slipangle

#4 … 4 1/4 long 1 3/16 wide.

Uncomfortable with my old Osborne, I decided to make myself a custom awl haft. And then, I figured, since I’m going to the trouble, why not make a few of them. And offer them up on the forum for those who might be interested in a one-of-kind, hand made tool. I really love making tools. I made these awl hafts out of rosewood I’ve had for 30 years. I used Starrett #162 pin vises for the chucks. Size B. I turned a collar for the transition from wood to chuck out of nickel silver. Brass with 18% nickel added to it. I decided on this shape as it provides a place for the thumb and middle finger to push the blade, along with the palm. I place my index finger up on the chuck, for better control. But there are a few ways you can hold this tool. I’m not super proficient with saddle stitching, but I’ve also found that this shape, with its turned finger area, can be held comfortably between the second and third fingers, or held in the crook of the thumb, as the thumb and index finger manipulate the needle, then flipped back up into position to punch holes. Haft #2 is a bit different. More of a standard shape. Built for slightly smaller hands, perhaps. I based the design of this tool, and the size of the chuck, on the Vergez-Blanchard diamond awl blade, in short sizes. 1 1/2 to two inch. I had planned on including a V-B 45 mm blade with each tool but our domestic supplier is out of them and they’re back ordered for a month so, I’ve got some John James 1 3/4 inch blades coming from England and will include one of those with each tool. Un-sharpened. They should arrive next week. I hope. Disclaimer and construction notes: The English and French diamond shaped awl blades in the smaller sizes fit these chucks. The longer, 55 mm V-B blades do not, without slight alteration. They’re too wide at 4 mm. But I am not sure the Osborne blades will fit as I don’t have one here to check. If you plan on using an Osborne blade it may require slight modification. Lightly grinding down the round, dimpled end so it fits in this tool. Deciding on which chuck to use was a compromise. The jaws of the next larger Starrett pin vise was just a tad too big. And, given the quality of the tools I wanted to produce, I wasn’t all that comfortable using some of the cheap Chinese made pin vises found on the Net. The Starretts are expensive, by comparison, but I wanted to use a quality fitting. Other pin vises have wrench flats on them for tightening, which is handy, but I find these knurled chucks hold very well. I turn down a custom plug for the inside of the pin vise’s tubular body, out of aluminum, and insert it in the body to act as a stop for the blade. Depth to the stop is approximately one inch. After the tool is assembled I orient a blade in the chuck and inlay a 1/8 inch diameter nickel silver spot on the top of the tool, in line with the flat of the blade, to help align the blade so the flats of the blade lay horizontally in the stitch groove. Not a super-precise system but with practice it works quite well. Pricing something like this, as anyone who makes things by hand knows, is always a challenge. Of course, I’d like to get a lot for them. But, I’d also like to sell them. So, I am asking what I believe is a fair price. I’ve only made a few of these and, if past performance is indicative of future output, I’m likely to move on to something else to build. So, very limited edition, so to speak. $78 each. Which includes a John James 1 3/4 inch blade. And free shipping, for now. Please send me a PM if interested and I’ll send you my Pay Pal info. Please refer to the tool you’re interested in by number. Thanks. Dimensions of each tool listed below with pics. #2 ...3 3/4" long 1 3/16 wide at widest point of handle. Slightly shorter than my other models. SOLD. Pending payment. #3 …. 4 1/4 long 1 1/8 inch wide.

Real nice, Stealfdawg. I too like working with metals. I like your design.

Beautiful. That handle is really something. Working with some exotic hardwood and brass at the moment, I can really appreciate that. Very nice.

I think it's safe, Michelle, as long as you don't go too steep. And they're not subject to heavy pounding. I just did one this morning. It's very handy to have a lathe to hold these in while filing and sanding the bevel, But can be done by hand on a belt sander too, if you're careful. Good luck, Slip

Hi Michelle, If I understand correctly, you are referring to those large holes I punched, as in that bag with the clover leaf. (logo of Colnago bicycles). Mine too have a sort of a "chamfer" to the finished hole. That is, the grain side and the flesh side exhibit not quite the same size hole. Close but, the flesh side exit hole is always is a tiny bit smaller. When the hole is punched from the grain side. That is the nature of hole punches, Michelle. They have a bevel ground to the cutting edge. Like any cutting tool, that edge must be strong enough to withstand the force of punching and still have the edge hold up. You can, however, sharpen a hole punch with a more acute, or sharper, bevel, but the more acute angle you grind, the more you run the risk of the edge collapsing. The bevel-shaped hole edge is more noticeable, of course, the thicker the leather. If you are working with thinner leathers, you can always make a very thin-walled punch out of steel tubing with an edge ground on to it. I've got one I made. Of course, you need various sizes of steel tubing to do that. Hope I've understood your question correctly. By the way, the chamfer to the hole's edge can be lessened somewhat when burnishing. Flattening it out a bit, effectively. Although I couldn't do this much on this 8 ounce black chrome tanned. But a little. Slip

Hi Michele, and thank you, By cutouts, I presume you mean these. This one I did with a half inch hole punch, and freehanded the rest. On this one, I made a paper pattern cutout of them Motobecane "M", then attached it temporarily to the leather with rubber cement. Then used a scalpel to cut it out.

