zuludog

You can get an idea of the required consistency from the immortal words of Ian Atkinson from Leodis Leather - "it looks like spunk"

I'm not an expert on hacksaw blades, but as I understand it, modern bimetal 12mm wide hacksaw blades are so called because the main part of the blade is made from a flexible steel that will resist snapping; it is only the teeth that are hardened enough to cut other metals. These aren't much use to make knives as this flexible steel cannot be sharpened very well and they cannot be snapped to length Older blades were all hardened and can be made into knives, and can be snapped roughly to shape. They are difficult to find new, so search car boot sales, junk shops and so on. However, 12mm is a bit small for leather work. Now we're into the industrial sizes 25mm can make paring/kiridashi type knives. 40mm is best for skiving knives. I have also made a Japanese style leather knife from them These two sizes are stiffer, and about 1mm thick, and usually marked 'high speed steel' - or HSS. They are used mostly on automatic saws, like a donkey saw. Unfortunately as the number of traditional engineers and machine shops is diminishing, so too is the supply of used blades. Plus they are much in demand by all sorts of craftsmen for making knives & tools, so you will really have to search for one You will obviously need to grind off the teeth, cut & shape them, and make the sharp bevel edge. Be careful when you do this as it is easy to burn the steel. You will still need to do a fair amount of work with a stone & strop, but yes, you can get a very sharp edge I use the 25mm kiridashi style as it is, but for the skiving knives I grind the blunt end to a triangular shape, then fit it into a handle as for a narrow tang blade I have also made a skiving knife from a decorators filling knife. You need one with a traditional forged carbon steel blade, not the modern stamped stainless sheet. More than likely it will also have a nice wooden handle & a brass ferrule. Again, search junk shops etc; mine cost me 50p If you shorten the blade as you shape it, it will bebome less flexible

That's interesting. A paring knife and a kiridashi appear to be the same sort of thing A couple of years ago I made something similar from a 25mm wide hacksaw blade. It's the sort of thing that once you have it, you wonder how you managed without it I followed the link; £ 15 is a very reasonable price for something from a traditional, quality manufacturer. My Dad was a carpenter and he always reckoned that old steel was better than new steel

I make mostly sheaths from 3 to 3,5mm veg tan leather. I started out with Tandy's Craftool beveller but it's a bit basic and I'd like something better, but still reasonably priced I've been looking at Japanese tools, but the choice is rather confusing, with the three main manufacturers, and their different ranges & models Nigel Armitage has recently embarked on a mammoth survey of edge bevellers, including a new model range - Kyoshin Elle Master Edger. He's given these bevellers a good review and they're reasonably priced at $28-99 which equates to £21-80, though this would increase thanks to import duty So I'm thinking of getting them - any comments? Either on the tools or importing from Goods Japan? While I'm at it I might have a browse through their range and order a few other odds & ends

Well done for your initiative! I prefer linen thread to synthetic, but it is remarkably difficult to get hold of Lin Cable/Fil au Chinois I am always surprised that the makers have not arranged for a regular supplier or agent in Britain, nor, it would appear, in any other country

I see you are using white linen thread. Try using Tandy's waxed white nylon thread, #1227 - 03, it is more resistant to discolouration; and a bit cheaper than linen. Of course if you or your customer insist on linen you still have the same problem

I watched an American TV series this morning, ( shown on a British channel ) called 'History in the Making' which features traditional crafts & industries It showed someone repairing & renovating an M1 Garrand rifle, taking it right back to the components and rebuilding it. They stated that when it was first introduced the wooden parts were treated with linseed oil, but it was found that when the rifles were used in hot countries, or when the rifle became heated through firing a large number of rounds, the linseed oil became sticky and attracted dirt & dust. So from 1943 onwards it was treated with Tung Oil

I use Craftool and Craftool Pro chisels, and I'm happy enough with them I've posted this comment before, but here it is again for convenience You can improve the chisels by polishing the prongs with a needle file and wet & dry paper glued to a sliver of wood like a lollipop stick And yes, When removing them I hold down the leather with a small block of wood

