Ken Nelson

It looks really nice. Clean, good looking saddle. It looks like a user that a cowboy would like. A well done roughout always looks good but any design flaws are really apparent. This is NICE Work. Ken

WICKED, SNEAKY little boogers aren't they!!

We have shop gremlins in my shop. They hide tools,often in plain sight, rethread sewing machines, drain the coffee pot without making any more and sharp knives and bullets will not kill them.

Toasty, Might I suggest you read the pinned topic at the top of this section By Wizcrafts. I myself have a Singer 31-20 with a roller foot on it, does what I need it to. Most of my Chap leathers are sewn on a walking foot industrial Ferdco Pro 1245. sews from 3 oz to 3/8 super good. From there I go to a 441 Clone. My experience which is limited has been buy a really good machine designed to do the job at hand and you will buy once and save a lot of money and HEADACHES in the long run. If it does not have an industrial stand under it and powered by an industrial motor, I consider it a household machine. Great for building clothes but has no place in my shop. I build saddles, tack, chaps, personal items, wallets, photo albums, belts etc. HTH. Ken

This machine is sold but I do have a Luberto's Classic for sale that is LIKE NEW! I am asking $3000.00 for it. This machine is $6995.00 + shipping new and this machine has less than 10 hours on it.

I could be mistaken, but I beleive that is an inskirt rigging. AS such it is probably fixable but likely to cost more if done correctly than the saddle is worth. I really feel this is a job for an experienced saddlemaker. The last inskirt that we repaired in my shop ended being a new riggin, skirts and woolskin. Be sure to check the tree to make sure it is not broken or warped. A lot more to repairing this type or riggin than a lot of inexperienced people realize. Hope this helps. Ken

I have a clean Artisan Toro 3000 for sale. Pics available if you are interested. Includes, stand, Motor, 2 partial spools of thread, half dozen leather needles, thread stand, light and book. Sews great PM me for more info or call a575-356-3628 during business hours. Thanks Ken

To all the people that have inquired about this splitter. There are 2 landis 30 splitters on Ebay at this time. While they are not rebuilt, they will probably be less expensive than this one. Enjoy. Ken

Would anyone like to make an offer on one of these splitters? Thanks Ken

That American is just WAY TOO COOL!! I have never even seen a picture of one like that before. Thanks to you.

Do you have any pictures of the Model B. I have an American but I need to look a the model # when I get back down to the shop. Mine has a 1 3/4 wide blade.

Interesting Bruce, I have had a Landis skiver, have an American skiver and had an American 3-in-1. It never dawned on me to try to "split a strap on one". I guess the crank landis 30 splitter was just too close to the skiver and too handy. Handy piece of information. Thanks Ken

The price on this splitter is $1250.00 shipped.

Actually the machine was designed for skiving shoe soles. I use one quite a bit in the saddle shop. Pretty handy tool.

That is good advice!!! Ken

I have a really good Pilgrim model 30 splitter for sale. Rebuilt 10 years ago. Works great. Also have 3 cst iron nail trays. Just sandblasted and painted. Two have the stand and rotate, one is just the nail tray. Star Brand and old. Send me a PM on the splitter for price, same on nail trays. OR call 575-356-3628 during business hours. Thanks Ken

landis 30 splitter, stripped, repainted, new blade-professionally sharpened, adjusted and ready to go. Send me a PM for price or make an offer. Thanks Ken

I bow to your knowledge and experience. Apparently you are more knowledgable and a better leather craftsman than Troy West, Bill Gomer, Jessie Smith, Don Buttler, Pete Correll and Bob Klenda. If you are unfamiliar with the above gentleman, I would suggest you research their work and if you look on the Leathermachine Co website, you will see all of them own and endorse a Cobra Class 4. By the way, since you are an expert, how about posting some of your work. Ken

Maybe a few inexperienced people are blaming their lack of skill and experience on the equipment instead of learning how master their machine? When I started building saddles there were only clutch motors and we mastered sewing with them. I still have a couple of them on sewing machines I use. I get along fine with them but the students have HELL with them. Put a clutch motor on the machine in question, you may like it better! Ken

