Tugadude

I love it. But maybe you should form the rawhide to look like a mouth. Then you can call it Pursed Lips.

I would reach out to RockyAussie if I were you. He is an authority on those leathers. Look up his work, prepare to be impressed.

I doubt you'll need to make any slits. Are you meaning you want a thin strip to wrap in a "U" shape around the edge? So long as the leather is thin and pliable it should not be an issue, IMO.

Round boxes will tax your skills for sure. Great job!

https://www.amazon.com/dummy-phones/s?k=dummy+phones&page=2

JLS, whatever the issue is, I've finished on this topic. I truly hope you find satisfaction and I mean that sincerely. When things take a personal turn, it is time to fly.

JLS, with all due respect, this is the first line of your post. Whatcha think? Does SLC NOT KNOW what Hermann Oak "B" looks like, or do they THINK I DONT" know? I've called and complained enough times that I just wont do it again... it's pointless and only wastes more of my time. So how is this NOT a thread about SLC? I said what I felt needed to be said. But from whomever you want, it doesn't make a difference to me. If others want to follow your lead, that's fine too.

There comes a time when you just have to accept that your expectations don't and won't match up with reality. Any supplier, I don't care who, pick one, has had mistakes. So that is a given. I've been in the business of construction chemicals my whole career, going on 35 years now. In that time I have come to learn that you don't judge a person or a company by its failures, but by how they handle them. In fact, I used to roll my eyes at the rep. from United States Gypsum Company when he said, "We don't have a problem, we have an opportunity." Yeah, it really got old. Turns out he was right. Mistakes are going to happen. It is important that you deal with them properly. In doing so, it helps to build loyalty and confidence. Many of my most "bulletproof" customer relationships were forged in the heat of a massive problem. However, if you have had problems and they were taken care of and then had similar problems and so on, maybe it is time to punt. And it works the other way. I have had to sit down with customers and divorce them. Literally. I explained to them that no matter what, it seems that we aren't able to consistently meet their expectations, so we would be cancelling their account. At then end of the day, having to deal with them was a time waste and unprofitable. Thankfully I only had to do it a couple of times, but funny thing is, when I did I got phone calls months later telling me that they were facing the same issues with another supplier and that that supplier wasn't as easy to deal with. And so it goes. Perhaps that is what is going on here, I don't know. What I do know is that it would be a shame if folks were to shy away from SLC based upon the experiences of one or even a handful of customers. If everyone posted their positive experiences (which is rare) this thread would get lost in the shuffle. Tony has been an active member of this forum. He is by all accounts a stand-up guy and willing to try to make things right. His post above is proof of that. You can't get much better than dealers willing to pay return shipping, no questions asked. And there is the fact that RockyAussie mentioned. Springfield Leather Company helps us all by sponsoring this site. That is worth something. However, if they either don't stock the leather you desire or cannot ship an appropriate quality leather in a reasonable amount of time, then like I said, punt. Try others. I'll be you find the same issues over time. If not, great! In general, I get frustrated when people air complaints. Especially if they haven't exhausted all remedies with the supplier first. And even then, rather than post about it, maybe just vote with your wallet instead. I know that some folks appreciate these kinds of posts because maybe they have been stung too, or maybe they were considering buying from that supplier. But again, I'd hate to see folks that have never had issues walk away based upon these reviews as being indicative of their usual business practices. It is easy to pile on. After a post, folks begin to regurgitate all of the issues they have had. Late shipments, wrong color, etc. Then a few posts later someone will chime in with, "Yeah, but supplier xxx also screwed me over". All it means is that nobody is perfect. If you are in the market for a Cadillac and the dealership only sells Chevy's, it isn't the fault of the dealer if you aren't satisfied. So long as they don't claim the Chevy is a Cadillac, right? Maybe that is the case here, maybe not? When someone posts a photo of a hide, how are we to know what they ordered? We don't. So the information is immediately questionable. Especially in light of the subsequent post in this thread where someone bought an economy grade from SLC and it was actually better than the hide shown. Obviously something is wrong. Something doesn't match up. Buy from whomever you want. But when you do develop a relationship with a dealer, remember that it is a two-way street. They want your business and you want satisfaction. Most of the time both can be achieved, a win-win. In the rare instances where it can't be sorted out, time for a divorce.

That is a smart way to do that! I used to own a travel roll like that and if I can find it, I might try your idea on it. Thanks for sharing.

A thought I just had would be to include Nigel Armitage's written reviews of the various irons. On his website he has more than 20 reviews now! And they go into great detail. This would require his permission of course.

