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Sylvia -- you just saved me so much money. I have a very old Stimpson 489 (American made) that I broke over the weekend (got a die stuck, warped the housing upon removal) that I needed to replace. Also moving cross-country in a few months so wanted to downsize. I'd been researching all afternoon and came across this thread -- happy to say David is still honoring the Sylvia deal -- ran me $99 for the green machine, and he let me build my own combination of dies (I chose his spring snap ligne 20, ring snap 24, and double cap rivet 8mm). I work almost exclusively with Ohio Travel Bag snaps and will update this post once I have tried to set them with my new setter. Back up plan is to buy the individual dies from OTB (around $30 per die!) for the buttons if needed (someone else mentioned they got the buttons stuck in Goldstar's die). Thanks again!

thanks all! @Katsass I went for the iron because I'm using it to brand my logo -- pretty small lettering, and wanted the branding effect instead of just the impression. However, I realized I can still use the tip of my branding iron as a stamp (it has a flat surface when it's unscrewed from the actual iron) and I'm going to order a handle for easier use. as far as my MO for branding goes: I just did a bunch of tests on 2/3 oz leather that was dyed but unoiled and very stiff and dry -- it looks great as long as I keep a steady hand and don't hold it there too long. I just oiled a bit of recently dyed leather and will check tomorrow if the brand holds just as well or if it's better to do before the coat of neatsfoot.

At 30% the iron leaves a faint mark. I'm thinking my best bet going forward is about 45% heat capacity on unfinished leather. Is there any way to get the brand on the already finished wallets?

Hi all. Question related to branding irons -- I just got mine in the mail and am using it on some pretty thin leather -- 2/3oz for wallets. In a rush to get new pieces up on my site I went ahead and applied my finish (Bee Natural RTC) to a few of my wallets (all are hand dyed with the regular Fiebings spirit based dye) and when I went to test my brand on some scrap (finish applied to scrap for test purposes), it sizzled and over burned the leather. I'm turning down the heat right now to see if that helps but am concerned because in many of my tests so far it appears to have MELTED the finish. 2 issues there -- I thought the RTC was beeswax based (am I wrong?? it's acting like plastic) and is my brand just too hot? Additional issue: When branding UNFINISHED leather (post-dye application) it appears to burn even faster, probably because of the dye content. Oh and the coat pure neatsfoot oil applied after the dye job. A quick Google search showed a few folks who dampened their leather with water prior to branding but I've only used water in conjunction with the Delrin and steel makers stamps, not branding irons. I'm turning down the temperature now but am wondering if I'm missing anything. Had it at 50% heat capacity and realize that may be more appropriate for a 7/8oz leather. Will update if I see an improvement upon dropping to 30% but any advice for branding leather would be greatly appreciated.

thank you so much! I picked up some of the regular alcohol-based dye that fiebings makes and tested it on a few edges -- not only does it give a much better result, but it's also better dye overall. you need less applications and it soaks in way faster. appreciate your help bob!

hey Bob, I've been perusing a few threads after trying out your method for finishing the edges on my work -- exactly what dye are you using? I know you prefer the spirit based dyes..... I've been trying to get my edges finished using fiebing's professional oil dye (which is what I used to dye the leather to begin with) and haven't gotten satisfying results.....I'm going to try more coats of the dye for now but can you recommend a specific dye for this? Also -- I was looking through the fiebing's edge finishing offerings -- will this work? http://shop.fiebing.com/products/category/Edge+Dye/3267.0.1.1.72706.72784.72785.0.0 thanks for your help on this! -- beka