I make sheaths from 3 to 3,5 mm veg tan leather; I suppose these are a similar sort of item & leather used to holsters I use the Craftool Pro Line chisel as shown; 2 prong, 4 mm spacing, and I'm happy enough with it. Don't hammer into your cutting mat, it's not intended for that sort of use. I use a plastic kitchen chopping board, about 10 mm thick. You will also need some kind of soft faced hammer - plastic, wood, or hide You can improve the chisel by polishing the prongs. Make a small file or wand by glueing some wet & dry paper, about 400 to 600 grit to a sliver of wood like a lollipop stick, then finish off on a strop. It also helps if you rub the prongs in beeswax as you use the chisel Even with a chisel you might find that you have to do a bit of work with an awl Resist the temptation to waggle the chisel about as you remove it, try to do a straight pull. You can hold down the leather with a small block of wood to do this

I use 18/3 waxed linen thread with either Tandy 'large eye' needles or John James #2 . Started off doing the usual thread piercing/ locking method as shown in tutorials, handbooks, videos and so on Then I thought 'Why?' So now I just use a generous amount of thread, say 6X the length of the stitching line, and just fold it over, as in any other hand stitching; then pull it tight as usual. I've been doing that for 2 or 3 years now, and have no problems sewing, nor any complaints about the finished work

You can see that one of my hobbies is knife making; in fact I learned leatherwork in order to make the sheaths I used to treat the handles with linseed oil, and though I never had problems with it being sticky, I thought it left them dull & matt Now I use Danish Oil. That's lighter and leaves a finer finish. Just clean off the linseed oil and follow the directions on the can

This video is good & straightforward Essential tools to make leather goods by Harry Rogers

Welcome to the fun! You can be sure in the knowledge that whatever you get you'll wish you'd bought something else It would help if you let us know what sort of things you want to make; if you have any idea of a wants list yet; and what sort of a budget you have Your basic decision is whether to get something fairly good, and hence a bit expensive, straight away, or to get a few cheap tools to get you started. The problem with the first choice is that if you're going to be buying here & there you need a bit of knowledge & experience in the first place. My choice would be to see what you have already, or in discount & craft shops, and get the minimum of specialist tools I don't think Tandy are as bad as people make out; you can try the stuff, and it's a convenient one stop shop.Then you can make a better decision for the future. Somewhere on one of his videos Nigel Armitage suggests starting that way Don't forget that as well as tools you'll need gum trag, stains, and various other bits & pieces, so get a wants list together and do your sums, and it will almost certainly be worth joining their discount scheme

Welcome! Here are some assorted comments Search YT, and this forum for past threads, espec Getting started & tools; as many as you have the stamina for Ask your library for books on leathercraft, they usually have something, even if you have to order it cutting mat - the usual green thing, at craft shops and The Works discount book shop. Get the biggest you can manage Knife - lots to choose from, basically sharpen yourself or disposable blade. Start with a Stanley knife, you probably have one already. then as you gain experience you can think more carefully if you want something else Awl - aka diamond; harness; or saddlers awl. You will need one of these even if you get a stitching chisel. Traditionally you bought separate blade & haft then fitted & sharpened it yourself. This is a right pain and takes ages. Shop around for one that's ready to go. I think Bowstock & Tandy sell them for about a tenner. don't get the 4-in-1 awl sold by Tandy and others. It's expensive and not very good round awl, aka scratch awl - used for general poking & prodding with holes & stitching, and marking patterns, though I usually use a pencil. Cheap enough You will need to mark the position of stitches. Try a 2-prong 4mm chisel and take it from there. You can start off hitting chisels & tools with a steel hammer but this will eventually damage them, so get a soft hammer asap - hide, plastic, or wood. Don't get a rubber mallet, they will bounce too much Needles - Tandy are OK but many prefer John James #2. They're cheap enough to buy both Thread - Synthetic or natural, ie linen? Ritza is popular, but expensive as you must buy a large roll. Some people, myself included, prefer linen. Get a small roll of natural 18/3 linen, and Tandy's nylon 1227-01, and see how you go Tandy - this is a chain of hobby leather craft shops. As with any hobby enthusiasts will prefer specialist (& usually more expensive) brands, but this is a convenient place to start. If you're buying quite a few things in the near future it would probably be worth joining their discount scheme. They have shop in Manchester; I have always found the staff to be pleasant & helpful, so you could give them a ring. They often have offers that are not on their regular website. Search t'Net for 'tandy leather manchester' and you will get the prices in £. Get on their email newsletter to hear of offers Here are some other suppliers - artisan leather; bowstock; h webber; leprevo; abbey england; these are good on YT - Leodis Leather; Nigel Armitage; Leathertoolz Leather - start with 3mm veg tanned. At the moment Tandy Manchester have veg tan single shoulder #99606 - 03 on offer Make your own strop from oddments of wood & leather, but get some proper stropping compound. This will be just about the easiest piece of leatherwork you will do

