zuludog

You will, soon I hope, find what suits you I have tried 0,6mm Ritza/Tiger thread, but I don't like the way it handles, I prefer linen For most of my work I have settled on - stitching chisels with 4mm spacing, though sometimes I do extra work with an awl; John James size 002 needles, JJ product code L3912; a quality linen thread like Somac or Fil au Chinois, size 18/3 Search YouTube for Ian Atkinson/Leodis Leather and Nigel Armitage. They both produce lots of videos on leatherwork, including saddle stitching

Nigel Armitage has been making a few videos on how make pouches, and they are excellent! Absolute master classes on neat, precise, methodical planning and working Even if you don't want to make a pouch, the standard of work is something to aim for, and the techniques can be adapted for other items Search YouTube for - Nigel Armitage How to Make Pouches

Have a look on YouTube for Nigel Armitage; he has started to do several videos on making pouches, and they are excellent. They show neat, precise working, including pre - pricking to get straight, even stitches. If you don't want to make pouches, the same techniques can be used for other items 'How to make pouches: 2 Round Flat' is simple and easy to follow, but they are all worth watching

Saddler's clam or saddler's clamp? There might be a difference, but really they are just two names for the same thing. Sorry, but I can't advise you on which one, you'll have to wait for someone in USA to respond I've since found out that www.craftntools .com is based in the Ukraine; but it will be useful to see what's available Rocky Mountain Leather Supply - www.rmleathersupply.com - in USA has a similar range of products If you are starting as a complete beginner, why not start with key fobs? They are easy to make and as they are small you can sew them freehand without a clamp or pony. They will get you used to handling leather and will teach you - pattern making; marking out & cutting out; hand sewing; edge bevelling; dyeing; using an awl, or a stitching chisel. Give them to friends & colleagues, you might get requests for more items in the future, and you might even hear of someone who has their Grandfather's old tools stored away in a cupboard.

Welcome to the fun! I assume you are American, and others will better advise you on what's available in USA, but here are a few comments - If you are starting with small items you could consider a stitching pony instead of a saddler's clam, which is , logically enough, smaller and cheaper. On the other hand, if you get a clam it will do most things you want there are lots of knives available, some of them rather expensive, but you can do a lot with a Stanley knife/box cutter The cheapest precision tools you can buy for leatherwork & hand sewing are John James needles. You should get, at least to start with, size 002, JJ product code L3912. Do not get size 2/0 by mistake, these are too big for most sewing Ritza thread aka Tiger thread is popular but I think linen thread is easier to use, and would be good to start with, till you gain experience. The sizing system for linen thread is a bit obscure, all you need to know is to start with is size 18/3. Get it from a proper leather supply store or buy branded makes like Coates, Somac, or Crawfords, not cheap stuff off Ebay or Amazon. Sajou 'fil au chinois' is very good; they have their own sizing system, the lower the number, the thicker the thread. Try 432 to start with I have found this supplier which has a good selection of thread & needles, plus other things www.craftntools.com There are lots of videos on YouTube. These are good, especially for hand stitching - Leodis Leather/Ian Atkinson and Nigel Armitage

Welcome to the forum I suspect you may know of them already, but Search Google & YouTube for 'John Lobb Shoes'

I can sympathise with not wanting to buy another tool, but in this case a proper tool would be the easiest solution, and need not be very expensive Buy a cheap Japanese leather knife and get it as sharp as you can. Search Google & Amazon for one; and YouTube for how to use it. It is a glorified chisel, and I've wondered if a broad wood chisel could be used to skive leather You will need a hard, glossy surface to work on, like a ceramic tile, a sheet of glass

Hello Handstitched....................Please excuse me if I'm telling you something you know already, but if you are importing leather craft items anyway, you could look at www.goodsjapan.com I have bought a few things from them and I'd say the items are as good or better than Tandy. Delivery is about 3 weeks to UK; well packed. Shipping is included in their website price, but there will probably be import duties on that

Just a thought - Presumably orders from Tandy USA would attract customs duty, shipping and handling charges somewhere along the line, wherever they were paid; in which case it would be worth looking at Goods Japan About a year ago I purchased some stitching chisels and edge bevellers from Goods Japan. The costs were - price of the items + VAT/import duty applied by HMRC @ 20% + international transaction charge by Royal Mail of £8. Delivery time of about 3 weeks from Japan. I think the stated costs on Goods Japan website includes shipping But you might consider that items by Kyoshin Elle, Craft Sha, and Seiwa are better than Tandy

