Tugadude

I suggest you check out the new irons that Springfield Leather Company is selling. For the money, they are among the best I've seen. The teeth are very smooth and they come out of the leather very easily. The holes they create are fairly small in comparison to some other irons out there. Smaller tends to be better, in my opinion, so long as they have enough angle to make your stitches reflect the angle. If you re doing wallets and such, the 3.0mm and 0.6mm thread would be a nice combo. https://www.springfieldleather.com/Craftmaster-3mm-Diamond-Point-Stitching-Chisel The chisels make a diamond-shaped hole. I showed the holes in another thread.

I don't know if this is happening to the OP's example, but I know that when I use glues, sometimes I am afraid that it will show too much on the edge so I tend to spread it too thin. I like the suggestion above about carrying the glue all the way to the edge with a spatula or scraper. If the glue is sparingly-applied, that might account for the gaps.

What I've learned from some of the recent posts is that there still is no replacement for picking up the phone and contacting a seller when you think something isn't right. That is the best way for them to get feedback. When they get enough of those calls, I have to assume they will take action. I've worked at several levels in the construction products industry, the manufacturer level and the distributor level and I can tell you my biggest frustration is when a customer calls to say they've been having problems with something and that this is the third time, etc., etc. I always ask why they didn't call the first time because it would have been good to know and we maybe could have fixed it and prevented more issues. This is the same. As a result of the feedback in this thread, SLC is looking into their shipping prices and realized that they might be missing out on some orders due to the issue. I feel good that it is being fixed. That's a win-win for our industry.

I enjoy making larger bags myself. When you are finished, you're glad it's over, but you miss working on it at the same time. At least that's what I experience. Your next one will be a lot easier.

Tony, you may want to investigate the issue of shipping charges as it relates to the last two posts. Perhaps adjustments are in order.

Buy a few rolls.

Perfect timing

The Rhino works good with my larger irons and I will be buying more colors. I had some .06mm thread on hand and it works perfectly with the 3mm irons that I purchased. Pulling them out of the leather is smooth and easy. I look forward to using them on some upcoming projects. And Tony, I always enjoy seeing Jeff when I'm in the store. He is knowledgeable and very friendly.

I don't have any issue with the direction of the thread. I hope folks continue to discuss.

The Tandy website says made in China. I would much rather they be made in Japan, but sadly they aren't.

By the way, I wasn't singling you or anyone out in particular. Thanks for the reply. I have noticed some on this forum treat Tandy Leather like a piñata and it seems to me nothing they ever do will be enough to satisfy.

The tools appear to be the identical price, at least when I looked at the site. There is mention of free shipping however. Edit: I've never understood the attitudes of some members of this forum regarding Tandy. Perhaps they have had problems with Tandy in the past and it has left a bad taste in their mouths? Personally, even if that is true there is a time at which you have to admit that it isn't the same Tandy. New leadership, website, pricing structure, products, etc., etc. No comparison to "the old Tandy" really. I'd love someone to explain to me how shooting them down at every turn, predicting their demise, etc., etc. helps the leatherworking community. Shouldn't we all want them to succeed? Wouldn't that be a sign of a healthy industry?

Tandy announced today a whole slew of new tools. They look amazing. I hope to see them in person at my local store. https://tandyleather.com/collections/since-tools?trk_msg=SGT8MVS0VIIKDFMSGV56TQJTV0&trk_contact=RUQU13VTJ3Q606IA18J9JOOVG8&trk_sid=487AUIPM189T2MV6V6U08V776G&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2ftandyleather.com%2fcollections%2fsince-tools&utm_campaign=Introducing+TandyPro®+Tools!

What is the thickness right now? Also, you can skive the edges in order to eliminate some of the bulk without thinning the entire piece.

You hit on a lot of great points. Times are tough for retailers. For example, there are folks that will go to a local sporting goods retailer and try on a shoe to make sure of the fit and then they will order that same shoe off of the internet. I'm sorry, but that is horrible. So how are brick-and-mortar stores supposed to survive if they can't count on local business? Is it any wonder their stock isn't as deep as it used to be? Regarding transportation costs, you really struck a nerve because I'm in an industry dependent upon delivery at a number of different levels. Trucking is a nightmare, both inbound freight and at the distributor level. Finding drivers with the proper licenses, who is drug-free and shows up for work is nearly impossible it seems. The average age of truck drivers in the U.S. is currently around 49. The shortage of truck drivers is estimated at around 60,000 right now and expected to increase to 160,000 by 2028.

