zuludog

Call me a sad old man, but I reckon that life is easier if things are organised; a few moments tidying saves hours spent searching. On the other hand my wife belongs to the school that says 'a tidy desk is the sign of a sick mind'. We separated about seven years ago, but still remain friends.

You're right in not going for a starter kit. You usually find a starter kit in anything will contain things you don't want, and there will be things you do want that it doesn't have. And by its very nature the tools will tend to be some of the cheapest I found this when I started as a chef years ago, and a friend says the same about her hobby, which is sculpture & stone carving But you are unlikely to find a kit of very good quality tools. It is expected that by the time you need them you will have developed preferences and experience so will buy individual tools to suit. My advice would be to do your homework before you spend any money. There are a lot of videos on YouTube, and threads on this forum; watch & read as many as you have the stamina for! Often recommended are videos by Armitage Leather and Leodis Leather; I think those by 'leathertoolz' are good too. They will all help you to see what's needed, how they are used, and you will start to see which brands are considered the best. The key to good leatherwork is to have absolutely sharp tools, so your first purchases should be some sharpening kit - oil, water/ceramic, or diamond stones, and follow this with a strop. I made my own strop - could be your first item of leatherwork! For years I used Autosol chrome polish as a stropping compound but recently I changed to a proper honing compound and the result is better. If you have bought good tools you'll find you use the fine & extra fine stones and a strop mostly I'm not going to name any brands, but to start with your tools should include - A cutting mat, the usual green plastic thing; get the biggest you can manage; a steel ruler Scratch/round awl; saddler's/harness awl; a hide mallet or similar soft hammer; pricking irons or stitching chisels Something to cut out the leather! - clicker knife; round knife; a good craft knife, whatever you fancy A second knife - can be anything you want. Use it to open parcels, cut string, sharpen pencils, and so on; its purpose is to make sure you use your leather knives for cutting leather only! I'm sure other people will have their comments, that's all part of the fun!

Surf YouTube; there are loads of videos, especially those by Armitage, and Leodis Leather Armitage does a video called How to make a simple Wallet, or something like that. It is actually a good introduction to any leatherwork You will need 2 awls; round aka scratch, and diamond cross section known as a harness or saddler's awl. Round is less important to start Don't be tempted by the 4 - in - 1 awl sold by Tandy and others. It's not very good, and it's expensive. You're better off getting 2 fixed blade awls. Warning! Your harness awl must be as sharp as possible. Don't use it to scratch patterns, round/scratch awls are cheap enough to buy, or you could make your own from just about anything sharp & pointy I've used Tandy's Craftool Awl # 83020 - 00, and I think it's quite good, as good as anything to start off with. I think it's on offer at the moment I prefer a stitching chisel to a pricking wheel. (I think this is a common American/European preference). Note that there are 3 similar tools A pricking chisel or pricking iron has shallow points just to mark the position of the holes. You make the holes by following up with an awl A stitching chisel has longer prongs which you knock through the leather to make the holes, though sometimes you have to do a bit of extra work with an awl. the prongs are diamond shaped section to give you the saddle stitch pattern. A lacing chisel has flat prongs for sewing with thongs or lace; you only use this if you do lacing Get a book on leathercraft, or 'The Art of Hand Sewing Leather' by Al Stohlman For cutting leather get a cutting mat, the common green plastic thing, as big as you can manage, they're cheap enough. In Britain you can get a display card of disposeable snap-blade knives very cheaply from discount stores; must be something similar in USA Don't buy a strop! They're easy & cheap enough to make yourself Best wishes Zuludog

When I have a new idea to try I do a trial run from stiff paper or thin card; like breakfast cereal packets or old potato sacks scrounged from my local greengrocer; separate the layers it's a damn sight cheaper. Stick the pieces together with tape or staples I met a professional leatherworker who does the same thing. He said it might take a bit longer, but not much once you get used to it, and saves scrapping some top class leather. After all, that would be his profit gone, and probably more

Whereabouts in England are you? I'm in Burnley

you could try this supplier http://www.brisa.fi They are in Finland, but speak good English They are reliable, and have a quick delivery, to UK at least

Have a look at this video on YouTube 'How to Use Japanese Leather Knife' by leathertoolz It's worth watching the whole video, but at about 4' 40'' he shows how to cut a right angle in leather, and that as you reach the end of a cut you tend to distort the leather slightly, even with a very sharp knife.; so you need to cut downwards. It's easier to see on the video At the moment I'm making a Japanese style leather knife from an old plane blade - must get a move on!

I was idly searching YouTube recently when I came across these videos Obviously English is not their first language, and there are other, similar videos, but nevertheless they are helpful and add to our knowledge & experience 'Sharpening leather knife by sandpaper, no have whetstone' 'Making knife by HSS blade in home, Homemade & DIY' 'Leather Skiving by Leather knife include FAIL' 'Leather Skiving by Leather Plane' all by dori thasi

What a wonderful job! Take it to Britain and you could sell it a dozen times over!

