zuludog

Here's a chance to learn some British slang Birmingham is one of the main engineering centres of Britain. In the local dialect it is distorted and pronounced 'Brummajem' Thus a hammer, especially an engineer's ball pein hammer, is known as a Brummajem Screwdriver I don't do any tooling or stamping, I only use my mallet for stitching chisels, flattening finished stitches and occasionally a hole punch. Almost always in my right, dominant, hand It's a hide mallet I got from a craft shop; just weighed it on my kitchen scales = 538g. I usually hold it somewhere between the middle & end of the Holdy Sticky Bit I'm thinking of fixing a disc of hardwood on the ends of the Hitty Bit to prevent too much wear on the hide

I vaguely remember that, but don't know what happened either. However, inspired by the recent thread (excuse the pun) about threads for beginners, and the closure of Tandy I've had a browse and a Surf to see what suppliers there are in Britain for thread for leather A listing does not mean I've tried every type, and there are no large wholesalers or manufacturers, just those that I know will sell small quantities at the hobby level. Apologies to any that I've missed, perhaps we could add to it and compile a complete list ABBEY ENGLAND Ritza and other synthetic; various thicknesses of linen. They do not publish prices on their website, you have to register LE PREVO Linen & synthetic; besides regular stock they often have clearance offers IDENTITY LEATHER Various synthetic & linen; have short lengths of Ritza at a reasonable price BOWSTOCK LEATHER Linen in various thicknesses ARTISAN LEATHER Linen in various colours & lengths; Amy Roke polyester; 'waxed polyester' which looks very similar to Tandy's ready waxed nylon H WEBBER Don't sell much thread but I've listed them because they sell Osborne tools and give the prices; they do stock thread refills for the auto awl LEATHER4CRAFT Various colours and thicknesses of linen; Serafil polyester in various colours BUECHERTIGER SUPPLIES Several makes and colours of linen thread, including Fil au Chinois; will sell short lengths

What a clever idea! My stitching chisels have a gap of 4mm for my sheaths made from 3mm leather so by the time I've finished the edge, that would be about right

I also make knife sheaths, but I think this is a rule of thumb for most leatherwork - The distance of the line of stitches from the edge of the piece should be that of the thickness of the leather, even if there are a few thicknesses of leather For example, I make sheaths from 3mm veg tan. There is a front, a back, and a welt, making a total thickness of 9mm, but the stitching line is still 3mm. As mentioned, this should be 3mm from the final, finished edge. If you are measuring from a simple, straight cut edge allow for any subsequent dging, sanding, etc. When in doubt remember that it's a lot easier to trim it back than it is to put it back on! 1/8" is 3,175mm so they're near as dammit the same If you're using very thin leather, say 1mm I would make the distance wider as 1mm doesn't give you much margin for error Incidentally I no longer use a stitching groover, I just mark the line of the stitching with dividers

Don't be afraid of your suppliers!. Ask their advice, tell them you're a beginner, and what you want to do, and what you've been using. Talk to them! And a phone call is much more pleasant than an email Search YouTube for Thread for Sewing Leather. There are several videos. This is good - '10 differences between Tiger thread and Fil au Chinois' by Ian Atkinson Tiger thread is very popular but I'm not keen on the way it feels or handles - you might. I prefer linen. That's why you should try a few different types & thicknesses.

Just thought I'd clear up some possible confusion Fil au Chinois is French for Chinese Thread. In the early 19th century the French company Sanjou invented a way of making linen thread with a tighter twist, which made it smoother and stronger. At the time anything Chinese or Oriental was very fashionable, so they called it Chinese Thread, even though it was, and still is, made in France -- an early example of marketing hype

