Art

In the hands of a competent mechanic, and the availability of parts (or a shop to make them if necessary) a reasonably well made machine will last hundreds of years. It is only a matter of maintenance and repair. Chinese (Taiwan too) equipment has looked like it was built in the early 20th century and was built along the lines of machines made here and in Europe, so while the castings might not be up to our standards (but more often than not they are), if the holes are in the right places and can support the loads, then the machine is of reasonable enough quality to last centuries. I have: Van Norman 12 Mill circa 1938 Taiwanese 15" Lathe circa 1990 Landis 12 machines, circa 1940 Boot and Shoe nailers from the 1950s Shoe Machines from the 1950s Campbell Lockstitch machine that was in a Saddle shop in 1940 Buffers and grinders from the 60s and 70s Industrial Sewing Machines (Chinese) from the 90s and 2000s Tons (literally) of other machinery not even produced anymore in my shop today, and it all works. Most of it spent many years in production environments. Use it, maintain it, fix it, and it will last forever. Your kids or heirs will sell your sewing machine to someone who will be tickled to have it. Art

You asked for it, so here goes. These are my own opinions. I used and worked on a Artisan 20 inch splitter about 5 or 6 years ago. I currently own and use (and work on) a Cobra 14. The Artisan was a fine piece of equipment, however seemed to me to be a little too wide for it's own good. By this I mean the blade was too long by about 5 inches to be conveniently sharpened, that doesn't mean it can't be done, it is just a PIA. The other thing I remember was that it was a Royal PIA reinstalling the blade after resharpening. No problem in my shop where I have all the tools to do it, but not so easy for Harry Leatherworker. They might have addressed these problems since I worked on that one years ago. If Artisan can provide blades and sharpening, this would be a big plus. I charge $40 to resharpen Artisan blades plus shipping. I charge $14 to do Cobra blades + shipping. If blades are damaged, repair is more. The Cobra I have is a pretty well mannered beast. It appears in looks and function like the old Landis shoe sole splitter (Model 30 I think) except a tad bigger. Don't try to pick it up, it is either awkward, heavy, or both. It isn't hard to use and the learning curve is short. You'll ruin a little leather trying to find out just how far you can split something in one pass. The answer is 3 or 4 oz at a time. Add this to the bandsaw and buffer as one of the most dangerous machines in the shop. Get stupid and it will get you. Blade removal and installation is an acceptable degree of difficulty, but doable by almost anyone. You need to find someone to sharpen the blade for you, it is a professional job. Extra blades are also a plus, I am not sure of their general availability. If Cobra provides this service, it would be good to know that and the cost. Art

I just looked at your profile, and if you are a knapper, you already know that knapped obsidian is about the sharpest edge you can get, but again, they don't last long, but are easy to maintain. It takes about five years of experience to learn the sharpening business. It is fairly simple to sharpen something, depending on what you call sharp. It is something quite different to learn to sharpen something well and do it quickly. If you want to make money at it, that is a whole different can of worms. The business can be quite expensive as tool costs are high and experimentation can balloon tool costs to pretty astronomical levels. Growth costs are even more intimidating, and just wait till you hire your first employee. Been there, done that, ain't doing it anymore. I am retired, and still make the occasional knife for friends kids going into the service, and sharpen anything that makes it to my door. I still have all the gear, so why not use it. But you don't really need all the equipment and product to sharpen something. Professionally, doing a job and making a living at it requires all that; but just sharpening merely requires a knife to sharpen and an available rock. If someone can learn something from me, that is cool. If I can learn something, more the better. Art P.S. To all using this forum. A first name is helpful, or a nickname, or a last name, or even an alias, as we can answer each other or specifically direct something at each other. Just a thought.

