Camerius

Would it be possible to set up a section in the Marketplace that would mainly be for Europeans that would like to buy/sell/trade with other European leatherworkers?

I have stopped looking for tools here due to the above (not that I expect free shipping to here, but at least a cash or instant payment discount). With me being in Europe, it's not worth buying anything from the US and have it sent overhere as the shipping is double or triple of what the item costs from the start. It's as even bigger turn off when I see a "CONUS only" being added to what ever item is being put up for sale. To me it says that my money isn't good enough, or that my interest for buying said item isn't welcome. It's okay, and how it is, I just get what I need from somewhere else where my money is welcome and not looked down upon.

Thanks for the help out. I have been in contact with more than a few saddle makers/harness makers besides some leatherworkers here in Denmark, and unfortunately with the same result to all of them, in them not being interested. I too would like to go to Sweden, Germany or the UK, but as I mentioned I can not afford the education there (besides living and housing), so that is out of the picture. Too, a big thank you for the list, stelmackr. There's some really good stuff in it, that I can use.

I'm Danish and I mainly get my leather from laederiet.dk. I too get some leather from Flach in Kiel, Germany, when I happen to be around those parts, as I can get some really good pieces cheaper than at Laederiet. There is an Italian Facebook seller/group LeatherHides E-shop that have it's own tannery from which they sell to anyone interested. From what I can see the prices seems to be quite good. I may at a later point order some samples from them, as I'm thinking about moving up the quality that I use a notch or two. There is too a leather shop here in Copenhagen called http://www.leatherhouse.eu/ and which I have used when in need of something here and now. However, I'm not overly impressed by what they have to offer of tools (Ivan brand mostly), their steep prices or their not so great customer support that I have been met with when I have been in there. As bex points out, most Danes (myself included) buy stuff outside of the country, as it's way cheaper that way, even including shipping, and the choices of goods are larger. I buy most of my stuff (tools and hardware) over ebay from the UK, Japan, China and Germany, besides buying my Fiebing's dyes and coatings from patin-a.de which are in Germany (they have cheapest prices that I have found within the EU so far including shipping). As to Tärnsjö Tanner, I know next to nothing about except that The Swedish Saddle Maker School is quite close to it, and they get their own leather from that tannery. Could be worth a try to give them a call and see what comes of it.

I usually get those marks when I haven't been spreading it fast enough, and have had too much cream on the cloth. I have since then put less on the cloth, spread it faster and give it two coatings instead of just one.

Thank you very much for this patter, tboyce.

I have reached a point in my leatherworking, where I don't know how to move forward. It's not so much a matter of what projects to choose that is my barrier, but more of how to get my projects to look better and me getting better too. I have asked some of the professionals in my area, if they take on apprentices so I could get a better and more professional for crafting, and learn from someone way more skilled instead of stumbling my way forward as I do now. Unfortunately, they have all turned me down from various reasons (too busy, not enough work, me being too old at being 46), which leaves me back at square one and to stumble forward. I have too looked into a formal crafting education within leather, except that everything in the lines of leatherworker, saddlemaker, harnessmaker and cobbler have been discontinued here, meaning I would have to go to either England or Sweden to become a saddle or harness master. So, how do you deal with the wall and get over it, if or when you have met it to go? Thanks for the input.

I do both, depending on the project that I'm working with. If it's one of my slip cases, then I pre-punch all the holes first with a chisel. If it's a wallet or such, then I use a pricking iron and awl. In both cases I want the stitching to look good while being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Pre-punching can be good as it can be a time saver on some projects, while going the the pricking iron and awl means that you want to take more care or be more mindful of what you're doing as it takes more skill that way.

I don't knot. I either back stitch 3-4 stitches and then cut off the thread on the backside of the project and as close as I can get it to the surface, when I use linen thread. With poly thread I cut it off after 2-3 back stitches and melts the ends.

I just tried to edit it, Sona, but no go. Seems like if you have been logged off for a certain period of time, you are no longer able to go back and edit your post. :/

Yeah, I use Klaus Flach in Kiel too. He has some of the best leather I have come across, besides the ones that I get from Laederiet here in Denmark.

I get all of my Fiebing's from here (http://www.patin-a.de/ki/en/Leather-Dye-538.html), Sona. They are good, in Germany, got fast delivery and are way cheaper than getting it from say the US or UK. As to thread, I tend to get my 0.8 mm poly over ebay (from China at the moment), while I'm still looking for a good supplier for 18/3 and 18/4 linen thread that does not cost a fortune. As to glue I use some danish version of a contact cement and Sikabond 530 (white PVA glue) that I too can get locally here. Hope it helps.

My slants is going like \\\\\ instead of /////. What you can do is try let the needle enter from the left or the right hand side, and too let either the left hand needle be crossed on top or from the bottom before you pass it through the top end of the hole. This will let you both lean the stitches differently (forwards or backwards), but too let you switch sides as to what side the stitch will lean (left or right hand side of the piece you are stitching). There isn't a right or wrong way here, as long as you get that slant right, a tight stitch and level stitching line. The rest is just a matter of preference and a lot of practice.

I would cut the stitching up in shorter lengths, if it is a very long project. Not only do you minimise the risk of the thread getting tangled up as you move along, but too, you have a better oversight of what you are doing. Personally, the longest pieces that I have stitched was a tawse that I made, where I had to cut the stitching into three parts. If I had not done so, I would have been trying to stitch with a waxed linen thread about 2½ meters long (about 8 feet). I DID start out thinking that I COULD stitch with that long a thread, however about 1/4 of the way through, not only did the thread tangle up on me, but too broke. So I got two extra needles, cut the ends of each broken thread, needled it and when on stitching two holes from where the main thread had broken. Taught me a thing or two about planing your thread and stitching alright.

My stitching is going \\\\\ instead of ////, not that it matters to me, and if I need to, I can just switch needle priority (right hand needle going in from right, and having left hand needle go on the bottom when they cross instead of on top, before going in through the hole). What I'm wondering is how many are having the harness stitch ending up as mine, and how many does not. Not that it matters in the end, if the costumer is happy, that the stitches looks good, level and tight. As Nigel says himself "It's not that it may be wrong, it may simply be that someone is stitching differently" (paraphrasing here)....