Right, I've made a couple of phone calls - Tandy will be closing all their European stores soon, apart from one in Spain. Any orders for Europe will be supplied from that store. The Manchester store will close sometime at the end of May or early June. They will be having a closing down sale At the moment Tandy M/cr store has an informal drop in workshop session on Wednesday afternoons. That will also close, but it is hoped that the tutor for that session will try to form a leatherworking club in the near future. I will post more information about that as I get it There is another supplier of Tandy products in Britain. They are an agent for Tandy, and will be unaffected by the closure of Tandy M/cr; they also have their own products. They can supply Online, or by calling in person at their shop in the Peak District - www.identityleathercraft.com tel 01629 - 581403

That's a shame, but come to think of it I haven't had any marketing info from them for a while, either by email or post I am only an hour's bus ride from them, and it was convenient to call in and buy things in person; I have always found their staff to be pleasant and helpful It would not affect me so much as I have by now acquired just about all the tools that I need, but I'll stock up with things like dyes, leather, and other consumables soon It is also a blow for Manchester. I was brought up in that area, around Beswick, Gorton, and Openshaw. It was a major engineering district, with companies like Dresser, Churchill, Massey, and countless others. It was a bit scruffy, but active, and lived up to the saying 'where there's muck there's brass'. Now like many towns and cities all those traditional industries have closed, and it has become very run down. The Tandy shop was part of an attempt to bring new life to the area

As I've posted before, www.gandmtools.co.uk have various old stock George Barnsley knives, including a round knife for £25. VAT and p&p would be extra, though that would still only make the price about £30 to £35. However you do have to do your own final sharpening & polishing I have their head knife, aka quarter round knife, and it's excellent

I got a 4-in-1 awl with a Tandy beginners kit when I started, but quickly replaced it with something better On the grounds that you can't do much wrong with a round awl, I fitted the round awl blade into a fixed handle, and it works well enough. I don't use it much as a scratch awl for marking patterns, but I use it for enlarging holes when I'm back stitching, and generally poking around It's easy enough to make round awls and similar pointy things. I've used a dart head mounted in an old file handle, and one of the best I had was the steel axle off one of my son's toy lorries, which I rescued and ground & mounted it into a round/scratch awl Ask your dentist. They usually have a boxfull of old & broken tools, and will be glad for them to find a good home. Fiddle about snapping off the angled tips and grinding them on an oilstone

You could make a handle from all sorts of pieces of leather, wood, and perhaps soft metal like thin aluminium spacers; just so long as you have hard end caps, like hardwood or aluminium or brass Search YouTube for 'Stacked knife handle'

A few lollipop sticks & sheets of wet & dry are hardly major tool items, but who am I to disrupt married life? Nigel Armitage has done reviews of several makes of stitching chisels, Search YouTube I have started using Seiwa European instead of Craftool, and they are better, but still a reasonable price. You can, of course get better still, but they have are priced accordingly. So far I have used the Seiwas without any polishing, just beeswax sometimes. But I might just give them a slight polish in the near future Note - Seiwa make two types of stitching chisel. You want Seiwa European, and not Seiwa Diamond, which he didn't think much of. See Nigel's stitching chisel reviews #8 & #9 I ordered them from Goods Japan, who stock a wide range of tools & materials for leatherwork

Similar comments to those above I have a 2 prong, 4mm spacing Craftool stitching chisel, and it did get stuck in thick layers of leather. This can be a problem with most stitching chisels. Here's how I dealt with it Smooth and polish the prongs with a needle file then fine abrasive paper. If you haven't got needle files, just start with a coarser grade of paper Glue the paper to slivers of wood like lollipop sticks, or stiff plastic. Make up 2 or 3 to cover the grit range about P400 to P800, or even P1000. If you don't have a file, use about P280 as well. Wet & Dry paper intended for car body repairs is probably the easiest to obtain, or Search The Net & Amazon for a mixed pack of small sheets. You want paper intended for metal, not woodwork. Any surplus paper can be used for sharpening knives - see YouTube videos In use, rub the prongs over a piece of beeswax now & again To remove the chisel, resist the temptation to twist it, just use a straight pull. I hold down the leather with a piece of wood, 130mm X 40mm X 10mm placed right next to the prongs, Round the corners of the wood slightly so there are no sharp edges to mark the leather Do not hammer the chisel absolutely as far as you can - just enough to do the job

Ian Atkinson has a couple of videos on fitting out a workshop; you should find some useful ideas

To make it clear - they sell for both UK and export

George Barnsley was a Sheffield tool maker which ceased trading years ago. The surplus items are now stocked by www.gandmtools.co.uk, and include round knives at £25 and half round knives at £20; plus various other knives - trimming, clicker, paring - and awls These are the basic prices. There may be tax, and will be shipping/p&p costs. They sell for export. The tools have a basic sharpening; to get the best polished edge you must do some work yourself

