bruce johnson

If you think you need to split 6”, even a 8” crank splitter will be tough. Pretty much your choice is the wide Cobra (Leather Machine Co). If you‘re splitting straps then the wider blade crank or pull splitters give you more blade width to work across before you need to strop or resharpen. I’ve sold splitters from $50 versions to $2500 versions and realistically there are pluses and minuses for each. I’ve got a tutorial on the website about choosing splitters. Since I got mentioned above I’m going to add a shameless plug. If you buy anything from me I will continue to resharpen it for free - just the cost of return shipping.

I get my spiral sewn and loose wheels at Ace Hardware. I get the sisal, denim, and yellow treated wheels off Amazon. I run 8” on the bench grinders and 6” on arbors for the drill press. I rake my wheels when they start to get hard.

As Chuck said my needs are different than most people. I am refurbishing old tools and sharpening new ones. My realistic safety procedure is this. My grinders are all turned around on the bases so the top rotates away from me. I have big arrow stickers on each end of the motor to remind me of the direction of rotation. I work on the top of the wheels. I can see my edges and I feel like I have better control of the angles. I have tubs behind each wheel to catch extra compound that flies off when applying. If something catches, it goes away from me. There are exhaust fans behind the grinders that will pull the dust out. I had a consult with a dust control industrial advisor to determine what capacity fans I needed. Overkilled it - full air exchange every 2 minutes. I have an overhead air filtration unit too (Rikon). I've got an air quality meter and noticeable differences when they are on. There are summer days if we have a forest fire blowing our way my shop air is better than outside. Safety gear - mask with N99 cartridges. I have a face shield now from Benchmark Abrasives - awesome deal and allows masks with cartridges. Leather apron. I wear leather welding sleeves over my arms. The looser the wheels the more they can catch a back edge and throw a tool. Gonna be honest, it happens but way less than it used to. I don't like the airway buffs and stopped using them. Yes they run cooler, yes they are durable and perform well. Yes those folds/pleats catch back edges and throw tools like crazy. I also have gotten away from much pressure on the wheels. I almost want a butterfly kiss touch and works better than pressing into the wheel. That was a hard habit to break -grinding or buffing. I watch my angles and edges and am careful when I get to tips and corners. Again, working off the top of the wheel gives me a better picture. When I am working on handles and bolsters the edges of the blades get taped with two layers of aluminum tape. I threw more tools doing handles than edges.

I'm not sure where it started but i did some pouches and sheaths requested with horsebutt. It may have been a military deal at one time - don't know. Tighter grained than cowhide, slicks and burnishes extremely well, and wears like iron. The soft roll molds easier and tools easier. I never carved much of it but stamping requires every bit of casing skill you ever learned. It is isn't "wipe and go stamping" for sure. Warm water and casing mix additions help it case better in my experience. The hard roll is good for flat work. I lined some rear billets, back cinches, and breast collars, especially on the higher ends. It was my favorite choice for lining and treads on Monel stirrups too.

My shop safety poster I made up for the door of the tool room

Good reports on them. A shop by me kept an old Landis around that didn't sew, just had a wide needle and used it to punch holes for buckstitching. I think it was Shane Deeter who got these going for the closed eye needle machines.

I'm definitely the wrong guy to ask. I have 5 variable speed grinders and then three VS bench lathes (essentially small bench buffers). Some of wheel/grit combinations are 1/2 inch on an arbor for my drill press. Everything for the grease based compounds on the grinders are two stacked 1/2' wheels. I use 1" denim wheels for five grits of greaseless compounds. For waxy grease based compounds I use sisal, spiral sewn treated and spiral sewn non treated, and loose wheels. Once I get past the greaseless compounds I use four grease based compounds currently. All my compounds come from Maverick Abrasives now. They have been more consistent and economical for me. Black compound on sisal is most aggressive and removes grit marks pretty well. Makes a nice transition step up from the 600 grit greaseless. Next step is green - treated wheels first and then spiral sewn regular wheels to give a nice reflective polish and most people probably quit there. I go to purple compound on a spiral and then a loose wheel and it really brightens up after the green. I use pink on a loose wheel as a final buff or softer materials - the pink is really more of a polish than much abrasive - can use it on wood, plastic, or brass to really make it pop. For my leather stropping wheels - black and green then purple on a loose wheel

My first call would be to Karsten and see if he wants it back to build on. The shop isn't closed. If he doesn't want it he could give more guidance on what to price it at.

Several good saddle makers went through there.

You will like it! Great blades and super smooth action. I've dealt in several of them and have a few kept in my set.

