mrtreat32

yeah I can probably return it but Im not sure if some point down the line I will want or need one for some other reason. So unless Im gonna get not real use out of it I will hold onto it. Also wasnt sure if people had other good uses for groovers that I wasnt aware of.

I placed a order for a Versa groover from Sheridan leather about 2 months back that at the time was on back order. I don't currently own a groover and was using a pricking wheel to mark my stitches and was looking forward to having a groover to go along with that to help out and for the aesthetic look. Between the time I ordered that and now I had ordered a pricking iron and have been getting much better results and really like the way it makes the stitches look. Question is I forgot to cancel the order for the groover and it has now shipped. I understand using a groover with a pricking iron usually isn't done since it prevents the stitches from slanting and kinda defeats the purpose. So Im not sure how much use I will get out of it although it looks like a great made tool. Are there other uses for groovers that I may find? decorative lines? or for hard creases? Or is this something I should probably sell if I decide to use pricking irons as my main method of sewing leather. Would love to hear how everyone uses their groovers or is it maybe possible to use the groover with the iron? thanks

Awesome tutorial. thanks! Edge looks really nice as well. you burnish before you apply edge paint and than burnish again after? In your normal sewing after the backstitch do you always put your right hand needle in front of the left? I pull the left through and downwards/towards me and bring the right needle through behind that one in the upper corner of the / slant. As the right needle is half way through the leather I cast the left side thread over that needle before I pull the threads tight. I recently started pulling the left side up a bit and pulling the right side down to make sure they go in the direction I want them. Im not sure but I think the results would be the same no matter what needle was in front as long as it was consistent.

Joe I did a search for chromexcel and Maverick and this thread popped up. How was the quality of the "second" that you received.. Im thinking about placing a order with Maverick

Gonna try it out. Just placed a order for .30 and .35!

thanks gonna give it a shot when I get home tonight.

I go left needle first when normally stitching. So keep it that way just reverse which needle goes on top? And than on my way back (stitching towards me) switch back to the needles I normally put on top. same here

Yes I think so ! so reverse the order of which needle goes in first? If I normally bring the left hand needle through first I would bring the right instead? I would also reverse which needle lies on top from how I normally stitch? Did that make sense? Im not trying to reinvent the wheel but I have tried changing very small things in my sewing technique and each one changes the result a fair amount. If it was as simple as following Stohlmans book everyones stitching would look pretty much identical but thats not the case IMO. I think different tools making different size indentations etc all contribute to the changes. The process of saddle stitching is similar but tons of factors add up to make it also Very different from my limited experience. I live in nyc and all the pizza places use pretty much flour, water, tomatoes, and cheese but to say that just following that formula will give you a great result just isn't accurate. Some are clearly much better than others based on many small factors.. I think a lot of the same principles apply to any craft. Im not saying my stitching would look great if I had a certain thread and it would be shit with another but the sizes clearly look different from one another regardless of tension.

Yes I have seen I think most of them now a few months back when I started but I dont remember every detail since its a lot to take in at once. Also he has over 15hrs of footage so finding something specific would take a long time? Unless there is a way to search specific details in the video Im not sure? From what I remember he also does it very different from the link I posted and from what I have read elsewhere. I find his videos that I have seen to be very informative but they are not the FINAL word on all things leather sewing IMO. If he answered all questions to suit everyones style of work we could all just bookmark his videos and there would be no use for the forum. For example he uses Tiger thread I believe and to me it looks far too chunky when sewing 9spi so Im looking to learn from other sources and get other peoples input as well. If I had the same tools as him, same thread, and wanted the same look as his work maybe his videos would be the end all.

