Dangerous Beans

Tandy don't sell such things. and if you choose the right leather and stitch size, the strength will be fine. What your describing is a prickling iron, they range in width, 1/2 an inch, 1 inch and 11/2 inch. Stitches per inch range from 4 stitches per inch up to 12 stitches per inch. Depending on the leather, SPI and thread size as you increase your holes, you drop the awl and harness needles and switch to glovers needles. The smallest I go is 9 stitches per inch and for light leather i use a John James 11/2 glovers needle. This is too small for the Tiger thread I like so i switch to 2 ply waxed linen. you can get the pricking irons from Joseph Dixon here in the UK, Vergez Blanchard in France and C S Osborne in the US, Osborne only do a limited amount of sizes though. The image below shows the 1 inch 9 SPI Pricking Iron and the stitching is with the glovers needle and thread mentioned above. The holes below are from an 11/2 6 SPI Pricking iron.to give you some perspective. Hope that helps Nigel

Someone once told me, two of the hardest things to make in leather are a good saddle and a good whip. Good effort! Nige

Hi Bob, I think I'm enjoying the video making as much as the leatherwork. Glad you like it. The tool I used is a Joseph Dixon Pricking iron number 7 giving 7 stitches per inch and will have 8 prongs per inch. They are about £70 over here in the UK. C S Osborne make a pricking chisel which I imagine to be much the same, however it appears to be marked up differently. The number 7 gives 6 cuts per inch which would give you 5 stitches per inch. Not confusing at all. It might be worth a quick email to make sure this is right. You will always get one more prong to the inch than the stitch count. Hope that's not baffled you too much. Nige

Thank you OdinUK, I had the cutter made at Joseph Dixon, it worked out to about £24 with VAT and post. It saves a bit of time when doing multiple cuts, it sharpens up nicely too. Nige

Something a little different, an unusual way of keeping the lid closed was asked for, I wasn't convinced it would work, but it actually does it quite nicely. There are only so many ways to make a leather tub look a little different, It;s twice the work of a single strap to open it but that was not an issue. What do you think? Nige

Thank you folks, it was just a helping hand video, if I can resolve my camera issue I will do some high detail stuff so you can see all the finer points in HD. I'm looking at funding a canon 5D MkII which has HD video, with the lenses I have, I should be able to really up the quality. If anyone wants one of My 5D's to assist with this, shout up. Naturalisme, I get my thead from Abbey England. http://www.abbeyengland.com/ Nige

Gary's comments mirrored here, any wider that 21/2 and you going to have an issue pulling the shells, I tend to have mine so the lip of the Carthage sits against the edge of the leather for ease. Any wider and the lip sits agains the leather. Nige

There are so many variants on how to put a simple stitch into a piece of leather. A lot of the finer point come down to what works for you. I don't like an awl that is sharp it's full length. It cuts the leather to the maximum diameter of the awl. The weakens the leather at either end of the cut and when tension is applied whilst stitching can make the hole larger due to this weakness. At the broadest part of the awl, I soften the edge so it doesn't cut. This rounds the hole preventing tearing and helps to close the hole around the stitch. It's only the tip that needs to cut, so it's only the tip that's sharp. This is just my personnel preference. I use different awl sizes to suit my thread, needles and what I'm stitching, If I use a stitch wheel or a pricking iron, it all has an impact. What works for me may not work for everyone. Nige

Hi Pip, polishing your awl will help immensely! Moisture can have a huge impact, if you've dampened your leather or moulded it and the leather is not fully dry, it can hang onto the leather. Most Walsh come rough so need polishing first. What awl are you using. Can you send me some pics of how your doing what your doing and see if that helps to answere the issue. Nige

The German leather is indeed excellent but very difficult to source in the UK. Metropolitan are one of the cheapest for decent full shoulders. 60 for 14ft +VAT and about 12 postage. It works out to 86 which is 6.17 a foot. Abbey are not far off. You can get cheaper... By a little but I will add that both Metropolitan and Abbey do decent leather. It has a good clean grain and the back is even and tight, not fluffy of raggy as many veg tan shoulders can be. Both will send out samples and take small orders. The shoulder im using in this is from Abbey, it's not a great view but about 4 mins in you can see it in the clamp. It stitches well and takes a stamp nicely. You don't have to line it to hide the back.Hope that helps. The pound sign seems to be playing up. Nige