Whatever stone you use, you'll get a sharper or more polished cutting edge if you use a strop as well, after the stone You can make a strop yourself from odds & ends; there are videos on YouTube, and a section on this forum I made my own strop, and for a long time I used Autosol as a sharpening compound. Recently I treated myself to a proper compound - Veritas Green, product number 05M08.1; the results were better I use this for all my leather tools, including a home made skiving knife I made from an industrial sized high speed steel hacksaw blade One of the best videos I've seen on sharpening is by Paul Sellers. I've forgotten the exact title, but if you put 'sharpening woodworking chisels by Paul Sellers' into YouTube's search box that will find it. Yes, it's about chisels, but the techniques can be applied to other things Make a simple slip cover for your skiving knife. That will protect the blade edge from damage, and protect other things from the blade edge

I make sheaths from 3mm veg tan leather, and use 18/3 linen thread with a 4mm spacing between the stitching holes. As good a place as any to start

Firstly let's agree that the distance from the edge of the leather to the -- groove ...............................................................................................................--tiny blade on the edge groover ..............................................................................................................--line of stitching Are all the same thing Generally you should set that distance to be the same as the thickness of the leather. For example I make knife sheaths from 3mm veg tan leather. The sheaths have a front, a back, and a welt, so the total thickness is 9mm; but the stitching line is still 3mm from the edge But at first you could be a bit cautious and make it slightly bigger till you get the hang of it, on the grounds that it is a lot easier to remove material than to put it back on!

For sewing leather you need an awl with a diamond shaped cross - section, often called a saddler's awl or a harness awl; and to learn how to sharpen it and keep it sharp But before you part with any money search YouTube for things like saddle stitch, using an awl, and most other things you want to know about leatherwork, there is loads of information on it. You have found Ian Atkinson but also look at Nigel Armitage. He has produced a video on making a hand made leather wallet, which is in fact a good introduction to leatherwork. Also look through past threads on this forum Don't be tempted to buy Tandy's 4-in-1 awl; it's not very good and is expensive, you're better with a fixed blade one. However I've tried Tandy's Craftool Pro Stitching Awl and it seems pretty good No doubt others will come along with their suggestions, that's all part of the fun! You'll probably like this website & forum if you don't already know it. http://www.britishblades.com Although it says 'British' there are members of the forum from all over the world. It also has a section on sheaths & leatherwork

That's interesting. So far I've managed without anything like that, but I'll bear it in mind if the need ever arises So you both like repurposed & home made tools? I have made a skiving knife from an old decorator's filling knife I picked up from a car boot sale for 50 p, about 80 cents. I cleaned it up and re-sharpened it with files, oilstones & a strop; it's now razor sharp. I also put a slight angle on the cutting edge. You need a good one with a forged blade, not stamped. Even new they're only about £7, say $10 Sorry but I'm a bit of a technophobe and I don't know how to post pictures, but you should get the idea without too much of a problem At the moment I'm asking around to see if someone can cut, re-shape, and sharpen an old saw blade into a kiridashi style craft knife for leather cutting Be careful, as this sort of thing can get addictive. You might find yourself collecting useful bits of steel, rusty tools, broken kitchen utensils, and so on

The key to leatherwork is to use absolutely sharp tools. I have several sorts of oil - and diamond - stones as I make tools & knives from all sorts of odds & ends, and one of my hobbies is knifemaking; but if you get proper tools in the first place you should only need a fine stone and a strop, so sorry, but you will probably need a fine stone sooner or later, and learn to use it Ceramic stones aka water stones tend to be expensive, and are a bit messy Diamond stones are probably the easiest to use, but can be expensive. However you can probably find a cheap one at a discount store or hardware store Oil stones are about the cheapest to buy new, and as they have been around a long time you can get them even cheaper secondhand. In Britain that would be about £2 or £3 - $5? Cheapest is to use wet & dry paper on a sheet of glass, or a ceramic tile. Search YT for 'sharpening with sandpaper' Surf & Search YouTube for all of these; even if you don't buy or use the various stones you will see the various methods. And if you're only sharpening awls and leather cutting knives you don't need a huge stone, say something like 6" x 2"

