Tugadude

I typically use three colors. Black, white and tan. The thread you linked to looks OK. Typical Chinese stuff by the looks of it. I've seen good reviews and not-so-good. I suggest looking at the Nigel Armitage videos on his youtube.com channel. He talks about a bunch of different stitching chisels and pricking irons but in the process discusses thread quite a bit. He also reviews several types of thread. On his other website, he has written reviews that are excellent. Check them out!

Comparisons between Tandy and Harbor Freight are meaningless. Harbor Freight is good at what it does, selling mediocre tools cheaply. Their volume, and their sourcing gives them a huge advantage over many other retailers. That includes Tandy. Also, I haven't compared the presses side-by-side, but it is likely that the press sold by Tandy is of better quality. But even if it is the same, you are dealing with volume purchase discounts and differing margin structures. Even the way the items get shipped out to the retail stores might differ, resulting in a lot more freight and handling on behalf of Tandy. When I've visited Harbor Freight they have two registers going constantly and I have to wait to get to certain aisles because of the number of shoppers. In Tandy, I am usually the only customer. I am in the construction materials business and I face the same pressures as many retailers in that someone is always going to be cheaper. The way to justify a higher price is by adding value. That value can come in the form of better service, more knowledge about the trade, etc. If Tandy isn't adding any value for you anymore, then feel free to shop elsewhere. Over the years I have gotten very frustrated with the way folks beat up on Tandy here. Always bemoaning the high prices and the supposed lack of quality (even though they have improved their tools immensely in recent years). Personally, I rarely buy leather there, but do buy tools and hardware and consumables. Tandy is what it is. Or actually, it isn't anymore because they are changing their pricing structure and shutting down stores. Those moves are a direct result of market factors. You either grow or you die. You either change when facing negative market forces or you die. Tandy is trying to save itself. Tandy is probably more responsible for introducing people into this craft than any other single factor. They are a "one-stop-shop" for the beginner. They offer classes at many of their stores. Ask yourself one question. Are you going to miss them if they go? If the answer is no, then so be it. If the answer is yes, then I guess they still hold some value in your eyes. If your answer was the latter, then I guess you should try to support them. Otherwise you've helped seal their doom.

I was going to suggest D grade, but you already have found that option. Springfield Leather has a number of products that will be reasonable. Their philosophy is that if you are making smaller products, you can buy a lesser grade and still find that much of it is perfect. You have to cut around some holes and bite marks, but at the end you will have good, usable leather. You might call them and ask for their recommendation. They sometimes have product that is not on the website. I used to be able to buy whole sides of various colors, weights, etc. on a discount table there for $20.00. I think they are now $30.00. The colors are limited, but I found some great leather there. Certainly good enough for prototypes, practice, etc. There is a Springfield Leather employee that frequents this site. Maybe he will chime in.

Rocky, this is a sign of the times. Just wait, it will get worse, much worse. Extremes aren't good on either side of an equation. What you are seeing is what happens when some extremists get their way. There are far more people who use leather, love real leather and want it for their bags, wallets and shoes compared to practicing vegans. I went to a friend's wedding recently and was surprised to see several ladies, not all older, wearing fox and mink stoles. I hadn't seen that in a while. I wonder how many there had a problem with it? Nobody seemed to. I suspect in another 20 years the same ladies will be read the riot act and barred from entry because they might offend other guests. I will stop now before I get too worked up. Your topic is a good one. What happens if Etsy follows suit? Craigslist? The local newspaper?

I dye edges before burnishing. My reason is that I feel the dye soaks into the edges better when they are not slick and the fibers matted down. Also, depending upon how you burnish, anything you put on the edge is absorbed into the leather and to me that prevents the dye from fully penetrating. For holsters I would dye the edge, burnish and finish off with a beeswax or beeswax blend.

Welcome to the forum BMH. How many feed DO you have?

The details I posted show that veterans still get an extra discount, businesses too. In addition, if you recently bought a membership and feel slighted, they will refund it. As far as closing stores, brick and mortar stores in all walks of life are under great pressure. According to a recent story, e-commerce sales are still growing exponentially compared to brick and mortar. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/02/online-shopping-officially-overtakes-brick-and-mortar-retail-for-the-first-time-ever.html My local Tandy is typically empty when I visit, which isn't very often. Maybe I am to blame? Seriously, there tend to be two or three people working at the store whenever I'm there and there might be one other customer besides myself. So think about the overhead. They pay rent, utilities, worker's salaries and bear the cost of inventory while I'm buying a spool of thread and a belt buckle. Much of what my local store sells is mail-order so bodies in the store isn't indicative of the volume of business. The point is, if the volume of business continues to swing away from walk-in to mail-order, why have a retail site at all?

