zuludog

Remember, as all the books & videos tell you, that it's easier to use and control a very sharp knife than a blunt one

A friend has a set of knives & little marble slab like those in your photograph, Wicked Welts. They're a set of cheese knives, intended to be used & displayed in the dinner table, to be used with different types & textures of cheese Still, if you can use them for leatherwork, do so

The workmanship itself is first class, but you might find that the flat surface right at the top is too wide to push your needles right into the leather. If you have a look at commercially manufactured stitching horses & ponies you'll see that the tops of the clamps are quite narrow, almost blade - like You could try cutting back the outside corners at the top of the clamps Also, you usually line the insides of the clamps with leather, to avoid making marks or impressions on your workpiece. Again, look at manufactured ones. It would look nice if it was stained, to darken the wood slightly, and bring out the grain But please, these are meant to be helpful suggestions, not serious criticism; it's much better made than mine!

There's loads of advice on sharpening, here and on YouTube. Chiefjason's is typical, and if it works, use it. I use a Stanley knife with a blade that has been resharpened a few times, and it seems to work better than new Here's a tip I've heard of, though I don't use it myself. Mark out the pattern first with a scratch awl (hence the name!). That will make it easier for the knife to follow the pattern. Draw the pattern first with pencil, or go straight to the awl, whichever suits you When you're using a strop make sure the blade is kept at the correct angle right up to the end of the stroke, then stop, and lift it off. There is a natural tendency to start to lift the handle of the knife as you reach the end, ready for the turn; ie the edge of the blade will become more perpendicular to the strop at the end of a stroke, but while the blade is still moving. This will automatically blunt the edge . In practice this is a bit difficult to do, you have to really concentrate. It's easier if you make 3 or 4 strokes in one direction, then 3 or 4 in the other; it's the turning at the end of a stroke that causes the problem of rounding the blade edge.

Picture D - 'Maid o' Metal' look like some sort of fids, probably for lacing.

What material is A made of? It looks like it could be a laboratory spatula, for transferring and weighing out small quantities of powdered chemicals, but they're usually made out of stainless steel or nickel Looks as thought there could be some engraving or stamping on the central 'body'. Try cleaning it up with fine abrasive paper, or just giving it a wash. For years in hardware & craft shops you could get a set of cheap Japanese carving tools like those shown. Besides the gauges the set included chisels & angled blades. I picked up a couple a year or two ago at a car boot sale (similar to US flea market or garage sale) for pence.. Cleaned them up & sharpened them; they turned out quite good.

You could try asking on this forum http://www.britishblades.com

A rule of thumb is to make the line of stitching the same distance in from the edge as the thickness of the leather, even if you use multiple thicknesses. For example, on a knife sheath using 3.5mm leather there will usually be a front, a back, and a welt, ie 3 x 3.5 = 10.5mm, but the stitching would still be 3.5mm in from the edge When in doubt make the margin a bit on the wider side, you can always trim it down Using traditional measurements, it is taken that 1oz leather is 1/64'' thick. So 10 oz leather is 10/64'', or 5/32'' But if you round 5/32 to 6/32, that is 3/16, so Troy I has it about right Chapelstone:- 5 or 6oz leather, call it 6oz. So that's 6/64'' or 3/32''. If you round it up to 4/32'' that's 1/8'' which will give you a bit more room to manouevre, especially as you're bevelling the edges. As I said, you can always trim it back a bit, but you can't add it! Remember, we're dealing with the skin of a cow here, not precision machining If you're careful you can get the stitching as close to the edge as you can, or dare, but remember what the stitching is there for; it is to join two pieces of leather together, and there will always be a certain amount of movement, pulling, and so on. So the closer you get to the edge, the higher the chance of the leather tearing at the stitching holes. It will also depend on the type & quality of the leather; the finer the grain, the closer you can get to the edge

Just been watching a TV programme about Stonehenge and its associated structures In some burial mounds archaeologists have found bronze daggers and their whetstones dating from the early Bronze age, about 1800 to 1500 BC A bit of Surfing shows that Whetstones dating from the same sort of period have been found in South East Asia, China, and Italy Even before that, stone axes were shaped & polished by rubbing them against another stone. So it would be pretty obvious that metal workers had a long history, experience, & tradition of sharpening things

Just seen something I'd never heard of till now. I've been watching a TV programme about Hampton Court Palace, to the south west of London It was started by Cardinal Wolsey, but when he fell out of favour it was taken over by Henry VIII Part of the ceiling decorations were made out of leather mache, which is similar to papier mache. Seems logical enough; I've Surfed the Net, but I can't find out much about it

I am using an oilstone that was my Grandfather's. He passed it on to his Son, (logically enough), my Father. I inherited it in turn. I don't have any male children, but I do have a Son-in-law to whom I will leave all my tools, including the oilstone, and through him an 18 month old Grandson. Assuming it's not worn out by then. So maybe not centuries, but you get the idea. My apologies to any ladies who read this. There is no reason why they should not be able to use an oilstone and all the rest of it, but in this case my daughter has no interest whatsoever in such things. Dating from times when people were less appreciative, there are statues, tombs and other stonework in English mediaeval churches that show considerable wear and erosion where they have been used to sharpen scythes, sickles, and almost certainly swords.

