just have two pieces of leather glued together that lays mostly flat. I took the chuck out of the stitching handle and put it in a cheap drill press. So without the drill press running of course, I can get effortless perpendicular holes with easy awl positioning. Only extra thing required is a flat piece of material (wood board, small cutting board) clamped to the table with a hole drilled just big enough for the awl to go through. I also paint a dot on one side of the awl chuck for reference to what side of the awl I'm looking at. Works great, providing you have a drill press! No more pricked fingers and sloppy holes.

Hello Folks, I thought I would start out of the gate with my experience on the new stitcher I recently aquired. I wish to thank this forum and all who contributed to it for the valuable information contained within. I have only hand stitched leather my whole life and frankly, I hate it. After making a full set of saddle bags last year, I pretty much was burnt out for awhile. I love holster making but with so many ideas floating around in my head, it was daunting to want to try new ideas with the labor and time involved . So off to the internet to see whats what on stitching machines. I came across this forum through my searches and read everything I could about these things. I found sale machines, used machines and spendy machines. Hmm, what was I even looking at I would think to myself? Finaly figured out what this and that was for on a machine and come to the conclusion that one size does not fit all, just like my metal working equipment. Ok then, decided on a machine type and contacted multiple places along with reading about the companies themselves. Now I am not trying to sway anyone with this post, it's just what happened for me at the time and people can use the experience to form thier own opinion when the time comes to purchase. I went with a class 3 Cobra from Leathermachines, aka Cobra Steve. I have to say that out of all the various metal machines, firearms, Harleys and other spendy items I've bought through the years, talking with him on the phone was a great experience. I had read many positve things on most sellers but, the phone call made the choice for me. I really really like to talk with people that know what they are talking about. It was a little more money than other units, however I don't fret about 10% when spending that kind of cash. I ordered this machine when it was out of stock and waited 50 something days for it. I called a few times on order status and always was greeted well, just like the first call. A big plus for me. Machine came intact nicely finished and worked right away with no muss or fuss. Currently I am sewing all my scraps together which is about a garbage bag full. I purposely turned all the adjustments to the least tension and proceded to make a few 8" squares of 2 chunks 8-9 oz leather. I am stitching rows with various tensions and recording the results. I figured this would be a good exersize to see what effects the tensioners have on things. So far so good. Much easier to use than an old Elgin fabric machine I have. I've been close to tossing that out the front door a few times! Thanks again for the wonderful info. Off too the basement to try and make a presser foot with flip out groover for going around tight corners and curves.