zuludog

Yes, that's the sort of thing, but although I'm sure they are very nice,and good quality, they're too expensive for me I was thinking more of the sort of average looking models from Craft Sha, Kyoshin Elle, and Seiwa that you see on Goods Japan's website, costing around $30 But thank you for finding them

Does anyone know a supplier of Japanese Leather Knives in the UK, please?

Hello JIMBOJAY and welcome to the forum, and all the fun & frustration that is leathercraft! One thing you will quickly learn about leathercraft is that like many hobbies, depending on how serious and involved you want to be, you can spend & spend as much as you want to Here are some suggestions for edge bevellers, going up in price - Standard edge beveller #8076 about £13. this is probably the cheapest; it is simple and easy to use, and to sharpen, and will do the job - from Identity Leathercraft It has a flat cross section to the base Keen edge beveller #8077 about £18 It has a grooved cross section to the base so you need to be a bit more careful about sharpening it Also from Identity Leathercraft Osborne Round edge tool #127 about £32 from Metropolitan Leather ; also has a grooved base They all come in different sizes for different thicknesses of leather, but unfortunately there is no common standard, each maker has their own system, so check with the supplier that it is suitable If you're going to make a bag & specs case you'll probably be using leather that is about 2mm thick. I would start with a standard edge beveller size 2. If after that you want to get more involved it will still be useful They usually come with only a basic finish, so they can be improved considerably by sharpening & polishing them yourself. Making a strop is one of the easiest items of leatherwork you can do, and you will use it for other things as well There is a lot of information on YouTube. Search for edge bevelling leather; edge bevellers review; sharpening an edge beveller; finishing leather edges, making a strop, making leather eyeglass case and so on. There's not much on making armrest bags, but Search for making pouches, and possibles bags and you'll get the idea https://www.metropolitanleather.com https://www.identityleathercraft.com

I would have thought that unless it's really cheap and lightweight, most domestic sewing machines could sew lightweight leather such as garment leather, say up to 1mm thick. I have a Janone machine that I use mainly for tents & rucsacs, but I have also sewn garment leather with no problems. I just used the same heavy duty needles I use for rucsac fabric, though no doubt others will come along with their recommendations Your question about how to get started, and a tool list is often asked on here, look at past Threads in the Getting Started and Leather Tools sections There is a lot of information on YouTube, both techniques and how to make particular items. These channels are good - Nigel Armitage; Ian Atkinson; JH Leather. Geordie Leather has a dozen videos or more on tools & techniques aimed at beginners. Search for 'beginners tools for leatherwork' and there are several videos What would you like to make? Belts, wallets & cardholders; knife sheaths; belt pouches are popular, but I'm guessing you are interested in guitar straps. Search YT for 'how to make......' and you'll see how other people do things, both the methods & the tools they use. Remember that the same techniques, such as saddle stitching, edge finishing, and so on are used on different items. Have a browse through some suppliers websites, you'll see the sort of things that are available, and the prices. I only know of Tandy, Rocky Mountain Leather Supply and Weaver Leather in the USA, but if you tell us where you are, perhaps American members can suggest a local store Here are some suggestions for tools. I am assuming that you want to start simply & cheaply Cutting mat; they're not that expensive, get the biggest you can manage There are many types of knives for leather but a utility/box cutter is simple, cheap, easy to use, and you may well have one already. A rotary cutter, such as Olfa, is good for thin leather A steel ruler, at least 12"/300mm long Wing dividers to mark the line of the stitching. I got mine from the secondhand tool stall on my local market Stitching chisels. These have long diamond section prongs and are intended to be knocked through the leather to make the stitching holes; they have largely replaced awls. A 2 prong and a 4, 5, or 6 prong with 4mm spacing will get you started, They can be improved by polishing the prongs with fine wet & dry paper Don't use a steel hammer as that will damage the chisel; instead use a soft mallet such as wood, hide, or nylon. There will still be times when you need an saddler's awl. The blade has a diamond cross section, so they are often known as diamond awls. Traditionally you bought the blade & haft separately then fitted them together and sharpened them yourself. This is a right tedious job, so buy one ready made to use, such as Blanchard from RMLS. Or get an Osborne haft with a chuck/collet and a # 42 or 43 blade. Even so you'll probably need to do the fine sharpening & polishing whatever you get A scratch awl aka round awl. used to mark out patterns on leather, stretching stitching holes, and general poking & prodding; they're cheap enough The cut edge of leather is quite hard & rough so we do a few things to round it off, though edge finishing is a subject in itself Edge beveler to remove the corners. A cheap one for about $12 to $15 will get you started Ideally you need a range of sizes for different thicknesses of leather, but one intended for 2mm will do for most An edge burnisher/slicker/polisher; just get a cheap wooden one To thin down/pare/skive the edge of leather you can use a special, very sharp knife, but a safety skiver is easy to use, cheap, and uses replaceable blades You may as well as start with good needles such as John James model L3912 size 002; again, they're not very expensive Thread - there are lots of different brands but your main choice will be linen or braided polyester; try a reel or two of each and see what you like. You want size 18/3 linen, or 432 in the French system. and 0,5 to 0,6 mm dia for braided polyester such as Ritza 25/Tiger thread A lump of beeswax; for waxing thread and various other jobs in leatherwork I'm bound to have forgotten things, but I think that will be enough for the moment