As a golfer that has seen a lot of lost head covers over the years, if you put in the time to make them, make certain they stay securely on the club. Some sets have grommets on them so that they can be connected together with cords. You can then take one off, leave it hanging and put it on after you are through with the club. Another consideration is rain. If in an area where it rains frequently, and you find yourself out in it, make sure to waterproof the leather and to invest in a bag cover if you don't have one already.

You're right, they looked like straight teeth. They come both ways for the lacing folks. They come in handy for tight corners on turned bags I bet.

I found this helpful...

I've seen those nippers available with diamond-shaped teeth.

Off to a good start. Now it is onward and upward as your skills grow. Rockoboy gives good advice. Repetition is key. Have fun and the more you learn the more you will realize how much more there is to learn.

Mike, I don't sell in the EU so I have no idea if what you say is correct or not. I will assume you are correct. When I cut and paste that address you provided it pulls up USD, not Euros, so maybe it knows where I'm at and changes the currency. For me it came up $75.00 +. My main issue was calling the seller a liar. I don't care what country you are in, that is poor form. Why not say the ad is misleading? I would have partly agreed with that. I say partly because as I said, I see these ads all the time and I know what the little + sign means. A little decency goes a long way. Sadly we seem bereft of it in some quarters these days.

I totally agree with this. Always better to waste a foot of thread than to have the potential of starting/stopping in an obvious location. It doesn't bother some people, but it drives me nuts. The thread getting dirty is a real issue if it is a light color. Obviously not a concern with black. I like YinTx's approach in the earlier post about starting a new piece and then going back and finishing the original run. I have done that and it works just as described. I read an article by a saddler once that precut all threads to around 30" or 36" I believe. For myself that doesn't work. I prefer as few start/stop points as possible.

Chuck, you are correct about the sizing difference. To my knowledge, the Tandy sizing is the outlier. Most companies report the center-to-center sizing of the prongs. The 4mm from Tandy are spaced very far apart. I only use those for turned bags or anywhere I don't see the stitching. To me they end up being flat and ugly. My favorite size Tandy in the black-colored irons is the 2mm. It give a good stitch with 0.8 oz. thread or even a bit finer.

Springfield had some nice kangaroo at one point. You might look at their website and/or phone them. They will also tell you about other options that meet your needs. They stock lots of different things and I've had great luck with them.

When I clicked on the website what I saw was in USD and it said $60.00 + and free shipping to the U.S. Sorry, Chrisash, but that is somewhat common on Etsy and even ebay. They list the cheapest item and then you choose what other items you want. For example, the beginner kit was $298.00. I looked at Chinese pricking irons several times and many of the providers did the same thing. They might say $7.98 and show a full set of irons, but when you click the drop-down menu it shows all of the configurations of sets, individual irons, etc. The $7.98 might be for one iron. Sure, you could argue that if they show a full set and you look over and see $7.98 it is misleading, but if many sites do it, you get used to the idea and understand that it is not necessarily for what is shown. Calling it a lie is a bit harsh. I always cringe when folks do this in an open forum. Maybe next time you could PM the seller? If you have a legitimate concern then maybe he/she will change the ad. Just a thought.

Awesome! Man you have a lot of sole.....

There is a whole thread devoted to this topic. You can search for it. Prop 65 is a joke but an expensive one because millions of dollars are spent to comply with the rules and regulations while pretty much being ignored. Too bad the money doesn't go to help the needy.

Well, I know what it is called, but good luck finding them to purchase. They are called "piston clasps" or "piston closures". Since the one pictured and most of the ones I saw online are marked Gucci, they are likely proprietary. This type of closure is also used on keyrings. Maybe there is a keyring that could be adapted for this purpose?

LatigoAmigo, I totally agree with your input. I think there are some folks that just "get it" and can look at a piece and recreate it with little trouble. Then there are others that need a template for even the most basic things. I have a daughter that can look at something and draw it perfectly, so perfectly that it looks like she Xeroxed it. My wife can't even draw stick people. Your idea about deconstructing and existing bag is a good one. A lot can be learned that way.

Danne, I think option 3 is the way to go. Even with the limitation you mentioned. Your work is very fine and any knot is going to be visible given the thin lining. It hides nothing. The good thing is that it isn't a super high stress application, especially if the owner puts the strap on correctly and doesn't tug in all sorts of directions.

You can visit Make Supply's website for some free templates. You will notice the "outers" are bigger. There are tons of threads on this forum that deal with wallets. Search around to see examples and issues that others are having or have asked for advice about. Yes, the inner bits have to be smaller to allow for the outer (wallet back) layer to fold. It really varies depending upon thickness. That is a combination of factors, number of pockets, whether you cut them in "T" style to avoid bulk, thickness of leather, etc. So every one is different. Having said that, I would say 3/8" at a minimum and probably 1/2" or so on the high side. Any more than that and the outer piece gets a bit "sloppy" I think.

Tokonole is offered in colors too if you want to tint the backside.