johnv474

Holes punched on right side of leather. Sewing toward you. Left needle in first, in top of hole. Right hand needle UNDER first needle yo form a cross. Pull first needle through, then pull up and away to right for a few inches to keep thread up in corner of hole. Rotate hand and insert right needle in bottom of hole, meaning closer towards you, while pulling the thread with left hand a little so you don't pierce. Grab second needle with left hand and pull through. Pull thread, with right hand going UP and away and left hand DOWN and toward you. Pull snug while looking at front stitch. Ignore tying knots or casting the thread for the moment. See what that does for you.

Prices is the number one thing. A waiting list is the second. A friend had a small business in a specialized type of work done for antique cars. Curiously, the longer the waitlist, and the higher the price, the more demand he had. I think people associated those two with higher quality. The business later closed, but for personal reasons outside of demand.

There are two different types of PU leather. Some people use this to mean "pull up" leather, which is oily leather that lightens where it bends, and does not burnish well. Most of the time it is used to mean bicast leather (I think it means polyurethane in that case), which is a finished split. Since most finished split is chrome-tanned, and since most chrome-tanned does not burnish well, you would want to look for edge paints (or possibly burnishing wax, if you have access to machinery).

If you can afford to have the "waste", buying whole sides works out to be cheaper... You just need to have a use for the shoulder and belly leather that you won't need for most belts.

For smaller projects and less critical bonding, any PVA glue (like Fiebing's Leathercraft cement) will work. These look like Elmer's glue but, as I understand it, are latex glues. For pouches and craft items, this would likely be plenty. For heavy-duty and critical adhesion, contact cement will be your friend. They are stinky and can be messy but they adhere most materials very well: wood, glass, rubber, Eva foam, leather, you name it. BUT most of them will _not_ work on vinyl--that requires a special contact cement. This is the stuff they use to hold the soles on work boots. The most common brands are Master and Barge, but there are others. A quart is under 20 bucks.

There is a company called Kee Klamps that sells pipe fittings and pipe for making industrial-strength tables, with lots of helpful measurements and ideas. They are not cheap but are exceedingly durable. SimplifiedBuilding.com is the website, I believe. One thing you may want to include is a debarked stump/tree trunk piece, standing on end about 30" tall or so. It is wonderful how much a solid piece of wood will handle hammer blows while muting the sound. I got a piece from someone giving them away, and for 20 bucks I got two, cut to length.

This is how I currently stitch, and have been pleased with the results. Thanks for sharing.

I If the pockets are attached to the divider, I would use thicker leather on the divider, like the 6-7oz you mentioned. If needed, the front and/or flap could be made of the 4oz for weight savings. If the gussets are thinner than the body, the briefcase can compress easier when not full. For myself I would use 6-7 for all but gussets and pockets, but I don't mind the slight extra weight. I If the pockets are attached to the divider, I would use thicker leather on the divider, like the 6-7oz you mentioned. If needed, the front and/or flap could be made of the 4oz for weight savings. If the gussets are thinner than the body, the briefcase can compress easier when not full. For myself I would use 6-7 for all but gussets and pockets, but I don't mind the slight extra weight.

Please include a price, per the forum's guidelines. It will save both buyers and sellers time.

That is almost certainly an edge beveler. Some of them were push/pull bevelers, and could be used in either direction.

I would say that veg tan leather is easier to be done sustainably, but chrome-tanning is not a disqualifier. For jewelry purposes, repurposing scrap leather and leftovers from manufacturing would certainly be one approach. Scrap is cheaper, to boot. This site will tell you how particular tanneries are rated for responsible: http://www.leatherworkinggroup.com/tanneries.htm

For a non-stretch lining, look at polypropylene or nylon webbing, like used on backpacks. I should cost about $1/yard for 1" wide. Even canvas will help. As an alternative to lining/burnishing edges, cut a strip of leather a little more than twice as wide as the collar. Skive the edges to a very thin edge. Turn the edges in to meet in the middle on the back, thus wrapping around the webbing liner. Glue in place. This fold can overlap or meet in the middle. Sew along the center seam in the back, and voila, a thick sturdy collar with edges that require no burnishing. Shine up the whole thing with some neutral shoe polish and you'll be ready for the camera.

Along with Al Stohlman's book on hand sewing leather, there is another book he wrote called "Leathercraft Tools: How to Use Them, How to Sharpen Them" or something similar. It's not particularly expensive, but he has some good tips on how to sharpen some of the odd-shaped tools.

Avoid any metal strip, as it will work harden and break if bent back and forth repeatedly. Once it gets crimped/creased, it will be on its way out. Rawhide could work. Or, make the strap out of two layers of leather and sew a strip of webbing between them. The webbing keeps the leather from stretching out over time.

