bruce johnson

RW, I do quite a few in that type. I use chap leather for the gussets. For the bottom I sandwich some 1/8" masonite between the lining and the tooling leather to stiffen it. I started putting feet on mine after the first couple to keep them up off a wet counter. For the feet I use round 3/4" punchings and run chicago screws through them and the bottom with the screwhead inside the bag.

Ray, I have sewn some miles on one of the early Boss stitchers and sometimes still wish I had it. They are pretty simple to operate. The downside is that it takes one hand to run them so you have one hand to hold the piece. You learn to use binder clips and things like that to hold pieces in place instead of two hands. There wasn't much I couldn't get sewn with some improvised clamp or support one way or the other. There are some bigger stitchers that have a large hand wheel on the front to run them also. I am sure someone has adapted a powered machine to run by hand control for people with limited foot control too. If so, you still would only have one hand running the piece anyway.You can run most powered machines by hand turning the flywheel. Some of them have been adapted for a crank handle on the flywheel too. The servo motors can be set to sew pretty slow on a powered machine, but it still takes some foot control to stop and start. The biggest problem I had starting out with a clutch motor was I drove it like a gas pedal. I used the ball of my foot and pushed to go and let up to slow. When someone showed me to use my whole foot on the pedal - "Toe to go and heel to slow" it gave me way more control. When I switched to servo motors it was even more precise.

I have some old Tandy catalogs, a flyer and some ad inserts for sale. The forst is a Hinckley-Tandy Leather Co catalog #67. I have been told it is from the 1940s. I have Tandy catalog #75 with a mailing date of 9-29-53. The flier is "The Tandy Leather Post" from 1954. Kid's size saddle kits were #34.50, ostrich legs big enough for two wallets were $1.50, goat skins were 50 cents, and Cape (buffalo?) was 33 cents a foot. Catalogs #82 and #83 don't have dates, but catalog #84 is Spring-Summer 1959. What might have some more appeal is that all of these catalogs were mailed to the Duhamel Trading Post in Rapid City, South Dakota. My great-grandfather rode a Duhamel saddle in the 30s and it raised a couple more generations until I retired it to my living room. I am open to offers on these, and they can all mail in a flat rate envelope.

Frank, You pretty well hit it. The round bottom edgers will cut a rounded profile. The blade edge is thin with a low bevel, and they do almost a "quarter round" profile. Sharpened up well, they run the easiest of any edge bevelers except for maybe a really good sharp bisonette. Most of the other lower priced edgers will make a square cut profile edge. The blades are flat top and/or bottom and the profile of the cut matches the profile of the blade edge. Also the ones with the edge in a slot, sacrifice one to see the cutting angle is 30-40 degrees inside on some of them. That is why they get pushy and chatter more. Also hard to work the inside to sharpen like some will tell you. Those slotted ones are easier to work off the bottom and just strop the slot. The round bottoms are the easiest to sharpen and maintain. You can take a round object like a nail or screwdriver shank depending on the radius you need and wrap it with wet/dry sandpaper, then work it on that. I strop the bottoms of mine on a leather edge with compound and the top with a felt wheel on my dremel on slow, Just a touch will do it. The round bottoms have the longest life also. As long as you maintain that profile, you can sharpen most of them back for 2" or a little more. Roundbottoms work great for trimming excess and leaving a nice rounded profile, like on a cantle binding or the sewn in lining reinforcements. If you keep the toes ground back as you sharpen them, they will do a tight radius in a slot also.

