bruce johnson

Do you mean putting a single wheel on the end or swapping out the rollers?

Numbers don’t mean much between makers and some makers have a different numbering system for different types of edgers they make. I’ve got round profile edgers that go to 3/16” inch of cut. I have new edgers from Ron’s Tools and refurbished from a few makers. Here is a link - https://brucejohnsonleather.com/products/hand-tools/edgers

I was in a shop a few years ago that he had a good setup. Cut about a two inch square in the top over the utility drawer and used that for thread ends. He had a few machines and kept small stuff and needles in a parts drawer organizer and screwdrivers in a tool rack.

Sold one a short while ago for $300 but I don’t seek them out. Going to say, the Weavers are OK but bulky for what they do. If you are set on a Weaver I understand. I’ve had a couple Cobra’s through here and my wife and nephew both have them too. The Cobras do the same thing with the advantage of variable speed. They also can go on a stand and not take up a bunch of table of bench space. Also the Cobra is half the cost.

At the Pendleton Leather Show Toby Yoder and I discussed me carrying his tools for sale on my website. It works for me because some of the older tools are getting less common to find in the sizes that makers need. The discussion came together, the latest shipment arrived yesterday, and I have added them all to the website today. I have a dedicated page of the Ron's Tools now and they are also listed throughout the website in the appropriate pages by tool type. Ron's Tools has a long history of quality tools. I bought my first good edger from Ron Edmonds almost 30 years ago, and I have been a user ever since. When Ron retired and sold the business to Toby he has carried on the same quality and craftsmanship. These are just plain good ones. We are starting with Montana edgers, round edgers, French edgers, cantle binding trimmers, free hand groovers, and gouges. We will be adding more sizes to the lineup as well. You can check them out at https://brucejohnsonleather.com/new-tools/rons-tools Thank you for your consideration, - Bruce

Yesterday I added a page to my website of leather related instructional books and pattern packs. I had a bit of a feeding frenzy after my email and social media posts and a lot of the initial postings sold but we still have some good stuff left. This will be an ongoing page with regular additions of more materials - some vintage and some relatively new. Please check it out at https://brucejohnsonleather.com/products/books-and-patterns-1 For more updates please consider signing up for the email notification list on my website or follow on Facebook or Instagram. Thank you, Bruce

It is hard to make a generalization about the two styles of skivers you have. These designs have been around for a long time. I could get both styles of the originals to work. I modified several. On the silver skiver I bent the handle up on one to reach some areas I couldn't otherwise. On the black skivers I bent the ends to different arcs. There are some great tools coming from the Asian countries, and on the other hand - some cheap knockoffs that aren't made to function correctly. I haven't had any of the Amazon skiver versions through here that I've used but here is my thoughts. If these are made so the blade angle is too steep, they will dive down and dig too much. If the blade edge is tipped up then the leather rides under the cutting edge. There is a sweet spot for angle and you may need to tip the handle one way or the other to find it. The other thing is to make sure there isn't something on the frame on the bottom in front of the blade edge that prevents the blade from contacting the leather. Too thick and the blade can't meet the leather. The other issue is blades. I get some Import tools with supplied blades that are "universal blades", the cutting edge is about as sharp as the back edge (dull, dull, dull). Gripping them with a visegrips and buffing makes a big difference. Option B - order some good blades. Good quality blades make a difference.

Have you tried Campbell-Randall? It has been too long since I talked to Dan (and should do that) but they used to sell a machine to sharpen those blades too. Also as a D-I-Y I visited a shop a few years ago. Every so often he would remove the guard and touch a cylindrical stone to the edge of the blades as it ran. One of the stones like you use on the inside of a bell knife.

The tip of the awl blade doesn't have to go through the collar. The butt of the blade just needs to fit down through it. That said, the #58 saddler awl blade is a honking big blade. I stock up to the #57 in saddler awl blades for cantles and horns. The bigger blades I special order and the people using them are mostly using them for lace work, not thread.

