Tannin
-
Content Count
199 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Tannin
-
-
...I know my knife is sharp and cuts quite easily when I cut freehand without the cutting board by holding the leather off the table. ...
Sounds risky, Al Stohlman specifically warns against doing this in one of his books (prob. the tool one). I too use green self-healing mats but I quite like them - as Murray already described. I suspect your round knife (I assume that is what you are using) is not quite as sharp as it could be. If it already seems sharp then perhaps it just needs a little more stropping on leather, perhaps with some compound or metal polish? For straight cuts, you can also roll the blade forward to establish the cut without any drag.
There several good videos on round knives on youtube. I particularly like this one:
If you want to see how sharp his head knife is in practice, take a look at this video @0.45 onwards:
I also like this one by Tandy and if is particularly relevant here, it covers: sharpening, cutting surfaces (@4:20, the red professional one works exceptionally well) and cutting/skiving techniques:
For detailed sharpening info, this one is very good although rather long:
Note: 2 of the videos above use HDPE "poly" boards.
BTW an oiled blade tends to cut more smoothly.
-
The stools look great esp. the electrical one, although I really like the pine cone design. Some riven & hewn greenwood legs (e.g. of ash or hickory) would really complement them, just oil or waxed when dry. Or perhaps bamboo (seems like a current trend to make things out of bamboo or bamboo fibres).
-
I'm not a professional and I am quite happy with my current mixture of (mainly inexpensive) old & new English, Chinese & American tools - mainly Chinese. They are not fancy but they are more than adequate for my needs. My son taught me one of the most important lessons I ever learnt: being happy with what you already have is the secret to happiness.
I was impressed by immiketoo's - he knows exactly what he would get and it looks like it would help with production (so perhaps a good investment?).
However, if I had to spend money on leather tools, I think the French Blanchard tools look like (& cost) like fine jewellery, so I would get some of those - the pricking wheel especially, not to use (because I much prefer pricking irons) but just to look at - it's lovely :D If I had the time, I might look into some individually hand crafted tools (a fancy head knife or fixed blade clicking knife), although I am perfectly happy with my NOS George Barnsley knife, so perhaps not.
Worst leather tool investment so far: 1.5" 7spi Joseph Dixon pricking iron for about £55 + £12 shipping! Too much money for the wrong tool for me. It initially cut ridiculously wide holes for that fine spacing (despite being ordered "slim") - had to send it back for them to reduce it. 7spi is anyway too high for most of the work I do (4/5/6spi would work better) and tilting a wide iron for shorter runs did not work well for me. Now, for less money than that one iron, I could now buy all the pricking irons I would ever need, inc. free shipping, specifically: 3,4,5,6mm spacing (i.e. covering the range 4spi-8spi) with irons with 1,2,4,6 & 10 prongs. For the 5mm & 6mm spacing, the 10 point irons would be 50mm & 60mm i.e. ~ 2" wide!
- nice but not strictly necessary :D). Don't get me wrong, if money were no object (& had they not just gone out of business 
), I would rather get the much longer Joseph Dixon pricking irons - although, on reflection, those even more expensive highly polished French Blanchard irons look awful pretty - I would go for those!I might buy a manual skiving machine (I don't like noisy, smelly, oily, dirty, dangerous, unreliable/flakey machines - but if I were doing this professionally that would be a different story). Either a modern Osbourne one or a nice old "steam punk"-looking vintage one - they seem to come up regularly here, usually in terrible condition and not working, so a big, heavy, risky purchase.
I'd buy some nice hides, maybe some training, a visit to the traditional tanner in Devon a couple more books perhaps.
Oh...and a big new Swedish woodworking bench with drawers and cupboards, so that I could clear all the woodworking cr@p off my currently workbench & dedicate it to leather-working.