You have two choices for hand sewing leather - synthetic or natural The most widely used synthetic thread is braided polyester made by the Julius Koch company, under the brand name 'Ritza'. It has a picture of a tiger on the label so it is also known as 'Tiger Thread'. The usual sizes for sewing leather are 0,6mm and 0,8mm; just try some to see what thickness suits you. You can get full or smaller rolls to try from Rocky Mountain Leather supply Natural thread for leather almost always means linen Some of the best linen thread is 'Fil au Chinois', and it uses a French system to measure the thickness. You don't need to know how it's calculated, except that the lower the number, the thicker the thread. I use 332 and 432 to sew 3mm thick leather for knife sheaths. This is also sold by RMLS Most other linen thread uses another system (was it originally British? I'd be interested to know). Again you don't need to know how it works, only that the most common thickness for sewing leather is 18/3. RMLS don't sell it so you'll have to Search for yourself or perhaps someone can recommend an American supplier Don't buy anonymous linen thread off Amazon or Ebay, some of it isn't very good. Look for brand names such as Somac, Barbour, Coates, Crawfords, RMLS have their own brand of both synthetic and linen thread - Twist. I haven't used it but it seems reasonable enough. I think they give free samples You say you get most of your stuff from Tandy. Does that include Tandy needles? Try using John James Saddlers Harness Needles size 002, JJ product code L3912, they're much better. These are sold by RMLS and they also do an assorted pack of needles so you could see which suits you. The prices for needles are reasonable enough for you to try

I usually start a sewing machine by hand for the first 2 or 3 stitches to make sure that everything is running OK

I've just Searched YouTube for "Singer 111w155" There are loads of videos including several each on feeding the thread, adjusting tension. Just work your way through them and I'm sure you'll find an answer I've just Searched Google for "Singer 111w155" manual - there are several websites to obtain the manual either as a pdf or a reprinted paper manual

Great stuff! Well done to both of you!

I have only ever used a Janome machine for fabric, but here are a few comments The thread on your machine doesn't seem to be properly routed and doesn't seem to go through the take up lever at all I had a problem with needles snapping and found that the top thread had become wrapped or looped around one of the wire guiding loops, so it was jamming on them. This meant that the top thread was not moving at all, so as the work was fed through the machine the top thread was pulling on the needle, which quickly snapped Get hold of a threading diagram for your machine and re - feed the thread carefully all the way to the needle, checking right from the reel of thread and at each stage and guiding hook that the thread runs freely Check that the thread tensioner is not adjusted too tightly Check that the upper thread runs freely when the foot is in both the upper and lower positions Pull both upper & lower threads forward and clear of the foot and similar mechanism Set up the machine for sewing with scrap leather but only turn it by hand. This will enable you to check if everything is working smoothly. If the upper thread becomes jammed the thread will not be able to run through the eye of the needle. Instead it will pull on the needle and bend the needle away from you slightly, and if you continue it will snap Alternatively if the needle comes to a sudden stop on something hard & metallic that means the needle is not aligned properly. If that happens besides correcting the fault fit a new needle as even a needle that is blunted so slightly that you don't see it can give you problems I've just noticed that in the third/bottom picture of your first post the thread is not coming off the reel, it seems as though it is wrapped round the support rod for the reel. Does the reel have a paper label on it, and resting on that? Push the reel all the way down the rod so the reel is resting flush on the top of the machine. Or is it just because it's white thread on a white reel and doesn't show clearly? Check anyway.

Look at something like a small drill press or a Dremel workstation. Proxxon probably do something similar. Mount an awl blade in the chuck but leave the motor turned off; or mount a drill in the chuck and drill holes. Get a small, bench top pillar drill and mount a drill or an awl blade as above As mentioned, you could fit a stitching chisel to the chuck as well Any of those methods would be OK for making the holes, but you would still have to do the actual sewing by hand. Look at a combined awl & needle; something like a Speedy Stitcher or Osborne's Automatic Sewing Awl. If you can't manage that by hand you could try turning down the knob so that it could be mounted in a press But if it's just using an awl to make the holes that's the difficult part, you could start off trying a stitching chisel and a mallet as usual; that would be the simplest and cheapest Search t'Net and YouTube to see what's available

A couple of comments - Tandy have recently undergone quite a change. They have now closed all their shops in Europe apart from one in Spain. If you order anything from their website it will be supplied from USA Thanks for the link to leather4craft, it looks interesting. I might buy some of their linen thread