I use a craft knife - 'Stanley knife' - but keep it exclusively for cutting leather. I've resharpened it several times so that it seems to be better than a new blade.

Congratulations, it looks good and neat. Not much else to say really, except 'less is more'

All the designs I've seen use some sort of strap or fold over flap - have a browse through YouTube Do you really intend carrying an axe on your belt? They are usually carried as a separate item, so you would be able to get two hands to the cover You could use a Sam Brown stud or a buckle instead of a snap, but I think you'll still have to use a retaining strap of some sort Have a look through the threads in this website, you might find a couple of variations http://www.britishblades.com

Sometimes, if the needles are just slightly too tight for bare fingers, but not so tight to need pliers, I use a thimble. I also use a thimble if my fingertips get a bit tender. As I do this as a hobby, and not full-time, my fingers don't become hard enough You can use a round/scratch awl as a small fid to stretch a hole slightly for backstitching without damaging the stitching or permanently enlarging the hole

Pliers, rubber grips, and similar tricks will help solve the difficulty of pulling tight needles through leather, but they won't overcome the basic cause, which is that the needles are too tight. You should be able to push & pull needles through the leather easily & smoothly just with bare fingers. Since a standard awl makes an adequate hole, and you would have to search quite a lot to find a very small/narrow awl, it is more likely that your needles are too big I very much suggest that you find some smaller needles. Even if you can manage with those you have, the correct, smaller, size will be less tiring in the long run Also, have a look at this video by Nigel Armitage on YouTube; 'Saddle Stitch In Detail'. Between about 3min 30sec and 4min 30sec he discusses needle size

The 4-in-1 awl with Tandy's starter kt isn't very good. This company supplies a better ready mounted awl for about £6 They also have some good tutorials on their website http://www.bowstock.co.uk

A woman goes into a jeweler's to have a ring valued, He says it's worth £45, and she is most put out But surely it's worth more than that! Have another look, it's only taken you about 20 seconds No madam; it's taken me 38 years

For most sewing, such as fabric, the needles are pointed and both pierce the material, ie make the hole, and feed the thread through it Leather is tougher and thicker than most fabric and will exert a clinging effect, or a drag, or friction, on a needle as it passes through. So the usual practice is to make a hole first with an awl; remove the awl; then pass the needle through the hole. To do this with the minimum of effort the needle must be narrower than the hole, or the hole have a larger diameter than the needle; or a combination of both Leather needles, aka harness needles, have a blunt, rounded tip so that it can be fed gently through the hole without catching on the leather If you cannot sew easily, you need narrower needles or bigger holes; so push the awl further through, or get a bigger one The exception is when you are sewing very thin, soft leather. As this is usually used to make gloves, the needles are called glover's needles; they are triangular in cross section, and sharp Even if you get the needle & hole combination right you might occasionally need to use pliers, eg when backstitching, but this should be an exception As mentioned, Nigel Armitage has a couple of good videos about this

You should have wet formed them before you oiled them. However, oil will soften leather. I suggest you just wear them, but not put them in water. The previous owner will have formed them a bit, though to his feet of course, but you shouldn't have to do as much forming or shaping as you would for a new pair If you find any uncomfortable spots, 'work' or knead them with your hands eventually a lot of the oil will wear off so you could try wet forming them then if the fit isn't quite right

I also thought a bought mallet was rather a lot of money, and was about to make my own, but found a hide mallet in an arts & crafts shop sale, at a fraction of the price from a leathercraft supplier For my mallet I was thinking of a head from a piece of sycamore, scrounged from the tree surgeons when they were working at a local park, and faced with 1/2" dense polythene (?) from an old kitchen chopping board. I would attach it with some small (long but narrow) countersunk screws around the circumference of the faces The handle was to be made from an old chair leg

I think a few years ago MoD tried a boot that was closed & smooth at the front, and entry was via lacing vertically right at the back, from the top of the ankle down to the heel, so your foot slid in & out without any effort or bending & twisting They discontinued it as the lacing did not stand up to the rigours of military use, but it might be OK for everyday. You could try something like that, modifying some old boots yourself - proof of concept, as they say in the aviation industry

This company make hiking, military,& motorcycling type boots and can supply & make boots in various levels of customisation & modification. They can also pair up two boots of different sizes, eg you might need a wide 10 and a medium 10 1/2 I have purchased hiking boots from them and they're very good It's worth making the effort to get to their factory & shop in Richmond, but they also have local agents Prices are not dirt cheap, but reasonable for the quality & service you get Have a browse round their website, then contact them & see what they have to say http://www.altberg.co.uk A custom made insole might help. Making the mould is a bit expensive but thereafter the insoles themselves are fairly cheap Shop around for a Chiropodist/Podiarist/Sports Clinic I have used this clinic, and it will show you the sorts of things that can be done, but you could probably find someone closer to home http://www.reboundclinic.co.uk

Although not an instructional video, you might find this interesting. Note the prices. Currently £1 = about US $ 1,6 http://www.johnlobbltd.co.uk

A book very often recommended for beginners is Al Stohlman's 'The Art of Hand Sewing Leather', but it always seems a bit pricey to me, at £14 to £15 At the moment Tandy UK are offering it at £8-91p