Thanks Monica. And Oscar621. I'll take a look at the offerings from Springfield. I notice my local guy, Waterhouse Leather, doesn't seem to offer drum dyed veg tanned. Slip

Real nice, Rohn.

Thank you, Capsterdog!

Thanks all, And Monica. I too like the look of un-dyed veg tanned. Takes on a nice glow and color. I do get requests for bags to match guys' leather saddle, however. And it is usually Brooks "honey", a difficult color to match. Or brown. Still trying to come up with a suitable dye mix for honey. I have never tried working with colored veg tanned but should check it out. Thing is…does it have the same temper and firmness as standard veg tanned? Of course, I'm not doing tooling but having the ability to cut clean 45's with a French edger and do box-type construction at the edges is important. Which veg excels at, I've found. The black chrome tanned above sucks in that regard, but it's sort of workable. I need to practice becoming better at dyeing. I do have an airbrush but so far haven't tried it with leather dye yet. Thanks Slip

I'll put in a plug for Waterhouse Leather. Peter Benchley recently moved his family's old operation to Hyannis, Mass. Right around the corner from me. He is a great guy, allows me, a small time operator, to walk in and but a double shoulder now and again, and has great quality stock. Check out his web site. He also allows me to watch as he and his helper run my piece through his huge and ancient stationary splitting machine. To split it down from 8/9 to 6/7 ounce. The thing must weigh 2 tons, uses a 3 inch wide continuous blade and is a really fascinating machine.

Just read through this whole thread. Again, kudos to Bob for posting this and continuing to answer any and all questions. I have to say, the canvas covered wood burnisher is brilliant! I've got a bar of glycerin soap on order. Thanks again Bob.

Gorgeous!

I have no opinion on the legality of doing this. Only question I have is why? Like dressing your dog in a sequined sweater.

Thank you, M. U.

Many thanks, Monica. I appreciate it. Slip

I know the feeling, Joe. But it looks like you're well on your way. Stitching looks nice and even. I just ordered some Tiger thread. Wish I'd have ordered smaller size. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Capsterdog. They're not for sale anywhere, yet. Still fine tuning them and trying to decide what I'd have to charge for them I'll send you a PM, thank you.

Thanks folks. Very frustrating trying to get edges on this softish leather to look good. This winter I'll try some in veg tanned tool rolls. Though I've never quite liked the look of dyed leather. Maybe because I'm not that good at it and consider it a true art when done really well. And would like to try that fancy edge paint I've learned about here on this black material.

Hi Michele, Good input, thanks. I actually started with the idea of using a collett…..chuck would be the proper term I guess…. that I salvaged out of an old, beat up Osborne haft. Had to destroy the handle to remove it but it was pretty busted up anyway. The thing was not in too good shape, however. Even after I cleaned it up a bit. I then considered the idea of the cheap pin vises available on ebay and elsewhere. And the wrench flats do offer an advantage. But I just didn't trust a three dollar Chinese chuck. The quality and workmanship of Starrett tools is beyond compare, though they do cost me much more. And I found that despite the advantages of having wrench flats to tighten the blade in the chuck, these hold very well if you really tighten them down. But, good point on the shape of the long, slim nose of the Osborne chucks. I can see that these might abrade the vertical portion of the formed bag if run up against it. Never having sewn a formed shape like that, it didn't occur to me. Wish I could source some of that style chuck…without having to buy, and destroy, new Osborne tools. Thanks for the input, Slip oops, I misspelled your name Michelle. Sorry. Slip

Thank you Joe, I learned some things on that first one. But I like the shape too. Very comfortable. I hadn't cranked up the wood lathe in a couple of years. It's fun. Slip

Yes. Those plug cutters work, but for rough work. I'll try making a little circle cutter out of a stainless steel heavy wall tubing I have. Great idea. Thanks for the tips. I've finished my first couple of awl hafts but so far am only marking the "orientation" mark with a small metal stamp on my nickel silver ferrules. An inlay in the handle would be much more useful.

Thank you, Benlilly1.

Thank you.