FREDK Thanks for the inspiration. You could make coasters and bases for ornaments. I remember that my Grandparents had some very old brass candlesticks, and they used small pieces of fabric to stop them scratching shelves & tables, so I suppose you could use leather for the same thing; or a for a fruit bowl on a polished dining table.....you get the idea You could also use leather for inlays into trinket boxes, similar to marquetry. Depending on the sizes of the small pieces you could also line or make pen cases & slips, trinket boxes, instrument & photographic equipment cases etc, drawing instrument cases, Old magnetic compasses often had leather cases. I used to work in a sweets, jam & jelly factory, where a refractometer was used to measure the concentration of the sugar solutions & syrups. The small portable refractometers were protected in leather cases and carried around in the pockets of our overalls and lab. coats I don't know much about guns, but what about a rifle or shotgun butt pad? (Is that the right word? I'm sure you'll know what I mean) Search YT for 'making a leather card holder' It doesn't have to be all the same colour. Sometimes different colours & textures for the different pieces or components can be interesting And it goes without saying that I've made slip covers for my leatherworking knives - clicker; head; Japanese; skiving; kiridashi. Lots of strops?

The white strip is perfectly normal. Leather is usually only dyed/coloured on its top surface, the grain side. When you bevel the edge of the leather you are removing a very narrow strip of that top surface to reveal the inner, undyed part of the leather. You can reduce this effect by changing the angle of your edge beveler, or using a smaller one, but you can't usually prevent it altogether, otherwise you're not beveling the edge! Search YouTube for 'edge beveling leather ' and almost any leatherwork project and you'll see this. That is why it is usual to burnish & coat/paint/colour the edge of the leather after you've bevelled it. Again, Search YT for finishing/burnishingeather edges Sometimes you may wish to leave the leather in it's natural colour using plain, undyed veg tan . Then you bevel & burnish but use a very pale or colourless edge coat like beeswax, gum tragacanth, or Tokonole

What first springs to mind are stacked leather knife handles, either wholly, or partly for decorative spacers. You can find them ready made, such as Estwing axes and hammers, and KA-BAR knives. Also for fishing rod handles. Presumably you could make similar handles for other tools - a homemade round or head knife with a stacked leather handle? I have never made a braided leather whip, but I would think that a stacked leather handle would set it off nicely Leather buttons - either thick, stiff leather or thinner softer leather to cover metal buttons. Search Google for 'football buttons' Depending on the fashions and your target customers you could make leather jewellery & accessories, like bracelets, necklaces, lockets, and even earrings I remember that in the 1970s there was a fashion for patchwork lady's skirts, handbags & purses; and I had a girlfriend who had a belt made from leather links. It was the kind with figure-of eight pieces folded over and slotted into each other - you can get the dies; Tandy sell a kit for leather link belts Some industrial fan belts and drive belts are made from leather links, but I think that in this case you would need them to be made seriously, by people who knew what they were doing; though you might be able to repair a couple of damaged links in such belts as long as you were careful I've just Searched Google & YT - leather patchwork handbags are still available. I also found leather patchwork rugs and quilts on Google and YT Search YouTube for 'making a stacked leather knife handle' and 'Making a leather flyrod grip part1, & 2' by PercoLab You can make leather mache in a similar way to papier mache. In the mediaeval period it was used to decorate walls & ceilings, as in Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace. On a smaller scale you can use leather mache to make sculptures and relief paintings & carvings You can make seals, washers, and gaskets for engines, camping stoves, & machinery. Usually these are for older machines and restoration, as these are not designed to use modern materials like PTFE Just Search around on YT & Google LUMPENDOODLE2 - What is the other forum & hobby you mention, please?

