Michu

Update -- The Italian Edge Paint Primer will be available in about two weeks, but I'm STILL wondering if there's another primer out there for the interim. Best-- Michu

hi, I've been using Buckle Guy's Italian Edge Paint to burnish the edges of my chrome tan bags. Its viscosity is just right to build up a little on the chrome tan edges, and it burnishes drop-dead beautifully when I use my Dremel with a hard-wood burnisher on it. The problem== it occasionally rubns off, and to make it more puzzling, it will rub off on an edge that gets virtually no abrasion, whereas on the rolled handles edge it doesn't come off... so this makes no sense. Buckle Guy told me to use the Primer that will assist with adhesion, but he's been out of it for a couple of weeks, and there's no sign from him when it's going to be available... he says it will, and it's definitely the best answer, but in the meantime, anybody got any ideas? Perhaps a Fiebings product? ??? thanks!

Genevba and Tramp, thanks for the info. how stiff is the bonded poly? The Linhanyl 138 is just stiff enough to sew with my Cobra 4 and my Highlead whatever model it is. Not too stiff, but it's just heck to try to knot it... I'll look into the Nick o sew and the A&E. Really appreciate your help, both of you! Michu

Thank you! I did look there, but it didn't seem to me that they had many colors (4?) in Linhanyl size 38. There are many other brands there. Do you (or anybody reading this) have experience with the non-Linhanyl brands? I read somewhere that A&E should be avoided. I want a tight twist, which is one reason I like(d) Linhanyl. Thank you, again for helping me. Best, MIchu

My thread spools are starting to empty, and I've discovered it's difficult to find more of size 138 Linhanyl bonded nylon in more than the usual black, white, & brown colors. I'd very much appreciate some sourcing ideas! Best, Michelle

I sew bags, some of which are VERY thick 'cuz I sew the veg tan base to the bag, through foam rubber, and multiple layers of leather. To do this, I've bought several leather sewing machines from the Leather Machine Co, each of which has servo motors. These are fantastic motors in that they're very strong and NEVER cause me any difficulty. The thing I like the most about these motors is that I can literally move at about a half-stitch at a time if I need to sew particularly carefully, and yet also sew and wind bobbins quickly... that kind of flexibility. The specs are that they're stronger than the usual 3/4 HP motors in that they are 600 watts, brushless, DC, take the smallest sips of electricity, etc. They've never broken on me, and I do absolutely NOTHING to maintain them. I swear they would enable my machines to sew through Chevy bumpers. I love their stuff. Never breaks. no maintenance. very flexible in their abilities. Can't go wrong with those motors. Go to LeatherMachineCo.com and click on their Motors tab on the side. Good luck! Pepper

Hi, Kathy -- I saw your request for skiver reviews, and I've got lots to tell you. First, there are a lot of us small-potatoes handbag makers in the SF Bay area, if that's where you live. I"ll try to figure out how to private-msg you to invite you to join us in our meetings. Secondly, one of our group bought a Cobra skiver a couple of months back, and after a little tweaking that things skives SO BEAUTIFULLY that I'm very jealous. It skives pieces that can be fairly large, actually, acting like a splitter, as well as a skiver. I own a different brand, and it doesn't seem to work quite as well as the Cobra does, although in all fairness it could just be that it needs some of the fine-tuning that she did for her Cobra skiver. I've got two other friends (also in our leather worker group in SF Bay area) who own used Fortunas, and they're working alright, but it is fairly impossible to find used skivers. I know I would never sell my skiver unless I got a better one, like the Cobra. Anyway, I'll try to figure out how to msg you to let you try out our skivers. Good Luck! Pepper

I bought two Cobra machines from Cobra Steve, one a Cobra 4 and the other his best post bed machine. I've never had a single down moment with the Cobra 4. Of all my machines it is the one that has NEVER jammed, and is easiest to keep on track. The one time I managed to screw up the post bed (my own idiotic fault for not holding the thread ends), Steve stayed on the phone with me for about 2 hours to walk me through unjamming it and cleaning it. He is extremely skilled technically and also very kind to his customers. I'll be surprised to hear that anybody could have a problem with him or his machines. As well, he also employs very kind and highly skilled customer service people. Good Sewing to you all! Michu

Just a v. quick mention of the classes I'm taking at a leather-working school in San Francisco -- It is run at a leather goods retail store in San Francisco on Clement St called "April in Paris" (the teacher is from France). I've been taking private lessons for about 8 months (2 hours one day a week), but she offers group classes as well. Here is her website: www.AprilinParis.com She's helped me enormously! I wanted to learn to make leather bags using my machines, but she usually starts people by teaching them the "old school" methods she learned in France. She used to work (for decades) for a high-end leather bag company called "Hermes" initially in Paris, and then in San Francisco. She uses machinery when it suits her, but she's the BEST hand-skiver, hand-sewer, hand-burnisher (chrome tan!) that I've ever seen. She is incredibly, incredibly skilled at what she does, and she's the BEST teacher I've ever had. I pass this on to you because I don't want to hoard. She's really a gift to us wanna-be's. Good luck to us all! Michu

Thank you, Paul! I think I may have a #2 Edger. If I don't, I'll buy one. Perhaps Bruce Johnson may have one for sale, not sure where else to find one, Tandy perhaps? I understand exactly what you mean by holding the excess tightly. I've decided to make up about 8 sample corners to just work on cutting off the excess binding. I don't use an attachment. I do it by hand by spreading Barge cement on the binding and letting it dry for a couple of hours, then putting glue only the the actual edge, not the flat parts leading into the edge. For corners, I've just practiced getting the leather to sit tightly. Then I hammer it. I'm amazed at how nicely it sews, flat, etc. My only attachment is a seam guide/fence. ** I watched Tandy's video on how to sharpen Edge Bevelers, so I'm familiar with how you explain the sharpening process -- I believe you're right that sharpening the tool is key, and keeping the blunt toe in close against the seam. I GREATLY appreciate your help, thank you! Michelle

hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm hoping somebody will share their technique for cutting off excess binding after sewing it around edges. I've tried this using all sorts of sharp cutters, including seam rippers, scissors, and thread nips. So far, amazingly, the best cutter is the seam ripper, because it's got a little plastic ball underneath that keeps me from cutting into the threads. attachment=64912:Bad-cutting2.jpg] The problem is that if I kind of hesitate, or the leather sort of grabs the cutter and stops my forward motion, I get a nasty notch in the binding. Does anybody have a technique that works well most of the time? What tool do you use? I'm including a few photos of botched cutting and one that's fairly good. It's particularly difficult in cramped areas and inside curves. Practice will help, of course. I hope to hear from you. thanks, Michelle