UnionCraft

Hey, you and I were on the same boat. I ordered a 1' No. 6 Joseph Dixon iron and the length of each dent was 1/4" in in length. It' extremely ugly, but I noticed with softer types of leather, it isn't as bad. I decided to never purchase irons from JD after that and decided to go with what I always wanted to use... Vergez Blanchard. These irons have teeth that are about half the size of JD and you don't see ugly holes remaining after stitching. They're expensive, but worth the money in my opinion. Oh, and one more thing... I also purchased the smallest sized awl from them and it was the same size as the teeth; way too big!

Thank you for the information. I actually found out exactly what I wanted. I already have Dixon irons and I'm going to the bank tomorrow to finalize an order for some Blanchard irons and some other tools. Unfortunately for me, shipping on anything from France is costly. That's why I am waiting to save up a couple hundred and order some Fil Au Chinois directly from Sajou. The official US Distributor doesn't seem like they can help me, so I have to order in bulk. If I order 1 spool, shipping is $30USD and if I order 10, it's the same, so I would save if I order more. When you mentioned Blanchard Claws, did you mean the pricking irons? Anyways, it's good to know there are some out there that have an interest for Hermes and luxury leather goods. Thanks!

Unfortunately no, the one you listed is easily found on ebay, amazon, easy and from bag smith. The one I'm looking for looks like: .... and it could be found at sajou.fr in france. it's used by luxury brands such as Hermes and it's pretty pricey. It's about $35 per spool (133 meters) and the shipping is about $31 to ship from France to the US. There's a Lin Retors Extra and Lin Cable and I don't really have preference. Thanks for the reply. I don't think I'll have many since I didn't have much luck finding this on Sajou. Finding Sajou.fr was like a big break for me, but when I saw the shipping cost, I stopped the ordering process.

Anyone know a supplier in the US? Sajou.fr has them, but their shipping is over $30 if I only want 2 spools. I am not looking for the pre-waxed kind sold here in the states on sites such as amazon or ebay. I really need help finding this, otherwise I have to save up $200+ to buy in bulk to justify the high cost. Thanks.

Well looking for Blanchard & Dixon tools or Fil Au Chinois or Campbells thread is harder to get here as apposed to Europe. What other tool makers are there from France, the only company I know is Blanchard.

You're lucky to be in Europe haha. Getting everything i want is too costly overseas. I think the free shipping is only for US customers. In your collection of blanchard knives, do you have a curved knife? I think I need one to do my round cuts and the head knife for straight cuts. I heard the pulling motion is better to control with the curved knife when making round cuts.

I already tried them before. When you check out, you have to wait for them to send you an email to make payment. The total cost with shipping to me is $79.35 for the round knife only. Siegal of CA sells them for $65 and ships free on all orders $75 and over, so adding a few more supplies will get you free shipping.

I actually had a friend order a Blanchard saddle clamp for me. I think it cost around $140 shipped to the US from France. I later discovered Siegal of CA and I think their price was around $80, but I'm not even sure if they were in stock at the time. I'd get the Fil Au Chinois from Sajou.fr, but shipping cost is almost the same as a 50g spool. For two spools shipped to the US, it would cost about $136. I think it only makes sense to order from them if you order in bulk, but that's expensive.

Hey, thanks for sharing your T Dixon; it looks awesome. I think I will try to order some Barnsley tools just to check them out. If they're not as great as Blanchard or Dixon, I don't think I'll have regrets, because they'll most likely be better than my Tandy tools.

Check this link: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20784&st=0

It sounds like that method makes a really waxy leather, but wouldn't it be easier to just buy pre waxed thread?

If the price is right, I don't mind if tools are used or new. Also, if you find out the JD supplier on the east coast, could you please let me know? I'm currently looking at various pricking irons and JD seems like what I'm going to choose. Their 1" No 6 shipped is a tad over $100 due to shipping being high. Why is everything so difficult to find. I'm also having difficulty finding 332 Fil Au Chinois in the US. Shipping is pricey from France. Almost everything I find, I spend hours looking for and the shipping costs are around the same price as the item itself. I really wish the supplies and tools I want are available in the US.

Hmmm, maybe I'll hold off of the round knife from Barnsley and try a Blanchard. Maybe I'll get one of Barnsley's general purpose knives since it's just $21. But for now, does anywhere else in the US sell Blanchard tools minus Siegal of CA?

These are two of my favorite videos and they both demonstrate waxing thread hand.

Thanks Bruce, it's great to get a reply from you. I've been frequenting your page to see if there're any tools I may be interested in. Anyways, I too have looked through their site which isn't up to date nor easy to browse through. I did get a chance to speak with Edwin Hale from Hale & Co. and he told me that they sell their tools on Bonanza.com. They have 349 items up for sale right now. They are actually trying to revive some of the Barnsley tools, so there are some still being made today. I think if the item is out of stock, they make the tools to order and ship it to you directly from England. Some tools however, will no longer be produced, so once they're sold out, they may never be made again. Here's the link for the head knife: My link

I believe a pricking iron is a must for this stitching. The holes used by Hermes and others with sloping stitches are different. Instead of a diamond shape hole, the have slanted slits. If you want your thread to go //////////////, you need portmanteau (left) pricking irons that look like \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\. If you get a vintage suitcase and pop out all the old thread, you'll see a WWWWWWWWWWWW like impression on the leather. the slants going towards the left are thread marks and the slants going towards the right are the actual holes punched in. Somewhere on this forum, someone said he or she spoke to a Hermes artisan about the pricking iron and the artisan said she actually hammers the iron all the way through instead of just "pricking" the leather. In a Alfred Dunhill video, he pounds his pricking iron hard too, so they both pre make the holes. In both Hermes and Dunhill videos, you can see an awl being used, but it's just to guide the back needle through since you can't see the back hole without bending over to look. It's also how you pull the thread as well. I'm probably going to order a Dixon iron soon, so I'll pit it to the the test and try different methods.

Does anyone know any in depth info on Blanchard and Dixon round knives? Hale and Co. said Barnsley knives are the best on the market for the price in his listing. The listing says it's made from the best carbon alloy steel and made in the same foundry for over 150 years. They are made from an English standard damascus steel that is very close to the metallurgy of medieval times. They're supposed to hold a keen edge and they are easy to sharpen when needed. I've become interested in European tools and techniques, so I love the idea of using tools from these makers. I just need to know where my money is best spent and Hale & Co. made a pretty good argument about the quality of Barnsley knives and other tools. Thanks for reading.