Did you backstitch at the beginning of the piece when you started and than again at the end to make it look uniform? I might give that a shot if so.. I like the way both sides ended up with symmetrical stitching. "Yes I did. It's a neater look." This might be a dumb question but to do this do you just start at the 2nd hole and go to the first hole and than resume sewing as usual. Same process as you would when finishing a project? Also when finishing a project and backstitching do you do it the exact same way as regular stitching? Left needle through first, right needle behind that one and cast left thread over? I have never had a problem with thread coming loose but I feel it could look neater on my work. Tried to do some reading up but Im finding different ways of doing it online and books that I have. This is one link I found. http://www.bowstock.co.uk/backstit0.html

Im trying to find a place to buy some Barbour thread and I did a search on this site but its a bit confusing. The different online retailers seem to have different packaging so Im not sure if they are all the same. Some spools look small and others are large all with different labels. the 35/3 is equal to 832 chinois? What would be the equivalent of 632? Btw fineleatherworking is out of the 632 which I was going to order in Ecru (beige). Any other US online stores carry this thread?

thanks for the feedback guys. I thought maybe it would be cheaper to get a US made hammer but after looking on Amazon anything around 2lbs with soft tips seems to be going for around $50. So pretty similar in price. At that point I might just go with a Barry King. The split hammers look interesting as well. Not sure if the barry king or the split face have any advantages over one another.

stitching looks awesome again! Think I will order the 632 now that I see it in use. Actually doesnt look all that small. Is there a website that sells the Barbour thread in the US? I should probably get some cheaper thread as well for practicing until I get better. Kinda liking the N10 pricking stitches even more than the 9. I only have a 4 tooth 9spi iron at the moment and wanting to pull the trigger on something bigger (probably 10 teeth). I was actually leaning towards getting a 7spi iron for the variety but after seeing your stitching and trying out 7spi with a overstitch wheel Im not liking the big stitches so much. Think Im gonna get a 10!

I have some hammers at home to get a idea of the weight I want but they are steel. I dont think home depot carries that brand? maybe. Was trying to get a feel if people thought they were of high quality since that isnt exactly cheap for a hammer. Dont mind spending the money if its nice though. Also would the regular flat style be preferred for pricking irons? I know a lot of people like the round and tapered mauls by Barry King but cant envision how that would work with hammering a object as straight as possible. Maybe it helps. not really sure. thanks also the heads of Barry King and the previous brand I mentioned are made of a different material I believe. Would like something that gives me the weight and force I want but also fairly easy on the wear of the tools.

Anyone have one of these and can share their thoughts on the quality? I bought a Garland rawhide mallet to use with my pricking iron about 2 months back but now realizing Its a bit too light in weight and think I need to upgrade. I think I got a 9oz. Saw this brand from a seller on ebay who also carries vergez blanchard tools and it looks nice. Leaning towards this or a Barry King mallet. I dont do any carving so this would be pretty much only for use with pricking irons and setting snaps, rivets. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Peddinghaus-Leather-Working-Mallet-Hammer-32oz-soft-tip-leather-tool-/321386637692?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad422e97c

I am using the 432 thread with a 9spi vergez iron. Think I will try the 532 for my next order. I also have tiger thread .6mm but its even larger than the 432.

super helpful tutorial! Really appreciate it! After looking at your pics I was curious about a few other things. Did you backstitch at the beginning of the piece when you started and than again at the end to make it look uniform? I might give that a shot if so.. I like the way both sides ended up with symmetrical stitching. Do you punch the pricking iron all the way through the piece? I have read different opinions on this.. I dont see the harm as long as there is something under the piece to protect the tool when the teeth go through. Maybe finishing the whole with the awl gives a better result? What size thread is that? Fil au chinois? My stitches dont have space like that between each one. Im assuming because I have size432 and maybe youre using something finer? Stitching looks awesome. Do you have a website?

ill try to find the video. He has a lot though! thanks I have been trying this a bit but then I end up messing up the previously marked holes when I turn the iron in the ones already punched. Gonna look a bit closer and try to go slower as you suggested! thanks Yeah thats what I did so far with best results. I stabbed them with my awl without the use of the pricking iron. How do you all make a turn on a 90degree angle? Im fairly happy with the results Im getting by punching the corner hole with a scratch awl (round hole) and then resuming back to the pricking iron the next line. If anyone has suggestions which they think are better I would leave to hear that as well.