Because of more tools for sale,I have increased the number of pages of leather working tools for sale on my website. I added a few tools yesterday includung a great little Gomph knife, and I have quite a few other tools I will be listing in the coming days and weeks. Coming up I have several Gomph, HF Osborne, and CS Osborne hand tools, as well as a splitter or two and rein rounder. I also will be listing some more recent good solid using tools as well. Several have asked me to be notified when more tools are listed and so I am starting an email notification group list. If you would like to be on that list, please contact me at this address - bruce(AT)brucejohnsonleather.com - *substitute the @ symbol for (AT)* Please title the message "Tool List". Eventually we will get a software program for automatic subscriptions, but for now I am doing this manually. Thanks,

I skive the edges of mine down to about 3 oz at the edge and back about 1/2". I soak them in warm water for about 20 minutes before I wrap. I wring it out and then cut a slot just long enough to go over the horn. I go down through the handhole, then under and up the front. For right handed I wrap clockwise. I pull on the tail hard as I walk it around and lay the wrap in place. I make sure everything is where I want it and looks alright. Then I unwrap and really crank it on the second time. I wrap the tail around a stick for leverage and wrap again. I lay the stick against the horn and walk it around. I slip the tail and I need to and it really goes on tight. I finish off by pulling the tail through the slit exposed at the back of the horn and the excess lays off to the left. Mine are tight enough I have to work a needle nose pliers under to get the tail. I tap all around with a small hammer and then go over it with a choke strap. Edit - I found some pictures of a couple I have done. I try to make the slot just long enough to go over the horn and so the tail will fill the slot. I think that makes a cleaner look to fill the slot and not have a big gap. On some big caps and small necks you can't though. Also If I hang the rope strap off a dee on the swells, I screw down throgh the mulehide and then wrap as normal and tuck the tail under the first wrap. The Wade shows that method.

I cut on HDPE and like a bigger board. I have a 2x4 sheet of 3/8. I stand it up against a wall when I am not cutting. I get less knife drag on HDPE. If you punch on HDPE, it can crack. For punches I like LDPE and have a few 12x12 pieces I can toss on a granite on the working bench and some smaller ones I can slip in a pocket or on the drill press to punch a hole against.

Good call, Bill. It is part of a McPherson equine dental speculum. Here's one in action - McPherson dental speculum . You can also see the downside of them in that picture. They are like a deer-basher bumper if the horse decides to sling his head.

The round knives that are the most comfortable for me are 4-5" across the tips. It gives me good control. Four inches is a good starting size. I like a wider knife for push skiving down an edge. I also use wider knives for when I am making a rolling cut and not a slicing or puch cut. I do rolling cuts to "chop" straps to length and to cut softer leathers, especially for fringe. when you roll the knife you never want to roll over past center of the front of the knife. You lose any leverage advantage. Friend of mine did that several years ago. The underneath point kicked up into his wrist.

Here's a source too - Maverick Leather

Art, You are dead on with your assessment of the Rose knives and I think the reasons for the soft spots on some. I use a belt for some work and keep a finger on the opposite side of the contact area when I am on a belt or wheel to monitor heat. I have gone back to mostly using wet-dry on the Gomph and Rose knives for one reason. It is a heck of a lot cheaper to buy sheets of wet-dry than belts, especially the finer grits that aren't sold at every hardware store. Roses will eat the grit right down to the nub on belts in short order. Keep using that belt and all you make is heat. The only time I use a belt much is a slack belt for the final edge. I have used diamond stones and like them for a lot of things, but laying a full sheet of wet-dry on an inspection plate gives me bigger strokes and more surface area and gets the job done faster and more evenly.

Bradley, Here is my anecdotal experience. Rose knives have the hardest steel I come across. An older guy that is pretty colorful described a Rose knife as "harder than a whore's heart and will stay sharper than a mother-in-law's tongue". Pretty much sums it up. To work on a Rose, you have to be of the right mindset that day because it takes some time. On my scale, Gomph is next in line - a little more forgiving to sharpen than a Rose but harder than an old Osborne. For me they hold an edge well. One small step below that are the older CS Osbornes - the Newark made ones for sure and the older Harrison marked ones. They are a nice combination of sharpening up fairly easily but still holding an edge for a while. I'd put the Shapleigh/Clyde knives with them. One bigger step below that are the more recent Osbornes. I don't know 100% the reason, but it seems like I see more Shapleighs and Clydes out here than maybe they do in other parts of the country. I am not sure if one of the bigger distributors back in the heyday pushed them or what. I'll see a nice set of older Osbornes and Gomphs in a shop, and there will be a couple Clydes or Shaps there. Even some of the old yard sale sets used to have a bunch of Craftools, but a Clyde knife with them.