Aaron, it sounds as though you can find your way round tools and sharpening. Here are some examples that I've made, to give you, and anyone else, some ideas I have a 4" carbon steel vegetable knife that I no longer used in the kitchen. I fitted a bigger handle for more control and it's now my clicker/trimming knife I had a cheap & nasty block plane that was fiddly to adjust and I hardly ever used it. But the blade was quite good, so I reshaped it and turned it into a Japanese style leather knife I picked up a rusty old decorator's filling knife at a car boot sale for 50p - about 65 cents - but underneath the dirt & rust it was good forged spring steel. I reshaped and sharpened it to make a skiving knife See if you can get hold of old industrial hacksaw blades, they're usually in 25mm or 40mm widths. I've made them into skiving knives and kiridashi or English style paring knives I got my dividers for £2-50 from the secondhand tool stall at my local market; my cutting mat from a craft shop, get the biggest you can manage Have you seen Paul Seller's channel on YouTube? It's woodworking, but he shows how to make some tools, and other aspects of woodworking with hand tools You can cut a slot by making two holes with a round punch and joining them up with straight cuts

We don't make many holsters in Britain; as you probably know, our gun laws are very strict. But I would imagine that the same techniques for other items would be used for holsters. Search YouTube for - saddle stitch, edge burnishing, edge bevelling, knife sheaths, pouches, possibles bags, belts, wet moulding The key to good leatherwork is razor sharp tools, so make a strop from oddments of wood & leather. There is advice on this forum, and YT. But treat yourself to some proper stropping/honing compound Yes, the traditional leatherworker's knife is a round knife, but they're expensive, and good ones are very expensive. You also need a bit of experience & skill to use them. You can do a lot of good work with a Stanley/boxcutter/craft knife, especially if you resharpen the blades on a fine stone and a strop. This seems to reduce the shoulder of the bevel and polishes the cutting edge Search Google and YT for 'Japanese Style Leather Knife' They are more reasonably priced than a round knife (unless you get the absolute top of the range) and can be made very sharp. But they're not so easy to use for curves. Thread -- Synthetic thread, such as Ritza, is very popular, but I still prefer linen; it's up to you. Rocky Mountain Leather Supply seem to have a good choice. You will need an edge beveller; size 2 is as good as any to start with You could try using a pair of dividers instead of a stitching groover to mark the line of the stitching Have a look at YT videos by Ian Atkinson and Nigel Armitage, they cover most aspects of leatherwork and produce some excellent work. I don't think either of them use a round knife Don't forget beeswax. Even if you buy ready waxed thread it does no harm to give it an extra rub sometimes, and it's also used for other leatherwork jobs

Have a look at this video by Ian Atkinson -- 'Renovating a Vintage Vergez Blanchard Crew (Oblong) Punch' He uses a diamond plate, but any sharpening stone - oil, water/ceramic, or diamond would do the job, or just wet & dry paper on a sheet of glass or a ceramic tile

Here are some suppliers for you to have a look at, though you will have to check for yourself if they have what you want, and their shipping charges -- www.leatherhouse.eu based in Denmark These are British -- www.artisanleather.co.uk www.hwebber.co.uk www.identityleathercraft.com wwwgandmtools.co.uk www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk You can buy directly from www.vergez-blanchard.fr but they have a minimum order of 100euros Does it have to be from Europe? www.goodsjapan.com have a wide range of leatherworking tools and materials and they are a reliable company. Delivery time to Britain is about 3 weeks. Prices are reasonable and include shipping, but there will probably be import duty, typically 20% I haven't bought leather from them, but they have a good reputation www.leatheronline.com

Search YouTube for 'Nigel Armitage Pouches' He has made several types of belt pouch, mostly with pre-punched holes for stitching, showing clearly the design and methods used The results are excellent!