-
I like the filter. Is there a middle, welt layer at the cutting edge? Ammo, it seems we have each arrived at a somewhat similar approach (see my latest axe sheath here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=67380 ) e.g. thick leather & strong rivets backed up with a double line of stitching. Hopefully that is a case of "great minds think a like" rather than "2 fools with the same mind" :D
BTW AMMO I see you use the English spelling of axe, I thought American normally spelt it ax - which seems quite sensible to me. BTW the Swedes have several words for various types of axe including yxa & bill - perhaps the viking root of our words for axe & billhook/twybil. Kniv is their word for knife.
-
Tannin,
That IKEA shelving and toy storage looks ideal! My biggest tip is to LABEL everything. As I accumulated tools and hardware I found this essential. Also my shelving (which I rescued from the dump) is reasonably close together, so everything is easily accessible at a glance.
...
Lois
Lois, I just labelled all of my IKEA drawers - good idea! My drawers already had specific purposes, so it was easy for me to label them but now my wife will hopefully be able to understand & access them too & without too much dread.
There were some other unexpected benefits too:
- It made me realize that I have a some drawers that overlap and which can be combined into the larger drawer (e.g. the contents of "chainsaw parts & grease" can go into the large "Machine tools parts & docs" drawer).
- I found new homes for some workbench clutter (e.g. metal polish & compounds can go in my existing "Polishing stuff" shoebox).
- I found a drawer of birdfeeder spares(!) which should probably be discarded now to free-up storage for more useful things (which are currently cluttering my workbench).
- I found a drawer of bike seats(!) which should be sold on ebay.
I feel liberated :D
-
Isn't that what happens with hair dye when things go wrong - hair turns green instead of brown/blonde.
It might be due to a chemical reaction involving the chemicals in the dye - perhaps reacting with something in the air or on the leather/brush/bottle/etc., or because of the temperature, etc. For example I came across this:
Metal ion Colour
Iron(II), Fe2+ Green - turns orange-brown when left standing
Iron(III), Fe3+ Orange-brown
here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z27ycdm/revision/3
Although in your case the color change was the other way round e.g. perhaps Fe3+ changing to Fe2+ - which would be Reduction (rather than Oxidation such as rusting). Perhaps some mild alkali/soap on the leather reacted with the dye?
BTW Some copper (& arsenic) compounds are green, there are probably many others too.
-
Useful video. I've watch some of your other videos too - thanks for sharing your experience
Love the huge "buff stick" strop - wish I'd thought of doing that instead of cutting a good belt down to fit a shorter stick.Where do you get your tallow fat & carborundum powder? (Lard & residue from a wet sharpening wheel?!)
I suppose that is a traditional alternative to modern blocks of "compound"/"rouge" - probably similar to the coarser grey compounds.
Was surprised that you used the plain leather before the compound side of your buff stick. Is that just to remove any burr? I usually do it the other way round, my thinking being that the grinding paste is coarser than plain leather (that's why I use it) so it should be used first; and also the plain leather helps clean the compound off the blade. Also, my compound loaded strop is rough side out (although it is no longer rough) and the plain strop is shiny skin side out.
-
Hi LostRanger, I recognise the Erlewine brand on that luthier stand: in the USA Dan Erlewine wrote the book on guitar repair & maintenance, literally - I have a copy on my bookshelf. I had to look up "step van" tho'! Looks like a nice, substantial bit of kit:
In the UK, not as substantial but I would think an old cycle repair stand might have some potential as an alternative (saw a heavy duty one in an auction recently). Or perhaps a bench grinder stand, as sold by MachineMart:
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/bgs1-bench-grinder-stand/ - Cheaper with a grind?!
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/draper-ag101-adjustable-bench-grinder-stand/ - Adjustable height
BTW I've seen some little leather-work kits made by the young, hip (as opposed to traditional) traveller community here in the UK. The kits are little more than a small leather neck pouch with a few needles, some thread, wax and a rudimentary handmade awl - the sort of thing I would imagine nomadic hunters might have used for thousands of years. Something I try to remind myself of from time-to-time, especially when eyeing up interesting new tools :D
-
Impressive. Looks like something out a movie -- slightly sinister/dark.
