Rawhide

No it doesn't stretch the leather much. you're not going to put a lot of water on, just enough to dampen the surface. you also don't need to put a lot of pressure on the leather to make the fibers lay down, you're after friction and heat. Not sure about the grey blue color issue tho. maybe there's some rub off from a dye? marlon

I also use the two prong needles, however, I "pre-punch" the holes with a sharp scratch awl. this does two things: 1. It creates a perfect hole that won't rip as quickly out of the leather. 2. It prevents you from breaking the prongs on the needles which is very easy to do.

I'll put my vote in for barry kings...I really think they are easier to control than Ron's, and are less expensive than Ron's. I do like Ron's tools as well, but i'd choose Barry's first.

you might try angelus dyes...they seem to be more colorfast than even fiebings, and much more concentrated...I rarely use fiebings dyes anymore...

Actually the forum director Johanna is allergic to leather if I recall correctly. I'm not sure if she developed the reaction or if it seemed to just always be...She may be able to offer some help.

if you want to keep using the one you have, don't use glue to set the blade, use epoxy. and be sure to rough up the end good that's going into the wood. I would even try making some serrations on that end. marlon.

where you cut it, be sure you don't have any glue in the area the pen/pencil will clip into. the problem may be that the checkbook cover may be too thin. Here are a couple of pictures of a notebook cover i made...it has a hole where the pen clip goes, and there is an area about 1 in below the hole that has no glue between the liner and the main body.

A size 6 or 7 would be most universal... most adjustable sets come with a 5,6,7 and sometimes 8.

use nitrile or latex gloves...the gloves will give you an added grip on the needles, without reducing your speed to grab a pair of pliers for every pull.

thanks everyone...I had a lot of fun making it!

Notebook that was created in Chan Geer's class at Elktrack Studios in Venus, TX.

people do use it for that purpose, but it's not the intent. I'd sure like to see them punch it through the edges of a briefcase or some other thick leather!

Just sandwich the nylon piece between two pieces of leather. that way you get the tensile strength of the nylon and the asthetics of the leather...

put a diamond awl blade in a sewing machine, and use it to punch the stitch holes..

Bruce, have you written anything on the chase style splitters? I haven't had any problems, but i think it would be nice to have some semi formal instructions of how to operate and maintain one. Thanks, Marlon