Rossr

There we have it folks, Got the second one put back together today and its works! I think they both came out just fine. Ross

Can anyone identify these tools? They are not mine but I am curious about them. They have a w s inside a shield and numbers on the punch part. I know they are spring loaded punches because I have a metal center punch that is like this but it just has a point on the bottom. They are listed as leather tools. So I am wondering if they are Ross

Pop on in to chat few of us are there talking leather

Well I got the wood bottom one all sharpened up and today and she now works. Then I went and took apart the randall got it all cleaned and painted up. Below is the taken apart picture, I will post one when its all back together. Ross

Wow didnt realize just how old it really is.....Well I dont know if my blade is worn out but its seen a lot of use for sure.

Here Here come to chat.....talk about all things leather

Interesting stuff. I make custom knives but I am far from a metallurgist myself. Any idea how old the wood bottom one would be or what years about? I noticed there was some rust and pitting on the frame too. But I see your point on the types of leather and age in generalas well as the steel. Plus I have no way to know last this was used or anything. I like bringing these old tools back to life, or for that matter any old tools, nice to know there are some things that last still! Ross

Bruce, You are a wealth of information. You should write a book! I also have read through your tutorials and information sheets on your site. Thanks for those they are very useful! I am not familiar with hand carboned steel? I did a google search and didnt find anything. I am curious what that is or means. I am familiar with carbon steel. Such as 1084 or 1095 I use mostly o-1 tool steel now to make hunting knives. On the sharpening I suspected as much about following the angle. Hopefully I will get some time to sharpen it in the next few days Thanks Ross

I realized I didn't respond to you Dragon. Yes the cast handle slide out to adjust the roller up or down. and the screw is a stop that can be adjusted so you do not go up too far.

Well I cleaned up the wood bottomed one. The Blade still needs sharpened more. and based on the pitting it clear was around water in its life. but still functional I think. I do notice that one side is slightly higher than the other if you look across the roller from left to right in relation to the blade. I am wondering if the work around is to shim underone of the legs? Also wondering best way to sharpen the blade. Thanks Ross

Well i have to say I have a bunch of stamps as well but this one I dont have. I would also guess its a one off. Ross

Yin, I cant say I have used the bell skiver that much, I got it with the shop I bought out. The straps and belt ends for sure. The wallet interior I dont know depends on width. I have a 6 inch landis model 30 I have used to split leather down too. Bruce, I have checked out your site and lot of information on both those machines. I can see your point about the width. guess I havent had anything that wide I needed done too yet. but new projects every day! Ross

My curiosity as I own a bell skiver is there a use for these types of manual machine? Seems to me with the Bell skiver around these aren't needed. That being said I like em and think they are a neat! I am going to go over the Randal for sure The osborne I don't know what I will do with it yet. But it isn't hurting anything sitting in my shop. I dont know about lucky Yin, More of I spent the money and here they are... Ross R

Two splitters i got over the years. Never played around with them I should clean em up and see how they do. They are neat old pieces. Thought some others might like to see Ross

Thanks Thanks Alan, I sent you an email tongiht Ross

HI folks, A while back I bought out a bunch of leather hand tools including a lot of craftool stamps. The stamps were all in wood blocks and labeled with the numbers of each stamp. I have filled in some of the missing ones over the years but I would like to complete all the ones that are empty but had numbers labeled on it. It seems anytime I am following a doodle page or similar there is some stamp I am missing. So here is the list below. I am open to buying(yes I am aware a lot of these are on ebay but paying $7-15 a stamp i just cant see) or trading if you are looking for certain stamps. I have several duplicates around. Appreciate any thoughts and anyone digging around their extras. A102-A(not sure this one exists) A116 A801 B196 B802 B961 B962 C822 D607 D608 F996 G539 G842 J716 J817 M881 N301 N364 P220 P222 P223 P225 P230 P231 P361 P369 P372 P374 P861 P862 P863 P972 P975 S344 S843 S847 T943 T944 U849 U850 U857 U858 U859 U860 V402 V408 V409 V411 V412 V413 V415 V421 V744 V749 V923 W531 W532 W818 W819 X497 X502 X512 Thanks all Ross

http://blog.leathercraftlibrary.com/2015/06/17/leaders-in-leathercraft-dick-mcgahen/ Stumbled on this article from Tandy. As it points out at the end of the article. The Letter prefix was added in the 1963 catalog. However it may be hard to date the stamps based on the craftool or craftool usa on the stamps since they may not have updated the name till the die stamp wore out. Just more data folks Ross

