Sona

Actually I think, exspecially for the hobbyists, leatherwork and woodworking are kind of connected. There are a lot of guys who build there own workbenches, stitching clamps/ponys and stuff, in addition there are a lot of forms for bags, wet forming/molding and stuff you can make out of wood (plus some tools you can use for both crafts ^^). I know some videos of him and yes, it is nice to watch him. He is this kind of handtool woodworker who know what he is doing (which is not that often these days ^^). But about sharpening videos.... I don´t know how much videos are out there. I still think, that you learn sharpening by just doing it and by trying out a couple of different techniques/materials. You will find your own way, which is the only one that will fit exactly for you. In the end, most of those sharpening videos tell you the same anyway, maybe with those exceptions of "use oil stones" vs "us water stones" or "use the green compund" vs "stropping is inefficient". So all in all: Yes, I think having a look into woodworking is a good idea, but I think it´s funny that you pointed out exspecially the sharpening videos

@DavidL: Haha, damn it. I got to admit, that I didn´t see that in the first place. Sry for that stupid question. Of course you are right If I had seen that before, I think I would have advised him to use some veg tan ^^. @comopasta: Well for casing the leather there are some threads here in the forum. I´d just use the search engine for that. And yes, it is about soaking it with water About the rings: as I just cleaned up my work space, I just took a little time to make such a little ring with that skiving joint. It´s made quite wuick and dirty, so you can see directly where you would have to pay some attention (right at the joint positioning). Besides that: David is right, this just works that well with one piece of veg tan. With your leather you might find something flexible but sturdy, fitting around your/the finger where you could stitch the leather around.... maybe So here the example. And just for you to know: I normally don´t do such things (making stuff just to show how to make it). So this is kind of an exception ^^

Quick sample illustration.

Skiving was the word, not beveling, right I´d skive it, too, but I think, a butt stitch wwould be a alternative way of doing it. For the buttstich: To form the leather, I´d case it an wrap it around any round Thing(bar(dovel, what ever, that fits the measurements you Need. Than just wrap sth smooth around it to Keep it that way, until it´s dry (I´d leave it like a day or so). Like that you should have much less Problems with the Tension of the leather opening up at the Joint. And don´t think to much about taht "5 degrees". it´s just about "a slight angle" nothing more If you skive it, you should have any Problems with the Tension, but - exspecially if you use predyed leather - you have to work quite exact to get a good result. When skiving I´d stitch the reing with a normal saddle-stitch. SPI 8+ just enough stitches to go over both Ends of the Joint. @DavidL The 3-4mm: depends on the leather. If you do that I´d try it with 2-3 first, as the seam will look awfull if you cut off too much. And it depends on your stitching. If you i.e. use a butt stitch, you might just rip the thread through the leather... If you do some knife sheaths this works great, but on this Project you just got about 3, maybe 4 holes, so even if the leather holds up to the Tension, both visible edges might have an ugly gap.... Besides that, the step with boning/hammering it on a model is just right and will improve the appearance! But why should it be hard to do a skiving Joint with his leather?

Glueing some fabric wouldn´t fix anything. It would rather add a fuzzy edge on the inside to the whole Thing, but you won´t get any improvement for the construction itself. There are two techniques, I´d try: - preform the ring and use a "butt-stitch" as you can see on your picture, the opens up a little bit where you joint the two edges. Thats because of the Tension of the leather, as you might have stitched it dry and with some force, right? Ìf you preform the ring (case it - use the search engine here on that if you got questions), let it dry and cut a light angle to the ends (like five degrees) you might get a nice result using a butt-stitch (a stitch through half of the thickness, I don´t know why, but I can´t c&p a link here... so you might wanna look it up) as it pulls thos angled Ends together to Close the gap. Another possibility would be to bevel both Ends over a length like 10mm (one top, one bottom) and glue them together. After that I´d stitch the koint just to be safe and that´s it. I hope you understand what I mean, as I would like to add some pictures, but I can´t (except I´d copy the link by hand... a thing I won´t do....)