-
That's a beautiful pattern, like a particularly attractive variant of some traditional "tree of life" designs, and it seems well suited to a quiver. It puts me in mind of ash, which the Vikings considered to be the tree-of-life. Just noticed the images of the finished quiver - stunning!
-
I have some that is well over 50 years old. Was stored for years in a shed that was subject to hot summer days and -40 winter days. Still good.
Tom
Sounds pretty convincing to me. Thanks
... He recommended that I go with Aussie Conditioner because it was a beeswax-based conditioner; no mention if the oils in it were natural or not. (For all I know I could be rubbing beeswax and 10W40 motor oil into my leather goods.)
So! Leather experts: does Neatsfoot oil ever go rancid? If so, can it be prevented, e.g. with regular maintenance, or perhaps applying a sealing top coat?
Oils going off is not always a bad thing: for woodworking, I use "drying oils", such as: linseed, walnut & tung because they polymerize when they oxidize or "go off".
I wouldn't be surprised if "beeswax & 10W40" turned out be a useful leather treatment - however, I'm thinking beeswax would inhibit the supposed ability of leather to breath. But I would think beeswax was used in traditional shoes polishes. It seems most combinations of oils/fats have been tried as leather treatments and there is also a school of thought that leather needs no treatment at all, the tanning took care of it, and that treatments inevitably compromise some properties of the leather.
Re. "can it be prevented, e.g. with regular maintenance, or perhaps applying a sealing top coat?"
Bearing in mind Tom's response above, the problem mention may be due to something other than the neatsfoot oil (e.g. fats & oils used in the tannin process). Either way, I have found Ko-Cho-Line (by appt. to HM Queen) to be a good treatment for leather that does not go moldy - it is made of "red grease" which is mineral based - you don't need much and it leaves a fairly glossy finish - intended for leather horse tack put into storage I think.
-
Really? Having survived 150 years, that would be sad.
-
The attachments for the shells are in great shape. I don't think the belt would support a box of shells any more, it's pretty far gone. Once I find the right size rivets I'll dismantle it and make a new one with the shell holders.
I expect you are looking for a good leather project. Personally, I wouldn't replace the leather - it looks very good to me. I might give it a v. light wipe of Ko-Cho-Line front & back, which would freshen it up a bit, add a little shine, moisture & protection from rain/mold - although it doesn't look like it needs it yet. At most I would tidy up or replace the buckle - although it seems a shame to unpick that neat original stitching, which looks well thought-out and well done, so I would probably just see what could be done with the buckle in place (recover it with leather perhaps). There is a trend (in the UK) currently for genuinely old, distressed/used things with original patina. And it has always been fairly popular with shooters here too: it is not unusual for well-to-do folk to shoot with high-end, handmade English shotguns that are a hundred years old or more, with cases and accessories to match.
I repaired my brother's cartridge belt a few weeks ago, for a shooting trip up north, it just needed one rivet replaced. He has been using it since he was given it by his Godmother on this 18th birthday, 36 years ago! I gave it a light coat of Ko-Cho-line - the first treatment of any kind it had ever received I am sure - as it was a bit dry and he was likely to encounter harsh, wet weather in the mountains. It's age and use are readily apparent and it works just as well as when it was brand new - we think it looks great.
My brother's belt doesn't have metal holders, it has the more common traditional leather loops. Have you considered making one from scratch like that instead?
-
That is an impressive feat of organization, impulse. You should come fix my garage workshop (used for: leatherwork, woodwork, electrical stuff & bike/mower/chainsaw/car maintenance), it really needs a serious organizational make-over! My wife has threatened to do it for me several times but if I let her loose on it I would never see many of my little "treasures" again, I am sure. :D I like your pull-out cutting table, that really is exceptional. And the overhead storage - although my workshop roof is too low for that. My workshop is a mess but it has potential to be good & a few good features which work well:
Ikea!
