bruce johnson

pictures?

As a tip to avoid the “forgot to flip impressions”. Stair step the stamping routine like laying bricks. Every diagonal line will be stamped in the same direction - do one diagonal, rotate for the next diagonal. It is easier to keep track of that than stamping horizontal rows and having to rotate each impression.

Pretty much I’m the lone worker bee of the business. Unpacker, Cleaner, sharpener, photographer, describer, web dude, order taker, packer, labeler. My wife does the house and upkeep stuff so I can do all that after work and weekends. Her contributions are stamping off the website impressions and being the post office runner. It’s a pretty good system! If she keeps a stamp, she’s earned it.

You may find this stamp leaves a little more tool burnish if you case well and let it come back to a little drier than most other geo/basket stamps and use a little heavier maul. Thats how I used them. Had a similar Gore stamp that really popped like that too. My wife intercepted one of these lattices from Barry when she was stamping some off for sale on the website.

I think this stamp looks great with antique. It will hold antique or HiLiter down in the “squares” and almost look background dyed.

Interesting set up. When I bought my bell knife I got it from a seller who had a ton of machines and experience. I took my own leather down there and we sat down. He’s the first guy who mentioned the milled feed wheel. Then he grabbed me two or three roller presser feet. Both of them make a bottom feed much more reliable for heavier leather. You talk to some sellers and they’ve never heard of that feed wheel or roller feet.

This is a tool that you will use a bunch. Some of the lower price versions have a really slippery head material and you will fight it. When you figure how many times you will strike tools vs cost, after a few thousand hits that price per hit is a nonfactor. Buy a good one. I've had several of Barry's especially early on, I've used every size of Wayne Jueschke's. Wayne's feel more comfortable in my hand and I like the slightly head heavy balance. That said, I can pick up either and get the job done. Barry sells straight and tapered mauls in a good size range, Wayne only makes tapered mauls in a size range. Personal preference and experience on straight vs taper. Less fatigue with taper.

It really depends on your budget and anticipated usage. Speaking to this style and sourcing in general - variable quality from essentially unusable to pretty good. If the roller is level with the blade edge that's good. The blade needs a slot for the hold down bolts to move the edge forward over the top center of the roller as you sharpen the edge back. Some come with an ample slot, some come with a little slot for "some" adjustment, and some come with a round hole for no adjustment. Blade quality is generally OK, not great/usually not bad. If you get a good one, you're a winner, if not - you kept their lights on. There is a reason some new 6 inch splitters are $600 and some shovel blade skin machines are $160.

I got several 5,000 piece boxes that are compatible I found on-line. The 1/4" are in plain brown boxes just marked "Made in Germany". I have B-3/8 by Staplex that are 5/16".

I've used the foot press dies with good results. I also like the old school Neva-Clog B-100 hand staplers.

The waxes will not penetrate and stick on the synthetic threads like they do on natural fibers. The slick surface and added lubes won’t bond to the wax and pitch. As far as knots - square knot is probably as small and secure as any.

I get these once in a while - 2 to 3 a year on average. This one would not make make my "no way list" for that price. If it has a good blade and all the mechanism on the back side for sure I'd be on it. It will take some time and penetrant to get it broken down. I suspect more than Evaporust but that's where I would start. Once you get most of the rust off, I like PB Blaster or ATF/Acetone mix to penetrate and free it up to get apart.

My thoughts - The thing to realize is that handsewing has been around a few thousand years and synthetics threads about 60-70. It developed into a method the most durable thread for most work was hand twisted linen and then treated with a sticky wax/pinepitch combination (coad) for most handsewing projects. Coad recipes varied and everyone had a favorite. The casting an overhand into each stitch, the fibers themselves and the wax/pitch locked the threads down pretty well. On things with linear (Bag flaps) or three side sewing (pockets and sheaths) the beginnings and ends were often the higher stress areas of the stitch line, backstitching filled those same size awl made the holes even tighter and resisted pulling through. Function over perceived aesthetics. The old needle and awl machines with their lockstitch and hot waxed threads were the mechanical alternative. Break one stitch in the line and the wax and thread in the adjacent stitches was often enough to hold the rest of the line in use. Offer to pick stitches on an old saddle skirt and see how locked things are. It has all changed with slick synthetic threads designed to run through high speed closed needle machines. These threads are often prelubricated and lock security dropped a lot, especially when used for handsewing. Now with more punched or chiseled stitch holes and fewer appropriate-sized awl holes, handsewing is even less secure in the last 10 years. These are not the same threads and methods Stohlman dealt with in the books. New construction or repairs, I backstitch way more than 3. With full perimeter sewing and I oversew at least 3. I burn ends on everything synthetic. If a fine tip soldering iron is out of reach, You can make a pretty precise burned end with a small scratch awl tip tip heated with a lighter.