A think that might be worth mentioning is the Quality of the leather, too.... If you got some bad leather with very loose fibres on the back you can apply what you want to it. If you bend it over time, it will break, wear, just disappear. I normally just take some beeswax/balm and apply it heavily on the back (and front). When I use colours like black, or "colours" other than Brown stuff, I tend to use some Tan-Kote quite thin, but I really don´t like the appearance of resolene, even if a lot of People in this Forum recommend it. The Thing is: my leather is flat and smooth already when I buy it, and it doesn´t change that status... the fibres are so dense that I have to wait some time, before water even thinks about soaking in without (!) any finish. So before you think "everything is possible" Keep this in mind and maybe just think about lining such a strap next time

Ja, ich schau nochmal. Tut mir Leid, dass ich das alle etwas verzögert habe, bei mir läuft in den letzten Wochen einfach sehr viel drunter und drüber... morgen weiß ich wohl mehr und wird mich dann nochmal melden. Ich meld mich bei euch dann auch nochmal wegen nem Treffen. Die Zeit verrinnt grad wie im Fluge ^^.

well than: hurray for you! XD

Nice shop, really nice and fast contac via mail. Bought some hardware some time ago and everything was just fine. But I can´t say anything about the leather. You might wanna know how much the shipping is, as I didn´t expect 20 € for my little order. So that was the only thing I didn´t like about that order

With Tan Kote you won´get it shiny as with resolene. I myself see this as a positive point for the Tan Kote, but taste differes I guess ^^. I apply it with a cloth wraped around a sponge using no pressure at all (more like merely feelin the contact to the leather. Besides that I cut it down with water. Did it sometimes with up to 1/5 TK/Water, so you got some room for experiments. I would thin it at least a litte, as it is much easier to apply it evenly.

I am a cabinet maker for about 8 years. I am just not that sure, if "woodworker" differs between proffessionals and hobbyists, or not. (just interested)

Hi Simon, no problem at all As german actually IS my mother´s tongue, it might be easier for me anyway ^^. But when we get our first experienced danish saddler it´s your job again By the way: your translation was wuite good. Exspecially for a non native speaker (in both languages). Nothing wrong with that! (Btw. Do you live at the border to Germany, or did you just learn german at school (or somewhere else)?)

Beim Dämpfen wird das Holz eher wirklich unter Wasserdampf gesetzt, im Prinzip wie vorm Biegen, nur länger. Und du bekommst heute tatsächlich noch ne Menge ungedämpfter Ware. Buche wird tatsächlich sehr sehr häufig gedämpft, aber das kannst du streckeweise auch schon an den Farbtönen sehen. Beim Dämpfen verändert sich der nämlich. Und leider muss ich dich enttäuschen. Holz arbeitet.... immer. War einer der Leitsätze, der uns in der Bfs tagtäglich eingeprügelt wurde und ich habe ihn sich schon häufiger bewahrheiten sehen.... Holz quellt oder schwindet immer dann, wenn es Flüssigkeit aufnimmt oder abgibt! Wenn es dabei Unterschiede gibt (eine Seite nass, eine Trocken, etc) wird dieser Effekt noch massiv verstärkt. Am heftigsten zu beobachten beim Furnieren, wenn du das Furnier auf die beleimte Platte legst und kurz wartest rollt sich das Furnier auf, und zwar richtig! Da kann man z.B. gegenarbeiten, wenn man es von oben mit Wasser benetzt..... Zum schnelleren Trocknen gibt es diverse Verfahren wie z.B. Kammertrocknung und ähnliches. Und wenn man es will, kann man das durchaus "zu hause" machen. Man sollte aber Platz haben, ne Dämpfkammer, etc..... ist eben mit Aufwand verbunden. So well... I just think about translating this one, but it is rather some kind of woodworking stuff refering to Walters text which has not that much to do with the main topic here. So I think if you are more interested in wooden stuff, it might be a possibility to open a new thread.. or I might translate this one afterwards if anybody wants to know more about wood... and stuff ^^. But all in al Walter is alright in what he says, so I see no real need to write sth completely different rather than some additions ^^.

