reddevil76

Coincidentally, i just received my 2 sides of bridle and 1 side of natural tooling, all standard grade, from W&C yesterday. They look pretty ok, but does have a few more blemishes than the Royal Meadow of Tandy which I ordered before. I try to shun shoulders due to the wrinkles there. In fact, if I could, I wouldn't even buy sides, but single bends. I don't mind ordering a 100 or so sq ft per order, but it seems most people are selling sides only, so I had to take that.

Thank you. I have done the same recently. Lazybum on this forum is in Singapore as well, and we exchanged samples (me Hermann Oak, him W&C) This led me to ordering 3 standard grade sides from W&C. I will be using this for my ready-to-buy line. However, I still need to shop for cheap alternatives for those customers on a budget, who don't mind me using more economical leathers.

When it comes to tools, I nowadays try to buy from Goodsjapan.jp The prices are very reasonable. For example, the strap end punch I bought was not only cheaper than Tandy's pro series, Goodsjapan included free shipping as well. (Tandy charges me $33 to ship a bunch of stamping tools) The strap end punch came sharp, took me only one whack with a rawhide mallet to go through a 12oz belt end. With my 20oz Barry King maul, the punch practically embedded itself into my poly cutting board. It's been almost a year and it is still sharp as ever with no stropping necessary. I like the free shipping policy as when I doing online shopping at their site, i look at the prices and I know that is the price I am going to pay. Unlike other retailers, you add a few sales items into the shopping cart, and when you check out, you find an obscene amount on the shipping and forced to cancel. By then you would have wasted maybe an hour doing this "shopping". Unfortunately I can't find everything I want there, but most stuff is available.

Reason I am asking is because I have ordered Top Grade sides from an advertiser here before and ended up only 20% was usable. There was several huge scars (like a slash) and numerous tick bites on the side. I then realised "Top" doesn't necessarily mean top in the universal sense of the word. In the above example, the "top" I ordered was obviously the best that some ghetto tannery could churn out. I shudder to think what their low grade looks like. Anyway, the price of Leather Unlimited's top is somewhat close to what I paid previously for that piece of junk, so I am wondering if I am going to experience the same thing.. Just being realistic after being burnt so many times.

With my 14-16 hour work days, I found that I could still do a little leathercrafting, but am giving up on carving. I simply couldn't case and sit around for the leather to return to it natural colour when I only have an hour or so before I need to get some sleep at the end of the day. This often results in very rush practise sessions which takes away the joy of the craft. It has become a stressful chore instead. Most of the tools were never used. And all had a dab of Singer oil while in storage, so no worries on corrosion. I've done my calculations and there's about $295 worth of stuff here (conservatively speaking). It could be slightly more due to the 3 craft japan stamps. Anyhow, here they are for the next better player at a low starting price of $99 http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1555.l2649

Hi Wiz, just found a walking foot. The distributor gets used machines back from his clients for refurbishing. Sometimes, they trade them in for a new one. He happens to have one right now which has been refurbished. Asking USD$1465 for it. Just the head, clutch motor and a new table. Here's the model http://www.mauser-spezial.com/ma-1245.html I told him the US distributors are selling about the same price for brand new, but he wouldn't budge. Anyway, I tell myself I am not saving any dollars by buying used, but at least I don't need to pay for shipping, and support will be local. Left a few pieces of veg tan and size 346 thread with him today. Once he has sewn some test pieces, he'll call me in, and we can do a deal. It's at least 30% above my budget, but I think I just gotta settle down with one soon. The time spent searching for one could be better used for leather work

Hi Wiz, I've just about scoured the webs of all major brands. However since I am looking for used machines, I can only choose from what is available, which 99.9% of the time, the original buyer would have bought it to do something else as nobody does leatherwork in singapore except for a few.

Thanks Wiz... Thought I had hit paydirt. So wished that I live in the US where options are much more.

I've seen a local shop use a Singer 191 to sew veg tan with V138 thread. I asked them how is it possible, and they said they have done some modifications. No further details from them. There is this used Juki DDL-8700 for sale locally, and I was wondering if I could do the same? If so, what modifications is needed? http://www.juki.co.jp/industrial_e/products_e/apparel_e/1needle_e/ddl8700.html

Safety Beveler - Some call it the skiver. Designed to be pulled towards you with the right hand. I push it away from me with my left hand. Strap cutter - I flip the horizontal bar around, and use it with the inch markings upside down. No problems. Stitching groover - I sold the basic model and bought the Pro model (which comes with a modeling spoon fitment). You can flip the guide bar around and use it left handed. Other than that, not much problems. Its hard sometimes being a lefty in a right handed world. When i was serving my compulsory 2.5 yrs national service in the army, I often had to endure hot empty shells ejecting from my M16 dropping into my shirt through the collar. The deflector they designed for leftys just didn't work. Then the army switched to a self-designed SAR21, which had the shells ejected from the butt area. No room for a deflector, and we all had to learn to use it the right handed way. Eventually, I found that if you force yourself to "learn it", you can be proficient in it. Its like a swivel knife, you don't feel "comfortable" with it the first time you use it. But you can train yourself to be proficient in it.