Bruce, Great information. I went and checked the three I have. All three measure more than 4 and 1/8 inch. They have R Hackbarth/ Phoenix Az. And the Stainless is a larger font on them. I am toying with making up a chart or spread sheet with information about each stamp maker that can be found, Using the information like you have on Hackbarth tools. Ill have to see what I can mess with and perhaps others on here can post information that we can add too it. Ross

Folks, Please bear with me I have been reading a lot about different stamping tools and learning the ages and companies involved. This has led me to study my tools more and I just recently purchased more tools so I set out to sorting and understanding just what I had and how old. First some observations. Like everyone I came into this and bought a few craftools and started pounding on leather. Thanks to this forum and you tube I have been able to learn how to carve. Lets be clear a master I am not! As I progressed I canvased ebay and craigslist and slowly bought more tools. Several times I have read that the older craftools are better, read 1960's era and older. Now having some of these I can agree in some ways but much depends on condition of the stamps and if they were abused. I also see a wide variation in how the stamp looks, I have noted that some of the same beveling tool, might be wider or slightly different angle. This of course makes sense since from what I understand many tools were made by different makers, as we progressed along different techniques were used and now we have mass produced stamps. So lets look at craftools From reading several places on the internet I think this is roughly how to age them but by all means correct me if I am off base. 1950 or earlier: No Name No Number just the stamp still has the knurling on it and looks like a craftool. 1950-1962 marked with craftool or craftool co. and at some point just the number. 1963-1969 craftool co letter prefix and number 1969-1999 craftool co usa letter prefix and number. I gathered some of this information from these two sites and you can read much more here: http://ranchco.blogspot.com/2013/04/?m=0 http://www.ebay.com/gds/Vintage-Craftool-Buyers-Guide-for-Leather-Stamping-Tools-/10000000178607342/g.html 1962 or earlier marked craftool co and just a number Perhaps these are pre 1950? No Names No numbers no markings at all on these Another interesting tool company that I have managed to get a few stamps from is the Kelly tool Company in New Zealand. They handles of the ones I have say Kelly Tool Company New Zealand and Midas ### on them. They are gold in color and make really nice impressions. Neat stuff for sure Ray Hackbarth tools are out there too and made of stainless steel, It seems Lonnie Height still makes these tools and studied under Ellis Barnes the previous maker after Hackbarth. I know there are other makers out there such as Barry King, I dont have any of his tools yet but from everything I read they have a awesome reputation, Jeramiah Watt, Bob Beard and I am sure many others I am not familiar with yet. The whole point of my post was to share some tools that are out there and share some information That is out there on this site and on the net and maybe help some folks out learning about the stamps they have in their collections. Hopefully some folks can add some more stamp pictures and information and we can have a very useful thread for anyone looking for more information about their stamps. For what its worth I think starting off with any stamps is great if it gets you into trying leather work as you learn and grow I can for sure see where the higher cost and quality tools will be of benefit. I will leave you with this carving I did over the summer. I wont win any awards for it but It was a lot of fun(btw its off a doodle page by Al Stohlman called the grumpy Grizzly)

Thanks for the response Jw, I can see your point in regards to the point end. If nothing else it is neat to see things like this at least to me. Ross

So after I posted I looked around at some of the books I have on the shelf. In Stohlman's leathercraft tools book there is a page about stippler. He talks about using it for background areas on floral designs. Then goes on to say it could be used on distant trees or bushes, clothing texturing, koala bears and sheep etc. Its on page 76 of the book for anyone who has it. Now is it really possible to have one of every leather working tool hmmmm...we can try though. Hope that helped Ross

I have had this stamp for a while. It appears quite old to me at least. No plating. No names, numbers or any markings on it. The end you would hammer was ground almost to a point which I found odd. I am assuming this was a one off made by a tool maker. Figured some others might like to see it. If anyone knows anything about it, age or what not Feel free to share. Ross

Thanks for the responses folks. As requested a quick stippling picture. Ross

Not even sure this is a leather tool. But i got it when i bought a batch of leather workers tools. Got the same kind of wood handle like other tools. Stipling maybe? Looks like pointed nails together in a wood handle. Curious Thanks Ross

Well I for one have given up hope we will have chat back on this site. I do miss the discussions. While not always leather we did talk leather and for sure I learned a lot. Plus who can talk to about my latest not needed tool purchases.!!!! Hope everyone is out there making stuff! Ross