Haha, I guess you hit the "post"-button some times too often ^^. And no, it´s not that sort steaming what I mean. It is some sort of steaming, but it is used while preparing wood (drying, etc) for the normal use by a cabinet maker or similar. So it is used to reduce the tension in the wood and to differ it in some ways, shortly said: to improve certain properties of it.... Of course you could steam and bend your jaws, but as we are in a Leatherworkers forum I would expect that from anybody, nor would I suggest it, just because it´s a process you might wanna go into the woodworking topic a little bit more for.... And there for it might be just a little task to cut this clamp down to a simple, easy-to-make thing, rather than to be sure, everything is made like the "rules of woodworking" would dictate it Besides that: I got a little different opinion on bend wood, but even if the fibres might (!) be weakend a bit.... that would not at all influence this piece at all as wood is far more solid than a lot of people think....^^ For the hardware: Good luck Thor

Servus Walter, ich bin nicht Simon, ist aber kein Problem. Mach ich gerne Abgesehen davon... ich schick dir nachher nochmal Bilder von meinem Ahlenheft von Kappey, da warst du a noch interressiert dran ^^.

As Simon didn´t do it yet, I´ll just give it a shot to keep this thread going. I´ll maybe add some explanations in "[" and "]", just for you to know So well... thos metal parts of the clamp made by Louis are exactly the same [reffering to the one Walter owns, made by the company Bernhard], they just look a little bit different. Everyone just makes them in a slightly other ways [though the function stays the same] You can simply exchange the bent piece on the bottom of the clamp with a rod or a bar and it still works fine. (http://shop.leder-lo...zer-Modell./587) The rest just stays the same. The material "Multiples Birke" [the LVL birch, mentioned by Thor above] works just fine for this. I use it a lot myself. Also "gedämpfte Buche" [beech, my translater calls it "subdued", but maybe i.e. Thor know as better describtion/word for it] is really nice for this as they are glued 3 times. As said before, nearly every kind of construction wood would work. Ash would make a quite good choice, too. Just in case of the jaws you have to look for the grain of the wood... exspecially how the tree rings looks like as this might cause the piece to break if you make a wrong choice. With "Multiplex" you won´t have those problems due to its construction. If you use "Multiplex" it has to be birch, because "Aspen" is asome sort of poplar and way to soft/weak. Over here we say it´s a "soft-playwood". Of course you can take a precious hardwood, walnut or something similar, as you like (to pay for) it ... )) You can sand those bent pieces of wood really good on a belt sander to achieve a perfect form and to clean up those glue joints. I just made a picture of a piece of "Multiplex". I made a picture of the clamp with my neighbours son, too. The thing is, he is like 182 cm (~6 feet) tall and the clamp is too small for him. It should be about 88 cm (~35 inch) in heigh rather than 80cm (~31,5 inch) that it is... But I had nobody else at hand, just this big one I also made pictures of the templates, just for you to know how they look like. They are scaled 1:1 on brown paper. I would send them to one of you guys and I´d be happy if he/se could spread them ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Here he just explains that he´d like to send those templates to Tom, so other people can order them from him, and that it might be a little complicated to scan and print those in a scale of 1:1. For those people in europe he´d send them piece by piece. Plus (the red part), he´ll upload the pictures later (like right above this post ^^) because he´s just busy. And after that: Greetings Walter [i´ll just post it like this and comment on it later as I think, Thor and I might have some opinions and guesses about the choice of wood and stuff [Thor.... you´ll get one of those messages from me ^^] if anything is not totally clear, just yell at me and I´ll fix that ]

Wow, you really gave that stitchless theme a shot. I am impressed! Nice work as always!

So well, as you Are looking for a "harsh" and somehow complete critic, I'll see what I can do for you ð As I am seeing this only on my mobile phone, I might miss some points due to the fine detail which are not that easy to see on that screen size. 1. Lacing.: Looks quite okay to me. I like the tone in tone. Improvement: Use lacing chisels instead of hole punches. They'll align better and produce slits rather than holes. So the lace sits tighter. Optional: Can't be sure of it, but use laces of max. One meter. Will show less abrasion from the working process! 2. Tooling. I am not a master Toler myself, but I still might recognize some things... For the swivel knife: You really seam to like decorative cuts, but don't overdo it you made quite a lot. Compare your quantity of cuts to some carving artists, look where, why and what for they are used. Take scrap pieces and practice! You got to smooth down your cutting lines. Structure stamps: Care for angles and alignment. Look at the leaf in the middle and compare the angles of its tips to those from your veiner, they don't match! Plus the background has a visible direction, because there's space between those stamp marks. And again.... Exsp. Stuff like the veiner: Don't overdo it! With your beveler try to control the depth of your tooling, that can create depth in the motive. That depends on your knife cuts, too btw. Colour: Work more evenly. Your red looks a little semi transparent (not covering at all) and quite uneven. I guess you work with water based colors... Try spirit or oil based stuff (gotta thin it for lighter colors). Or if you work with those apply more coats. For the black background: Work with a fine brush from the center to the corners. If you go directly to the edges with a heavy "loaded" brush, the dye might soak into. The leather far more than just to the edge.... And you loose definition. So this is just a rough "mobile overview", I hope it might be of use for you.