I get where you're coming from. I do. Let's hope that they continue to evolve under this new leadership. They've made a number of changes that give hope.

If the original post in this thread was a rant about Tandy Leather and a perceived lack of leadership, I think it is only fair to judge them by their current efforts. Since that post was written Tandy Leather has overhauled their website, their entire pricing structure and introduced a number of new products. Just recently they unveiled a new heat embosser, for example. And they sell Barry King tools via their website. I've written previously that they added the Ritza 25 Tiger Thread and that was a response to requests from the leather community. They have made many positive strides in recent months. I don't think there is any question about that. Here's their Facebook page in case you want to check it out. https://www.facebook.com/tandyleather/

What possible explanation was given?

Well, my experiment with the new thread is inconclusive, at least on some points. I'll try to do something over the weekend using black leather so that the yellow shows up better. As it stands I used the yellow thread on a piece of softish veg-tan and you really can't see much. I think the thread is a bit large for the iron though, and will try something else to confirm. I really admire those that are set up to do professional-looking photos. Mine ain't. But hopefully they will get the point across. The new irons from SLC really are small. But they aren't too small in my opinion. They feel dainty and elegant, but I think they will be plenty durable so long as care is shown to them. I examined the teeth very closely and confirmed that they are indeed highly polished. When I hammered them through two layers of 4-5oz. veg-tan, they came back out easily, no wax required. Both of the Tandy chisels were much harder to remove. The thread seems to be a "soft" weave if that makes sense. It isn't what I'd call tightly woven, at least the spool I purchased. Time will tell how it behaves. The thread has plenty of wax on it. No complaints there. Like I said, I need to use it with some larger chisels and on some black leather and maybe that will help to determine the aesthetic qualities better. If you look at the holes created by the three irons you will see that the Tandy Craftool Pro are long and thin compared with the "Black" Tandy Craftool chisel. The black irons are perfect for larger thread, but the holes are undeniably chunky. The new SLC irons seem to be what I've been looking for in an iron. They make small, clean, diamond-shaped holes and are easy to pull out from the leather. They have met my expectations. Hopefully on Saturday I can find some time to do a few lines of stitching with some smaller thread, 0.6 and 0.8. I think I'll find that the SLC 3.0 chisels are perfect with the smaller threads. Here's the other pics.

I agree with this sentiment. There are some really creative people in the world and hopefully many of them will find leather and use it as a medium of expression.

I'll do a couple of stitch lines with various chisels and the new thread and post tomorrow.

The teeth on the chisels I purchased are smaller than the ones on the black chisels, which is one reason I bought them. I prefer smaller holes, especially with finer threads of course.

Well, my daughter's car problems created the opportunity for me to travel to Springfield, MO yesterday and I was fortunate to have time to stop by SLC. I bought some very nice leather that they had on special along with some hardware I needed. But there are two items I though others should know about if they haven't seen them. One is some new thread they are stocking and the other is a diamond stitching chisel. Actually, they have two new types of chisels in stock, but I'm going to be talking about the polished ones. Bear in mind I haven't used the chisels or the thread yet, but I can tell just by looking at the irons that they are going to be great. They are made of stainless steel and highly polished. The teeth are very slick. I'm thinking they will be easy to remove after punching through thicker leather. They are quite small too. The teeth are a lot smaller than some of the other diamond chisels I've tried. The overall size of the irons is diminutive. They look and feel "dainty", but with care I think they will last a long time. The thread is a flat, woven polyester and is SLC's answer to Ritza 25 Tiger Thread. They call it Rhino thread. It is listed as 1.0 mm. Comes in tons of colors too. If the thread turns out to be a "worker" I'm going to ask them to consider bringing in smaller sizes as 0.6 and 0.8 are handy for smaller items. Over the next few days I'll be experimenting with both the irons and the thread and report back on them.

I echo the recommendation on kangaroo leather. I think it is perfect for wallets, especially minimalist ones. I prefer my own wallets as thin as possible, so I generally look for the 3oz. and under. Depending on the specific application as little as 1.5oz. It is fun to experiment with minimalist designs. Amazing how many different ways there are to tackle the challenge of getting more from less. Just search for "minimalist leather wallet" and bask in the variety.

Good to know! Nice to have a quality leather manufacturer available to answer questions. I just recently purchased some Sedgwick Bridle to make some belts. Can't wait to begin.