bigtree

Hey guys, I'm in search of some button studs that aren't screwback. The only one I've found is the Sam Browne brand ones (that Tandy sells) but I don't like the big giant ball and am looking for something with a flatter head. I know they're out there as I've seen them on products but I can't track them down for the life of me. Hoping someone here can help! Thanks a lot!

Cool, thanks Dan. I just may do that. I didn't figure it'd be that hard, plus I always wax my tapered ends so I can imagine what it'd be like. I just wasn't sure if there were any extra steps to be taken when waxing the whole thing from scratch. I also just found this: http://springfieldleather.com/store/product/7627/Thread%2CWax%2CLinen%2CNatural%2C50yd/ From Springfield. It's 50 yds Vs 25 yds and a better deal yard for yard than the stuff from Campbell Randall. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? Or better yet, with both the thread from campbell Randall as well as the thread from Springfield? I do like the idea of prewaxed still...just one less step

I thought about that but 1) haven't had any experience with waxing raw thread and 2) wasn't sure if that 5 cord would be the same thickness as the waxed 5 cord. Do you have experience with both? Are they the same thickness?

Perfect, thanks a lot man!

Hey guys, Did a search for this and didn't find anything...I've used this waxed linen thread before and really like it and am looking for someone that sells it in larger quantities than 25 yd spools: http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/6_71_78/products_id/1348 The picture is black and the description says "natural", but it's nice and white and the weight is perfect for me. I could've sworn I've seen places that sell large spools of this but am having no luck finding it. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Spinner, got 'em. Great stuff, I'm really excited about them. Being the maker or them and all, do you have any special tips/advice/ways you do things with them?

Spinner, just got me order in. I'm leaving town on Tuesday and would LOVE to get my hands on those before I leave. Thanks!

Wow yeah those are great! I've got a dremel and have been thinking about making something like that for it but have been procrastinating. Def a reasonable price so I'll just pick one of those up instead. Good stuff, thanks!

Are you saying to soften the wax by heating it a bit and then applying to the edges? Those are great tips with the drill press. I've been meaning to get one in general...another big reason to get one now. What's the cocobo wood burnisher?

Hi guys, Thanks for the replies. Yes, I absolutely agree that hidepounder's edges are second to none and I've read over his tutorial a few times. His edges almost look too perfect for what I'm after I think, plus I (for no real reason) wasn't into the idea of dyeing my edges but twinoak's picture definitely proved that hidepounder's method looks great sans dye. I will most definitely try that. Any special tips? Did you simply omit the dye step? Also, I always have problems when I wet edges with the edges getting too squishy/floppy and it mushrooms and widens the edges out, even with minimal moisture and not a lot of pressure. Anyone else encounter the same deal/have any suggestions? It's not that big of a deal if I end up beveling but there's times where I don't.

I know this is an often covered topic here, but how do you reckon this guy gets these edges so dark? His site just says edged with beeswax, but I've never gotten my edges to look like that with just beeswax (or ever for that matter). If you look closely, his edges are that dark even on the single layer pieces that look to be only around 4 oz thick (which is tough to do since it gets floppy). My only guess is that he's got some edging machine like the Fantastic Edge Burnisher or the Weaver one but I've never used one or even really seen good pictures of what these machines do so I'm not sure. I feel like I've got the whole stitching part down fairly well and edge finishing is my next frontier to perfect. Thoughts? His site, just for due credit: http://barrettalley.com/devilish-wallet-natural-leather.html

Yes, you're absolutely right. I've spent hours experimenting and researching since I posted and came to that realization that no matter how you stitch one side will align with the direction of the slant and one won't. I just saw that happening on my work and have never really noticed in pictures of other people's, so I got paranoid that I wasn't doing something correctly. Turns out my "potentially bad side" isn't bad at all, it's normal. Phew. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. Can you elaborate on that? The only reason I'm attracted to this method of stitching is because it seems like it is the strongest and most durable stitch as it adds an actual knot to keep the threads locked in place. Do you mean to say that the knot actually wears on the thread over time? To continue with my over-perfectionist nature, I need to be using the stitch that is the strongest to feel good about my work...

I'm not sure that what's technically happening with the knot is a lockstitch, at least according to what the Stohlman diagram illustrates. Definitely would like to know what the stitching experts around here have to say about all this...

Hey everyone, Thanks for the replies. Lazybum, I'm curious if one of your sides look similar to my "bad" side? I guess it's not so much that the stitch sits straight that's getting to me, it's the fact that the stitches end up traveling the furthest distance instead of the closest (look carefully at my "bad" side pic) which sort of causes it to not fill out the diamond completely leaving a little bit of dead space. If you look at my "good" side pic, you can hardly see the awl hole at all, not the case with the "bad" side. I'll attempt to explain: The stitch goes from the bottom part of the diamond (/) all the way to the top part of the next diamond (/) where as the good side will have the stitch traveling the shortest distance, i.e. the top of the diamond to the bottom of the next. I wonder if anyone's come across pictures of any Japanese or UK leathercrafters' work with the stitches doing the same thing as mine?

Ok, I may have actually just answered my question but can someone confirm? The method I've been using has been creating an actual, physical knot inside the stitch, which looks like this just prior to being pulled tight (you can see the knot forming): (pic borrowed from this post) So from my careful observation it seems like because of what the knot does to the positioning of the thread, it switches around the way the thread lays on one side. So I'm guessing that all stitches done with a knot look like mine??? The tutorial post I pulled that image from never shoes the backside of the work. I, for some reason, had somewhere along the way come to believe that the actual knot was what made a proper saddle stitch. This thought is incorrect, right? Now going back and looking at that famous image from the Al Stohlman book, I see that the drawing shows the threads merely crossing over each other inside the stitch, not knotting. So the whole thing about a saddle stitch not unraveling isn't because of a knot inside the thread, but simply because one thread is holding the other in place even if one gets cut...correct? So assuming the all the above is correct: Is there any distinction between a stitch that knots and one that doesn't, or are they both just generalized as a "saddle stitch"? Is there a way to stitch with a knot but still have the two sides be identical? I still like the idea of the knot as it makes it seem ultra sturdy and even more durable.