electrathon

There is a u-tube out about the making of pricking irons I think it was in a Chinese or Japanese factory if I remember correct.

Total thickness of 10oz (plus more for the toe and heal) will be massive thick for boots. The insole will be veg tan, the bison outer will likely be chrome tan. I doubt there will be any significant issue with veg or chrome for the lining.

Your work looks great. How do you know already how to hand sew? Your stitches are superb.

Depending on the color, sometimes you reduce more than that.

You will need needles with a point to sew canvas. No pre-punched holes in the fabric,

The first sample is more appealing. The second is not as symmetrical. I also did up another sample to show how the angle can be different with a differant size stamp. You can also note that the impressions are less crisp/clear with this cheaper stamp.

First I have to admit I misread your original post. Improper angle on basketweave is a pet leave of mine. I see that you were asking if you should tip it to the left or the right. That is arbitrary, but most lean to the left. If I was doing two sides I would do one side one way and the other side the other. I thought you were asking the specific angle of the weave. Here are samples of correct and incorrect. Notice that the top and bottom line are parallel to the window. The red lines are for reference.

Your location can make a huge difference. Is the shipping going to be from France? South Africa?

Every stamp is different. The length of the stamp is what makes the angle. I will do up an example tonight is I have time. If done properly the bottom and top have all of the points of the corner of the stamp line up. The example JLSleather posted is a great visual of this.

First, my praise to you is that as a youth you are doing something very productive. Your work looks better than many people who do leather all the time. As to critiques: Make slightly bigger stitches. If you are going to tool, do it deeper and with crisper impressions. Sew closer to the edge. Sew around the belt loops, just in case.

Wyo-sheen or clear laq. It used to be called Neet Laq

Lots of options out there. The basic answer though is "chrome tan". Tandy sells it too. Think garment or upholstery leather.

Those look like the Tandy pliers. They do work, the Goods Japan ones are a lot better quality.

I have this tool. It is ok, but not the best. I also have the Goods Japan nippers listed above. It is an awesome amazing tool. I use it all the time, one of my favorite tools in my bag.

Yes, it will work just fine. Horse is better. Thinner is better.

For sewing into blind areas I can sew far faster and better with a jerk needle than an auto awl. The main difference is if you use an auto awl you need to slip the thread through the loop inside the tight area. With a jerk needle you make the loop out in the open. A lot easier to control.

I would question this. I am only average at hand sewing but I can sew circles around someone trying to sew with an auto awl. My stitches will look good when done too, auto awl stitches usually look like Poo. The lock stitch verses saddle stitch is just a bonus to me. Almost all sewing is a lock stitch now days and it works just fine.

It is for punching the holes. If you are pre-punching the holes you can go without it. It would be rare to find anyone who is skilled in hand sewing that is using an auto awl. Almost everyone buys one when they start until they learn how to hand sew.

First, you can replace the needle with one out of a large sewing machine and run larger thread. Second, that tool is the one most hated tool in leatherwork for me. Buy a real sewing awl (a flat needle for lack of a better description) and sew with two sewing needles. Your quality of work will skyrocket up.

Moving air and lots of it. Similar to getting rid of smoke smell.

My recommendation is to stop using tracing paper. We have copy machines now. I truly believe that the only reason Al Stohlman didn't use one is because they had not invented it yet. Photocopy the picture onto regular paper. Wet your leather, lay a piece of saran wrap over your leather. Lay the photocopy over the leather/saran wrap. Trace with a red pen (so you know if you have missed a line). Every time you trace a picture you add more errors.

My main reference was to the steel used and the ability for it to hold an edge. The discussion started about the tools going dull and not cutting well. Quality steel, properly sharpened will cut well and hold an edge for a long time. The pro line tools do look a lot nicer, they are more comfortable in most peoples hands. The actual cutting edge is the issue with the complaints of poor performance. I can sharpen a piece of fairly soft metal and it will cut, for a short time. Sharpen a cutting edge on quality steel, properly tempered and it will preform for a long time. One big difference is you can buy a handful of Tandy tools for the price of one high end tool. This issue is what weighs heavy in the Tandy side. Many are not that worried about the little quality details and that is OK. It creates a market for the low end tools. They are also a great way to get into the leather world. Few people start playing music with a $10,000 guitar, they start at the music store with a beginners model. When they get better and start noticing the difference in sound, they move up. Just like this discussion. People are noticing the quality differences and asking questions about it.

Rons Tools are the best. There are other good ones out there too. I think the main difference in the Pro Line tools are the handles, not the steel or the temper.

The correct tool is sandpaper glued to a stick.

Larger awl blade (I used to do the same thing as you with the small blade). Also, toss the big eye needles and use harness needles I am assuming you are using big eye needles because they are what break all the time.