I have one wall covered with a wooden Ikea shelving system, which I really like: cheaper & looks much nicer than metal shelving I think, versatile too:
However, my wife assures me that I don't make best use of it
I made a nice new workbench that I made to replace the old worm-eaten one inherited from my father (it includes 2 small pieces of timber from the original, to remind me of him), and it now fully fits the available space, not huge but generously sized. The top is 2 layers of 16mm plywood (to make it solid & massive for woodworking), partially covered with an A2 green cutting mat. Tall, ~36" high. Had to add a big shelf underneath the bench just to store "stuff" on - full now, of course. Ditto the bench top
. I have a folding table behind but this is full of "stuff" too, as is the space underneath it The other key feature which really saved me though was "inheriting" two tall Ikea Trofast toy storage systems from my son. This sort of thing:
The regular trays are good for most tools. Double height trays for taller/bulkier items e.g. glues, leather, cables, etc. Treble height trays for the odd very large item. Mine are "packed to the gunwales"
Hawk Scarborough, any tips or images from your layout that you'd care to share?
-
Neat idea. I wonder if it might work with a guitar theme, either with a regular round sound hole or a similar violin-like f-hole (as found on some Jazz/rock & roll guitars)?
-
Yes, I have heard of Sabatier, French I think, supposed to be top notch kitchen knives. I often buy old kitchen knives, we have quite a collection now :D.
-
... The glass is from one of those modern-style scales that you stand on, so is pretty tough! The scales died, so I stripped off all the bits to give me a nice smooth, rounded piece of tough glass (I don't like throwing things out unless they absolutely can't be re-cycled somehow).
Excellent! We have one of those glass weighing scales now
It's just a matter of time... :DWe also have an HP printer-scanner which doesn't work, perhaps because of the refilled-cartridges I bought off ebay, which just didn't work.
I'm reluctant to throw it out, as maybe there is nothing wrong with it beyond needing better cartridges (but they cost £19 & printer-scanner only cost £32 with low volume cartridge!) and anyway it could still be used for scanning, but I also recall reading that the glass used in scanners is quite good/useful as it has to be flat for the optics to work properly. So I may re-use that at some point. -
This is a really cool round knife trick. It gets to the point of a round knife. I don't think you can do this faster any other way,
...Excellent videos - thanks
When I first saw that, I thought "I wouldn't put my thumb that close to the sharp end of a round knife" but when I watched it again, he doesn't actually move the knife at all, he simply moves the leather around the blade, which is braced against the edge of the bench. I doubt it such a technique would have occurred to me if I had not seen that. His knife is very sharp - worth watching his sharpening video to see how he achieved that.re. the original post/question, from my limited experience (& reading this thread) you don't need a round knife to do leatherwork, even as an experienced professional, there are many cheaper, simpler, effective options. But they are surprisingly versatile once mastered and might have advantages if you cut a lot of big, thick, hides and when cutting multiple layers (e,g, some of my sheaths are 15mm thick) - and they can be used for smaller jobs too. Also, LeProvo sell traditional English-made round knives for £24 - not cheap but reasonable & importantly: within the reach of many/most leatherworkers I would think (& look the same as the one used in the above videos).
-
... I'll probably bind the plastic handle in linen thread to get a better grip. If I feel keen I might remove the plastic handle altogether and fit a fatter wooden handle
You could wrap the handle with thin leather. That's what I did that with my all-metal English paring knife, after seeing other examples of similarly covered English & Japanese paring knives and have been pleased with both the appearance (leather is such a forgiving medium - just what I need!) and the feel. Making a wooden handle would allow you to make a handle to fit your hand/needs though. I suspect that it will not be "full tang" - in which case you might want to try a technique suggest by knife blade maker Nic Westermann, drill the handle for a dowel, fit the blade to the dowel & then just glue the dowel into the handle, he describes it better here: http://nicwestermann.co.uk/knife-handle-dowel/
-
Glass, excellent. I was thinking I need a "litho block" (whatever & wherever that it is!) or a polished marble slab/thick tile. I have a sheet of tempered (i.e. strong) glass off an old HiFi cabinet that I used for my "scary sharp" sharpening system a few years back that I could try - although I gather tempered glass is generally not as flat as regular glass because of the tempering process.