I cant seem to figure out the correct angle to make my stitching seem seamless. Any tricks or tips for making a rounded turn with a pricking iron. I dont have a 2 prong iron so that may be part of the problem. A big rounded turn I think I can figure out but smaller turns Im having a tough time. I have watched nigels videos and found them helpful with making a sharp turn (90degree angle. I use a scratch awl to make a rounded hole in the corner and than continue with the pricking iron on the new line). But I havent seen any videos of his where he makes a rounded turn like on a watch strap or a small rounded corner. Any links or tips would be greatly appreciated. thanks

thanks thanks I tried beautiful stitching! If you don't mind I would love to hear your technique. Do you punch the holes all the way through with the iron? Do you cast there stitch?

I emailed ludlow leather to see if they carry or can get the .6mm tiger thread and I havent heard back. I have bought the samples on etsy once but you get a much better deal buying a whole spool. Anyone else in the US carry the .6 ritza thread

I personally like the look of the smaller stitches on these. I think you may be swayed a bit by the larger stitch coming out much cleaner as I almost was. But if both came out equal I think the smaller stitch would look a little more sleek. I work as a chef and I think one way of looking at it is. Most people at home when cutting vegetables for soup and other dishes use larger more rustic cut based on skill level which is fine but I think people in the industry look at smaller precise cuts as a sign of craftsmanship and detail. Maybe that doesnt make sense haha. but after awhile you would look at the larger size and find it to be a more rustic and less refined look. I too use the 432 and cant imagine moving to a smaller size yet either. A lot of people on here use .8mm tiger thread for small items and that is much larger so I guess its a matter of preference. I have read conflicting information about the use of pricking irons. Some people say they are strictly used just to mark the holes for your awl. But since having the vergez pricking iron for a week or so I have messed around with different methods and I get better results punching it all the way through. This is how they do it on the fineleatherworking tutorial as well. This guarantees that the back hole is straight with the front as long as you hammer it relatively straight. When I used it just to mark the holes I would sometimes have my awl coming out a bit crooked on the back. I dont see the negative to punching all the way through provided Im using a protective piece of leather underneath to protect the iron. If someone else can chime in on why this shouldnt be done Im open to all techniques and just want to improve.

is the top row set in a groove? Did you use a pricking iron for both? I made a black wallet tonight with black fil au chinois thread which is a blessing and a curse since I cant tell very easily how the stitching came out since their isnt any contrast. But when I look closely under the light Its definitely a bit all over the place.

Im new to leather working but I ordered both tiger thread and fil au chinois. After first using the tiger thread it does feel strange and seem a bit weird to work with. I have been going back and forth between the two brands and not sure what I prefer so far I have a much harder time threading the fil au chinois and sometimes when I tie the knot on the end it seems to fray a bit. The tiger thread ties smooth every time. Both seem to have benefits and drawbacks. The fil au chinois is round so it doesn't twist and lay at weird angles like I sometimes get with the tiger thread and I never pierce it while sewing by accident which I have done multiple times with the Tiger. On the other hand I like the way the tiger thread feels in my hands better when Im working with it. I am also using the 432 at 9spi and I don't find that it looks too big.(Im mostly making wallets and accessories at the moment) But for a watch strap I would go thinner based on my preference. I could be wrong but I think sewing at a higher spi is harder..or at least that has been my experience so far. I started the first week doing mostly 7spi and after switching to 9spi it seems less forgiving to small errors. I would love to hear what others have to say as well.

I bought a small amount of the cigar tiger thread on ebay..very nice color but I got it in .8mm and cream in .6mm. I found the .8mm to be a little thick for the look I wanted but most people recommend that size on here. How many spi do you normally use?