LTC

Left and right twist are noted that way for sewing machine use...not hand sewing. Some people will try to claim it makes a difference for hand sewing, but they would be wrong. Every experienced leatherworker.net I know that sews by hand has told me it doesn't matter and I've personally used left/right twist thread for hand sewing and it doesn't make any difference to me either.

Uhh...yeah...you should be using a diamond awl with the pricking iron. What you did is "technically" a "saddle stitch", but there are multiple reasons why it looks like that. Look up Nigel Armitage on youtube and find his "saddle stitch in detail" video. It should correct all the things that are going on with your stitching. First, I'd say you need a diamond awl...sharp and of appropriate size. Second, it looks like you may not be doing every stitch exactly, precisely the same way every single time. This is required in order for your stitching to look good on both sides. It takes a lot of practice and discipline to do it that way, but there's no shortcut to it... Before anyone has a hissy fit, I am recommending Nigel's video because he explains it a lot more plainly than I can so that it the concepts are easy to grasp for folks having trouble. And I happen to think he knows what he's talking about, especially pertaining to correct saddle stitching.

Unless you have a pic, I don't know what you're referring to.

Any chance you'd be willing to share the pattern, please?

Tiny picture...is the blade included? Does it need sharpening?

I'd take the 1" English point if you'll split them up.

If y'all are looking for really nice chainmaille wallet chains, check out these...i bought a couple from him and they're really nice. especially the titanium ones. http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?236011-NEW-BRACELET-ADDED!!!-Titanium-and-Stainless-Chainmaille-bracelets-Grade-5-(6Al-4V)

I guess if you ask them to put it in the unused cooler next time, they'll put it in the freezer then...

Where in Texas??

That seller doesn't list any goat hides at all from my search of his store. And the "linings" he sells are splits. Sure would be nice to be able to find a good supplier of good quality, non-split goat linings...or even non-split calf.

Looks heavy. How much does it weigh?

If it's not veg tanned, you won't be able to burnish it properly. But I have seen some places selling veg tanned buffalo, so...maybe the stuff you saw wasn't made of veg tanned buffalo though. You're gonna have to use edge kote or one of those heat burnishing tools if you don't want unfinished edges on your buffalo stuff. If you search on here you'll find all sort of threads already covering both.

Your customers are not the same as my customers. You have your market and I have mine.

You get what you pay for. If you want good quality tools, they ARE going to cost around $25 or more unless you get the imported trash tandy sells. Before anyone tries to correct me, I'm talking about edge bevelers and tools like that. If you get the junk tandy sells, you're going to eventually end up replacing them with good quality tools and no one will buy that tandy stuff off of you. But if you're just doing this as a hobby and are not a perfectionist like I am, who knows. Maybe the tandy stuff will be good enough for what you want to do.

Oh, nevermind.

So...yours is made of metal then? What metal? Stainless?

Thanks for the info and for posting that video...looks like Abbey will be my primary hardware supplier for the foreseeable future. I'll be getting my Tiger thread from them too since there isn't a reliable source for it in the US that knows how to keep it in stock. I bet I can get it from Abbey in faster that the 4-6 weeks I was quoted by the US supplier.

Just so everyone knows and to save everyone the tines and effort of ordering the above catalog, almost none of the items on their catalog are made in the United States. I feel it important to point this out because the purpose of this thread was to discuss sources for US - MANUFACTURED HARDWARE. Apparently, according to their catalog, you can get some items made in the US...if you want to order a minimum of 100 of that item. I think I counted maybe 5-7 other pieces of hardware that said they were made in the US without having to order 100. Don't guess I will be ordering anything from them. Thought I'd let others know before you ask for a catalog. It's pathetic that this kind of hardware we all use is not manufactured in the US. I'd settle for UK hardware, but not certain if the stuff Abbey sells is actually made in the UK. I think they have their own foundry in the UK, so maybe it is.

Ok, thanks. Barry King it is, then.

I got mine from Pro-Edge (I didn't particularly care to wait 4-5 weeks for the "Bearman" one and it works as well as his from what I can tell from looking at others' pics.

$350 is NOT "crazy" for a handmade leather wallet...Redmoon gets around $400-600 for theirs and I know people are actually buying them because I see people post pics of them with all their stuff on some other forums. So...if your wallets are as good as theirs (similar design, pockets, etc.), then $350 is not "crazy" to charge for a wallet. The problem with a lot of new people is they go out there and try to undercut everyone else making similar items to try to steal business away from others. All that does is devalue everyone's work across the board. I don't play that game -- I make sure my customers know exactly WHY I charge what I do for my wallets and precisely what sets my work apart from those selling the cheap-o stuff. Anyway, I charge what I want to charge for my stuff...if someone wants to pay it, great. If not, then someone else will later. There is ALWAYS a buyer somewhere...just may not be able to sell several a day (which is fine because I can't make several of them a day anyway). It's all about supply/demand...

You haven't looked very hard then... http://www.wickett-craig.com/index.php/leathers/pricing Bridle, harness...all available in black and in 12oz+.

yeah so what is your wait time on those right now anyway?

I have an 18 oz. maul and it works pretty well for all around use. Generally use it with a pricking iron but I've done basketwaeve and other tooling with it. Works fine...not very fatiguing to me.

sth=SOMETHING...just in case others don't feel like wasting time trying to look up some kind of internet shorthand.