Nitrile gloves? Oh I would go crazy, if I had to stitch with such things on my hand.... I aslo think, that there is just some wrong size in your stitching set up. i.e. the awl can match the stitch in length, but maybe its just not "thick" enough. The thread might be right, but the needles too thick, etc. Another thing: If you constantly use pliers on your needles, you normaly scratch the needle-tip a lot, so you just make it harder with every use to push/pull them through. Also, if you don´t move that kind of "knot" (where you "stitch" through the thread) directly to the needle, it might be a little bit easier. Just try some variations on some scrap-leather!

To me that looks like it could have been "finished" oil and nothing more... If there would be any kind of top coat, you´d recognize a surface, even with waxes there is some kind of "top layer"as it binds to the fibres. The pieces on your pictures look quite rough to me and as you can see not even the edges are smoothed, polished or anything.... besides the stitching, which will fail quite fast for a handstitched item, the "rough" stuff is just style I guess. As Monica said on the previous side already: you don´t "have to" put a finish on a product, but it helps a lot (like wooden handles on brushes are often left without any varnish or oil...) Like this your surface will age much faster thatn in any other way, it will catch up scratches and stuff quite fast, will soak in water and leave marks of it, etc.... Indeed it is a style, but you should know about that I think ^^. My brother once had light brown shoes without a sealing and wined about his "ruined" shoes after one night in the disco... so I cleaned them up for him, asking whether I should at least apply some balm/wax to protect them... well... no he liked them the way he bought them (I tested it and the leather balm darkened the leather quite heavy... really beautifull but he didn´t like -.-). So one week later, he came again with his "ruined" shoes, asking if I could apply some wax on them, heared nothing about that since

Haha, well you might be right about that. I think with doing things by hand, you keep yourself a lot of possibilities, you don´t have with a machine. I´d like to mention the butt stitch, the box stitch, stitching 90° angles and stuff. And for that you need practice. Besides that you can take your tools for handstitching wherever you want, a sewing machine... well it might not be that handy *laugh* Well for real, I really like it and most of the reasons above wouldn´t change anything on that if I would, I guess XD But I prefere 8 SPI right now and I would like to try a 10, or even for nice small stuff some 12 SPI, but maybe not now *laugh*

Well, I don´t know anything about twisting (your own) thread, but I don´t think, you might be able to dye Tigerthread in any satisfactioning way... I tried to dye linen-thread some times and was semisatisfied. The reason for that is that, even if you penetrate the thread with the dye, it kind of rubbs off while stitching and at least it becomes a lot lighter in colour, so just a semi-match for the colour... BUT Tigerthread is no linen, it is polyester so there won´t be any real penetrationt... you might be able to slightly discolour the thread (the way some people hate it when they dye after stitching...) but therefore I don´t know the Tigerthread, I use sth else....

Thank you! I really appreciate that! I handsew all of my work and with time the SPI went higher and I guess, it will continue that way. I stitched one Belt with 6 SPI (the first one... the one I am wearing) and like 7 with 8 SPI I think. But I gues on belts I wouldn´t go higher than 8... I think it is some kind of taste. I like handstitching a lot, exspecially if it is just stitching long runs rather than start and stop and start and stop and so on.... I am really able to relax while stitching. So there is no punishment in it for me XD

Really impressive! I´d liket o be able to do that sort of braiding.... really!

neither looks like scrap nor like 20 years old... actually it looks like selected for this specific use and finished really nice I like the design and the appearance of the sheath. Good work!