ClaireAshton

Hi Medi, I certainly wouldn't try to make a splitter blade from scratch, by the time you got down to an edge, it could be all over the place. I believe the correct way to sharpen your blade is to hols your blade bevel against the stone. Then strop the bevel only. There are numerous You tube demos or get the Al Stohlman Tools book online from Tandy. That book is a mine of info of how to sharpen everything, splitters, edgers, knives, awls and so on. I would only get a new blade for a splitter if the old one had been ruined, but I think the new blade price from Dixon's is reasonable. Worth while dropping your blade in there to save courier if you are close enough. Where are you from? The only other people who could manage to sharpen your blade would be a guillotine company that deal with the printing industry. My father (now dead) used to have a hand guillotine that would cut through a foot thick pile of paper 3 feet wide like a kitchen devil through a carrot. I wish I could remember where he sent the blade away to! It made a splitter blade look like a small razor blade in comparison. Having said that, my skivers have been coming along. The little one's blade was'chipped' in the centre of blade and at the wrong angle. I've spent a week on and off (10 hours?) hand cutting new angles (it is bevelled both sides) until the chip disappeared. I used a 2 sided oil stone to start, then a diamond stone then ceramic (Oh thankyou Fallraven or whatever they are called). Then my trusty Amazon thin card envelope cut up treated with jeweller's rouge, then very fine (down to 12,000 grit) cloth. This afternoon I spent a couple of hours taking it apart and back together, mounting the blade (now that was difficult avoiding catching it and wrecking the edge...) and building up the milled circumference with gorilla tape (surely the best?) on the lower feed roller which is the grain side roller. After many adjustments I can bevel skive anything from 2oz up to 10oz. without damaging the work. Now to start on the bigger one, which has a narrower blade curiously. I've sent off for a Stanley Iron for SB3 which is a 1 3/4" plane blade. Same width so i'll see if that works out of the box. If not I'll spend a couple of weeks putting a bevel on the other side (plane blane is single bevel) and see if that works. After all it only £5.50 or so ($8?) not bad for tool steel ready to go. Watch this space..... Claire

Same here, various tools, dies and the gum trag replacement - excellent. Used Goodsjapan, very easy to use and fairly quick (to UK) Order just one item at a time to avoid import dues and taxes (again UK) as the price is same, post free, for one item or for multiple items. Claire

Mmmm.... looks very nice! Guessing it's pretty thick leather, and from its construction I wouldn't have thought that it would go out of shape much with that kind of treatment. If I was going to be really picky, the crease on the gusset just under the hinge is where you need it to be supple, while the main front and back need to be left a bit stiffer. Bit surprised you call it a Boston Hoop bag, I thought these were Gladstone bags? Nice Job Claire

Hi, I would recommend getting this book, as there are various illustrations of old catalogues with detaiils of old tools and obviously the date of the catalogue. It's available from a well known Online bookshop ( ), well at least the UK version of same. Dictionary of Leather-Working Tools, c. 1700-1950, and the Tools of Allied Trades by RA SALAMANBW Claire

I've recently acquired two manual skiving / splitting machines. Both are very old but in very good working condition. The blades on both I would like to source spare blades. I would say there is no chance of 'off the shelf' blades. One of them looks about the same size as a woodworking plane blade. The other, which has two holes in it to mount the blade, is a lot squarer but could be similar to a large spoke-shave blade. What I would like is either 1/ blades I can cut down to size 2/ blade stock I can cut to size and sharpen 3/ somewhere in UK that can make me blades to fit The sizes are (width across blade x length x thickness) 1/ 1 3/4" x 3 3/4" x 1/8" 2/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/4" x 1/8" As these are both old English machines the sizes will all be imperial. Can anyone help? Claire PS I haven't the facilities to retemper or put in a temper of anything.