Let me tell you about my edge bevelers; perhaps someone will find it interesting or useful I bought a set of Craftool Pro edge bevelers - the ones with the black rubber handles - in sizes 00, 0, 1, & 2. They had good reviews by Nigel Armitage, and were on offer at the Tandy shop in Manchester But when I came to use them I had problems; they were jamming and juddering on the leather, and hardly cutting at all. The only way I could get them to cut was to press down really hard, which made using them a real struggle. I was puzzled and confused ( a common occurrence!) as in the videos by Nigel and Tandy they just sailed along through the leather with hardly any effort by the looks of things. I was also concerned and annoyed that I might have wasted my money, and wondered if I should resign myself to buying some more, possibly Osborne Instead I watched Nigel's videos several times over, on YouTube and Vimeo. I played around with some scrap 3mm veg tan, and used a magnifying glass to see how the tip of the tool met up and engaged with the leather. I realised that I had been holding the handle of the edger too high, probably at an angle of 45 degrees, or more. This meant that the little side prongs or guides were digging into the leather instead of sliding over it. It also meant that the prongs were preventing the cutting edge, right up inside the V of the edger, from reaching the leather. If I pressed down hard enough the blade would cut, but that caused the prongs to dig in more, making the jamming even worse So I tried beveling with the edger laid almost flat; this would not cut, as I expected Then gradually raising the handle till I found the best cutting angle, without jamming. This turned out to be less than I had been using, about 30 degrees I also gave them a good sharpening with wet & dry paper, working through the grades from 1200 --> 2500 --> 5000 --> 7000 grit. For sizes 1 & 2 I folded the paper over a steel rod about 2mm dia. For sizes 00 & 0 I sanded the edge of a lollipop stick like a knife edge, and folded the paper over that Then I used a strop. For sizes 1 & 2 I used the strips of leather on a stropping board; for sizes 00 & 0 I pulled through with a length of cord; I made my own by plaiting some 18/3 linen thread and loading it with compound The results are much better -almost as good as Nigel's! - so I'll stay with them; but even so, I have to be careful not to lift the handles too high

It's easy and cheap enough to make your own strop from oddments of wood and leather - either a flat one for sharpening things like knives and skiving knives, or one with raised strips of leather for sharpening edgers Search YouTube for 'making a strop' and 'sharpening edge bevelers'

I've had a look; their belts are excellent and impressive However, to get away with those kind of colour schemes and contrasts I think the standard of workmanship must be absolutely top notch - which it is For lesser mortals such as myself I think a more subdued combination would be more forgiving, so I'll stay with the brownish colours for the moment But thankyou for the link, it shows what can be done, and gives me something to aim for. I may get Metropolitan's sample pack yet

I saw this comment on another forum - Next time you go for a job interview you are likely to be asked 'How did you spend your time during the Lockdown?' or 'What new skills did you learn during the Lockdown?' I don't think that 'rolling my navel fluff into little balls and flicking it into an old coffee cup at the end of the table' would be the sort of answer they would appreciate

I wondered whether to stay with black and go for a contrast or to go for something more subdued. In the end I decided that there was only one way to find out, and that was to try it. If I don't like the brown on a belt I can always try it on a wallet I also wondered whether to get Metropolitan's sample pack of edge paint, but decided that there were some colours that I was fairly sure that wouldn't use, like yellow and blue, so I just got a couple of full size bottles. So far I've received a bottle from Metropolitan, and tried it on scrap, and it works well enough; I've yet to receive the sample from Identity

Since this Thread started I have bought an Osborne #42 awl blade & haft. It was quite easy & quick to sharpen the blade; less than an hour on a fine stone and a strop, and the result is very sharp But mounting the blade in a haft was fiddly and I couldn't get it to go in straight. I ended up drilling the haft and setting the blade in the haft with epoxy glue If I ever buy another awl it will be an Osborne #42 or #43 blade and one of their hafts with some sort of chuck or collet.

That looks OK The little carving knife looks very good; if the skiving knife turns out to the same standard, you've done well. You could try making a KIRIDASHI knife; Search Google and YouTube to see what they're like. Just holding the bare tang would be a bit uncomfortable, you would probably need to fit some scales

I have just about all the tools & materials I need for the moment, except that the only edge paint i have is black Fiebings Edge Kote I want to make a few belts, including some in light to medium tan, and I thought that black edges would be to much of a contrast, so I've ordered some own brand tan and medium brown edge paint from Metropolitan Leather and Identity Leathercraft, to see what they're like. Every little helps.

I have made a Japanese style leather knife from an old block plane blade; it is 35mm wide, and just under 2mm thick I have made a skiving knife from a piece of industrial hacksaw blade; it was 1,5"/40mm wide but by the time I'd ground off the teeth and tidied it up it was 36mm wide and just under 2mm thick I've Searched t'Net - Osborne skiving knife, which they call All Purpose Knife #67 is 40mm wide Chartermade Skiving knife is 40mm wide - find it on Rocky Mountain Leather Supply Vergez - Blanchard skiving knife, which they call a Heel Paring knife is 40mm wide - find it on Rocky Mountain Leather supply For those three they don't quote the thickness, but it looks like they are thicker than 2mm, perhaps 4mm A Search of Goods Japan shows several Japanese style skiving knives with widths between 30mm and 39mm So, I think a suitable width would be around the 35 to 39mm range Personally, I think your handle would be a bit too bulbous; compare it to the examples above, and Search YouTube to see what I mean. On the other hand, make what you want - you can always thin it down, but you can't stick it back on.