Has anyone got a leather splitter up for grabs in the UK? Preferably not crafttool unless you only want peanuts for it. Manual over machine and 6 inch or so is fine. Nige

Goeie more Mark, what size circle are you after? Engineering companies are a great source of off cuts when it comes to discs. I have a set of metal discs from 1 inch up to 6 inches I use to cut out circles. Because they are off cuts and were scrap, they cost very little. If its something you will use of a regular basis, you can get a form knife made. This is a circle of metal bent to the shape you want and sharpened, mainly used with a press, but it will work just as well with a clamp or a mallet. If you have a steady hand, a set of dividers to mark your circle, and cut it free hand, an inward curved blade is better for this as its easier to go round corners neatly. If its a regular shape your after, it may be worth getting it cut in metal, aluminium will do, and it doesn't have to be thick, you can spend the time sanding and shaping to suit, then it's no different to using a ruler. There are some outstanding metal workers in South Africa on the SABlade forum, its run by a really nice guy, steven Lewis, if you have a drawing I'm sure someone will be happy to help, Is any of that any help? Nigel

Try a pricking iron, a no 7 11/2 iron will give you 7 stitches per inch, 12 holes per strike. Have a look at the beginning of this video I did for another member. http://youtu.be/0gtonQ3YF5s Nige

Or if you just wanted an iPad case. This is a bit of Bridle Tanned Shoulder in Hazel in a classic folio to fit an iPad. just thought id share...

The Global Guild of Saddlers. It has a ring to it.

I have just sent you a PM Aurelie, it's http://www.jfjbaker.co.uk/ that do the oak bark leather. Maybe you could start Guild of Saddlers, Leathersmiths and Cordwainers (Europe) I'd join. Nigel

No problem Adam, yes, the strap holds the pony in place, it's got two swing clips on which have screw tension so when the leather begins to give a little, I can just tighten it up. There is a proper name for them but it escapes me. Clipydoobrywhatsits maybe. Google that! Nigel.

Aurelie, there is a Tandy in Jerez Spain as well as the UK, might be worth checking out which is cheaper on shipping. Germany do some excellent leather, as do Italy! All cheaper than getting from the US. I'm sure there will be outlets in France but a bit of time searching might be needed. If you find an outlet, let me know. Love your work by the way. Nigel

Cheers Adam, hers are a couple of snaps of the log, it's not a new idea, I stole if from someone who in turn stole it from someone else, it's just a log with the pony strapped to it, I spend a lot of time at this so I thought I'd make it it's own tool belt, it's just slots and loops so is fully adjustable for all my tools. As for the Veg-Tan, try these, a few links I think you will find useful, I have used them all and have not had a problem with any of them although i have not had any leather from Tandy. Metropolitan Leather http://www.metropolitanleather.com/ Abbey England http://www.abbeyengland.com/en-us/home.aspx J & FJ Baker http://www.jfjbaker.co.uk/ you also have LePrevo http://www.leprevo.co.uk/ and Tandy http://www.tandyleather.eu/en-eur/home/home.aspx Hope that helps. Nigel

Hi Adam and thanks, mate, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask! The pricking iron cuts a very fine series of slots in the leather, not big enough to run a stitch through, especially not two, so the awl is used to open the holes to allow for this, keep checking back on the channel, I'm doing a video of how it's traditionally done. Most of my videos are pitched towards people's specific questions, so I thought I'd do a fresh look at what I do. Nige

Thank you Jax, there are a number of ways to stitch, awl to the front with first needle from the back, awl and first needle from the front, stitch wheel and make the holes with the awl as you stitch, pricking iron which makes the hole first, then awl and stitch, with a lock, without. I shall have to cover them all at some point, I've tried to keep it simple to start with. I'm building up quite a list on the to do side. Nige

Hi TwoMikes, Yes the 45 degree is in relation to the angle of the hole much like this, / / / / but at 45! The stitch then runs from the top of the first hole to the bottom of the next and this will angle the stitching, much like what you can see here As for Piers Morgan... Is he not applying for citizenship? ;-) Nige

Your welcome JLS and yes... I am left handed. Sometimes you need to switch on larger items. The brain fights back a bit, but it worked out ok I think. Nigel

Not a problem Mike, this is not in this video as I just wanted to cover the basics. The knot it an overhand knot for those ex scouts out there. Leave it with me. Nige