Kitchen and butcher knives, in my experience, run the spectrum of knives, from paring knives to cleavers. Also the use that these knives get is anywhere from home kitchen to the commercial processing facility. The average home kitchen knife can be sharpened from 15° or less, all the way up to 40°. The average chef type knife will be in the 25° to 30° range for the "gourmet home chef", although some of the Japanese blades hold 15° pretty well. Edge life varies both with use and care. If you go into the average home kitchen, they might as well be using cold chisels to cut things as the knives are usually in abysmal condition. Commercial Kitchens are worse at times than home kitchens. For the type of work they do, they usually go an inordinate amount of time between sharpening unless they have a service. Knife sharpening services want paid before they leave and most restaurants are not the cash cows they seem to be. One of the banes to knife practice in commercial kitchens is the "abrasive steel". These little beauties are made of, or coated with, ceramic, or ghod forbid, diamond. There seems to be no way to keep these things out of the kitchen, either home or commercial, and the result by the time the sharpening service gets there is a kitchen full of, for lack a better word, butter knives. Processing plants are a lot better. They usually run on two shifts, with a cleanup shift as the third shift. This is when the sharpening gets done by someone who knows what they are doing. These knives are in contact with bone and chainmail for two shifts and often carry a 40° included angle, some go with 35°, and will go smaller only if a knife will last through two shifts, some applications yes, some no way. The 40° angle is durable and stands up to steeling well, and steeling is an effective and common practice. Butcher shops are semi-processing plants with butchers who maintain their own knives. Food store meat departments have some of the sharpest and dullest knives I have ever seen. Commercial knives are the best for the home kitchen to the processing plant. They are well made. Forschner and Mundial are good brands, with Forschner superior. There is no steel like a Dexter, they don't have to sell to the home market, they do just fine in the commercial marketplace. I could rail you with stories of the kitchen sharpening days, but it might be easier to ask questions and get some dialog going. Art

There is a big thingy that looks like a gear shift lever on the front of the machine. The further the knob is down (from the middle position which is zero stitch length) the lever is placed, the longer the stitch in forward. The same lever, the further the knob is up (from the middle which is zero stitch length) the lever is placed, the longer the stitch in reverse. There is a kind of screw mechanism/clamp on the leaver to lock it in place. Contact Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial to get a manual.

The Edge. The business end of a knife or cutting tool. The perfect edge occurs at the intersection of two planes, which are the sides of the knife that intersect each other; the perfect edge formed by the two planes would a one dimensional line of zero radius. This is just not attainable, because the planes are made of something whose molecule has a radius, and where they intersect an edge is formed by at least a single molecule that has a radius. In practical terms, this ain't a going to happen. Maybe in a lab, maybe. But there is a downside, it is a fragile edge that won't hold up and will round over to the point that it is less sharp but more durable. That is the scientific claptrap. Our best edge is going to be rounded to the point that you and I can see it with a loupe. I have four loupes, a 5x, a 10x, a 20x, and a 30x, and some comparator scopes that go way beyond that. If I take a brand new Irwin Utility knife blade out of the box and look at the edge under 5x, I can see the edge. At 10x the edge is obvious, and a 30x it looks like a landing strip. Quality scalpels are somewhat better, but still a highway at 30x. Quality of the plane grinds (facets, bevels) and polish are an important in attaining a small radius, but included angle of the edge (plane 1 degrees from centerline + plane 2 degrees from centerline) is as important a factor. The size of the radius will increase with the size of the included angle. Unfortunately, the durability (how much strength or metal is behind the edge) decreases with the decrease in included angle. We are always fighting the metal to get the best balance between edge radius and durability. Utility knives, razors, scalpel,s and anything of that ilk sacrifice durability for sharpness. Sharpen often or put in a new disposable blade. So edge angles are going to be minimal, but these things will really cut; for a while. So what is the proper angle for a knife edge? I feel a range of 20° to 50° is about right, but covers a lot of territory. I guess some examples might be appropriate. Bench Knife or skiver -- 20° to 25°, maybe even 30° Shoe Utility Knife -- 25° to 30° Pocket Knife -- 25° to 30° Kitchen Knife -- 25° to 35° Head Knife -- 20° to 25° Wood Chisel -- 25° to 35° depending on use Planer Blade -- 40° Axe -- 40° to 50° Lawnmower Blade -- 90° or a bit less Art

About 2:10 in this video. Art

We get a lot of interest on leatherworker.net about the subjects of knifemaking and sharpening. This applies to pretty much all leather edged tools. This forum is here to collect all of this information for use by those who want to know sharp from dull, and from screaming (or bleeding) sharp to just adequate. I will be your forum sponsor and moderator, as such, I am pretty freewheeling, and will participate as much as needed and also as much as possible. We have a lot of well known knifemakers and sheathmakers who lurk in the other forums and who I hope will find a home here. I got into leatherworking because I needed sheaths for my knives; and nobody ever made one for me that I liked. I also got into sharpening when a few of my friends in the food service industry asked me to teach them how to sharpen; it went crazy from there. I was doing that after work and on weekends to the point where I couldn't take on any more work. So come on aboard and ask questions or whatever, help when you can, everyone needs to learn. Art

Highlead GA 2688-1 with speed reducer and brush type servo motor. I also have one setup for canvas and other heavy fabric that I have equipped with a clutch motor without the speed reducer. The dog runs and hides when I use that; it runs fast. Can't say I ever had a problem with either one. Good reliable machine. Uses same moving parts as 441, castings are heavier. Art