You may well know this already, but it seems to me that most serious leatherworkers in Britain get their tools & materials from https://www.abbeyengland.com

So far the only edge coating I've used has been Fiebings Edge Kote in black, but I want to make a couple of belts in light tan, and I thought a black edge might be too stark, so I was thinking of some kind of medium or light tan or brown Tandy have closed, and although I can get Fiebings Edge Kote from a couple of Online suppliers in Britain, I see that https://www.metropolitanleather.com have their own brand, and I thought I might try that - has anyone used it? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated

It's simple and does the job ----- handsome is as handsome does I never did find my chopping board. I think I must have accidentally thrown it out in one of my infrequent tidy - ups To make things clear; I use the board or the magazine for stitching chisels. I don't use my cutting mat Edit - BANT - thanks for your comments as well; sorry I forgot to do a double quote

Yes, the terminology and nomenclature (posh words, eh!) is confusing, but I use stitching chisels, by which I mean chisels with long prongs that are designed to be knocked all the way through the leather, and to largely replace awls For a long time I used a kitchen chopping board as a base, a plastic (polypropylene?) one about 10mm thick Then one day I couldn't find it, so as a temporary measure I used an old magazine - thick and tough and resilient enough to support the leather and protect my bench, but soft and yielding enough not to blunt the prongs That was a couple of years ago, and I've been using them ever since. They are simple, effectively free, and when they get worn I just replace them

Alright, I know this is OT, but you might like another tale about my Grandfather When I was a boy word went round the village that a prisoner had escaped from the local jail. Police were touring the streets with a loudspeaker van, giving out the usual sort of warnings - He's dangerous........stay at home.......do not approach him.......lock your doors Next day me, Mum & Dad visited Grandma & Grandpa, and Grandpa was in his back yard, sharpening the edge of his spade on a grindstone This is a trick I learned in France, he said

Yes, so much to learn, to do, and to try, all at once - welcome to the fun! The two journal bundles look as though they have a good range of the usual sorts of leather colours - shades of brown, tan, possibly black and grey. I'd say start with those and see how you go on - they have, after all, been professionally dyed If, after that, you want different colours or fancy dyeing your own you could get the bundle of natural veg tan scrap, or a larger piece for a particular job, perhaps when you've gained some experience Incidentally, natural veg tan can look attractive if it is left undyed and just greased. It mellows to a sort of dull yellow/mustard colour

The Julius Koch company makes waxed, braided polyester thread under the brand name 'Ritza 25'. The packet has a picture of a tiger on it, so the thread is sometimes called 'Tiger' thread It is available in 0,6/0,8/1,0 and 1,2 mm diameters, and a range of colours. It is widely recommended, but I don't like the way it handles/feels, and it has a flat cross section which makes it trickier to sew It is usually only sold in large reels of 500 or 1,000m which make it a bit expensive to buy into. But Rocky Mountain Leather Supply sell it in shorter, cheaper lengths which means you could try a few colours and diameters before you buy a full roll. For the work that you will be doing I'd choose 0,6mm, but by all means try some 0,8mm as well so you can see what it's like I like the Chinese Yue Fung braided polyester thread, which is also sold by RMLS under their own 'Twist' label. I prefer the way it feels and it has a round cross section.Go for the 0,55mm dia I also like linen thread, again RMLS sell Yue Fung linen as their 'Twist' linen thread, and I think it's excellent. The French 'Fil au Chinois' linen thread is also very good, and sold by RMLS AFAIK bonded polyester is used mostly for machine sewing, but I'm willing to be corrected I like using linen thread on knife sheaths and polyester for wallets and belts, as it is stronger than linen and you can seal the ends with a flame. So yes, linen is weaker, but the point is that it is strong enough for the purpose Then there is the choice of colours. It's up to you if you want thread that matches and blends in to the leather, or is a contrast; either is acceptable While you're at it, buy a piece of beeswax, it's not very expensive. Although the thread you buy might be ready waxed, you might find it's easier to use if you give it an extra waxing. Beeswax is also used for a few other jobs in leatherwork

The journal bundles look pretty good to me. I'd buy one of each Oh, and it looks like I've found another US supplier

I know next to nothing about horses and their leatherwork, but here's something that might interest you, and my apologies if you know it already My Grandfather served in the British Army on the Western Front during WW1, when they still used a lot of horses. He said they had two sets of bits and other brassware. One would be in use on the horses and they would put the other set into a canvas bag with a shovelful of sand, and tie it across a wheel. As they travelled the brass would be tumbled and polished, and they would swap the sets every few days - even in wartime they were expected to keep up the standards He also said that horses had one big advantage over lorries -- you could eat them