Core spun threads are typically a core of synthetic material like polyester wrapped in a sheath of natural fibres, like cotton. The idea is that this gives the strength of synthetic whilst retaining the desirable features of natural, such as appearance, 'feel' or handling, or other properties. When nylon tents were first introduced they leaked at the seams as the synthetic thread did not swell like cotton thread, and the water ran through the stitching holes. Wrapping it in cotton largely solved the problem, but this is less common now that seam sealing tape is used Most manufacturers & suppliers will have a technical sales department, and are usually pleasant and helpful. Why not Search t'Net for them, such a SOMAC; explain what you want and ask their advice. You never know, they might just send you a free sample

I know the feeling I'm just under 90kg, and struggling to keep it there But to get onto the question - I started out with Tandy 'big eye' needles as they came with the beginner's kit. Then a couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to go on a demonstration & lecture by Nigel Armitage, and he recommended two things to improve my stitching - change to John James needles, and stop using a stitching groover; instead mark the line of the stitching with dividers Now I use John James Saddler's Harness Needles size 002, JJ product code L3912, and 18/3 linen thread. The needles are sold in small paper packets of 25 needles, which JJ call 'envelopes'. Be careful. You want size 002 and NOT 2/0, which are too big This question has been asked before on this forum, and I remember one comment - John James needles are just about the cheapest precision tools you can buy for leatherwork You should be able to push the threaded needles through the holes in the leather quite easily with your fingers for 95 % of the time. The only time you might need pliers is when back stitching; in which case wrap the jaws with a bit of tape to avoid scratching the needles

As hwinbermuda said, it's for making rag rugs; my Mum & Grandma had one, and I used to help them You clamp strips of old clothes & similar spare fabric in the tool, then push them into a hessian backing. Release the clamp, and the fabric stays in the hessian. Gradually you build up the thickness of the rug, incorporating patterns or textures as you wish Rag rugs were common when houses had tiled or stone floors, and people didn't have much money, as carpets were expensive. Now that mass produced carpets are cheaper you don't see rag rugs much; mostly for interest or novelty Search t'Net & YouTube for 'rag rugs'

A single cut is the best way, and experts & purists will tell us it is the only way, but it is difficult to maintain the hard pressure needed to cut thick leather whilst at the same time following the line of the pattern. For most mortals a few passes are needed, depending on the thickness of the leather. The downside is that you must be careful to follow exactly in the same line, or you will produce a stepped effect on the cut edge As I said, as you gain experience, both with cutting the leather and sharpening your tools, so you can manage with fewer cuts I can usually manage up to about 2 to 2,5mm leather with one cut, but for 3 or 4mm I often need a second or third pass, especially on curves. The advantage that I, and I think most members of this forum have, is that we do this for a hobby, and we can evolve our own methods, without a college lecturer or a workshop foreman to tell us off.

HUSKY 3 ------- Any knife used against a template is liable to become blunted. The procedure you should use is - Use a round or scratch awl (hence the name) against the template to mark out the pattern on the leather. Do this quite firmly to produce a definite scratch or groove. Then remove the template and cut the pattern freehand. A deep scratch will make it easier to see the pattern, and will also act as a guide for the blade Depending on the thickness of the leather, start with light cuts to establish the line of the cut, then use that line for stronger & deeper cuts. As you gain experience and strength in your hands & wrists you can do fewer light cuts and go to deeper cuts more quickly - that's the theory anyway the disposable blades used in craft knives & scalpels can be improved bu a fine stone & stropping

I made my knives in a similar way to that in the video. To remind you I used an old box plane blade and a piece of 40mm hacksaw blade A friend shaped & sharpened the blades on his bench grinder for the price of a pint. It is difficult to sharpen such thin hard steel so the bevel is a bit steep; I am gradually reducing this as I resharpen it by hand. Nevertheless it does the job. But having a sharp, polished cutting edge is the most important part For the ferrule I used a piece of copper water pipe The rest of the handle making was all done with hand tools - a small saw; drills; files, rasps, and sandpaper; and glued with 2 part epoxy Some of the available knives have a curved edge to the upper part of the offset blade, but as you can see from the video, a straight line works just as well One of the tools I used was a Shinto Japanese saw rasp - find them via Google and on YouTube; they're available from Amazon USA for about $17. These are excellent, and cut easily without clogging If you're still interested you could think about making your own English style paring knife or Japanese KIRIDASHI knife, they're very similar. Search for kiridashi on the Net and YouTube