Thanks all, I asking because Sailrite's Ultrafeed is rated to go up to V92, but their VP Matt Grant says I can still sew with V138.. just wondering what will happen... Trox, thanks for the detailed reply.

Ah ok, so it will damage the machine. Thank you all.

Ok, suppose a machine is rated for V92. But the factory says it can do V138. Now, suppose I try to use it with V207 top and bobbin, assuming I managed to fit in a needle that suits this size thread, what would happen? Worst case scenario, the machine burst into flames?

Hi, I faced this myself also.Sometimes, I find it hard to start a project. But once started, it gets going.So I analysed what are the factors that makes it so hard for me to start.1. Due to a lack of space, I had to put everything away after using it. One example is my splitter, after splitting just one piece, I have to de-mount it from my work table, oil the blade, put it away in the box. If I need to use it, I need to de-oil the blade, mount it, and maybe just split a 3" X 8" piece. So if the project requires splitting a few pieces, I'd probably find it a big bother especially when I only have an hour or so before I need to sleep, ahead of another 14 hour work day.2. Cutting out the pieces takes alot of time. And its really mundane work.After identifying the above, I took the following actions:1. I got an extra table, smaller one, just to mount my arbor press and splitter, so they will be easier to use, and less of a psychological bother.2. I got some small dies made just for small pieces like card slots. I can't use big dies anyway, since I use an arbor press instead of a proper press. So I still cut out the big pieces by hand. But at least I can cut all the pieces I need in one sitting.It would help for you to identify which are the process you would still enjoy to do, and which are the process you find mundane and then get machinery/tools to help you "speed over" these processes. The steps to make a common item is probably the same for everyone, but everyone will definitely have their favourite part of the process. And its good for you to take a step back and think about it.

It's a singer 19-1 or something like this. I'll try changing the needle..

Thanks guys. The layers were glued with contact cement, tapped with a nylon mallet. Stitching was 1/8 from the edge.

Here's his site. http://www.barrykingtools.com/ Just let him know the size of the carvings you intend to do. Wallets, bags or coasters, etc. Then he can recommend the sizes. Or check this http://www.barrykingtools.com/sizelist.htm

I have not bought a sewing machine yet, but have been trying it out using my friend's machine. One problem I encountered is when sewing 3 layers of 4 oz, the leather compresses sideways, and thus the needle goes through the edge on the other side. The veg tan I am using is of fairly firm temper. Stitching Problem.pdf

I would strongly recommend you to email Barry King and ask for recommendations. I was on a very tight budget myself, but knowing that Craftools would be a waste of money, I gave Barry my budget, and he took his recommended tool list from the site and whittled it down to fit my budget. The tools are worth every cent I spent on it. Besides the crisp impressions, there is also another practical consideration. I practise whenever I have spare time, and in between these sessions, the Craftools just corrodes away. With Barry's stainless steel tools, I don't have to worry about my stamping tools corroding.

Hi Bob, thanks for pointing out the leaves shading portion. Actually it is not a deliberate style decision. I actually shaded the outer leaves and gave up halfway! Reason being that I could not figure out how to walk the thumbprint in the leaves without leaving choppy marks. On a couple, I went back and tried to redo it and end up making a mess, so I gave up halfway. At that point, I felt I couldn't risk messing up this further, and gave up doing the veiner and camo too. Not sure if the reason why I couldn't walk it is because my thumbprint is horizontally lined. I have since ordered smooth curved thumbprints from Barry and am gonna give this another shot.

On www.goodsjapan.jp, there is a swivel knife border tool made of brass. I used to envy those who could draw patterns using computers. I even looked up digital die cutters when I read that one of our members used it to trace directly on leather. But I found I could neither afford it nor have the space for it. (I even have to put away my 6 inch splitter when not in use) However, looking at these videos, instead of feeling deflated, I felt inspired. If one day I could freehand patterns like this, anywhere I go, with just some leather and a swivel knife in my pocket, I can carve. Everything in my hands and head. For now, I'm just gonna practise and practise.

He is in japan, because one of the videos where he is dyeing some leather, he was using a Japanese newspaper underneath. However in certain shots, it seems he is a Caucasian. Not Japanese. And the music he is blasting away in the background is usually rock n roll. So he could well be a Caucasian living in Japan.

This guy is not only good, he is fast!

Ok, over the last month, I got myself a couple of Barry King mauls, a couple of swivel knives, and a number of stamping tools.. except my flower centre came from Tandy (big regret) Anyway, I've been practising on small 4"X4" scrap pieces of Hermann Oak till today, I had a full free day where I could case, trace, and do a complete attempt in one sitting. I know I'd probably just need more practise. But areas where I am doing wrong, I hope some folks here can point out, so I don't keep practising the wrong thing and correct anything that needs correcting early in my carving journey. One thing that scares me is decorative cuts. I wasn't sure at all where and what to cut and made a mess of it. Anyway, leather of choice was a piece of drum dyed veg tan procured locally (Can't afford to waste Hermann Oak leather practising). This drum dyed veg tan burnishes well and is always a good candidate for stamping. But when carving, it behaved like a b*tch.

May i know if what he is using is a beader blade? If yes, why is 2 passes necessary?