Quick deal here. The Palm awl hafts with a wrench work well for medium and larger awl blades but can slip on the small blades. The Osborne #988 haft is better for small blades. The palm hafts use the wrench, the #899 hand tightens with the collar. On some of the larger blades you may need to take the collar off and spread the tip inside a bit to seat the blade better. Sharpening styles on the blades depends on your needs. Thin soft leather, then a 1/4 inch or so may be plenty. Saddle cantle of 5 layers and you may want them sharpened most of the length. I sharpen a dozen or two blades about every week. I sharpen my harness blades most of the length and my saddler blades at least as far back as full width. I go through at least 1500 grit and then strop the edge bur with purple compound. I want a high polish for less drag. If someone wants the edge dulled up further back then they can do a few strokes of the edge on crocus paper to do that.

LOL, within a few minutes of posting I have had two phone calls. Yes the kind that ring...at 9:30 at night.... I got past the round needles pretty fast. I used LR needles and that gives the mild slanted appearance and cleaner look to the stitching. That is all I used in the Ferdco 2000 and 1245 too. As soon as my wife runs out of needles for the 26, she will have her straight needles quietly replaced with LRs as well.

Mine was cast too. I bought it at the time that ANY powered machine was $5000 or more. (yes, powered machines have gotten more affordable since the year 2000) I paid $1600 for the Boss. That was the price with the basic package - maybe two or three feet, tools, small spool of thread, and 3 bobbins. Mine sewed better with poly thread than nylon. I started sewing with coarser thread (346/277) thinking it looked "sturdy and cool" like my previously handsewns. As I got more production orders they wanted smaller thread and shorter stitch lengths for a cleaner look. The tighter ones are probably 207/138 and eventually 138/138). I did a couple hundred of the hide inlay, edge spotted belts for production orders. They put conchos on them to customize them for the customer. One of them ended up in Wrangler jeans ad that run for about 5 years. The edge spotted belts were spotted first, then lined so no prongs showed on the back. They were sewn with an outside toe foot. The Boss let me sew really close to the spot without running off the edge or leaving much if any wave around the spots.

You guys are my tribe! I've got a benchtop lathe and mill also. I can make small replacement parts for my leather machines and true up parts. (That was the original intent). A couple months ago I had someone over in the leathershop. They loved my stylus, nice heft and feels comfortable. It is just a piece of hex stock a friend turned a pencil point on and gave me. I told this guy I could duplicate it and he requested an inch shorter. Loves it, my wife likes hers, and so it goes. Fast forwarding - sometimes I need a break on a "shop day" or just don't have enough time after work to jump headlong into some refurbishing. I have stock cut to length already and I turn some styluses. "Mentally soothing and satisfying", "very therapeutic", and gives me sense of accomplishing something in what would probably be non-productive time.

I sewed several hundred belts and at least the first 20 saddles on one, plus a ton of smaller projects and was great for repair work. Buy it at that price for sure! I sewed up to 415 thread in mine but realistically over 345 is overkill for most stuff. "Leather does the work, thread just holds the leather together".

My thoughts are that it depends on the compound and maker. I have found that within the green, black, and white colors there are variations between makers. One suppliers green can be greasy and spread and stick well to anything. Another maker’s version can be chalky and dry. Those do better with oiled leather. I found a maker that I like for wheels and strops and stay with them.

Yes they are originals - rosewood handles and original Gomph name and size markings. The versions Gene made for Ellis had hardwood handles and a bit different shape.

It is not original. Original would be marked differently and different handle. Gomph maxed out at a size #8 and 1/2 inch width. This is one that Gene Pepples made for Ellis.

We are starting to pack tools for our booth at the Pendleton Leather Show coming up at the end of next week. I have missed the last 2 shows because of work schedules but ready to be back this year! If you are in the northwest please check it out. I can make it worth the trip with just free rulers, stickers, and candy. Seeing tools, machines, leathers, and hardware is a bonus. Here is a link with more information - https://www.pendletonleathershow.com/ We hope to see some of you there!

