KandB

Can I ask what machine you use to cut the dies? Is it a CNC milling machine? I ask because I've gotten to the point in a project where I want to buy my own machine to increase the level of personalization we can offer.

@Joe - they have done that for the two errors they made in the past. It seems I was no longer worth trying to please since instead of just fixing the error like they have in the past, they sent me the above email telling me to stop ordering from them instead.

So I just received an email from one of their mail fulfillment people telling me that because there always seems to be an issue with my order, I should no longer order from them. - stop and let that marinate for a moment - they pretty much told a customer to get lost instead of striving for excellence in customer service as they claim to do. I have ordered from Springfield exactly 4 times. 3 of those orders have had errors - and ones that could have easily been avoided with proper internal processes in place. The first time what I ordered and what was sent were two different things. After some back and forth with customer support who actually spoke to me quite rudely and was combative, the owner, Kevin, stepped in and made it right, sending me what I required. I judge a business more on how it handles an issue than completely writing it off when there is one, so I ordered again based on this experience. The second order had two pieces of leather I ordered missing from the order, along with a big hole in one of the small pieces I ordered, making it pretty much unusable. Again, Kevin corrected this and sent me the correct pieces, and made an effort to source some leather I was having trouble finding. The third time had no issues - I received what I ordered. My last order was ordered 3 weeks ago and still hasn't arrived, and has ended up in California despite my mailing address being in Washington. When I contacted them about this they wrote back and literally asked me what I'd like them to do about it. I explained that as someone who runs a business when my customer tells me something hasn't arrived, even though it's usually the fault of the mailing system and not me, I go and figure out where it is and why it's stuck there before even responding, much less asking the customer what I should be doing. To this, I received the following response: "Obviously we’re not capable of doing business successfully with people that live in your part of Canada. In view of that, we’re requesting that you no longer order from us. We realize that you’re not at fault here, and I’m sure it will save much frustration on your part, and enable you to better supply your customers if you get your supplies from a more dependable vendor, like perhaps Tandy, or Oregon Leather. " This response shocked, baffled, and downright enraged me - and not only because they used my geographical location as a thinly veiled excuse to get rid of me 'politely'. Despite my shipping address being in Washington, where I'm located has no bearing on the majority of the problems I've experienced with them - they've been errors in processing an order and things that could be avoided with good internal processes in place. But telling a customer to get lost? And to go find a more "dependable" vendor? Why not strive to improve your dependability instead? I'm blown away by this way of 'solving' a problem - by essentially throwing a rug over it and pretending it doesn't exist rather than taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again and again and again. If they screw up with me on 3 out of 4 orders, they are likely going to screw up with someone else pretty soon, if not already, so I hope in all sincerity that anyone considering shopping here thinks twice before placing an order, as you could very well be the next customer they decide to expel. I'm not sure how it is that they offer 'excellent customer service' to some, and treat others like garbage, and much less how they've survived doing so; but the idea of telling a customer to get lost because they cant get their ducks in a row is appalling and completely the opposite of excellent customer service.

i'm bad, I use pinesol.

paypaling you now.

What are the measurements? Need them to be larger than a business card.

Weaver does too - it's a harness buckle.

any small rectangles slightly larger than a business card?

me too please!

Leather Suppliers: The Leather Guy The Hide House Carroll Leather Thread: The Thread Exchange Hardware: Weaver Leather

Hi Everyone, I've seen a lot of small scale leather workers with their own custom hardware - that is, belt buckles with their logo cast on the buckle. I'm wondering where to get this done? I think it looks awesome but everyone I've asked won't tell me! I'm not sure why, but anyway - if anyone knows who to go to for this, please let me know. Ideally I'd go for solid brass or stainless steel, and preferably north american as I'm not sure how to handle quality control on Alibabba. Thanks!

I buy brass teeth zips direct from YKK, but Buckle Guy sells riri.

I'm also trying to find where to get these since I see small leatherwork operations that have their own custom hardware.