We was missin' ya. Art

What does this do that other tools won't? Art

Hi Peter, While Donnie and Marie go under the knife a lot, I have never run across an Osmond Head (or any other kind of) Knife. This doesn't mean there are none out there. However, as I said, C.S. Osborne is a common maker to this day. Art

The 201-2 with the "internal" gear drive motor are best for garments and quilting. They make a nice tight stitch and will sew without much pucker, however, denim is about the max product and maybe some 2 or 3 oz for suspenders and other lightweight stuff. If you want to abuse a small machine, get a 66, or a 404 Slant, or two, and run whatever you want through them. They are a sturdy little machine and no great loss when they go tits-up. Art

Peter, C.S. Osborne. also H.F. Osborne. Looks like the handle may have been refinished. Art

There are maybe less than 20 places in the U.S. that know leather sewing machines. Reliable folks on leatherworker.net have been trying to suggest who they are and where to find them. Cathy's won't know a 135x16 from a 135x17, and they might not know about the 16 at all. I think most of us are at the point of giving up. So Doug, what sewing machine and dealer do you want us to recommend, so we can cut and paste a reply for you? Art

Andrew et al, Johanna had a "normal" life before leatherworker.net, which means she probably didn't have enough hours in her day. Things have not gotten any more normal since; in fact, she would probably consider one-armed paper-hanging a welcome vacation. Just keep PMing her till she responds. Art

The more I look at it, the more it looks like a Biothane type product, it comes with finished edges, creased edges, and is available in international orange colors. Looks like Jeremiah Watt harness hardware. The gear in the picture is definitely club gear, not dungeon gear. Moreover, please use only one login name, and put this kind of thing in the Adult Section. If you need access to the adult section, PM Johanna for access. Everyone is tiptoeing around what you are trying to accomplish because it is on the open board. In the adult section, you can just tell us what you are wanting to make and we can help. Art Moderator

Hi Darren, That is the most creative use of dragon dick I have seen in a while. What did you use as a top coat to make it lay down so well? Art

For a simple setup, the Badger 250-3 kit is a good starting point. There should be a bunch of youtube videos on it. For more detailed work, a Veda 180 is a perfectly capable brush at a reasonable price. You might want to wet the crease and bend the ends first. There is a tendency for the crease to crack if you don't. Not just the paint will crack, but the grain of the leather might crack also. When painting, use thin coats and a hair dryer to help them dry faster. If new at this, you need to experiment to find what works best for you. Acrylic Paint is a forgiving medium, if you make a mistake, you can go back and paint over it, and if you are quick, you can erase with a wet cloth right away. Art

The meeting of East and West, try it and see how it works out. Then pitch it. Art

Gregg at Keystone for the RB5, but Highlead also makes a machine that is maybe better, ask Gregg. The Juki LU 1508 is also very good and again Highlead may clone it. Art

Replace the set screws with socketed ones to eliminate the sharp edges. Art

By "faces" I am assuming you mean facets. There should be two facets or planes that come together to form the edge, a theoretical one dimensional line at the intersection of the planes or facets. Sometimes the facets are not equal to the centerline of the blade as in a chisel. Sometimes these are facets theoretically equal in angle that intersect the centerline. Your blade should have two planes or facets, they will intersect and form an angle that is called the included angle. On a swivel knife blade these facets usually have an included angle of about 55 degrees. This can be accomplished with one bevel on each side of 55/2 or 27.5 degrees on either side. Close, like in horseshoes works here, but they should be equal. Sometimes there is more than one bevel to a side, they are commonly called the primary bevel and the secondary bevel. For example, I have a Robert Beard blade that has an included angle of 55 degrees, two bevels of 27.5 degrees each. I also have a Barry King blade that has an included angle of 55 degrees, but accomplishes it with a 25 degree and a 2.5 degree larger than the 25 degree for you guessed it 27.5 degree bevel on each side. Reason, this leaves more steel behind the edge (this may or may not be necessary depending on the properties of the steel) for strength, but most often so you don't have to polish the big primary bevel, only the secondary. Art

Not to make you go out and get another glue, but, Renia Aquilim GL. Thin it down a lot, apply to one side and put together wet. You can get it apart if you miss. All this stuff is pretty new and I have been experimenting with it. I've been switching over to water base (except for wet leather apps) and I am getting used to the "no smell" or "no toluene high" factor. Lisa Sorrell sells it in smaller quantities to play with, and then the bigger sizes when you become a convert like me. Use Vaseline on the jar lids or start going to the gym. Art

Call Heather at Texas Custom Dies. Excellent Product. Art