Buckle up - this may be a long one.... Fact - CS Osborne has probably never sent out a tool that is user ready sharp by some/many/most standards. I have had vintage tools in original packings from 150 years ago that had square edges. Back then each worker had their idea of what they wanted an edge to be - low taper and thin or higher angle and "chiseled". Easier cutting at the expense of blade edge longevity vs more durable steeper edge with more force needed. These users had an edge preference and the company sent out tools for them to finish off they way they liked them. There were no hobbyists, beginners, trading up from entry level tool craftsmen. These were work-a-day tradesmen and they generally provided and maintained the tools they used themselves - much like a modern day mechanic. I have had some cool portable tool chests they opened up and set up to work, closed up and packed them home at night. These were the guys that were the Gomph, HF Osborne, Rose knife, and CS Osborne users of an era we will never see again. CS Osborne outlasted the other makers is all. The leather trade was vital for the horse powered society. Henry Ford and powered farming made the harness maker in every town less of a necessity and the demand dropped some. This went merrily along with tools being made on some level for tradesmen until most will say the 1950s. People got some free time and hobbies and pastimes became a thing. Some people took up leatherwork. Tandy was a major player and there were several other leather craft tool suppliers. Most of these catalogs and hobby shops also sold Osborne tools. Eventually they replaced them with lower priced options and something had to give. Osborne changed patterns for some tools (like leather creasers) and had to cut production methods and likely material costs to compete. The focus switched from competing with other makers to a quality standard for a professional user to a hobby price point standard. I don't have exact number of Osbornes but have handled over 15,000 vintage and used leather tools and my somewhat guess is that 60% or more have been CS Osbornes. These go from the 1860s up until something that could have been made last year. There was a dip at some point in quality on some things (that quality standard vs price point thing). My rule of thumb is rosewood handle tools are usually good, depending on the tool and guesstimate of age and experience - most of the ones past that are OK with a few exceptions that I have concerns with. Round knives in particular and I'll get to that in a bit. My beginning from the leather business to tool business transition was refurbishing old tools. A few years ago I sold some new mauls for Wayne Jueschke, that progressed into stamps and string cutters too. I sold a few other new tools as well but mainly refurbished vintage tools. I was buying Osborne parts from Osborne dealers. Problem was that I'd need 20 draw gauge shims, blades, or punch tubes and this place had 5, another had 3, some would order from Osborne and then resell to me as I ordered. I'd end up ordering from 5 places. It sucked. Osborne had turned me down a few years earlier as a dealer because I even though I had a business license I wasn't brick and mortar storefront and a few other factors. I finally tried again and they said "yes" to a limited scale that has since enlarged. So here I am... I started on a low level - mostly buying parts for my refurbishing side of things and selling a few of those parts as well. I was doing a little outside sharpening/resharpening for current customers then too. They would buy a new Osborne tool from a supplier because I didn't have it in a used or vintage size they needed. They would send to me to sharpen before they used it. After a few of those I'd get the "Bruce, Can you just order me these, sharpen them and send them to me. Can we cut out the middleman?" That is the reason that I stock the different new tools as I do now, and expand what I am stocking often by customer request. MY deal? I handle every new tool I sell. I have a work shop and the tools to do sharpening and finishing - variable speed knife grinders and buffers, wet grinders, polishers, sharpeners etc. I am not just stocking a box with a tool in it and mailing it out when it sells. The $8 fids? They come new with grind marks on the faces, and some have sharp points. I polish the faces and smooth the point. This is still an $8 tool when I am done. The hammers have squared edges and grind marks on the faces and heels - I go through the grits and polish them to be smooth and not mark leather. The rotary and single tube punches have the tubes removed, sharpened and polished. Some of the frames have a sharp square edge at the hinges and I polish that to be easier in the hand. The new single tube punch frames have the size numbers etched on them now. By request I can number stamp with a machinist punch for better visibility. Some of the punches come pretty sharp, some don't. They can come with some grind marks. I clean all that up and sharpen them. Every punch has been sharpened. I am going to say that I have seen an improvement in the factory edges overall in the last couple years. Some rosette punches may have burs, but none have flat edges like I have got in to sharpen in the past. Splitter blades - OMG - night and day. These bimetal blades are the nuts. I like them a lot. I touch up the edges for sure but man are they a step up from a few years