Thanks for the nod Luke. I appreciate it. I do have round knives, draw gauges, English points, and slot punches on my site. I have some more I got in the last few weeks I haven't got to yet also.

Bradley, I don't know who might have made the edgers. I've had several round knives from Shapleigh and the word has been they were made by Clyde Cutlery in Clyde OH for Shapleigh. I seen no difference between the two in design or handle shape, so no reason to doubt it. Both have lightly etched logos too. Shapleigh went out of buisness in 1960 as I recall, so that will giuve some dating.

Aleta, I do put the conchos through the lid. I do a few every year where someone has a can already and I normally have them just send me the lid. If they can't spare it I do send just the leather for someone locally to glue it on for them. I have one going to Canada tomorrow that it was too expensive to mail the lid both ways. I made up an instruction sheet a while back for these customers, and will cut and paste it here - Gluing Rope Can Lids This is the way I attach the leather to the lids of rope cans. I have not had any come loose following this technique. I have reglued some for other guys, and had a few loosen early on. This way now has worked out to be the best for me. First off the ropecan, leather and contact cement should be room temperature. For glue I have been using Renia the last couple years. Before that I was using Masters and Barge original AP and they both were alright, but not the quick strong bond that I get with Renia. I have had poor luck with Duall 88. I first lay the leather on the lid of the rope can and line everything up. The holes for the silver conchos are already punched. I use them to mark the holes for the machine screws on the back to go through the lid. I mark and drill holes through the lid with a bit just large enough for the size of the screw shank. I rough up the lid of the rope can for better glue adhesion. I usually use a welder’s wire brush and then wipe all the dust off. I put a thin coat of glue on the leather and let it dry thoroughly to make a base. Usually it takes about an hour or so. Then I put another even layer of glue on the lid and another on the leather. I wait until the glue is mostly dry but still a little tacky. If it seems a little too dry I hit the leather side with a heat gun to tack things up a little more. Then I put wax paper on the lid to separate the lid and leather until I am ready for it to stick. I use saddle spikes in the punched concho holes to line things up. I go through the wax paper and into the holes in the lid. When things are close I pull the wax paper a piece at time and lightly press that section in place. Once I have all of the paper out, I make sure things are definitely lined up and then press pretty well with my hand all around. I work it over a few times to get a good bond. I leave it about 24 hours for the bond to cure. I normally weight them overnight. I lay the lid face down on a clean thin towel like a Motel 6 towel, and then put a weight on the inside of the lid. 20-30 pounds is fine. The last thing is to attach the conchos with the machine screws. I put a few sizes in, so that should get it done.

At least in some cases it was true. Some of the old saddles didn't have the leathers turned or the skirts blocked to the bars. They wet it and rode it to set the stirrup leathers and try to sink the bars into the skirts and set them a little too. Not unlike the way some guys break in Whites boots. BTW, I like your quote at the end of your posts. I collect cowboy poetry among other old books and "Songs of Horses" is one of my favorite collective books. I haven't seen that particular poem in any other book. I wish someone could attribute an author to it because I think it is a great piece of writing. I have heard Randy Rieman recite it at a show, and it is on one of his CDs. He does a wonderful job on it.

Thanks. Yes, this is a pattern I came up with. I kind of like the rounded up leaves a little more than point and scallop oakleaves for this kind of thing. They fill a little more space and have a different look.

