bruce johnson

It depends on a few things. If you are cutting bigger projects, then a small board can be a hassle. Making part of a cut, moving the board, cutting again, etc can result in a choppier cut than a bigger board under you. LDPE boards tend to grab knives more and makes a bit more effort as well as mark up faster and those grooves can catch a blade edge too. I like HDPE better for cutting. If you are going to use one to punch on, the HDPE can be brittle though and crack or break. LDPE is a better choice there.

WS, Thanks for the heads up on the misID'd stamp. I'll pull it tonight and change that. I have had several unmarked Osborne (or seriously Osborne-like) tools. Knives most frequently but handled tools as well. Some may have the USA stamp in the wood, but no maker marks on the metal. I am not sure if these are subbed tools from Osborne's military contracts or just pushed through to meet the immediate needs at the time. I may have had or do have an unmarked Compass groover also. I don't remember off the top of my head.

WyomingSlick, You made me go look! I have a page of only preletter Craftool stamps for sale and another "Bargain Basement" page with lettered Craftool stamps on my website. I had to double check to see if I had a #115. No joy, but I was kind of excited for minute or two there. LOL, Thanks, - Bruce

My technique is pull, push, pound, and swear a lot. I hope Dawson didn't learn any new words.

What do you mean "that's not much of a feat"? That is always a good feeling for anyone! Nice job on the whole thing. Now send it out to get used.

One thing I have found are a couple references to the Newark vs. Harrison marking. Osborne changed the marks on most of the tools soon after the move. The round knife with the Newark mark was their ID/badge/flagship/"brand recognition" item. An image of the knife and marking was on their stationary, catalog covers, and flyers. At least a few have thought they might have still marked the knives with the Newark stamp up until maybe WW1.

Your knife could be 1890s or thereabouts. I have an 1897 catalog reprint with the "X" marks on the knifes. The usual knives were 6" wide, the "X" knives were 6-1/2", the "XX" knives were 6-3/4 and the "XXX" were 7". The single X knives then were $1.84.

I had one for my Boss when I had it and have one for my cylinder arm power machine now. What they do is let you sew a gusset in bags and cases with 90 degree inside corners. The rounded profile on top of the stirrup[ plate shortens the radius up instead of flattening what you are sewing. They will let a machine march right around the gusset corners.

Cut and paste got me and left out more of my reply above. The second one is a loop creaser that was used to put a creased pattern onto loops. I have never seen them maker marked, but the only place I have seen them cataloged was on a single page flyer from Charles Rosecrans. I find a few here and there. I am up to 14 of them and have yet to get a duplicate.

First one is a washer/gasket/circle cutter to use with a hand brace. The second one I'll buy from you for $25 and then tell you what it is. ;)The third one is missing a wheel where the hole is. I have been variously told they are for cutting leather and cutting wallpaper - probably both because I get them in old leather sets. The last one looks like a fine saw, maybe used on leather but more likely wood.

First one is some sort of glazer or creaser. Middle one is an ice chipper or webbing stretcher. Last one looks like a glazer also.

Tandy pops up right off, and I just saw in ShopTalk or Leather Crafters Journal that Double K Leather in St Louis now has a catalog. Other than those, there are other suppliers like Springfield Leather, Zack White, and more I am missing that have pretty extensive websites.

I have had a couple of them mounted on the wood blocks. One guy told me they were a magnesium alloy that printers use. They don't take pounding all that well but last a long time with a press.

