Art

Hi Craig, Buy a round knife from Bruce Johnson's website. These are mostly older knives from really good manufacturers. Four or five inch tip to tip will do. Get 2 clicker knives if you can, go to shoe distributors, one curved blade and one straight blade. Box cutter or Utility knife, you will have to strop new blades for best cutting. Surgical scalpel with #11 blades, you can get these on eBay. I know guys that use: 1. Scalpel for anything and everything, 2. Clicker knives almost exclusively, 3. Utility knives for everything. I use any and all of the above (including head knives), not so much the utility knife, I use that to open the boxes the other knives come in. Art

Hi Clay, I finally found the bottle of Shoe Stretch Liquid I used, although I found a can of Kiwi, I also found a gallon of Sellari's Shoe stretch, as I remember it also comes in a quart version. Kaufman Shoe Repair Supplies in New York and Panhandle down in Texas both carry it. Art

We have Norman. Whenever something goes not so right, Norman did it. Norman has saved my marriage and kept the kids alive whenever they have ventured into the shop, usually for screwdriver or pliers. Norman however, did get a vintage ('90s) Chuck Smith swivel knife from me that I have never recovered, of course I switched to Bob Beard and have never looked for the CS knife again (yes, Bob's knives are that good). As I acquire more and more of the accouterments of the leatherworking trade, Norman gets more active. I recently found a copy of Salaman's tools that Norman had pilfered, he always seems to give stuff back shortly after I have bought a replacement. Art

There are none better than Ed the Bear Man makes, he is here on the list, just PM BearMan. And use a Maul not a mallet. Barry King also makes a very good Maul, and I have a few, but Ed's are better in my opinion. For tooling you want a 16oz or 20oz Maul, if you do this a lot, you will have both. I have a 96oz Barry King also (it was there and I bought it) that I only use for wacking my makers mark, I am kind of a tool nut. Art

Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte? Too darned hot for me during the summer, but golf in the Winter, how sweet it is. There is a show this month May 19-21 in Sheridan Wyoming (SHR), you can get there on Great Lakes 5181 (I think) out of Denver (DEN). This is the biggest leather show there is outside the Denver Market. Friday is the best day if you can schedule. Art

Do you want to start tooling or do you actually want to make the belt, very big difference. The "Basic 7" will let you get your feet wet tooling for $40, it won't help you make a belt, you will need other tools for that. If you are going the basic tooling route, get the local Tandy to set you up with some classes to start. Art

Hi Brad, The Artisan 797 is functionally equivalent to the Cobra Class 17; they do not have needle feed. The Class 18 has needle feed, and yes it does sew 207, I run 138 in the bobbin when I do that, but it has a big bobbin and hook and should handle 207. If you are going to sew 207 all the time, just get the Class 3 or 4 machine, you also get a cylinder arm machine which is more useful, and a detachable table is available. Art

Deglazer is probably a lot of Ethyl Acetate, a common industrial ester. Nothing will have much of an effect on the aniline dyes, except maybe a bleach (hypochlorite ion), which will have a negative effect on the leather. The best bet is to dye again with a darker color. Art

I agree with Steve and Wiz to some extent, Wiz likes 29s and I hate the darned things. If you had to buy only one machine (given that you want to do shoes and hats), you should be looking for a post machine. Any of the Singer 51 series machines will work fine as will the Pfaff 491. These machines will have been used in industry, so normal precautions as to wear should be heeded. If you want to go the new route, the machines made by Ankai in China are very very good, the AK-5110 is a lot like the 51 class and the AK-8110 is so darned near like a Pfaff 491 it is hard to tell. Both are good machines but need to be set up for leatherwork with a servo and speed reducer. Most dealers on leatherworker.net have access to these machines through their export brokers, you might have to wait a month if they don't have one in stock. I got my 8110 from Steve, it is a great machine. While the post machines are handy for hats, they are not really necessary for making shoes or boots. The only operation that the post is helpful with is sewing on the pulls (the tabs you hold onto when putting on the boot), and you can really do that by hand. You do need a special machine for sewing on the outsoles, or you can do it by hand also, the machine for outsoles is the Landis Model 12. The rest of the boot or shoe can be sewn on the Singer 31-15 or 20 with a roller presser foot. The new alternative is the 5550 with a large "M" bobbin, again carried by most of the dealers on here, again, I got mine from Steve. It is a Highlead machine that is built like a tank and a sports car combined, you can do all of the decoration and closing on a shoe or boot with this machine. When decorating boot tops, and toes, you need to be able to go very slow, these machines have to be set up to do that, from the factory they sew 2000 to 3000 stitches per minute and more. The "normal" threads for boot and shoe work (uppers) are usually 33, 46, and 69, and I can't think of using much larger for hats either. The 5550 will do 138, and I've sewn with 138/69 in the 8110 a couple of times without problems; I haven't tried anything bigger. Art

Well, you are about 50 miles from Yokum, go down and visit Campbell Bosworth, I think they made the video. Any machine you get from them will be excellent. Art

The ? in ones were made for the shoe trade, primarily repair work. The skiver part will do about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch skive; NOT TO A FEATHER. It is made to do heavy sole leather up to about 12 iron (1/4 inch). The cutter is the round knife type of cutter, again for heavy sole leather to the depth of the ?in1's throat. There is also a welt press as Luke said and it is good for pressing edges down. The welt is a piece of sort of oil tanned leather that holds the insole and uppers to the outsole. Art