Sorry for slow reply to this. What the card does is to angle the blade slightly outwards, ie tries to cut wider than it is set at. Now this would seem to be a problem until you realise what it does is push the 'guide' edge is forced against the body of the strap cutter. This keeps the strap at the fixed width. If you don't put the card in then there is a tendency for the leather to 'wander' away from the body making the cut length narrower than intended. The card is more effective when cutting narrower strips than wider as the angle of the blade reduces the wider the strip cut. which will save you one of hands that you seem to need three of........ Claire The other modification that I personally haven't got round to is to put guides on the body

Hl, as far as I know it is ok. This company is the source in the UK for Osborne tools and is quoted frequently by other leatherworkers. Best Wishes claire

Bought a manual skiver on Ebay and went to collect...... as I walked into seller's workshop what do i see but a largeish bench pillar drill. Mmmmm....... 20 mins later and I had made arrangements for my arbor press ram to go in the post for the mods. Buy some taps, tapping drills. grubscrews and pay for postage there and back and pay for the machining and......... ....... Yep, you guessed it, it would have been cheaper to let the machine shop do the job in the first place. But somehow I thought it expensive and thought I could do it cheaper........... Well, still cheaper than a Tandy + specific dies. Why have I done this? I'm not sure as I prefer good handsititching to riveting and I don't do many snaps! But I like the tools. And I like looking at them and saying, no one has anything like that. Ah, Pleasure..... Claire

Ok, my viewing is sorted till i'm on my feet again.... Thanks Billy Claire

Hi, I've just spent hours reading through old posts. Now I don't have a sad life, as you are thinking, 'cos I am 'foot up' die to a foot operation and cannot get to the bench. So I soon realised that if I could done this when I started leathercrafting (much better description than leatherwork - work is toil and craft is love) I would have shortcutted many mistakes and saved much scrap leather. So, to those reading this who are just starting out in leathercrafting, read as much as you can and copy from those who have gone before. One day you will have an original idea and you will have the skills to allow it to come to fruition. Al Stohlman's books are an excellent place to start. But as this is the modern age, online may be the way to go. (Yes, i am going to get there, eventually) OK, I'm here. The best thing you can do is to go to Youtube and search on IAN ATKINSON and NIGEL ARMITAGE and watch their instructional videos. Free, but donations are welcome, they will give you a firm grounding in basic leathercrafting. Do I get anything for plugging them? No, in fact I have donated to both by buying small items from them in the past (I can't bring myself to 'donate' as I would think I am short changing cancer charities) so I am not beholding. But they deserve my pushing them as i think it is the way to go. So, apart from one or two 'agreements' I would like to see your Youtube 'heroes'. Mainly for the benefit of Newbies, of course, but then again I do have a few more days of viewing time and an unlimited download contract with our beloved BT. Oh, both Ian and Nigel are Brits - so am I, but that was not a factor in my choosing..... Claire If anyone needs to see a photo of my foot as proof of incapacity I will try to post one, otherwise I'll not bother ....

Lovely to see all these old tools. But just a thought when I read ".......you can see the variety they did over the years." I thought that variety, constant changing and fiddling, 'upgrades' really means that the basic design is flawed. Now compare that with some tools that have stayed the same over all the years. Having said that, 'Leather' tools in general have probably stayed essentially unchanged for a couple of hundred years. I visited the Walsall Leather Museum and nearly everything on display was just a dusty version of all my tools. No wonder the reselling value (Ebay etc.) of some tools is so high. Claire

Thanks, Bgentle, I knew I wasn't dreaming! Look forward to your finding it. Claire Found this so edited my post.... Using a Peter Main technique that I found in one of Tandy's books, I made this one using some Elephant skivings and natural calf lace scraps. I believe Peter makes his using edging trim scraps, but I wanted to do something different. It came out a bit spongy, but for my first time I am very happy. Still no description if how its done. There was a picture but I don't know how to copy it to here.

Just noticed this thread moving again. I just sent the following in a private message, but as you can see my frustration is creeping in... My latest homemade tool that is NOT getting made is my Arbor press which I want to convert to a rivet and snap setter (as per Ian Atkinson Youtube video). I went to a local engineering works and they wanted £75 + VAT ($160?) to do the job, 2 main holes, 4 small holes for grub screws and 2 teeth grinding off. I came away, I could nearly have bought a made for the job machine from Tandy for that price. What i might try is doing it myself. All I have is a hand power drill, corded and a cordless one. What are the chances of drilling the lengthwise hole anywhere near straight? Alternatively if anyone knows of someone local to me who can manage this for a lot less than that asking price? Claire PS I manage by jamming the snap setter under the ram, then making sure it is vertical in both directions. What a pain that is! I can't set Line 24 caps as the little plate with the depressions will fit, just, but the line 24 is the end one and is unsupported. Whinge!

