zuludog

I'm with HADRADA on this Nigel Armitage has several YT videos on stitching chisels, and on his recommendation I chose Seiwa as shown by Hadrada, and I'm happy enough with them Obviously a top class tool such as Crimson Hide would be better, but they are very expensive, and the Seiwa work well enough if you're careful about placing them, and polish the prongs Wider spaced prongs are easier to use and sew with, so start with the distance between the prongs of 3 to 4mm, and only get closer spaced chisels after you've gained some experience, and if you decide you need to. 0,6mm dia synthetic thread will be OK for most stitching. 18/3 or 432 linen thread is about the same diameter Go to the 'Sewing Leather' section of this forum. The first Thread is all about stitching chisels, and there is a lot of good advice on there EDIT - I've just re - read your post and I see you've already bought a chisel with 2mm spacing, which is very narrow, and I think you may well have difficulty sewing with it. If you go ahead I would use thinner thread such as 0,4mm synthetic, or, as Hadrada stated, 632 linen I would get chisels with 4mm spacing - a 2 and a 4 or 6 prong - and 0,6mm thread, and get used to those first

Hello Landfield, and welcome to the Forum The pouch is a good start Search YouTube for 'Nigel Armitage - pouches' He has made a series of videos, starting with a simple flat pouch and working up to more complex designs. Also JH Leather; she does most of her sewing with an awl Try using an old magazine as a base for making holes. It is strong enough to support the leather, but soft and yielding enough not to damage awls & stitching chisels -- and it's effectively free. Just replace it when it gets worn

The usual way of making a strop is to glue leather to a piece of wood - Search YouTube for 'making a leather strop', there are several videos. The rubber cement or the white glue would be OK Have the leather bigger than the wood, then trim it when the glue's dried Have the flesh side of the leather showing; place it on a bench with the wood uppermost; put a couple of pans of water on top and leave it overnight to set FREDK's advice on soaking the leather first is good Treat yourself to some proper stropping/honing compound, like Veritas green compound. A bar isn't that expensive, and it will last for ages

Even new blades for utility & craft knives will work better if you strop them first You can also re-sharpen them on a fine stone or fine grit paper, followed by stropping You can get skiving knives with replaceable blades, I think 'Safety Skiver' is one make. But Search YouTube for 'Japanese leather skiving knife' You'll see that it can be used for both cutting and skiving leather. They are easy to sharpen, on a fine stone or fine abrasive paper, then a strop; you'll find that on YT as well

I know we're getting off topic, but I thought i'd tell you a snippet about my friend with the newspaper He only did his stewarding at weekends. his normal day job was a primary school teacher

I haven't got a French Edge Skiver, and I haven't used one, but I wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to sharpen it You might want to correct the angle and the bevel of the cutting edge with a needle file first, then - For the bottom/outside edge just use a fine stone or fine grit abrasive paper, followed by a strop. For the inside, make up a few sharpening 'stones' from strips of wood that fit inside, with progressively finer abrasive paper glued or pinned to them. If you're really keen you could go to finer grits like 5,000 and 7,000. Then make up a strop in a similar way You may well find that if the cutting edge is correctly adjusted and very sharp you will be able to get more control, and thus not have to force the tool and cut too deep. Try Searching YouTube foe 'sharpening an edge beveller' ; yes, it's a different tool, but it uses similar methods to sharpen it I wouldn't use a Dremel, it would be all to easy to damage things beyond repair. It will take a while to get things right, and sharp at first, but once you get there you should only need a quick sharpen on a strop Search YT for 'sharpening'; there are loads of videos and you'll soon see how things are done Are you using the French Edger for general skiving? Search YT for 'skiving leather' for various methods

Have a browse through YouTube, several channels offer patterns & templates for wallets, including JH Leather, Nigel Armitage, and Ian Atkinson. Similarly for belts and other items For template material I use artist's/photographer's mounting board; from The Range or your local art store; could also use breakfast cereal packets I use cereal packets to make mock - ups of items, to get an idea of what the final article will look like; sequence of construction, and so on Do you know there is a British knife making & collecting forum? www.edgematters.uk It is subscription but it's only £5 pa via Paypal, which is more of a screening for serious users really Speaking of cosh's years ago a friend was a steward/marshal at events like rock music festivals, football matches, and so on. He used to keep the crowd in order with a rolled up newspaper.......but it was rolled up round a chair leg.

