Kevin

Doug, I have a lot of round knives, but no customs. When I started this there wasn't much choice. I have a Don Carlos I absolutely love, some Blanchards, Dixon and of course some Osbornes, a couple of them not being worth a oops. But my everyday knife is just a 5" Osborne, that cost about $35 from Weaver. Since Osborne has gotten some competition they have improved the metal some I guess. The handle is a little long for my hand, so I cut it down. It's not pretty at all, but it gets the job done. Someday I might get one of those Jueskes with the pink handle, it's so bad , it's goood. Kevin

Thanks Art I'll give that a try, Kevin PS I grew up in Alexandria, used to go to The Super Chief Drive In, bought vegetables at a stand on Indian Head Hwy. and we always went to Marshall Hall, not Glen Echo.

I am afraid I know the answer to my question before I ask, but are there any books that explain this stuff? I have 12 or 13 machines at home and 6 or so at work and ordering 100 needles at a time gives me a headache when I have to try to explain what I want when the order taker doesn't seem to know as much as I do.(next to nothing) Thanks , Kevin

I know Swaine Adeney for crops, flasks and sandwich boxes, is this the same co.? Please tell us more, Kevin

But do any of these materials shrink and actually bind the wood together? The rawhide is not just there for a coating. I think if you want something new you will have to get rid of the wood and start with a totally blank slate, otherwise it just seems to be guilding the lilly. Some " English" saddles use nylon trees that are so dense you can drive a tack in and it will pop right back out. I've seen a lot of innovations over the years, some are good, but most just show why things have stayed pretty much the same for so long. That said, at least people are trying things and thinking. Kevin

Marlon, that makes so much sense. Thanks a million, Kevin

That carving is so perfect it doesn't look real, I think I will just throw out everything I own and go to church. Kevin

Some people use finger cots. Just a sleeve of leather to go on your fingers, I have them for my ring and pinky fingers. Some people cut the ends of the fingers off leather gloves and wear the whole glove. In reality I go 'til I have splits on the top joints of my pinkies and blisters on my ring fingers and your hands toughen up eventually. My right pinky finger is actually curved from pulling thread tight on billets. There is an episode of The Simpsons where Marge is teaching Lisa how to sew and pokes her finger with the needle and it just bends because her fingers have gotten so tough. Kevin

Mikeymoto, After 30 yrs. that's pretty much what I do. Kevin

I was just going to ask if anyone knew the status of Hercules, I had read that they were going to try to carry on. I can't think of the owner's name right now, but he seemed to be a very nice man. What a horrible tragedy. Kevin

I can smell the leather in both pictures. 4 of 6 people in the shop where I work wear aprons and 99% of the time I wear a short sleeved shirt. Sleeves seem to get caught on stuff and dye is easier to get off my arms than shirt sleeves. Those sleeve protectors look too bulky to me. Kevin

Pro Dye ? I miss Omega dye, whatever happened to that? It was so good it made my teeth hurt sometimes, but it really did a good job. Kevin

First I mark my holes with a pricking iron, then use a curved awl. Before I had irons, I used a pricking wheel and made holes straight through and then used the curved awl. This gives the thread a definite line to butt up to. I don't know how else to describe it, hope that helps or someone else can elaborate. Kevin

This may not be possible with your particular table,but I have taken the top off a table, glued the leather on and tooled it right on the top itself. Kevin

Marlon, Thanks, I'll have to check that out, Kevin

gtwister, do you happen to have a diagram or good picture of the mechanism for a saddler's stitching horse? I've seen a couple of pictures of them, but couldn't make out how they work. I would love to make one. Sorry, this has nothing to do with stitch grooving. Thanks, Kevin

Generally speaking, if the stitch is at an angle, you can safely use a smaller stitch length. A straight stitch if done too small, can weaken or even cut the leather. The advantage of a smaller stitch is that the machine can pull it tighter into the leather instead of it just laying on top to wear out. The angled stitch also looks more like properly done hand stitching which is what I'm trying to get. Kevin

OK, I'll give it some time and patience. Thanks for your time and tips. Kevin

The man that used to own Campbell Bosworth used an ammonia and water mixture for stiffening, but I don't remember the percentages. Kevin

Bruce, that is beautiful, especially the beveler but how do you keep a good angle on the rope tool? I might get an inch of rope I like and then it just goes wrong. Thanks, you are a big help, Kevin

They just come in different lengths as far as I have seen, but as they go down in length, they also get narrower. A friend of mine tried to make a small awl out of a big one but found that once he filed it so far there was no temper left and it just bent. I don't know if they still have it but Tandy used to have a small looking awl permanantly mounted in a haft that looked like a toy and I've always wondered if the awl itself might be perfect. Then you get to search out smaller pricking wheels, then pricking irons, I've put brass strips in my stitching horse jaws so I can lay the awl right down on the flat and keep everything CONSISTANT. It never stops, like a guitar player trying to find the perfect tone. You just keep digging and digging. I could go on all day but I have to go to work to chop and stitch, what do they say? Find a job you love and never work a day in your life. You just keep looking for that perfection that doesn't exist, no wonder lots of old timers were bitter or alkies but I love it. Kevin

Hey Timbo, it all depends on what size stitch you want to do. Most of what I do is 9 or sometimes smaller. I generally use a 1 1/2" awl, no. 4 Osborne needles and no.3 linen thread. Lately I've been using nylon hand stitching thread I get from Ohio Travel Bag, because the Barbour's has been so uneven. Maybe it has changed now that Coats owns it. Windmill Saddlery in Ohio has some very nice English linen thread. I can't tell you what size thread to get 'cause them English speak a different doggone language i.e. 18/6 cord, 60/3 cord, I've had it explained to me and I still can't understand it in the slightest. Oh, and the Osborne no.4 needles I have gotten the last few times are thinner guage than they used to be. Sorry I ramble so, but my typing is so slow I lose my train of thought with each word. Kevin

I just read a few minutes ago that Corn Husker's Lotion is or was thickened with GUM TRAGACANTH. I just use a dauber for application, since it is water soluble, the dauber can be dried out but after a few minutes use it is ok again. I have tied alot of different things in 30 years, including wallpaper paste. Right now, I am using ABC School glue made by Best Test. I thin it with a little water and apply with a foam paint brush, then rub with a chunk of wood and or canvas. I've been using it about 3 weeks, itseems much faster than Tragacanth (Weaver's), and actually stays burnished 'til the item leaves the shop. Kevin

At last I can add something that may be useful. For years Ihave been trying to find a better way to burnish edges. This book says to use paper gum. After trying to figure out what in the world that may be, I decided it must be mucilage. So, off to the office supplies stores for something very simple and cheap. I guess it's too simple and cheap 'cause I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally broke down and bought 5 or 6 different types of glue and tried them and ABC children's glue seems to do the trick. Goes on easy with a little practice, slicks down faster and with less labor than gum tragacanth and seems to stay burnished. I don't think the tragacanth we get is the real thing, seems like I read somewhere it is a powder and comes from Iran. An English shoemaker I know says they use gum dragon and it smells like vomit. OK 'nuff said on that, Kevin

Most big stitchers say in the manual that you can get a tighter stitch with a smaller bobbin thread.