I agree with all above, a sharp blade being the most important - without that all the other precautions will be in vain. While talking about strap cutters, the best tip I had for these (wooden tandy type) was to glue some card within the frame to keep the edge against the frame. Why this isn't designed in at the start is a mystery........ Claire

Phew! Comprehensive indeed. Hopefully, as this topic is 'Pinned' it will become the goto place for European supplies. BW Claire

Hi Betsy, Thanks for thought on Brass Tacks. As I said in my post, I did get some on Ebay which did the job. Since then I have had better results from wet moulding using a former and a top plate pressing down, using clamps until dry. Far smoother and less damage in the stitching area. On one bad I made, I ended up lacing instead of stitching, which was done to hide tack holes too close to the bag. Best Wishes Claire

That sounds interesting! I was hoping to use just what I have to hand rather than have to go out and buy something new, though I may have to do that if no one else is on the same wavelength as me....... Thanks for the suggestion, Tree Reaper, but shouldn't you have suggested tree sap?

Help! Quite some time ago i came across and article / topic on the subject of molding a handle from small bits of scrap leather and glue. I can't for the life of me find it now, I have tucked away the reference somewhere and, as to be expected, can't find it anywhere. The idea was to use shavings, scraps, dust and so on and build it up in layers, a bit like a concrete I suppose, till you got the required size and the sand it down to fit. Now I could go and spend a week trying out different glues or whatever and making a right mess getting it all wrong, or I could ask here in the sure knowledge that someone will know what I am babbling on about! Here's Hoping Claire

OK. time to pad it out a bit. Suppliers Le Prevo in Newcastle upon Tyne. Old fashioned supplier who cannot embrace the 20th century, never mind the 21st. If you order online they will email you back with the total and you have to then phone them, or snail-mail, with your card details. I don't know about you but I am an Amazon Prime Child, whose shopping cutoff time is not when a shop closes, but when Amazon can't deliver the following morning! Now Le Prevo has a good stock of some ranges, but doesn't try to cover everything. They don't tell you the carriage rates when you order, which to me personally I find off putting. Their prices online are less VAT, fair enough, but these days with Ebay and Amazon, unless a supplier is slick - then I tend to look elsewhere. Update on Abbey - mixed I'm afraid. After being reprimanded ( ) for giving Abbey Walsall a hard time, I went online and ordered some stuff from them, including 936? ml of Tan Kote. I also ordered from Tandy Northampton (UK) and thought "no need to pay the extra for Tan Kote from Tandy, I've ordered it from Abbey". Received confirmation from Abbey, so Tandy ordered went off. |Too late the email from Abbey, no Tan Kote from Abbey in 639ml(?). I just hope that they HAD run out in the Quart size and weren't looking for some mythical pint and a half size. More to follow. Can peeps send me lots of money so I can do this shopping research properly?..............

Hi, on a couple of occasions i have gone to look at Gallery pictures. I can't seem to scroll across them, but have to go down to the thumbnails and click on one. A bit clunky, or am I missing something? The first correct answer will result in my going to look at that person's Gallery immediately...... Claire

Any in particular? I tried a general google search but only came up with books in Japanese language, which I'm not about to start learning.....

I think the most important point to understand is that many of the nice looking small leather items for sale on the web are not handcrafted but basically assembled on production line, to all intents and purposes. Unless you are willing to invest in some machinery, such as sewing machine, skivers etc. then you will not be able to reproduce what they sell. What you can do,is to provide one off, totally handmade, items such as wallets that you sell to a customer who has specified certain features. My advice is to make for yourself wallets, book covers and so on to learn the techniques and gain the confidence to actually make a commission. Once you can make items as good as Ian's or those of Nigel Armitage (Armitage Leather on You Tube videos) then you can be confident they would be acceptable to the public. The Stohlman books are excellent for the basics and very clear instruction, but do use You Tube as there are some superb instructionals on there. Good luck!

Hi, The leather they have at Walsall is OK, just that they don't have a great selection to choose from. The other reason I wouldn't bother going there again for leather is that is all behind the counter and unless I can get hands on I'd rather not bother. Claire

When I was in Police Training College in the UK we had to have very shiny shoes. We used to 'bull' them (shoe polish rubbed constantly with water) until an ex squaddie (Army) put us onto a floor polish liquid ....... Grrr! can't remember the name now (will research)

I'm lucky enough to live about 40 miles away from Dixons. I've got a few tools of theirs, two pricking irons one half black and the other all 'silver' (ie self-coloured) and a few edgers etc. Without exception all are really good quality. As for slimline..... (Have to check online catalogue....) BW Claire Just checked online, can't any reference to slimline?