The Class 4 Cobra comes with a speed reducer. As far as the content of this thread goes, I am astonished how many people here are expressing "Bright Ideas" that have no idea of what they are talking about. Seems "funny" that one or two people are having problems with a machine that the rest of us that own and use them get along great with. If you think you are having a problem with Cobra Steve's customer service, "you might bear in mind, that your are in a teeny-tiny minority!" I have been doing business with this man before he had his own company. In fact I have bought machines from him on 5 occasions totaling more than 5, some new-some used. I have had a couple of little problems with two of them and it has been taken care promptly and graciously. Once someone forgot to pack in some extra attachments I had ordered, one used machine had a motor problem, and I caused a couple of problems by letting Newby's sew on my machine. He didn't charge me for talking me through adjusting my mistakes either. As stated earlier, There is a definate learning curve on learning to sew on a sewing machine. Is it possible for the motor to be bad on the sewing machine in question, of course it is. Is it possible there is some user error here. Probably. Is it possible that it is a combination of motor problem and operator error both? Could be. If you are using a household Singer sewing machine, you may well not know how to sew with a heavy leather sewing machine or stitcher. If you haven't sewn quite a lot on a heavy stitcher, you probably have a lot to learn. Properly preparing your work to be sewn on a sewing machine is very important. Having your tensions set incorrectly can cause real problems. Not oiling your machine can cause problems as well as shortening the life of it. For an experienced sewing tech to say a machine is easy to sew on is different than saying doing a good job on a certain sewing machine is easy. I sew belts and skirts on saddles pretty slow. I know guys that burn through them 9-0 and theirs look as good as mine do. They started a long time ago when they were kids and do more of them than I do. Some machines are easier to sew with than others. As far as the bumps on the bottom go, When I apprenticed under a pretty damn good saddlemaker, we dampened every stitch line in veg tan, tapped it to make it look just a little better. I still "set" the stitch line on about every project I sew. I was told," it is a matter of workmanship" The motor set up on my Class 4 suits me just FINE! I don't need an upgrade. Just my 2 cents worth! Ken

I would Call Steve at Leathermachine CO. He may well have a good used machine that will serve your purpose and save you some money. Steve has set the standard for customer service. Also check the for sale section of this site. A dealer will have gone through the machine and have back up if you need it. If you don't have experience sewing and maintaining a sewing machine, that is invaluable. Hope this helps. Ken

I have limited the range of saddles I repair and I check every used saddle I repair for a broken tree. I have upset "customers" occasionally when I tell them I cannot help them with their saddle problem. I have seen a trend here of newbie horse owners buying saddles in pawn shops here and bringing them in to get them repaired and there is no repair in them. My theory is: "If this heap of junk fails, someone gets hurt or killed, the last person that worked on it is going to get sued!" Some work you don't need, some customers are not needed. I try to be polite and courteous to these people but I feel we need to be firm. Ken

This thread is amazing, People that don't have a heavy stitcher and probably never used one, all seem to have an opinion. People that have sewn a bunch have something to say and it seems to be more constructive. People that have sewn just a little bit seem to think that purchasing a machine will make them an instant expert. No way an expert am I, certainly not in the league of Art or Wizcrafts but have owned several types of heavy stitchers and a number of chap machines, but I have learned a few things: 1. If it isn't sewing the way you think it should it is probably my fault, and not the machine's. 2. "If" you call the dealer you purchased a new machine from and ask for help on what I am doing wrong they will probably talk you through the problem and graciously. 3. If something is wrong with the machine they will make it right and be more than fair with you. Rule of Thumb for me: Call the dealer first, Call the dealer back if I don't understand what he said. GO PUBLIC as a last resort, only after I have been treated poorly by the merchant I spent my money with. Sewing is a skill that takes a lot of practice to get good at and sometimes after you think you have it mastered, it will "eat your lunch". Just my opinion, not that it makes any difference. Ken

I read the web site, I was wondering if any of the members had ever used the machine and had any PERSONAL insights.

anyone care to chime in here?