BTW if you try the "scary sharp" system, don't do what I did: I used spray-on "relocatable" adhesive dry (as suggested somewhere) which worked great at first but I let it set for a long time & it was near impossible to remove the wet & dry paper when it cames time to change it (I still haven't managed to scrape it off
) Some suggestions from fans of the system - professional woodworkers - suggested: either just taping the ends (seems less than ideal to me, not flat & not secure), using water to hold it in place (only works sometimes) or using special self-adhesive wet&dry paper. Probably simplest just to remove the wet& dry paper before the relocatable adhesive dries though! 
Re. punching surfaces, I came across a book that describes using a lead block, which can be melted & reformed periodically.
-
Things like that usually happen to me when I'm thinking about 10 min ahead of what I'm doing right then. I have to really stay in the moment. ...
Paul
I think that probably is the secret. Slow down! Focus! Be careful! I also tend to curl the fingertips of my left hand (the one not holding the knife) under the knuckles, out of the way. Imagining, before hand, the damage you would do if you screw-up might also help focus the mind. Have a regard, fear even, of the tools. Be careful whenever near/handling/sharpening/sheathing/unsheathing sharp edge tools - and try not to do such tasks while moving about, lest you trip/slip/faint/get hit by something/...
I'd also recommend keeping steri-strip/butterfly plasters in your first aid kit, which can stand-in for professional stitches in a pinch (stabbed my hand once - while in the sea at a remote beach, on a Sunday, far away from home or any town - didn't even know where the nearest hospital might be). If you are worried about major bleed outs, check out modern military wound dressings - e.g. Celox looks pretty useful.
-
Excellent :D That's why you should visit charity shops. Keep an open mind & open eyes. Otherwise quite likely it would have been thrown in the garbage. And hopefully that $5 went to good use too. It's all good.
-
I use those green "self healing" cutting mats - available in a range of sizes & prices from ebay, Amazon, etc. I started with a small A4 sized one, which was good enough to get started. Then later I got a very large one (A2) to cover much of my workbench top - it cost £5 last year (2014) and it allowed me to protect my new bench top at the same time :D. I really like them, esp. the big one.
I also have a white polythene kitchen cutting board but prefer the green mats. For punching though, I normally use the end of a log - i.e. a solid surface that won't damage the cutting edge of the punch.
I don't have a good surface for skiving and would welcome suggestions. I believe something very hard & very smooth is required.
-
Any advice on buying/using Linen thread? I've used polyester braids so far. I've seen Barbour Irish linen thread - presumably from the company that make the wax cotton shooting & biker jackets - is that good/suitable for leather? Do you just get one thin diameter & then twist your own thicker threads as needed? FYI I currently use mainly 4-6mm thick leather (8-10z?).
Hammer For Hand Stitches
in Getting Started
Posted · Edited by Tannin · Report reply
Have you considered vintage? I found a nice old NOS 1940s leather hammer with the War Dept. crows foot stamp on it - in new condition - on ebay. They are usually several leather hammers listed on ebay in the UK, probably many more listed in the USA, France & Germany. I like the look of "swoopy headed" French hammers (like Blanchard?) - some of the German ones have a similar appearance. You can pick up such hammers - or just their heads - at car boot sales here; I think many families used to have one or two for repairing shoes. People usually don't know (and don't care) what they are intended for, so the faces are sometimes damaged from banging in nails but could probably be restored. Usually images on ebay do not show the condition of the hammering face which can be frustrating - if you find one you like, ask the seller to add a picture of it