bruce johnson

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I guess I apply it differently. I have been using a paint roller for years. Fine napped paint roller and plastic tray. I can control how heavy I apply it by how much I roll out on the ramp before I got to leather. I get a good even coat all the way to the end on belts by running the roller a bit diagonally. On the big surfaces I slightly overlap. I don't end up with swirl marks or spend a lot of time applying. If I have 3 or 4 small pieces like checkbooks I just line them on the table and roll over them all in a pass. Two passes on a stirrup leather will do what I need. It is a time saver for me and does the best job of anything else I have tried. For my lining sides I can do a whole side in about 5 minutes. For molded cases I use a woolskin patch and dip into my oil tray, then squeeze it out to leave what I want in it. I lightly slather it on. I leave my oil set for 24 hours after I apply before I decide if I want more.

Here's my thoughts on bisonettes. They have a few advantages. The front edge of the hole can ride down the leather and act as a "training wheel" to maintain the same angle. Easy to use for people starting out.They also are good edging pieces with a thin lining. Some other edgers can cut under the lining and end up scooping it out. On the downside they are the hardest to sharpen at least for me, and have the least life. You have to maintain that same curvature of the bottom edge when you sharpen or you end up widening the hole and turn a #1 into a #4. Then you have to be careful you are not running into the opposing edge. Stropping off the bur on top of the hole can be a bit tricky working inside that angle. Some of the newer ones have issues. I have had some that no matter the size number, they are all made from the same width stock. That makes it hard to keep the smaller sizes at a 45 degree angle without running into the bench on thinner leather. You about have to work off the edge of the bench. The old Rosecrans are my favorites. They seem to be the originals on these, and are designed right. The angle is good for push and pull, the width varies by size. They are close to 100 years old now and hard to find and harder to find ones that haven't been messed up through poor sharpening. The older Osbornes are pretty good too. One thing a lot of people think it that they can get into inside square corners with a bisonette. You can maybe get within 1/8" depending on the angle it was bent at. Some will do a slot and some won't - it depends on the radius of the end and the tool design itself.

Are you looking for a splitter just for strings or a wider one?

It all depends on what kind of a look you are going for. I did a ton of belts with the #500 basket set at an angle to get more lines. The guy who taught me to stamp was into the "ratios" of elements. . He gave me a couple rule of thumbs for sizing the border tool to match blocks and baskets. His advice was that the border stamp width should be the same as the width of the end of the basket stamp. If you lay that border back a little more to the heels it will fade into the basketstamping smoother and not take as big a bite out too.

Marlon, Not finalized as of yet, but I am working on it. If life stops happening here or at least slows, I am going to have some videos on using and adjusting splitters. I also will have ones on comparing diffferent styles of draw gauges and plough gauges and using them, relatively obscure super handy tools like freehand stitch groovers and rein rounders, different edge beveler styles, different stitch groover comparisons and more.

Jeff, You can check on a perfectly flat surface ot at least as flat as you can find to check. If so you may need to take a bit off the bottom at the ends or have it taken off by a machinist. My blades do have a very slight bevel on the bottom. When I do my final stropping to take the finest foil/wire edge off, I use green compound on a firm wheel. I do tip it some to clean that edge off. I found when I did the top side and left the bottom perfectly flat on the wheel I was straightening the foil edge but necessarily removing all of it. By tipping it up a bit on the bottom side I get it cleanly removed. The slight bottom bevel is from the final stropping only and not a stome or hard abrasive.

Another vote for steel although I did have an unmarked brass one that was pretty and looks to have held up surprisingly well. If you are making your own, the hinge is critical to not have any play in it.

There are no small veg tanneries in the US anymore. There are two larger tanneries. Hides are mostly brokered from smaller slaughter plants and the large plants may deal with tanneries themselves or go through brokers at times. A good percentage of North American hides are exported for tanning. Traceback would be all but impossible with the current system. The paperwork trail needed for tracing a byproduct is not economically feasible given the current demand for this type of leather and the way the hides are handled.

Jeff, I am attaching a PDF of an instructional I wrote up for customers who buy a #86. It is not all inclusive, but answers several common questions I was getting. Osborne #86 splitter instructions.pdf

For me professional quality stamps mean in no particular order - Barry King, Gomph-Hackbarth, Bob Beard, Elton Joorisity, Clay Miller, Wayne Jueschke, Chuck Smith, and Gore for guys making them now. They can run from $30 to $140 or so depending on maker and stamp type. Blasts from the past are Don King, Walt Fay, CLT, Ray Hackbarth, Bill Woodruff. Frank Eberly, McMillen and will cost more when you find them. Some of the old and new Tandy Craftools are still a good value depending on what they are. I have some CarftJapan stamps that leave pretty good impressions too. I use a mix of stamps from all of these and have seen the stamp sets of several top toolers. Everybody uses a mix of makers - and very few sets are not going to have some Craftools in there. Some of them may be old or new stock and some may have been reworked. I think it really depends more on the type of stamp in some cases. For example, as long as a smooth pear shader is symmetrical side to side, who made it and chrome plated, SS, or black finish doesn't mean as much to me. If we are talking about a basket stamp, border, or flower center with a set pattern, I think it matters a lot more.