ago too. Draw gauges - I am asked why I don't carry the new draw gauges. The quick and real answer is that if my wife unpacked a new cast metal handle draw gauge she would gut me with it. I likely have at least 50 cast metal draw gauges to clean up. Every estate and tradesman set I buy has at least 1 and often more. I just need to catch some time to do them. Nothing against the new ones, I just have a few totes of old ones to get ready to sell first. Round handled knives - these are utility knives. Shoe repair and stuff like that. Made to compete with the $10 green handle Hyde knives and were never intended to be edge-holding pass them to your grandkids knives. Basically use them, grind an edge, use them again until it was time to throw them away. I don't stock them but can order them. You can't expect as much from them as a custom knife makers trim knife. Round knives - OK the old rosewood handle Newark marked knives are generally very good. The newer reddish handled used ones I would get could go either way. Some were literally not much better than a sharpened can lid. They were on a par with the Tandy round knives. Total price point tool. I could sharpen one to a nice edge in under 5 minutes. That edge wouldn't last as long but that was just the deal with them. If I get them in a set, you will find them marked $20 or so on Ms Rundi's Table O' Bargains at the leather shows. I had a guy call me up a while back and placed an order. He wanted some other things and order me 4 round knives too. I told him he wouldn't like the knives. He said he didn't care - just order them. He was a saddle maker and in his ranch shop the workers would come in and grab his good knives and tear them up when he wasn't there. I have to order the minimum of 6 from Osborne. At least they won't take much time I am telling myself. Yeaaaaah. They came with basically not much of an edge - steep and gritty and not unexpected. These 5 minute wonders took about 25 minutes of slow speed grinding to get the bevel set and work through a couple grits. WTH?? Then I go to the wheels and through the compounds and final edge. Something changed from what I was expecting - these seemed to be pretty nice knives. I sent him his knives and didn't say anything. He made another order a few months later and we didn't bring up knives. He called me a few months again and said he needed to talk about the knives too. "here we go...". He wanted to know what the deal was on these knives. They are way better than other Osbornes he'd had. After these guys were using them the knives were still cutting. He tried one and cut a full saddle from HO and stropped once. His take was these were about like his custom knife he mostly used. He's a fan! Since then, I have sold quite a few more. Pretty much the same feedback from people who have used other good knives. these are better than the recent past ones. I never asked anyone at Osborne about it. At the Sheridan show this year I was talking with the sales rep for Osborne. We BS'd about some of the other tools and I told him about these knives. He said that it was an interesting observation and there was a reason. The new family manager for the company was taking some of the past criticism to heart and made some changes. One was that they went back to an older formula steel and process for the knives. In my limited experience, it is working. So- What is the bottom line according to Johnson? If you order an Osborne tool do not expect it to come using sharp from most places. If you want that, you have choices - sharpen it to your liking or buy something else from some off the grid tool makers and custom makers can make sharper tools for sure but at a convenience or price difference. Osborne makes production tools at production tool prices. They weren't finishing them off to a perfect using edge 150 years and generally aren't now with a few exceptions. If you get a tool that needs help and go on-line someone always says "Oh, just strop it" . Might want to be prepared for a long session if you follow that. You need to read the edge. It may just need a light stropping but it also may need some stones and compounds before stropping too. Sharpening is a learned and evolving skill. Do not expect a tool to stay sharp afterwards forever. Using the right cutting surface for punches and knives helps prolong edges but they are all going to need resharpening. If you cant resharpen, find someone who can. Am I saying every tool is perfect? Not in the least. I have had off shapes on end punches once in a great while. I have had loose handles. I have handled and sharpened these tools and still had a couple get by me with issues. I have had punch edges fold, stress cracks after a bit of use. Handles split. It happens. Shameless plug - If you buy from me, you deal with me. If you have an issue I am not sending you to the maker. I will choose to deal with them or eat it. I have used most of these tools in the past in my leather shop. I have an idea what they need to do and try my best to get them to be ready to use. After the sale - "Buy from me, I resharpen for free" (just the cost of return shipping). It is the same deal as my refurbished tools. My other disclaimer is that I am not doing outside sharpening right now for other tools. I still have a day job for another 238 days and limited shop time. Once I am retired I will probably be offering resharpening services for tools bought anywhere but just can't right now.

