billybopp

You could always get some self-adhesive cork and add that in yourself - that's what I've done for my long straight edge. I don't remember how much I paid for a 1"wide roll , but it wasn't terribly pricey. - Bill

Seems to me that a leatherworker oughtta find a nice wooden stool just under the right height at a yard sale, some foam padding, and some veg-tanned leather to tool up 'n make it look nice. - Bill

To a large extent, edgers are a matter of personal preference and suitability to the task, with the same caveats that go with any cutting tool on taking and holding an edge. My older Tandy craftool edgers seem to hold an edge better than the newer ones, but I do have a full set of them so they're useful for when I need an out of the ordinary size. I bought a couple of new CSOsborne bissonnette edgers to try out. I liked that they can be used on both push and pull strokes, but haven't had much luck with them, probably because I can't quite get a handle on how to sharpen them! My current go-to is an antique Osborne #1 common edger. For sharpening, I have some small files to use when they need a lot of work, but mostly use bits of leather or round leather cording (depend on the shape of the edge needed) glued to a board. One set of those have some heavy duty compound on them (brown tripoli), and another set with on which I use a lighter compound (green) for stropping. For sure make a strop! They make all the difference in quickly "touching up" your cutting edges. You'll need to do a full on sharpening far less often if using a strop. The first strops that I made were fairly small, and I still use those for small blades like my swivel knife. I have a much larger strop of a couple of feet length that I use for larger blades, allowing me to take a larger pass at it. Much faster! I often use my leather strop to touch up kitchen knives, pocket knives, disposable utility blades, and just about everything else with an edge - Very handy! - Bill

Bruce Johnson has a few of these with blades intact ... https://brucejohnsonleather.com/leather-tools-sale/shoe-boot-making-tools/ - Bill

That is a channel groover. It is used by cobblers / cordwainers to cut a slit in the sole of a shoe at an angle. The "flap" of that slit is lifted up and sole sewn on with thread lying in that channel. The "flap" is then glued back down over the stitches to make a smooth surface. That one looks to be missing its blade, which seems to be a very common with these. - Bill

ROFL - That's one kind of brayer. A brayer is nothing more than a tool with a wide roller on it. They are used to roll stuff down, put ink on a woodcut, or even press down adhesive tapes in construction - although they call it a J roller. - Bill

Thanks for the info! I have yet to make a ranger belt, but it's on my mind to try one. Again, love it! - Bill

I do not cut a groove and only use mine anymore as a creaser, but grooved can be sharpened by putting some polishing compound on a toothpick and twirling it in the hole, and also working the outside of the cutting edge on a stone or strop. - Bill

Synthetic threads like nylon and polyester generally do not dye well. Waxed even less so. - Bill

Looks really good. As stated above sometimes simple is as nice as, and harder than fancy. Every flaw shows on simple. How wide is that belt? - Bill

SLC did a youtube vid awhile ago which showed how they collect their leather scraps - they keep them in BIG carts - something like a hotel dirty laundry cart. I'd suspect that what you got came from the bottom of the cart, and the dents and scratches that you see are from the weight of all that leather atop. There's no way to know for sure, but that's my theory and I'll stick to it! Nevertheless it'll be good for practice, and as stated above - put those flaws to use to your advantage exercising your creativity! - Bill

Take a look at the banner ads at the top of the page here for Toledo Industrial Machines, they are a site sponsor for LWN. Or a direct link is https://www.tolindsewmach.com/cowboy-outlaw.html priced at 1395.00 ... Cowboy Bob is on here frequently, and from all indications provides fantastic support to his customers. - Bill

Here are a few pictures and some measurements that may be helpful for you. I have two antique knives that I use, both 100+ years old. The larger is a Gomph, and the smaller a CS Osborne Newark. They are both a bit over 1.5mm near the ferrule, and a little under 1mm at around 10mm from the cutting edge. They both have their advantages. The Gomph works a little better for long straight-ish cuts, and the Osborne works a little better doing curves using the tip of the blade. As for sharpening, a V grind or Convex is going to be the way to go. V grind will probably be easier for you to maintain using stones. A convex edge is fine, but a slack belt sander would make re-doing your edge easier if that ever needs to be done. I use an angle of about 15 to 17 degrees on each side, yielding an angle of 30 to 35 degrees for the overall edge.

@dangerous beans ..... What say you?? Tell us more! - Bill

It sounds weird, but leather thickness is traditionally measured in ounces, and still is in the US and many other places. 1 ounce is 1/64 inch, so an 8oz leather is 1/8 inches thick. In other areas of the world thickness is measured in mm - (and square feet in area still - go figure). Even when using metric, one still asks about the thickness by asking what weight. Weird, right? Thankfully most of the other measuring systems are no longer used (Irons, anybody)? - Bill

That's a channeling tool used in shoe / boot making. It cuts a slit groove that you can use to sew the sole on and then lay the leather flap back down. The cutter is often angled, but can also be straight as that one is. Sorry that's not a great description, but I can't think of a better way to put it! - Bill

Looks great! I especially like the ... change purse. Great idea! - Bill

That looks great from what I can see! Love it. And yes - imagination exceeding skill is how we learn! Awesome!! - Bill

Nice! Thanks for posting. I'd love to see how you make your embossing plates. There are several ways I can think of to go about those, but it looks like you've worked out a good way. Even if the technique is not new, it is nice to be reminded now and then of something we may have forgotten! - Bill

I like it! The colors work well, and while in most cases it would make me crazy, but the odd-shaped leather piece works here! - Bill

Not at all! It looks great, and I'm sure he's pleased as punch with it. There are certainly some things you could have done to make it fancier, but fancy isn't always needed and doesn't suit everybody. - Bill

Looks good! I'm glad it worked for you. - Bill

that would be Rampart tools. I don't know much about them, tho. - Bill

Your front side stitching looks really good. It is quite common for the back side or your stitch to look straighter than the front. It tends to be more pronounced in thinner leather than in thick. Threads need some space to cross one another in the leather, which is easier with thicker leather (or thinner thread). Casting your stitch (pulling the thread back over) can help, but also tends to reduce the slant on the front side in a sort of compromise. Another non-traditional way to deal with this is to use your pricking iron to mark front and back separately so that they slant in opposite directions, and pre-make the slits with an awl (or if it's thin enough, just make the slit with the pricking iron). This will help thread back and front to more easily slant the right direction. Hope that helps - Bill