One tip I can offer to keep on track with either a plough gauge or draw gauge is this - "Don't watch the blade while you cut, watch the fence". The natural tendency is to watch the blade because that is where the action is at. Instead concentrate on the leather staying next to the guide. Once you do that, it becomes a lot easier and more consistant to cut straight straps. If the leather is staying next to the guide and the beam is secure, that blade is taking care of itself just fine, An old guy shared this with me and it made a night and day difference. Jusdt tension the strap and pull with the draw gauge or push with the plough.

I don't think it is going to easily come out. It is basically a dye in itself. I use permanent markers for some dye work, and most of the dyed edges I do. A single application doesn't penetrate very far and I have been able to lightly buff out some mistakes with a fine stone Dremel bit. You trade a light scuff for a black mark.

Renee, Could you get a picture between the jaws from the front? About 20 years ago Tandy sold a stitching horse you sat on. I got one in a store drawing and used it a lot. I did a little rasping on the edges to make the seat and waist area contoured and more comfortable to sit on. Later on a guy visiting my shop took a rasp to the top of the jaws and that helped a lot with using it too. It was left foot operated. I got an old historic one a few years ago and passed the Tandy on to a guy in need. Even a few years later when I sew on this one I still keep reaching out with my left foot to work the jaws. I have a customer looking for the old Tandy version. He had one to start with and wishes he had it back.

Weighing in a bit late here but it looks like a good buy. In traveling around I see them priced from around $100 up to $300 depending on style and how solid they are. Surprisingly I see quite a few, and end up buying a couple a year. If you could, I'd like to see a view of how the clamping mechanism works. This looks different than the common strap through to the opposite jaw, and not the bottom scissors clamping of the saddler's style stitching horse. FWIW, in front of the TV is fine. I've normally got one in my living room. Is the Tandy you have the one they carried about 20 years ago? PM me if so.

I have added quite a few tools of boot and shoe making to my website this morning. Here is the link - Boot and Shoe Making Tools For Sale Thanks!

Thanks guys. It is marked in cm out to 10 cm, but has some more bar length than the Blanchard 10 cm versions. It is like the old Blanchards in most other respects. Nice smooth sliding of the fence.

Used to be they used double cap rivets that are too long for the thickness of the leather. If you lightly set them in the slots, they slide. Now some are using the rivet back conchos the same way.

Somebody is going to be very happy with these.

Another satisfied customer here. I sent Terry a Dixon and later a Blanchard to have for patterns. He has the patterns for both on hand. I had the first prototype of the Dixon and it has yet to be need anything but a light stropping. He made a Blanchrd for me to try recently and just as good as the first Dixon he made me. As far as new plough gauges, Dixon and Vergez-Blanchard still make them but it is great to have source of quality replacement blades through Terry Knipschield.

A trick to use with a compass is to tape a scrap of leather down in the center with blue painters tape. The scrap takes the mark and the tape pulls off cleanly afterwards.

I was in a shop a couple weeks ago and he had a few of them. They do seem pretty comparable to the Osborne #150 punches except for the welds being a little rougher and no paint. He thought they were a little sharper straight out than some of the Osbornes. The regular price on them was about $20 more than the Osbornes from Springfield, but on sale they are better.

Good buy, they usually run $75-125 in the antique/vintage stores. Chandlers seem a little less common. It's a hand crank pinking cutter. Had a guy tell me they were originally designed for cloth and he uses one I found him on canvas bed trap material. I tried the one I had on chap and did OK with the pressure adjusted up a bit. It rolled right through chap but wouldn't go as well on 4-5 vegtan.

Harness leather is usually a veg tan leather that has been treated with oils, waxes, and greases in proprietary mixes depending on the tannery and the different types of harness leather they may be producing. Some can be pretty "dry", some waxy, and some pretty greasy/oily. Some of these treatments are going to repel dyes or inhibit penetration to any great degree. Treating with the solvents may strip some of the compounds off the surface that the tannery added and allow some level of dyeing to happen. Still I don't think it is going to do as good a job as it does on plain vegtan leather. I don't buy harness leather anymore. I chose several years ago not to compete with everyone else selling clicker cut harness lather tack then. I had a good relationship with a rep at a now closed tannery and he steered me towards what I do now. Occasionally I need "harness leather" for loop ends for reins or repair work. I pick a nice firm section of skirting leather and oil it with an oil of choice - pure neatsfoot or olive oil. Some I oil pretty heavy for more color, some lighter. Once the oil has settled, I go back and dress it with a paste conditioner. He was not a Tandy rep or affiliated, but he recommended I use the Dr Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator as the paste. Pretty cheap and works well. I apply it in several thin coats and lightly heat it with a hair dryer to soften it and help it penetrate. That works for me and I end up with a good feeling leather for my needs. On some of the repair work I need to match color. I dye the leather, then oil. then paste and most of the time can get pretty close. The dye goes on the plain leather so I get a good penetration.

Just to weigh in here because I have a lot of punches, makers, and times when they were made to compare. I didn't measure every punch, but did several randoms off my bench and what I have for sale. I checked maybe 50 here - a mix of English points and round ends. The wood handled punches are all less than 1/16" except for 1-1/2'' HF Osborne that is a full 1/16" over. The HF Osborne forged punches are mostly dead on but a few are less 1/16" oversized. The CS Osborne forged punches are mostly less than or right at 1/16" oversized. The "CS Osborne Made in England" forged punches are all less than 1/16" over and very consistant. I have a few arch style (CS Osborne #150) punches. They vary the most. The 1-3/4" English point on my bench measures 1/8" over, the rest all measure right at 1/16" or less except one dead on. The dead on one is the round end 1-3/4" arch punch on my bench.