When I dye leather on one or both sides it does go stiffer I carry on and make up the item - usually a belt or a knife sheath - them apply my mixture, which is simply ordinary general purpose leather grease in the flat cans typically intended for hiking boots and similar items I scrape it out into an old jam jar and thin it about 75% grease and 25% white spirit, which is, I think, the British name for mineral thinners. Apply it with an old toothbrush so it soaks in and knead it with your hands & fingers. Then let it dry out for a couple of days and buff off I've been doing that for years and never had any complaints I've tried doing the same with mink oil but it doesn't seem to dissolve as well into the white spirit

A spirit (alcohol) burner is traditional, and a small camping stove would also do the job, though I think there is a danger that the gas stove might get the creaser too hot Have a look at YouTube videos by JH Leather. she uses an electric hotplate to heat the creaser

I use Evostik Impact , multi-purpose instant contact adhesive. It's available in small tubes or larger cans

Yes, I can go along with that as well

You can buy the head knife from the makers https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk As a traditional maker they keep the cost down by only giving you a basic cutting edge; you must do the final sharpening and polishing yourself. However, once you've done that, it is excellent There are several videos on sharpening round, and head knives; the same technique is used for both. JH Leather has a good video on this; also her videos show her using a head knife, though it is not by Barnsley Osborne also make a head knife

Cutting inside curves is not easy. Try this method - Mark out the line of the cut you want to make with a round awl, also called a scratch awl - that's how it got its name. This scratch will act as a guide for your knife make your first cut very lightly, then firmer and firmer on subsequent cuts. Try using a clicker knife with a hooked blade, as shown by mike02130 above. You can buy these, and similar knives but with a fixed blade which you must sharpen yourself from www.georgebarnsley.co.uk For some inside curves you can use a round strap end punch For sanding I use 100 grit paper, either just folded over or folded round various shaped pieces of wood. Glue all the pieces together first, then sand them as one thickness Watch YouTube videos of the kind of things you would like to make, and you'll see how other people do it; but sanding & finishing edges is is done for many items What kind of things are you making, please? That might give us a better idea of how to advise you

I don't think it would be possible to make dark leather lighter, certainly not on that scale. And anything you did try would probably ruin it Have you ever sanded back paint on a piece of wood? no matter how hard you try there are always remnants of the paint left in scratches, nail holes, and so on; I think you would get the same sort of effect on leather. To be sure you would have to sand back severely on wood, and on leather it would damage the leather, as mentioned Usually when you clean back the surface of leather it is so you can apply some sort of coating or leather feeding compound to preserve the leather or make it darker But an alternative would be to give it a good clean and feed, then it might look a bit more acceptable I am just about to clean my Stressless leather chair with cleaner and protection cream from the Leather Repair Company www.lrcuk.com. I've never used it before, but it has good review; otherwise Search t'Net, there are lots of products Another possibility would be to fit covers - Search t'Net for 'stretch covers for sofa'. Or you might think you're better off putting the money towards a new sofa in the first place Finally, welcome to the Forum. Although it is based in America there are members from all over the world, including the UK

There is still a Sheffield based maker of leatherworking tools - https://www.georgebarnsleyand sons.co.uk I have one of their head knives. As a traditional maker Barnsley only provide a basic cutting edge, which helps to keep the cost down. But once you've done the final sharpening and polishing it's excellent

Something bigger than a stitching pony, but not as big or bulky as a stitching horse that you sit on? How about the traditional saddler's clam, aka saddler's clamp? - Search Google and YouTube accordingly You can sit down to it on a separate chair, or stand up to it; then tuck it away in a corner somewhere , upright or lying down, when you don't want it. Usually you sit down and put it between your knees to give it a bit of support; by varying the angle you can adjust the height Nigel Armitage, Jo from JH Leather, and many others use a clam

Nigel Armitage has a video entitled 'How to make a simple hand stitched wallet', or some similar title. He covers leather & linings for wallets, and shows how to make a lined wallet. I think he uses deerskin for the lining, but your pigskin would do the job as well Drawstring - mediaeval style? - pouches & purses Belts, chokers, bracelets; braided or otherwise. But you'd have to find the right customers Lining a jewellery or trinket box Tube protectors for your little fingers when you're hand sewing