Hand cranked fudge wheel, I've seen it called a hand crank wheel welt press too

I'm probably the one you are referring to with the 3/32" of cut. That is how I am starting to describe edge tools. Good or bad, at least it gives some sort of reference. There are NO industry standards for size numbers anymore. It used to be that every number corresponded to that many 16ths of an inch. That standard went away years ago and now the numbers from one maker to another don't match usually. I am starting to just give the tool maker's size number and widths of cut so something/anything will relate. Size wise? some people like a heavier rounded edge and want a 180 degree rounded side edge. Others want a tiny bit edged off and a mostly flat side edge profile. Comes down to personal preference. I've got a tutorial on my website how I sharpen and strop edgers. I still do them mostly like the tutorial even though that was years ago - https://brucejohnsonleather.com/tutorials/

I've got a drawer with at least a dozen of the black iron vintage versions hoping for some NOS blades to float up but likely will never happen. Blades could be fabricated but not worth the time and effort vs return for me. Most people of the people I deal with want the modern version with disposable blades. The cam action of the top guide helps keep the different lace thicknesses flat and the unit is easy enough to replace a blade on for the folks that have trouble sharpening. I don't extend my blade up nearly as much as Handstitched I guess. I have mine set so the sharp edges are within the frame and cam bar on either end. I don't have as much blade edge but can switch the blade end for end once before it either gets stropped or tossed.

They are flat bottom edgers, not rounded.

H was their high lift version. Not sure what frame they based the grey one on. Ive had Juki marked 2000s and white Pro2000s.

Vince would be the one to talk to now at Cobra.

A stake in the hardy hole of the anvil will work on some level. Something that would be solid enough to peen against.

I've already written and deleted two replies and here is version three. I am answering the questions out of order. 2. the whitish finish. After maybe 50 years and who knows what it was treated with during it's life - could be petrified Saddle Lac or who knows what. Pretty much any solvent will be hard on the leather. Might be some sort of acrylic too 3. Since you didn't mention the glue looks like crystallized tree sap, might not be dextrine but again who knows what they used back then. Not drying and still sticky could be some reaction of solvent glue and foam or just rubber cement residue. 4. Anything else to know about these old TexTans? I'm maybe a little biased. One of the higher points of my younger life was when I was 14 and made enough money from a summer job to buy a used Price McLaughlin saddle and I never had to ride that damn TexTan Imperial saddle on the "form fitter" tree again. Not everyone in my family shared my enthusiasm for the upgrade but they were not the ones riding it. Later on I was in college and working for a trainer I bought two Billy Cook BW tree cutting saddles. They weren't much happy about that either. My candid thoughts are there isn't much helpful to learn from this saddle. I don't meant to sound hard, but this saddle is dated and old and built to price point with production techniques. The seat won't be right without pulling the guts out of whatever groundseat there is but then afterwards the seat likely wont stretch down into place. That cantle is nearly impossible to sew back without a ton of experience. How decent will the rigging be after this many years?

It depends on which maker. The new Craftool and entry level Amazon blades are not that great but workable. As you move up the ladder generally the blade material and grind quality gets better. I've had some Asian made Amazon-ish swivel knives with pretty good steel and some were not. I've got one friend who uses a blade made from a point file that Chuck Smith made years ago - awesome blade and he strops it on his pants to just wipe it off. He said it has never been resharpened after years as a carver in a shop. I believe him and have used it some. I told myself I wasn't going to name names but here goes....Top of the heap for me is Bob Beard - hard to get and expensive - something to aspire to, not start with. The cobalt blades Chuck makes now have really good reviews from a couple people I respect. LeatherWranglers, Red Ox (Gordon Andrus)are similar in price to Chuck Smith and can't go wrong with any of them. Barry King, Clay Miller, and Gomph-Hackbarth (Lonnie Height) make good knives. The skinny on this - If I was outfitting a new bench - for the mid level price Barry King would be where I'd start. He's got a moderately priced swivel knife in more yoke and barrel choices. He's got a selection of blade choices. He'd be way more consistent than taking a stab at Amazon. He can give you advice on what he thinks will work best for you. With his pricing you could actually buy 2 or 3 swivel knives from him in different barrel and blade setups for the price one of the premium knives from another maker. If you decide to move up the food chain in a couple years, Barry King tools hold value more than the lower ends. In the meantime you will have learned to sharpen and maintain, what you like and more of what your carving style is and what you need to do it.

