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Yes, that's it. It's a shame you fellas didn't get on-board as I now have more paint than I can possibly use. I could probably sort you out with a little sample to try out but it might not be worth it considering the cost of international postage. It's a quality paint and nice to work with but does require multiple coatings to achieve the best finish so if you're impatient like me, it can be annoying having to wait for it to dry between coats. I haven't personally been using a heated tool to set the paint, as I don't own one, but I believe this is part of the usual process and helps to smooth it out. I leave a lamp on next to the painted edge to speed up the drying, then i use fine grit wet & dry to sand it smooth. Repeat this process 3,4,5 times or more until the edges are even, apply beeswax and polish with a cotton cloth. This produces good results for me but I' be interested to hear from anyone else with more experience. Applying the paint actually requires quite a bit of care as it can occasionally bleed over the edge and ruin a piece unless you're quick to wipe it off. The 'professional edge paint' being sold by Tandy may be worth trying. It's made by an italian company called Fenice, and I remember seeing it sold on a few European trade websites.

Thought I'd share a padded 18mm watch-strap I've been working on. Quite a lot of failures along the way but definitely helped to improve my attention to detail!

Really nice work! The goatskin looks great. I've been working on a similar style of padded strap so I can concur, the level of concentration needed when working on something this delicate is really quite challenging as the smallest of imperfections end up looking really exaggerated. Looks like you're really perfecting your technique. I absolutely agree. Making an ordered list of each process is the only way I can stop myself from rushing ahead, then having to back-track and ultimately making a mess. Look forward to seeing more of your work

Thanks for the tip. Worked nicely

Thankyou fellas for all the suggestions! Sounds like I should give it a go then. I've sharpened plenty of chisels but this just seemed uncomfortably small to me. I have a little Fallkniven stone that would be good for this. I just noticed when laying the pricking iron with one tooth flat on the edge of the stone, that the tooth below rests very close to the side of the stone, so there's some danger of grinding the corner off of it if care isn't taken. Difficult to explain so I've attached a pic. Is this the correct way? Will give the wet&dry method a go too to see which feels more comfortable. Guess it's just a matter of personal preference. Nige - I'm sure another of your videos would be gratefully received by all the less experienced members of the forum. There's no substitute for seeing something done up close. Really appreciate all the time you've put into them! Ski - Cheers mate, I'm down south but kind of you to offer!

Thanks Nigel. Difficult to show it clearly but you can see the corners are slightly rounded off. It's probably fine really but it just annoys me thinking about it when I'm using it! Dixon tools have kindly said they would take a look at it so hopefully they can get it back to it's former glory.

Cheers for the suggestions. I'll try Dixons first and see what they say.

No worries, I appreciate you chipping in. I've not used such a small stone before but it looks like it'd be perfect. I would just be a bit nervous about maintaining a consistent angle on every tooth while sharpening but I'm sure it could be done. I'll definitely keep it in mind if I can't find a company to do it. Looks like it'd be useful to have one regardless. Cheers

No, I just accidentally punched through on a very thin piece of leather and also went through the scrap that was underneath it. I usually just break the surface of the leather and finish the hole with an awl. The reason I want to sharpen up the teeth a bit is that I'm using some smooth chrome tanned leather and its quite easy for the pricking iron to wander off the line when marking stitches. If if was sharper I think It'd grip the surface better.

Does anyone know a good sharpening company in the UK who can sharpen pricking irons? I rather stupidly wacked one of mine several times into a piece of iroko wood; now the teeth feel a little dull. It's not a Dixon one so I don't think they'd deal with it. Cheers ! Edd

This is the bench I'm intending to build at some point: http://paulsellers.com/series/building-a-workbench/ It can be made with standard pine so it's pretty cheap to build and is very solid due to the apron rails. There are detailed instructions on the website. Obviously the dimensions can be adjusted to make a smaller bench.

Thanks for that. I watched all of Nigel's videos a while back and they helped a lot. Using a hole to hinge off at corners is a good technique but it didn't look quite right in this case. I just made a whole pile of strap ends and spent a few hours laying out stitches. Working back from the apex, taking care to mark around the curves so the stitches line through evenly on either side has made a big improvement. Still not perfect but i guess there's no substitue for plain old practice.

I've been making a few watch straps recently and have been struggling to achieve consistent looking stitches around the curved point at the end of the strap. I'm using a compass to scribe a line around the edge and then using a 9spi 2-tooth pricking iron for marking around the curve . Obviously any slight deviation in the stitch spacing or angle is very noticeable. Are there any good tips for getting a nice, neat line of stitching around tight curves like this or is it simply a matter of practice? Thanks Edd

I'm definitely Interested but as i'm in the UK, it might not be feasible. However, I'll be in France for while from 22nd July so if it worked out cheaper I could receive the order, divide it up and post them out. Do you have an idea of prices yet? Peter Nitz's work is amazing so I'm sure it's a great product. I believe Hermes currently use edge-paint by Stahl. I'm awaiting a reply from them about their MOQ. Edd

I thought I'd give this man a quick mention as some of his tools may be of interest to people here. Richard Kell is an English engineer who designs, makes and sells his own range of sun-dials, measuring & marking tools and honing guides, amongst other things. His tools are mainly intended for woodworkers, but there are a few things he makes such as a plate-brass square, which could be useful for leatherworking. I'm not in anyway affiliated with him except that I bought one of his honing guides a couple of years ago for my bench chisels and it remains one of my favourite things that I own. It's simple, accurate and beautifully made. He clearly works to a very high standard. Also, check out the little Luthier planes on his website. I imagine they'd be excellent for skiving work, similar to those used by Japanese leatherworkers. Website: www.richardkell.co.uk Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.c...rdkelltoolmaker

Much appreciated. I must've been looking in the wrong places!

Thankyou fellas for all the good links! I'm looking for something a bit closer to home though as I'm in England. Abbey Saddlery sell it here but only in 1.8m lengths. I'm going to contact a few music places as they sometimes sell damper felt for drums. Cyberthrasher - The wood burnishers look great. Definitely on my list to buy these at some point.

I'd also like to know this. I'm planning to put a few cut-out felt discs between two washers onto a dremel mandrel. I haven't had any luck finding compressed 100% wool felt in small quantities. There are several sellers on ebay selling chiropody felt but it all has adhesive backing. I know you can buy polishing discs for dremel but the ones i've seen look like they'd be too flimsy.

You certainly put that leather to good use. Really nice work

Have you received your soldering tips yet? I'm thinking about ordering a couple to try.

Thanks mate I'll give that a go.

Wow, lots of places to try. I'll certainly follow up on those contacts. Do you know if Tannerie D'annonay & Weinheimer deal with small orders? What's the best way to get in contact? I can muster enough French but no German.

Thanks Andrew. Looks great. Very nice work indeed

Ah nice one, thanks everyone for all the welcoming messages! I have to put my laptop out of sight when I'm at home now or I'm on here every 5 minutes reading as much as possible. I've never ordered from tandy but i believe you can order from www.tandyleather.eu. Try googling 'cuir peau'; there seem to be quite a few places you can order from. Here are some; I haven't checked them out yet: http://stockcuir.fr http://www.lamaisonducuir.com/ http://www.cuirenstock.com/

You're a natural teacher. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the videos.