Not in any order by yes, I do live in St. Louis and I actually have been to S&T. Very nice lady there that pretty much points me to the shelves and I browse to my heart's content. Very cheap, probably similar to what some small distributors pay their wholesaler. So there is that. As far as Hermann Oak, I don't buy enough leather on an annual basis to even warrant stopping in. I am a hobbyist, never claimed to be anything else. I buy sides when they are on super-duper specials. I haven't been in a while, but I used to go to Springfield monthly and would stop into SLC. Awesome people. And I could look through the leather and select exactly what pleased me. They used to have $20.00 sides of oddball stuff and then the price went up to $30.00 and let me tell you there are some very nice leathers available if you can use the colors/thicknesses that they have. Again, it is odd lots. I've made a couple of briefcases and messenger bags out of the material and they turned out great. I don't appreciate being called naive, perhaps the comment wasn't directed at me. If it was, I'm not losing sleep, but where I come from dealers are typically honest. Maybe you've found dealers to be less than. Who knows? But my point is, when a leather distributor places an order they know what they want, order what they want and should get what they want. Simple. If it doesn't happen, then THEY should complain. If you watch any of the SLC videos you will frequently see Kevin showing sides where maybe 80% of the hide is really nice but there are areas bad enough to where it is graded down. His point is that the side contains a lot of A, some B and unfortunately some junk. So they cannot call it A or B, but if you make smallish items you can get a great value. They don't lie and tell you it is B when it isn't. I refuse to believe that they do. I'm sure somewhere there is a company falsely listing leather as better than its actual grade. Unscrupulous people abound in any business. But I don't think most do. Once they buy the leather I suppose they are free to call it "premium", or "select" or otherwise make it sound special and maybe that is misleading. But I don't think most lie about grading. Once bitten, twice shy and all of that. If you really believe that people aren't worth dolng business with, then stop! But why do we have to hear about it? They have many happy customers, myself included. I recommend instead of posting on forums, people contact the owner of the companies that you are having issues with. I've met Kevin, Rusy and many others at SLC. I guarantee they want to get it right. If they demonstrate that they are incapable of getting it right, then stop! Remember the definition of insanity? Or just buy their hardware, tools or something else they cannot screw up. Thanks for the response. Yes, in addition to that, SLC often sells such leather by the square foot, which most providers do not. In my experience they are very user-friendly. I'm sure some do buy cheap stuff and then claim it is higher grade. I don't believe SLC engages in that practice.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the tannery grade the leather? So if they call it B, then it is their mistake. Surely SLC or any other distributor places orders with the tannery and specify what they want. They don't ship the hides and leave it to the customer to decide what it is. And I don't understand the comment about this being 50% higher than the cost of the good stuff. Why not just buy the good stuff then? Confused.

Springfield Leather is one of the few suppliers that will sell certain leathers by the square foot. You might try calling or emailing them.

Thanks for the feedback Chuck. One of the motivations also is that there still is misinformation as to what the purpose of the various irons is. It is not as simple as saying stitching chisel versus pricking iron. There is crossover. Some of the newest designs of pricking irons have rather slender teeth that don't taper out too much and can be used as stitching chisels. And of course, stitching chisels can be used to mark leather like pricking irons, just don't tap very hard. But for purposes of the forum, I think it would be good to separate them as to their main application, and that is pricking irons for marking and stitching chisels to create holes. The topic should be informational. Opinions as to whether you should engage in one process over another should be reserved. Some people prefer one way and that is great. So let's give those who want to experiment with stitching chisels information on brands, styles, spacing, tooth angle, recommended thread, etc. Then they can make up their own mind.

I guess I'm the only one?

I have noticed that there are topics that come up repeatedly and seem to warrant a "sticky". One that I've been thinking about recently is stitching chisels. Whether it is stitching chisels and their function or chisels versus pricking irons the subject seems to arise weekly. So would it make sense to include a header under Leather Tools called Stitching Chisels where it could serve as a source for people wanting more info on them? Posters could chime in with examples of specific tools and their experiences with them, types of spacing, thread choices, etc. Just a thought.

Using that 2 prong chisel around corners and then switching to a 6 or 8-prong chisel in the straight runs will help keep things straight. Also, making sure to hold the iron plumb. It is very easy to allow the iron to lean and it results in wavy stitching. BTW, I like the 2mm size for a lot of the types of projects I do, it seems perfect.

First of all, welcome to the forum! I'm going to recommend that you look at Nigel Armitage's website, armitageleather.com to see his detailed work on various stitching chisels and pricking irons. I trust he doesn't mind me putting this here, but it is a link to what I'm talking about. https://bd4a19d1-2fe8-40b7-89f8-9a3f92d4106d.filesusr.com/ugd/725555_c557a9825e664398bbff455c2a18d0cf.pdf I also am going to recommend you go to youtube and look at his videos of the same tools. On there, you get pretty much the same info with the added advantage of seeing the finished work that the tools help to produce.

Wow, that's a lot of pockets on the left side. Better be very thin leather, or that thing will be 1/2" thick when empty! When you say 6 pockets, can two of the pockets be "hidden" pockets? So you could have a pocket behind the left and right panels and then four pockets on the left, done. Just a thought.

Go Chiefs! Actually I wasn't too invested in the game, except I find it cool that it had been 50 years for the Chiefs and the St. Louis Blues had not won the Stanley Cup in 50 years, so it was a perfect storm. Go Missouri! Getting back to the knives. Rossr was kind enough to send me some photos of his workmanship and I have to tell you he makes some beautiful, and I'm sure functional, knives. Never ceases to amaze me the creativity that goes into that type of work. From the shape of blades and handles, types of materials and combinations thereof, it is a seemingly unlimited craft. I don't wear hats, but if I did, hats off to Rossr for some seriously beautiful work.

Well, it is nice to make someone's day!

I think this is a valid question and certainly should be addressed in an "official" way. When lives are at stake, I don't believe in anecdotal evidence or reports. I agree that is seems highly unlikely any virus would last any given length of time, but I'm no expert so what do I know?

Apparently there are two identical thread topics. I responded to the other one. There is seldom only one way to get professional results. Nigel Armitage, who I consider a professional describes using a stitching chisel to do multiple layers and he gets professional results. I understand there are those on the forum that hate anything but traditional saddle stitching with an awl, and you are fine to think whatever you want. Many, or more likely most of us never do saddles and for what we do the chisels are wonderful. In fact, look around and you will see tons of new and interesting types of chisels available. New ones coming out weekly it seems. So there is a market and the work folks are putting out is superb.