Sorry, but the pictures are so dark that it's just about impossible to see any detail, and thus to give you any advice

I've just Searched YouTube for 'needlepoint leather' There are several videos for belts, bags, and a wallet

I've looked at charts and done some calculations. By my estimation that would make a belt with a thickness of 12,8 mm or 1/2", which is pretty thick You could probably make it, but think about it as it would be very stiff and heavy; yes, I know that's what you want, but would that be too much? You're probably not too bothered about comfort, but after a few hours......? Would it flex or bend enough? And what sort of buckle are you planning? Maybe you could go for something just a bit thinner, say 8 or 9 mm? or use nylon webbing? Or make up something with shoulder straps as well, similar to a Sam Browne Belt? Soldiers and police officers carry a fair amount of kit on their belts and they don't appear to use anything that thick Search YouTube for 'Making a Tool Belt' and 'Making a Leather tool Belt' There are several ideas

A sewing pony is an obvious thing to make, but here are some other suggestions - A strop from oddments of wood & leather A leather burnisher. You need a lathe to make the carrot type, but you can make the slipper type with hand tools I have made skiving knives and a Japanese style leather knife from old 40mm hacksaw blades and plane blades, but you need a bench grinder to shape & sharpen the blades; or find someone who has one. Search YouTube for 'How to make a wooden mallet' and 'How to make a plastic mallet'. There are several videos on each

I remember that somewhere on one of his videos Nigel mentions that he uses a 1 1/2" Osborne awl blade. Don't know about the haft, but I expect that Osborne and others can supply one to suit. You would need to mount & sharpen it yourself If you are doing wallets, with thinner leather, have a look at this awl - Tandy Craftool Pro Stitching Awl #83020; it has a narrow blade and is sharp enough to use straight away, but like any awl or knife, it can be improved by stropping. Tandy have recently changed & reduced their prices and it is more reasonable now Search Google for 'Leathercraft Maul', there are several to choose from. I don't use one, I use a hide mallet I got from a local craft shop You can make your own strop from oddments of wood and leather, there are lots of videos on YT. This is just about the easiest & cheapest piece of leatherwork you can do, but treat yourself to some proper stropping/honing compound from a leatherwork or woodworking supplier

Similar comments as above I would make a mock - up or trial from cardboard or stiff card such as the packets for breakfast cereals, just stapled or taped together

As you've probably gathered your choice is between synthetic and linen The Julius Koch company makes a braided polyester thread under the brand name Ritza; it has a picture of a tiger on the label so it is also known as Tiger thread. It is very popular and available in a range of colours and diameters; start with 0,6mm and see how you go. I've tried it but I don't like the way it feels/handles, I prefer linen; still, lots of people do If you buy linen thread get it from a proper leather craft supplier or get known brands like Coates, Barbour, Somac, Crawfords, or Fil au Chinois. Do not get unbranded stuff from Ebay or Amazon - some of it might be OK but some of it isn't very good, and you don't want to find out the hard way. Measuring the thickness of linen thread is a bit complicated; size 18/3 is a good choice for general leatherwork. Some makers only have a few colours like white, black, natural, or brown, and some have a wider range, just shop around An explanation -- In the early 19th century the French company Sajou developed a way of making linen thread with a tighter twist which made it stronger and smoother. At the time anything Oriental or Chinese was fashionable so even though the thread was, and still is, made in France they called it 'Fil au Chinois' which means 'Chinese Thread'. It is very good thread but uses the French system for measuring thickness. Again, you don't need to understand it, except that the lower the number the thicker the thread. Try size 432 to start with I have found this supplier - The Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. They stock Tiger thread in small size reels at $7 as well as full size at $39; and Fil au Chinois at $39 They also have a new brand 'Twist Polybraid', synthetic and 'Twist Masterfil' linen. It looks reasonable enough, and they are offering free samples. Otherwise Search Google This video is useful - '10 differences between Tiger Thread and Fil au Chinois' by Ian Atkinson In fact anything by Ian Atkinson and Nigel Armitage is worth watching I make mostly knife sheaths from 3 or 3,5mm vegetable tanned leather. I use stitching chisels with 4mm spacing, though sometimes I do extra work with an awl; sewn with 332 or 432 or 18/3 linen thread and John James #002 needles. For thinner leather like wallets you could use 3mm spacing Whatever thread you choose, get some decent needles - these are among the best - John James size 002, JJ product code L3912, also available from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply Both Ian Atkinson and Nigel Armitage have videos on making wallets and bags. Nigel Armitage has recently produced a series of videos on making pouches, they are masterclasses on neat, precise leatherworking and the same techniques can be expanded to produce bags. But there are many other videos; Search YouTube and watch as many as you have the stamina for!