Barry also makes blades with a 7/32” shank. You could always just ask if you could exchange it.

Looks great. he’s a really good maker and one of the nicest you’ll meet.

That one checks a lot of the boxes - steel bottom roller, multiple gears instead of two, and the hooks and shaft extensions aren't broken off. It has a wide wheel and likely used with an overhead line shaft for power. Some of them have a hole in one of the spokes to bolt on handle to crank it, some don't. Easy enough to correct. Would need a bench built for it and stirrup for pressure. User friendly - yes. Productive - depends on how much you are making but if any kind of production work - for sure. Collectible - not really. With the popularity of Biothane, the demand for these has dropped off a bunch. I have seen them bring $600 at auctions, $150 at others, and no bids/"please take it back home when you leave". Just depends on the day and who is there. Downsides - they take up a lot of real estate on the bench in a smaller shop. They don't ship very well. Unless they are taken apart and packed like Grandma's fine China you may not be happy on the receiving end. If they are left assembled, forget about shipping insurance because they will NEVER pay. The legs break off. The rollers are heavy and the weak spot is where the shaft meets the heavier center section. The road vibration can crack them right there even in a crate or bolted to a pallet. They call it shock damage and one of the many exclusions the shipping insurers have in their pocket to deny a claim. If I bought another to ship in or out, my estate sale would be next weekend because my wife would kill me.

My first call tomorrow morning would be to Aaron Heizer at Makers Leather Supply in Elm Mott TX. Aaron is a Cobra dealer, leather and tool supplier, and teaches classes. He has a video on Canvas and leather bags a few years ago and may have done classes on them. Good guy and super approachable.

I don't see that anyone has mentioned granite inspection plates yet. You don't need a tight tolerance inspection plate for stamping on. I started out stamping on the 8x12 marble that Tandy sold and when my first wife died, the headstone company gave me a second stone with a small chip defect on an edge. It was good - plenty of mass for good stamp definition and absorbed sound well. The only thing that made me give it up was I wanted a bench with the stone inset and squaring up the edges was going to cost a bit. I ordered an inspection plate from Grizzly. They had a deal with Fedex Freight for shipping that was a smoking deal to get it to me also. They have several sizes of no-ledge and 2 and 3 inch thicknesses.

Just a generality and not for a specific place you mentioned because I have got leather from all three over the years, and several others. I have seen both versions of Tandy, Springfield once they spun off Tandy 1.0, and Weaver through the family and now corporate ownership. I have nothing against any of them - a few hiccups that were early on because I didn't know then to help them out. . These resellers are most often getting several grades of leather in a pile. The old rule of thumb used to be 25% good to great, 50% good, and 25% below good. They don't tan it, they just sell it. If you click a button and go to a checkout cart, good chance the order pickers/packers are going to just pull the top side of the stack - whatever that one is. Might be good, might be the bottom ender. I rolled those dice for a few years and got along, then tried another supplier I'd heard about. The phone rep asked me "what are you going to be making?". Umm rope can covers, nobody has ever asked me before.... "can you work around a brand?"...sure. I got a side with a rib brand that would have been problematic for belts, great for my needs on those rope cans. Another time I was making belts and needed several no-brand sides with no butcher cuts on the back above the break. Below the break could have tire tracks for all I cared. Told them that and I got nice sides with low breaks for good yield. Sometimes I was basket stamping the whole project and scratches didn't bother me, other times there were going to be open areas and I needed clean sides. The deal was I was talking to a live person and telling them what I was doing. That helps them and they get to know you. I called up Matt At Maverick Leather several years ago. I told him I had two saddles coming up and needed five nice skirting sides, at least two of them deep, and then the worst piece of crap skirting side he didn't want to look at anymore. He said he had a pretty good side he'd been cutting a few sample pieces out of. No need, keep cutting samples Matt. I want ugly to cut into little strips to test splitters and tool edges. That poor cow died from a bumper crop of ticks or several shotgun blasts. I leaned toward shotgun blasts because there were multiple brands. Likely a hooky old rip or a fence jumper. By golly we used her though and I helped him move subpar piece. Here is my advice - Establish a relationship with whoever you deal with. Not every project needs A-1 leather. If you are willing to take something less, they will remember that when you do need top shelf. My two cents worth of thoughts