Well, I've got one -- it's the type shown by FREDK , and I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how good it is Once you starts Searching you'll find this knife all over the place - Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, and a few leathercraft suppliers. The prices vary quite a bit, between about £4 and £15. I saw one at £3-83, and thought that at that price I might as well try it Import duty brought it up to just over £5, say $6-50. Stated delivery time was 4 to 6 weeks but it arrived in 7 or 8 days The blade is polished, aligned properly with the handle, and is not wobbly or loose. The finish on the handle is a bit rough, which is fair enough at that price. I sanded it but did not strip off all the varnish completely, and oiled it, which improved things; in fact as the grain is partially revealed, it looks quite attractive It was sharp from new. I gave it a brief touch up on a fine stone and than a strop; now it's very sharp So far I've only tried it on scrap, and to make its own slip cover, but it works well enough for both cutting and skiving. There is a noticeable secondary bevel but I'll probably grind that out as I resharpen it If you're interested or have never used a Japanese style knife before I can recommend it

I had a thought - I do that sometimes - and Searched YouTube for 'wing dividers' and 'wing dividers for leather work'. There are several videos, for leather work and other uses, but I haven't watched every one

Sorry, perhaps I didn't make things clear. Rabone Chesterman ceased trading years ago, and so you would only find them secondhand. I think Moore & Wright are still going though, and there's also Faithful and Draper Starrett, Osborne, and some of the top Japanese makes are available, but they are expensive, so try Searching Google for 'wing dividers for leathercraft', there are several cheaper makes, especially on Etsy, probably from China, Korea, and so on, but you don't need precision engineering to make a line on a piece of leather It's a shame that the secondhand stall is closed thanks to The Pestilence Edit - I've just Searched Amazon UK for 'wing dividers leather' and there are several models available at reasonable prices

Strictly speaking there is a difference between a wing divider which clamps down on a flat curved arm to adjust the width, and a screw divider which uses a screw thread acting against a spring; but in practice there's not much difference between them and they'll both do the same job Fettle the tips with a fine file and abrasive paper. You want them very slightly rounded so they will make a mark or depression on the leather but not so sharp that you cut the surface I got mine from the secondhand tool stall at my local market for £2-50, they're 15cm/6" long. They're marked 'Cooper' but I would think that any of the usual makes like Rabone, Eclipse, Chesterman would be OK Osborne have their model 106, but it's expensive. Otherwise Surf the Net. Axminster Tools have some at a reasonable price

I punch a hole about 1cm in from one end. Choose the scruffy end if there is one, that you would trim off anyway. Then put a cord through and hang them up out of the way somewhere. If you have lots of belts, just do several bundles - segregate them according to width, colour, etc. This, and Fredk's method means the belts relax and straighten out if they've been rolled up for shipping, and makes them easier to work with. For this, and any other leather storage, do it somewhere out of strong sunlight

Welcome to the forum! I don't know of any books that deal specifically with making tool cases, but the thing to realise about leatherwork is that the techniques and methods are used on various different items - sewing up a belt, a pouch, or a knife sheath is pretty much the same process for all of them So a good book on general leatherwork would show you most things. This is often recommended, though there are others of course - 'The Leatherwork Handbook' by Valerie Michael However, there is a lot of information on YouTube, both for the techniques and the finished items. So Search for things like saddle stitch; finishing leather edges; fitting rivets & snaps; beginners tools for leatherwork, and so on Play around with the Search Box for how to make the finished items, things like knife sheaths; axe covers; tool rolls; pouches to see how other people do them Just follow the links; you may not find exactly what you want, but they will be close Most of the items you want will be unique to your own tools, so before you cut leather, I suggest you make mockups from card, like cereal packets, stapled or taped together You could start by making a strop, this is one of the easiest items of leatherwork you can do, and it will be used frequently - Search YT. Then a key fob; start simply and build it up from there. Next could be simple slip covers for chisels, as shown in the picture, and for leatherworking knives. They don't need to be riveted, all mine are sewn

Well, I think that's the other end of the price range I am still thinking of the Craft Sha, Kyoshin Elle, or similar, but at that price I may as well see what it's like

For Japanese leather knives you skive with the bevel down, so that makes the angle of the cutting edge lower. Even so, I think the cheaper, simpler models would be better for skiving 'HAKU - handmade leatherworks' has a good YT video or two showing this; even though it's in Japanese, the video and the diagrams are clear enough. You can see that he uses a simpler knife, though I suspect the steel would be better and more expensive than the $30 ones