Hi Bruce, I have a lot of belt grinders, and hence a lot of belts, but for sharpening, I use the good ole 6x48 now that I can get cubic oxide belts for it. I do sharpening work with the belt traveling away from me, the effect is the same with greater belt life, and a lot easier to do on a head knife with the 6x48 laying down, slack belt is always the top of the Bader or Burr-King. Art

Hi Bradley, My experience with Rose knives is a little different. Some (not all, but enough) have soft areas along the blade edge. It may only be one spot, and hopefully in an unimportant place, but I have seen it at the tips. I can only attribute this to someone taking a grinder to them and overheating the edge in places. If you want a Rose, get it from someone you trust, like that Bruce Johnson guy or Bob Douglas. They can be sharpened on a wheel grinder or a belt grinder, but you need to be careful not to dwell on a spot. I make passes on the edge with the belt grinder, water now and then helps, and bare hands or fingers keep me from getting the steel too hot. Art

I understand what you are talking about, it is a double chainstitch machine. I guess you can compare it to a serger where the bottom thread goes through a tube to the looper. In this type of stitch the looper thread is put through and around the upper loops by the looper, first outside the top loop and then inside the top loop forming the next outside loop (the needle and thread come down through the loop). Here again, there is an interaction of the loops, not an actual lockstitch where the top and bottom threads have to "dance" or go around each other to form the lock. I don't know if I explained that too well, go look at a serger. Art

The Union Lockstitch machine is the closest I have seen with the big bobbin that holds around 100-150 yards of thread. There was one set of drawings I have seen that used a tube for the hookshaft and ran the thread through that. If anything ever comes to fruition, it will set the prewound bobbin industry on it's ear. It is just hard to imagine that American, English, and German ingenuity would not have developed something to replace the bobbin. Art

Jonathan is right, you use the hammer jacked piece as an intermediate or liner piece to stiffen the project. You could use a hammer jacked piece as a welt to stiffen an edge. If you hammer jack a 4oz piece or less, you end up with a pretty thin piece that is unobtrusive as a welt. It is generally a good workout too. They made a small roller press to do this function, but I have not been able to locate one. Art

You will be happy with the Cobra 18, up to 207 thread, I've sewn 18oz (2x9oz) with 207 on one no problem, I might have used 138 in the bobbin. With machines of that class, they will either do 207 or they won't, you can try 277 top, but run 92 or 138 in the bobbin, it might work. Another machine you might look for is a Pfaff 145 or 545 (or 1245), they are very good medium weight machines. Figure about 3/8" max on these machines, the Pfaff will almost do 1/2". The Cobra 18 will probably be the best of that bunch as it will come setup for leather, and has excellent customer service. I've had one for more than 2 years and it works flawlessly. The wife uses it too, especially for quilting, there are feet for it to do anything you want and they are not expensive. Art

Hi, This is all from the bespoke shoemaking industry, so few will have a clue what I am talking about. You need to take a piece of 4oz leather and "Hammer Jack" it. Basically, you put it on an anvil and wail on it with a "beating out" (read here large smooth faced) hammer. Start from the center and work your way out in a spiral. This will compress the leather and make it hard and not very flexible; you can hammer jack a 3oz or 4oz piece pretty thin. Use as a liner for what you need. When making heels for shoes or boots, you "hammer jack" a piece of sole leather to make heel lifts, it keeps them from squashing out in use. HTH, Art

Hi Ray, Packing Iron is great, Will Ghormley patterns are very good also. Chuck failed to mention his Videos, one on sheathmaking and the other on holstermaking. Chuck's videos show methods of aging or distressing leather so they don't have that "brandy new" look. Using those techniques will make the holster blend in when worn, not scream "here I am". How I do wish we could get Chuck to make a video on his beading techniques. Chuck is the master at this form of decoration that is slipping away from us as we speak. Art

Looking at your watch strap, those holes are die cut, all holes at once, one side of the band at a time, usually with a clicker or a production press. Notice how the grain is pulled down into the holes, that pretty much gives it away. Have the dies made, one for one side of the band and another for the other side. Get the leather, the dies, and the clicking machine together and you are in business. You get the leather finished before clicking, then it is just assembly and touch-up, edging etc. Art

Take an oval punch and crush it till it gets to the desired form. If it is hardened, you may have to anneal it first, reform it while "soft", then re-harden it. A good blacksmith or bladesmith should be able to accomplish this for you. Ask Bret at Brettuns Village where he gets his punches made and see if he can have one made for you. Art

For oily leathers, you need to use an Aliphatic resin or PVA glue made for the shoe industry. I use the Fiebing's Tanner's Bond. Rough up the area before application and let dry a few minutes before sticking together. It is NOT a contact cement so stabilize the joint while it dries. Art

Hi Clay, I bought the Kiwi a long time ago, can't remember where. Any boot store will have it. The stuff from Bee Natural is called Pro Carve, I have never had a problem dyeing after using it. Art

Hi Clay, It is actually for stretching out finished boots that are a little too tight. It is also good for fast wetting leather, probably because of all the alcohol. I also use the Bee Natural mix. There is a lot of wet forming in boot work, I can't say the stretching fluid works any better, but it is faster, especially when insoles are starting to get too dry. If I can find the bottle, I'll get you the name. Ok, Kiwi Universal Shoe Stretch, I put the whole thing into a 16 or 20 oz spray bottle and fill with water (I use distilled). I have another bottle with a glug of Bee Natural in it and filled with water. Art

Yes. Art