Everyone has a different definition of "high quality" and since that was part of the criteria, here's my 2 cents opinion. I don't have a strong issue with any of them but the quality control on the newer low end versions can be sketchy. The ability to make different size grooves is nice. The one Will showed above is really good and the tips seem to be pretty good quality, consistent, and cut well. I got a dozen or more in a shop closing deal and like this particular one. It comes with all three sizes instead of picking one size from a menu. Only down side I can see with my trials on it is the handle is a little small and can roll in your hand. A little tape buildup and you're fine if that becomes an issue. High quality US made - Barry King makes one and offers three tip size choices. Some people and especially ones working heavier leather or intricate shapes prefer the compass style groovers. Horse Shoe Brand Tools has a good compass groover and a few tip choices. CS Osborne also makes one.

AS Brand and the Stohlman are the same. Tandy came out with these several years ago and long after Al Stohlman passed away. I can see the chip out of the edge of one of the round punches. Yeah, you can flatten it to an even contact edge, then go through a series of grits to reestablish the outside bevel and then clean up the inside edge. Slack belt knife grinders are good for this but out of most peoples reach. Worth it to even try? Not to me and I have the equipment to do it. When I get these through the year I put them in the "specials box" and they sell as-is at the trade shows on the bargain table. If they are broken or chipped they never make past the garbage can next to my unpacking area. Just being honest.

fine nap paint roller. Roll off as much excess as you can it seems like the right amount for each coat to me. Goes on pretty even without swirl or overlap marks. My wife uses a clipped woolskin scrap pad on single projects. .

My experience as a user and seller. Two words - "Little Wonder". They are durable, parts available, and lots of dies available for different jobs. I buy and sell 6-8 of them a year. The major reasons most people get rid of them is they step up to a foot press or they retire/expire. If this an experienced person then they should like it. If I was buying new, I wouldn't hesitate at all on a Little Wonder. As an aside and for comparison. My second favorite are the older red version that Tandy sold. I can't comment on the Tandy Pro they sell now because I haven't had one. Those older red ones are heavy and strong. They usually very true and simple. They use the same size dies as the Little Wonder also. The Amazon specials can be OK but some are not true at all. I try to avoid it but sometimes I have to buy them if they come in a shop set. I'd stay away from them as a gift.

I'm pretty sure I have shared this method of oil application years ago but bringing it to the top again. There are several posts about applying oils - daubers, brushes, woolskin scraps. Straight line and overlapping, swirling for light applications, dipping for heavy application. After that then you get the1-4 day wait and see for the oil to even out (it will). I was doing semi-production work and didn't have that luxury to wait most of the time. I needed something to go on pretty even from the start. Here's the tip of the day - fine napped paint roller and paint tray. Pour the oil into the tray, run the roller up and down the ramp a few times with pressure to take off as much excess as you can. Roll it over your piece. Much less streaking and goes on pretty evenly. Depending on tannage, thickness, and how much oil you want - you can do multiple coats. For large areas than the width of the roller, butt your laps next to each other, you don't really need to overlap much at all. For single straps I run over them at an angle so my full width of the roller will eventually make contact the entire length. That saves stops and starts to reload. This even application really saves time and once you know your leather, you can pretty well get it right without having to reapply the next day or after. I would lay out several pieces and just roll them all at once. If had a lot of projects going I just left the paint tray sitting with the roller out of the oil. If I wasn't going to be oiling a few days I'd pour the oil back into the jug and put the roller in a ziplock. I used scrap particle board as a surface. The excess oil soaks in fast and it didn't pool and wick back into the facedown side of the leather. After weeks to months the particle board would be pretty saturated. At that point chunks of it are a dandy fire starting material. In the words of a friend, you could stack it and burn a wet mule. Hope this helps somebody! - Bruce

Oldest I am finding the glass slickers is in a CS Osborne 1897 catalog.

There are very little standards between makers on size numbering in the last 50 years. Best bet is to ask the maker for a recommendation if you can. If you can’t then ask on forums about a particular maker’s sizing from people that use that makers tools.

There is a little confusion on the Adams tools. Thomas was a very common first name and Adams was a common last name. There was a Thomas Adams in England who was a tool maker. Also one in the US and I think Philadelphia. The punches have the English style and most assume one of two things - the punches came from England or they were made in that style. The bigger question is were there two Thomas Adams who made tools or did the original migrate to the US and make tools here too. There is cases to be made both ways. I will check my older Osborne catalogs and see when they had glass slickers. I’ve also had old steel plate slickers too

Makers Leather Supply is in Elm Mott. They sell them new and might have a lead if you’re looking for used.

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.