Crystal, for mine I used a piece of 3x4 plywood and bought the folding banquet table leg sets from Ace. I screwed the legs on and it sits about 2" below the level of the bottom of the arm. I traced the outline of the arm from above from aboove and cut with jig saw. Being below the level is good for sewing gussets into bags and things like that. The table supports the weight and the piece sits up enough to run under the foot. When I need to raise the table to sew flat, I slide pieces of PVC pipe over the bottom of the legs and they are cut at the length to raise the table to be level with the top of the arm. The nice thing about the folding legs is I can take it down and it stores easily. Edit - I made the cut out so it is in 10 inches from the front edge of the table. I had seen one that was in further and it was a little hard to get your feet in to run the pedals and still be over your work to keep it feeding right.

Kim, I am not sure if you got my last email. Here is the only I have like that. Thanks, Bruce

Ray, The wooden strap cutter is your best bet. The majority use them as a pull trap cutter but some guys turn the blade around and push. I used them for a long time and still do some. I use the disposable single edge razor blades in mine. They stick up a little and I just take a pliers and break them off flush once they are in there. I never could get a good enough grip on the little blades that came with them to feel safe or effective sharpening them. With a new razor blade I can do some good strips with some pretty soft leather. I cut a lot of stirrup leathers with razor blades too, so they have some strength too. For a lefty I have never seen a left handed plough gauge. I have seen a picture of one left handed Osborne draw gauge that was probably a special order from back in the day. I have not seen them as a catalog option.

I have been putting a bunch of tools for sale on my website in the last few days. Some people have already found it and things are sold. To keep things organized, every picture is tagged with an inventory number. There are some really sweet plough gauges and draw gauges I put up today. There is a bunch of hand tools, punches, a few hammers, some punches too. Here's the link - Leather Tools for Sale. The best way to contact me is to email through my website "contact me" link. Thanks,

Kate, I have had guys tell me the rollers can be remilled or trued by a machinist. The first time you take one apart it takes a good part of the day (or having a manual) to figure out how everything comes apart. After that it takes about an hour.

I have put dividers in some flat tops. I have made some round bags with two compartments each with their own zipper. I still have a couple of those plastic rope can divders left and they work alright for the round bags and rope cans too.

Charlene, The quick and dirty rsponse is this. Most of the rope cans I do are just covered on the top. I tool up the circle patch, finish it, and glue it down. I also use conchos to keep things together. I haven't had to reglue any of mine yet, but have some others. I have done a few that we covered the sides too and they were a pain to fit up, but came out alright. A lot more time involved with those. The ropes inside are treated with powder, so any leather inside is going to get covered in powder pretty fast. The biggest reason they are only covered in the front is most rope cans are thrown down in the dirt. Here's a an example of that - http://fineartamerica.com/featured/rope-cans-carol-miller.html . At least two of the cans in that picture are mine and maybe a third. I need to order it for my wall. Rope bags are a whole other deal. I mkae them from 18" to 22" diameter. Usually I put a gusste in that finishes out to be 6" and a heavy zipper. Some guys like a flap over bag and I make some of those too. If I inlay on them they are lined, otherwise not. Some like shoulder straps, some like handles in shirt medium or long. They defintitey aren't a one-size-fits all project. If you want to give me a call we can go over any details you need help with.

I have never been wealthy enough to get more than one Landis 30 and then somebody with more money bought it pretty quick. That put me back to looking for and buying another American. I have been thinking about it for a day and my bulb is still pretty dim. It has to be a tension, blade, or feedroller issue. One side or the other feeding and I'd think that tension is the problem, but if the blade is not square with the roller that could do it too. The blade being too far back from the rollers and softer leather can cause some funny feeding too, but I suspect the Landis has stops too to set the front position of the blade to be right. I'd be curious what it does with some firmer and heavier leather too. Now not feeding in the middle. That sort of makes me think a blade sharpening deal with drag maybe or a feed roller problem. Are both wheels true and not worn in the middle? Some of them get worn down in the middle because it is most common to stick a strap in the middle and crank away. Eventually that could lead to less feeding pressure and wadding up.