I have added a quite a few tools for sale on my website. There are a bunch of fresh stamps from Barry King, Gore, and Wayne Jueschke. I also added a page of just pre-letter Craftool stamps and another page called "bargain basement" with other Craftool stamps. I also added several rein rounders and two splitters. There are two lacing and braiding string cutters fresh also. Here is the link to the landing page of the tool section of my website - http://brucejohnsonleather.com/content/index.php/leather_tools_for_sale/ Thank you, Bruce

Call Vicki at Hitching Post supply - http://www.hitchingpostsupply.com/

Tough to hear that. I have had damage in both but have avoided surgery. It started out with my right shoulder. My doctor is a young guy andpretty sharp on sports medicine. He lined me out on some exercizes to strengthen everything and increase range of motion. He said he wanted me to do that before sending me to the surgeon and two things - either I wouldn't need the surgery or I'd recover and rehab a lot faster afterwards. No weight arm motions in different directions 50 reps each at a time 3X a day. Then step up to a 8 oz weight in my hand after two weeks, the 1# 2 weeks, then 2#. Never get my elbow higher than my shoulder the whole time. After 3 weeks I was thinking "This s**t is boring and it is NOT working!". A week later I was like "Whoa!, That twinged me when I started, this IS doing something after all". A two months I was good to go for the elbow-higher-than-my shoulder routine. No surgery and I am doing pretty good.

Many thanks for the great pictures, Wish I was there again!

Johanne, I just sent you a reply to your email. - Bruce

I'd agree with the others that slightly over is better. With English points the tip is easier to center of the fit it close though. Out of curiosity I measured about 40 English point and round end strap punches here. Makers represented are CS Osborne "Made in England" one piece forged punches, CS Osborne forged one piece punches, HF Osborne forged, Gomph forged, Dixon forged, older CS Osborne arch punches, and some recent make CS Osborne arch punches. All except one group were either dead on or all under 1/16" (most about 1/32") over the marked width. Although it can't be a scientific study due to low numbers, one of these groups was 1/8" over - 3 of the 4 modern CS Osbornes are a full 1/8" wider. The 3/4" was a touch under 1/8". Ed, please let us know how the SLC punch measures when you get it.

Yep, binder clips and line them up side to side. Sew slowly and take them off as you get to them.

For cleaning that smooth roller I would not start with 120. I would start with just plain steel wool to clean the surface grunge and see what I had. I think 120 is too coarse and may leave more grit pattern that you would then have to take out. I would start finer and maybe into the 300-400 range. You mostly want to take off burrs and sharp edges from the scratches. Once they are smooth, they won't mark your leather unless they are deep and wide. If you work lightly and evenly around the roller I think you can work them down by hand with out changing the profile enough to matter.

Very nice find! I don't know who made it, but the matching numbers on the parts indicates it is pretty old. They may have been building several at one time and individually fitting the parts for each particular one, then the parts were pooled for finishing before assembly. The matching numbers were stamped on the individual parts so they would mate up when assembled. This was common in many tools and bench machines I have from the mid to late 1800s. Most used numbers but have seen letters and punched "dots" in different patterns as well. It looks like a pretty simple design and taking it down and cleaning/lubricating are probably about all you will need to do besides the blade. The milled feed roller looks great! Not much wear or damage to the grooves.

I've used harness, latigo, and vegtan. Some want them thinner like 7/8 and others want them heavy for more feel/signal. Some like them longer for that same reason others like them shorter for "faster" action. Patterns can range from straight to scalloped.

Use something the same profile as the hole so you don't widen it out. I have got a ton of #1s that have been converted to #4s by sharpening with something too big. I wrap wet dry over a small dowel, nail, etc. I strop on the edge of some firm leather with compound. I strop the top with some package twine that has been rubbed with compound. The biggest thing is to make sure you are not bumping into the opposite edge throughout the process.

Travis, Some leathers do better with the wooden strap cutters, and some wooden strap cutters are duds. Soft leathers strip out better for me with a single edge razor blade in a wooden strap cutter. Firmer leather like vegtan and latigo can go either way. With bias because I sell refurbished old tools, I'd not seriously consider a new Osborne or Craftool if I was buying a draw gauge tomorrow. I haven't had a recent Tandy one in th elast few years, but the newer CS Osborne draw gauges have a hollow back aluminum bar. The old ones have a solid steel full thickness bar. It is the difference between formerly selling to a quality standard and now meeting a price point.