Sewing Velcro is straightforward enough Does it have to be leather? I've sewn Velcro to nylon fabric & webbing by machine, no problems, and nylon webbing would be easier to keep clean. Just seal the cut ends with a candle or lighter flame If you use belt leather that could be too thick to sew by machine, and hand sewing would take longer. I think in this case nylon webbing would be a better choice than leather

Confusion reigns - they look like stitching chisels to me

I don't do any tooling or carving, so I don't need a thick, heavy slab. But for skiving I use the glass oven door off an old cooker. I got it originally for painting model planes on; it's very easy to clean

As Bodean mentioned, it looks like some kind of safety knife used to cut string in a mill or packing hall As there is no point there would be less chance of damage or injury to the product or the worker, and the hooked end meant that the cord would not slip off the end as it was being cut

It's a set of borers for cork or rubber bottle stoppers, as used in laboratory glassware. I used this sort of tool years ago when I studied chemistry at school, college, and then worked as a lab. technician. The sizing was so arranged that the unwanted plug could be pushed out of a cutter by inserting the next smaller size or two. The final tool was a solid rod to remove the plug from the smallest borer/cutter. The ends should be sharp, and there was a special angled knife for doing this. It was hard work using them, and rubber & cork bungs were being rapidly superceded by 'Quickfit' and similar makes of standard glassware with ground glass joints It would have helped if you'd shown the complete set, as you have, and an individual cutter I suppose they could have been used on leather, sheet cork & rubber or any similar materials where you need to make round holes, discs, washers, and so on The numbers are the diameter in millimetres Search Google for 'cork borer' and 'cork borer sharpener'; also 'quickfit jointed glassware' to see what replaced cork bungs

Ah, now I see; thankyou Why not ask around to find a woodturner or a woodturning club to make a wooden handle? That sort of thing is meat & drink for them

All good advice. When you have taken it apart give the threads a very light smear of oil or Vaseline to prevent it sticking in future

I don't see how this is a burnisher. Are you sure you don't mean a leather fitter's hammer or smasher? Whatever it is, you've done a good job; it would be nice to see it when it's finished

I make sheaths from 3 to 3,5mm veg tan and 3 or 4mm stitch spacing, which is about 6 to 8 spi; and linen thread. So that's about the same as your use I use - Tandy Craftool, the ones with the round handles & black finish, about $18; and Tandy Craftool Pro, the ones with a flat handle & steel finish, about $ 30. Mainly because they're easily available. I haven't tried any other makes, but I'm happy enough with these But I've polished the prongs with small files or wands I made by glueing 400 grit wet & dry paper to flat lollipop sticks

I was born in 1950, one of the Baby Boomers That means I'm 67 now, and will be 68 in a couple of months time Who'd have thought when I had shoulder length hair and wore red velvet flares that I would make it to my bus pass & pension?

The traditional method of sewing leather is to mark the stitching holes with a pricking iron (which has short teeth) or a stitching wheel then transfer the work to a saddler's clamp and make the holes with an awl Then the stitching chisel was developed to combine the two jobs; it both marks and makes the holes. It is, in effect, several awl blades mounted on a handle, but because it would be difficult to push through several blades by hand, it is made into a chisel so you can hit it with a hammer. Some people find this method faster and easier A chisel can be used just to mark the hole positions if you only tap it in slightly So those are the two usual methods - an awl & a clamp, or a chisel on a flat surface. Using an awl on a flat surface is a bit unusual, but if it suits you, fair enough. Presumably you mark the hole positions first with another tool? I make mostly knife sheaths from 3 to 3,5mm veg tan, so the combined thickness is around 10mm. It can be difficult to pull out a stitching chisel when it has been knocked right into that thickness so I have developed my own technique. I only knock in the chisel about half way then transfer to a pony and finish it with an awl. That means the chisel is easier to pull out, and it is easier to push the awl through a thinner layer of leather. As the saying goes 'it works for me' I use Tandy chisels and I've polished the prongs with a small file or wand I made by glueing wet & dry paper to a lollipop stick I used to hammer the chisel onto an old plastic kitchen chopping board, but recently I use cork. I bought a set of cork table mats, about 10" x 12" and use 4 thicknesses of them. Don't glue them as the glue will blunt the prongs; also you will not be able to swap them round when the top layer becomes worn. Just tape them together along the edges