We get those marks in on scrap. They are to point out flaws. We have not found anything that will remove them, but they can be covered (if you are willing to lose the pull-up effect). You can cover with Leather Refinish or with Meltonian Nu-Life spray. You could try spot remover (Dyo, Fiebing's), Nu-Life Color Prep, Fiebing's Dye Prep or deglazer, fingernail polish remover, or acetone... but these will also lift dye. I do not know what kind of crayon/paint/grease marker is used but that stuff is stubborn!

The original questions were about what the uses are, and whether a round/head knife is useful. Plenty of replies have addressed both questions. Utility knives offer a great bang for the buck, in the way a cheap drill offers a lot of bang for the buck. Now that disposable sharp-ish blades are available commonly, there is a shift... though a year or two of blades pay for the round/head knife. If the original question is asked just to reinforce the opinion of "meh, not for me", then we could have side stepped asking/answering at all. What song can a piano play that a keyboard can't? None.

If you figure out your dimensions with a material similar in thickness to the material you are using--paper grocery sacks or posterboard, perhaps, then you can save wasting the leather, which costs more. I often just use paper grocery bags, a stapler, and scissors. Along the top of the gusset I have used straight cuts between the top stitch on the front, and the matching one on the back. I have curved up from the top stitch on the front toward the back following the curve of the bottom, and I have cut out a round piece, using the same radius as the bottom. Each has different effects, subject to personal preference.

Traditionally, using a Stanley knife would not have been an option, as razor knives weren't available. For many cuts they work great. The benefit to the round/head knife is its versatility. You can cut a long straight line without a straight edge. You can cut around bends. You can use it like a roller blade to cut without stretching the leather. You can push it straight down through 4 layers of leather. You can skive edges. It takes practice to develop the skill to use it well, but is a multipurpose knife for leatherwork. Virtually anything it can do can be done with some combination of other knives, but with a head/round knife you only have one blade to maintain and don't spend time searching for the others.

PS I'd add that Tandy carries a range of leathers from "entry-level" quality to quite nice. What they don't carry is the premier, bragging-rights leather or the stuff hand-fed on an organic diets by teams of scientists on ranches with no bugs, fences, or other animals, i.e. flawless leather that many people obsess about. What they carry ranges from "meh, good enough for Cub Scouts" to professional-grade... but not $30,000 saddle or handbag grade.

No experience with Halfords, but the stuff on their online ordering site looks fine. Halfords has moose and such, but otherwise Tandy would have a wider range of leathers (colors, etc.) but Halfords looks to have an assortment of more commonly used leathers. Dating tools takes some research, thoughh Ebay or an older leatherworker can be a help. Some tools get discontinued, so ollder Tandy toools can be dated approximately that way. Your best bet is to search online for identical examples with known dates.

I use size 138 thread because I want the stitching to be pronounced. 69 thread or thinner is what is used on lots of mass-produced items. The weight of thread and stitching spacing depends a lot on the look you are going for, the type of purse/bag and it's intended audience and use, strength, etc. You could always pick a starting point and adjust from there, say, 69 thread and 10 spi then see if you want thicker or longer stitches, and go from there.

Linen is a natural fiber, not a synthetic like nylon. For some purposes (historical reenactment, period-correct work), that is the traditional thread to use. It is stronger than cotton but not as strong as synthetics (nylon or polyester). Advantages include that it is softer to work with (easier on the fingers), and can spring back more because it is more "elastic"... so I've heard. Linen is less abrasion resistant than synthetics, which is one reason it is often sewn into a recessed groove to protect it from wear. Synthetics are stronger but this is both a pro and a con... do you want your seam to break at the thread or at the leather? synthetics are more abrasion resistant and have mostly taken over the market. Linen is still used to hold, say, cowboy boot soles on, so it can be plenty tough. You will want to research them and try out a variety to figure out what you like.

You will want to obtain the owner's manual and/or service manual. Owning a sewing machine requires, I'm learning, a decent understanding of how it works. You need the diagrams to refer to when someone refers to stitch length mechanism, etc.

Brush or roll contact cement toward the edge, in a thin layer (multiple thin layers if needed instead of one heavy coat). If thin, it should not squeeze out. If some does, it can be rubbed off with a finger or eraser. The white glue is water-soluble so it can be cleaned off with a damp rag/paper towel especially while wet.

If you want to use ink then you want fade-resistant, chemical-resistant (e.g. Bleach, hand soap, etc.), non-smearing, archival quality. I have written on leather with those inks over the last few years and, once dried, never had any issues. I mention the Uni-ball 207 because they are very available, cheap, and have several colors.