Sorry, but I'm a bit of a dinosaur & technophobe and I don't know how to post pictures. My son used to do that sort of thing for me but he's grown up and left home. I really must get my finger out and learn for myself. But here are a few comments I make or modify old tools as I can't afford to go out and buy a load of new ones. Besides, there's something satisfying about doing that, and a lot of people are of the opinion that old steel is better than new steel Surf & search the Net & Google for old/secondhand wood chisels, and try the various options & categories that come up, you'll see the sort of things available. You could shorten the handles to make them a bit more manageable, and if the handle is broken, so much the better, you can make your own palm handle. Also search for butt chisels, old or new Doesn't have to be old. I have found this website selling new 1", 1-1/2" and 2" Buck chisels at reasonable prices http://www.homedepot.com I have made a skiving knife from a secondhand decorator's filling knife - 50p, about 75 cents; cleaned it up & sharpened it, it took a razor edge. but it was a good one with a proper forged blade. Don't get the cheap ones with stamped blades. Even new ones are not that expensive, about £7, say $10 Again, search & surf If you get secondhand tools be willing to do some work, like cleaning, sharpening, and possibly a bit of repairing. In Britain we have car boot sales, I think the equivalent in USA is a garage sale. Or put the word out among friends, colleagues at work, neighbours; you might just meet someone who has their uncles old tools stashed away and would love for then to go to a good home Search Google &YT for 'japanese leatherknife' and 'japanese skiving knife' I have seen them as low as $15 but as with all tools you can pay &pay as much as you want Look at this website http://leathercrafttools.com You need to be good at sharpening. - Diamond, water, or oilstones, yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice. I use old (my Dad's) medium and fine oilstones and have cleaned them up as in YouTube videos. But treat yourself to some proper honing oil Then I go to a strop. Make them from scraps, easy enough and again there is information on this forum, and probably on YT but I haven't checked There is a lot of information on sharpening - there is a section on this forum, and a lot of videos on YouTube, but I think one of the best is 'Preparing and Sharpening a Woodworking Chisel' by Paul Sellers Have a look at my thread 'handmade shoes' in Leather Conversation, very recent

Sorry for the short notice, but I've only just noticed this Firstly though, an explanation for non - British members. Any company that supplies the British Royal Family, their households, and their palaces can use that fact as part of their advertising and company profile, though they are expected to be suitably discrete and British about it. It can range from the mundane, like cleaning products to expensive items like exclusive clothing or jewellery. It's called 'by Royal Appointment' On Monday 13 th June, 8-30 pm on BBC4 there is a programme called 'Handmade: by Royal Appointment' It features John Lobb, a London shoemaker who still make shoes by traditional methods like hand carving a wooden last; wet forming the leather; then hand sewing I expect it can be found after that date for 28 days? on the BBC website, BBC iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer http://www.johnlobb.com

Well, here's an interesting update I bought coarse, fine, and extra fine DMT diamond stones, but somehow I can't take to them. There's nothing wrong with them, and they do a good job, but perhaps it's because I've used oilstones for about 40 years, that I can't work up much enthusiasm for them So what I've done is this - I've kept the best of my existing oilstones, which is medium, and bought a good fine stone from a secondhand tool stall in my local market. I've cleaned them up by soaking in paraffin/kerosene as shown in YouTube videos; and also bought some proper honing oil. After the fine stone I go to the strop, and that seems to work well But I bought a a cheap coarse diamond stone from Screwfix for about £3, and I use that for rough work like re - honing the bevel or making knives from hacksaw blades and similar odds & ends. It works well for that sort of thing, and at that price you can afford to treat it roughly The DMT stones are for sale, if anyone's interested

You might not need to know their actual value. Decide how much they are worth to you, then ask an insurance company if they will accept that. It's called an 'agreed value'

Surf & Search! Use both medieval and the old British spelling, mediaeval Google will just give the definitions of 'mediaeval' if you search for mediaeval leatherwork'. You have to click on the question to make it search for mediaeval leatherwork That way I found that York Archaeology has a PDF for Viking and Mediaeval leatherwork, but there are lots of other references Try searching for 'medieval reenactment'; karl robinson; Walsall Leather Museum

The holes should be small enough so that there is a certain amount of drag on the needles and the thread, but not so much that you have to use pliers all the time. Pulling the needles by hand about 95% to 100% of the time is about right You say you use a round awl?. If you can get one, but not two needles through a hole then changing to a diamond awl should be just about right. If you still need to use pliers then look at the relationship between the awl, the thread, and the needles When you get a diamond awl, don't get the 4-in-1 awl often seen, for example, in Tandy's listing. It's expensive and not very good. A single fixed awl will be better and cheaper I've tried Tandy's Craftool Pro Stitching Awl and it seems quite good

I've found the needle file & abrasive paper method I described works OK The small sharpening stones in the link also look OK I've never tried this, but if you want to use a stone you could search around a second hand stall for a cheap old, worn stone and break it up with a hammer. You'd be bound to get some suitably shaped pieces, and it would be cheaper than paying approx $10

Thanks for your replies; this is still on my 'to do' list, but now I know what to do 'leathertoolz' on YouTube has explained that the bevel should face the piece of leather that you want, and the flat side should face the waste or not needed leather I am right handed, so I will make the knife with the tang offset so that it is closest to my wrist, and the bevel facing outwards, towards my left

For some ideas, and something to think about, search Google and YouTube for; 'KIRIDASHI'