there are a few things to think about with a swivel knife - blade and the handle/yoke plus what you have for sharpening and how well you sharpen - then factor in budget and expectations. blades are all over the scale in quality. Obviously you can expect the more expensive they are generally the better edge retention. A Craftool blade can be sharpened to the same edge as any of them but it probably will not maintain that edge as long. Still passable if you have skills to sharpen correctly, frustrating if you don't. The less expensive come in two flavors - adjustable and nonadjustable height. Even the highest adjustment on some may not be enough for some styles. the diameters are maybe two choice but generally no choice. The yokes are usually one size fits most. The upper end makers have choices to optimize the tool. They offer choices in yokes - size, width, amount of curve, profile. Fatter fingers - more width, smaller fingers smaller yoke. If you use the flat of your finger then a flatter wider profile yoke is more comfortable. If you press at the joint of your finger - narrower rounded profile. If you have bigger hands or lay your knife back then generally a taller barrel. If you stand your knife more vertical or smaller hands then a shorter barrel. barrel diameter is crucial. 1/16 inch can be a big thing. smaller hands generally smaller barrels. If you are doing long straight lines or gentle curves a larger barrel will help track straighter. If you are doing tighter intricate curves (Sheridan style) then a smaller barrel has a faster turning action. It is like shoes - comfort at some pricepoint. smoothness of action - you can oil up most Craftools and make them fairly smooth. The higher end ones are smoother because of bearings. On some you can tap the yoke and they'll spin a long time. You aren't ever going to turn one that fast in use, but it attests to a more quality and detailed construction. Sharpening - there are a very few people on the planet who can free hand sharpen a swivel knife blade to the best it can be. The rest of us really need a jig. The roller Craftool one works. Chuck Smith makes one, Gordon Andrus makes one, probably others. I've got one I made for my variable speed knife sharpener. Point is - use something for a flat edge. I go to 5000 grit before I think about stropping - that's just me now. I wish I did when I was carving a bunch, I'd have fought my knife a lot less. Strops are cheap - piece of manila folder with your favorite flavor of compound. The softer the steel the more often the blade will need attention. Overstropping softer blades with an aggressive compound will round them unless you are really gifted. Better off to run them on a jig with fine grit a bit and then a few strokes stropping than strop one a hundred strokes. How do you pick a knife now?? You need to figure the configuration that is comfortable to use and in your budget. They are again like buying shoes - fit matters. try them if you can first - somebody's shop or a show. Budget will tell you which makers to look at.

The only Paasche knives I know of are stencil cutting knives, not leather swivel knives.

Where are you located, how long would you need one, and when would you need one?

I like open ended edgers like old Gomphs, old Osbornes, modern like Ron's Tools, Barry King, Horse Shoe Brand Tools round edgers, and some other makers I going to forget but not intentionally. I got a set of WUTA or similar in a set of tools. they sharpened up well and my wife likes them for her thin leather projects. Pretty small. Palosanto tools are good but can be really brittle and require care in use (especially their French edgers). With all of these you can strop the top and bottom of the cutting edge. The Craftool edgers you show are harder to do that. You can sharpen the bottom and the bur edge rolls up and hard to get in there and see what's happening. Plus those edges can be really steep angled and chisel more than slice. My 2 cents worth. Sharpening? For hand sharpening you are on the right track with the rods and paper. I'd only say that 400 grit is where I start, not finish. Work until I get bur and then I progress through 5 or 6 grits up to 1500 and more often than not 2000 if I am doing one by hand. Then I go to the strop top and bottom. With some some profiled edges I buff the top. Stropping out 400 grit marks is tedious and most people quit too soon. Go to 2000 on paper and then 20 or so strokes on the strop should have it. I still do some by hand but I also have variable speed grinders and buffers with profiled wheels that make life easier and more repeatable edges.

When you are looking realize that size numbers mean very little from one maker to the next. The older system for the Osbornes and Gomph was each number on edgers was 1/16” of cut. The newer ones (within the last 40 years) don’t correlate with other makers size numbers.

Totally agree with Bob. Limited in what they can do, marks up the back side. I bought one from Ron (Ferdco in Idaho) when the 440s were advertised in horse and tack magazines for $1500. Anything else new that stitched leather was $5000 or more at that time. I had it a day and realized that the mechanics of it was not the machine for me. Ron offered me a used Adler 205-64 head as a replacement and we swapped heads for "$1000 - I'll hold the check and you tell me when to cash it". Best deal I could have done, they really helped me out when I needed it! The Adler was bullet proof and made me a lot of money. Not a fan of the 440 for good stuff. I know people who sew production belting stuff and replacement tack parts on them, but finer stuff was just not passable for me.