I've never seen anything like that before, and I buy the cheap economy hides at Tandy.

Yup, I've read that, but rather than depending on my ability to look at a piece of leather and ascertain whether or not it has been sanded/buffed or just dyed in a particular way, I was hoping someone might be able to explain it a little better than Wikipedia's more simplistic and generalized description.

I got mine from Calvin on Etsy - attached to a modified soldering iron, love it.

Have you tried Saddle Lac?

I use E6000 - it's the strongest stuff I've found - I tried contact cements and barge glues but I could always pull the leather pieces apart - the E6000 is amazing - it takes the strength of a full grown man to forcibly rip the suede sides apart when glued together.

bump?

Thanks everyone - I appreciate the suggestions on what to choose, but in order to make an informed decision I want to know what each one of those actually means, and they're likely hood of breaking, rusting, etc. I always hear that solid brass is the best. I thought Nickel Plated Brass wasn't a problem, but watching a video by Saddleback, he didn't have nice things to say about nickel plating so I'm unsure now. I want to offer the best quality hardware to my customers because, as you all noticed, we offer a lifetime guarantee and we want to minimize any repairs.

Point of note - scarred leather is not the cheapest money can buy. A hide of scarred Horween will cost you more than a split of spray-painted crap. Several people collect brand marks and like buying something that is completely unique (having identifying markings). That does not mean that it's cheap leather - in fact, the oil tan that saddleback uses is what you can get at tandy for about $10/sq ft (when not on sale). As long as the scars and marks are surface-only and don't actually affect the integrity of the leather, the use of markings doesn't lower the price of the product. Not to mention that a bag with cheap leather that is well constructed will last you a lifetime while one with good leather that is poorly made will die in less than a year. Just my two cents.

I pretty much work only with the stone oiled and the kodiaks from tandy - the "stone" refers to the finish, you'll notice that there is no grain on the stone oiled, versus the kodiak that has the grain visible - it's buffed out, that's why they call it stone. Having worked with it for several years I can tell you that there's nothing I've ever had to do to it to keep it' fresh' - it's pretty much always its beautiful, waxy self. To darken it if you find that it's lighter than you like, you just use a bit of oil (your preference, I like the beeswax stuff). You can dye it even with feibings or ecoflo, it doesn't change the finish, just the colour. I use it for everything from purses to wallets, and it wears beautifully, getting a lovely, shiny patina after years of use. It distresses wonderfully too. Definitely don't have it touch veg-tan - vegtan will get dirty if you so much as look at it the wrong way, so nothing with oil on the veg tan unless you want it to stain.

Hi everyone - Excuse the ignorance of my question, but people regularly ask me if the leather I'm using is full grain because they've read somewhere that it's the best leather to use. When I buy the leather, it doesn't say anywhere whether it's full grain or not, so I wondered if anyone has a clear way of discerning. I work mainly with oil tanned leathers - I use Tandy's Kodiak and Stone Oiled lines mainly, but I often use upholstery sides for the stuff that I want to have less structure. Any ideas? Thanks!

I'm with oltoot - I met a very experienced leatherworker when I just started out, and he had this gorgeous huge piece of granite he was working on. I asked him where he got it from, and he told me to come take a look at it, and flip it over. I was mortified when I saw it was a headstone. He started laughing - he had gotten it from the funeral home as it was a mistake/cast off.

Hi Everyone, I've been hunting all over the internet but I'm not finding any solid guides on what type of metal alloy is best for leather work. Obviously different applications will have different preferred metals, but if anyone can clarify the difference (aside from the obvious finish & colour) between these metals, I'd really appreciate it: Solid Brass Chrome Over Brass Nickel Over Brass Stainless Steel Steel Zinc Die Cast Zinc Plated Iron Nickel Plated Chrome Plated Copper Plated I want to be able to understand which are the best quality in terms of construction, durability, rust/wear, etc. Thanks!