soccerdad

I finish a line of synthetic thread, stitch back a couple, cut both ends on the back side of the piece leaving about 1/16", melt the ends and, while they are still molten, tap them down into a mushroom shape. With a little practice, they blend pretty well -- not perfectly -- with the line of stitching. I've also seen a video by Peter Nitz in which he stitches back a couple, trims the linen thread, then tucks the ends into the next hole with a drop of glue. I've tried this a couple of times with good results. No thread ends are visible, as with the previous method. I'll be interested to hear how others do this.

Jersey, Thanks for posting about your new Ferdco. I'm sure others are right that Hoffman Bros. are a good company and will keep the machine solid ... it's just nice to hear from a user of a new machine. Cheers, Dale

You bet, Floyd. Thanks, Dale

1.5 hours by Interstate to a city I often visit. Why?

Hi gang, Nickosew is close and has a 16.5" cylinder 441 clone (what I want) for about $2,500. Who has direct experience with a recent, new Nickosew 441 type machine? Please tell me your story. Thanks.

Donor, thanks for the look at your technique. Readers interested in further tutorials could check out Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson on YouTube. Those who prefer paper could look up Al Stohlman's "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather."

So, is there nobody out there with a newish (last 2 or 3 years) Ferdco pro 2000 machine? Anyone with a newish Ferdco care to weigh in?

Do you use the primer?

I've been in touch with Horween over the past few days. They say Essex is cementable, though they do not recommend any particular glues. Does anybody know how Bulldog compares to other white glues? I've been using Ever Tack with good luck. Thanks to all responders.

I've read and heard that Horween Essex is not cementable. And I've also read and heard the opposite. Does anyone have direct experience gluing this leather? How does it work and hold up? If it is cementable, should I go toward or away from any particular glues? Tips? Thanks, Dale

Steve, thanks for the heads-up on the Artisan 335b. I've look at Artisan, and as far as I can tell I'd like their machines. Since December when I posted this topic, I've shopped a lot and talked to an experienced leather pro I know locally. Because I make a lot of full-sized cross body bags, I think I'm going to go with a 16" arm in order to have plenty of room to move material without bunching it up, etc., and I also want to be able to use heavier thread than the 335 types typically handle. However, if I only made small items, I might very well go for the machine you mention. Please let us know how it goes with your new machine, when you pull the trigger. Thanks

Yes, I'm not particularly skeptical ... just wondering how quality is going since changing hands. No disrespect intended. Just curious. Anybody have a newish Ferdco?

What is the price? And what comes with it? I'm looking at them, too. Has anyone bought one of these in the past two to five years. Still the same quality, etc?

This is a gray area in some ways, I agree, as I think more about it. Does it help to look at this question in another medium? One take: If I make a table from wood, my preferred method is to mill rough-sawn stock by machine (power planer, table saw, etc.), then cut the joints using traditional, meat-powered hand tools (hand planes, hand saws, chisels, rasps, etc.) and smooth the surfaces with a hand plane. If I were taking care to be accurate, I might describe the table as having hand-cut joinery or hand-cut mortise and tenon joints, and then go on to describe the qualities of surfaces from a smoothing plane versus a hand-held power sander, etc. I could not call the table "completely hand made" or the like. If I set up a drill press or a mortising machine to cut the mortises and used a router or band saw to cut the tenons, I would not call the joints "hand cut" even though I operate those machines with my hands. Another way to ponder it might be in terms of David Pye's "workmanship of risk" vs. "workmanship of certainty." Workmanship of risk describes hand-guided work that could fail at any moment because of human error. Workmanship of certainty describes a type of production where the outcome is more or less guaranteed. If I understand correctly, the type of machine sewing we are talking about with the watch bands is hand-guided and so could fail for want of skill or concentration or other human error. In that sense, you could make a case for calling it hand sewn, and maybe that's what Ron was getting at. Flip side, strictly from a language point of view, to my ear, the first connotation of "hand sewn" is stitching done without the aid of machine. Getting back to the start of this thread ... in advertisements for public consumption, companies should use language so that consumers can understand their meaning. If "hand sewn" means "hand guided sewing machines" to people working inside the leather industry, that's fine inside the confines of the factory. Every field has its own lingo, and sometimes words overlap with common parlance even when meanings don't. So, if "hand sewn" means "no machine" to John and Jane Q Public, then that's the meaning companies should stick to in advertising. Disclaimers: I'm just trying to think this over during lunch on a Tuesday in February. I make no claims to omniscience, and I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow. I imply no value judgements regarding machine vs hand work -- high quality work (and garbage) can come from both methods. I expect others to offer different views, and I look forward to hearing them.

If only the loop is hand-sewn, then it would be correct to say it's "partly hand sewn" or "includes hand stitching" or whatever. But to call it "hand sewn" without qualification implies that the whole item is stitched without use of a machine. At least, that's how I hear it.

Amen, brother.

If the group is respected for its ethics, then it seems likely they'd want to know if they are publishing accurate information regarding the straps, including in advertising. Rather than posting on the site for all to see, perhaps you could email and open a civil conversation, just as you've done here. Perhaps they'd follow up with the advertiser.

How much do you want? Sorry, just saw it in the subject. Was looking in the text. My mistake.

Thanks for the video. Could you please show what the back looks like for the different techniques?

Similar to Dwight's approach, I have a larger and a smaller groover set to about 3/16" and 1/8", respectively.

A lot of people swear by Ritza 25, aka Tiger thread, a tough, braided polyester thread that is waxed for hand sewing. Comes in a lot of colors and thicknesses. I've gotten it from Leatherdwurx on Etsy in small quantities and from Rocky Mountain Leather in spools. I'm sure you could find it other places. I started with waxed linen thread, which is traditional. It's not as tough. But it is cheaper and also comes in lots of colors and sizes. I use royalwoodltd.com, but as always other suppliers are out there.

How much do you want for the cream color?

Tinker, I meant to say 207 for the bobbin, but I assume the same idea applies. Richard, apologies my question detracts from yours.

Richard, my wish list is similar, so I'm eager to hear what the experts offer here. A related question: What, if any, is the mechanical requirement for machines that sew thicker to have a large diameter cylinder? In other words, is it mechanically feasible to build something like a Juki 441 with a cylinder that is, say, 2" in diameter and that could use thread up to, say, 270? Thanks, Dale

Not saying this is an issue for you ... but I sweep up before hand stitching on runs long enough that the thread hits the floor. Otherwise, thread picks up enough flecks of who-knows-what to dull white thread a little. Even with the sweeping, the white never seems pristine by the time I'm done. In general, I doubt a client would notice, but they are paying for our obcessiveness, after all. Would love to hear how others handle this.