TinkerTailor

If you double cast the last stitch it forms a knot in the hole. Pass the needles back through with a cast and you have a surgeons knot inside the hole. Cut ends flush Restart with a new thread. After hammering the seam the spot disappears. I also try to pass the new thread right through the knot inside the hole if i can.This won't work in thinner leathers. Also, When sewing with linen you can taper the ends of both threads to limit the bulge.

Stropping the edge gets off the wax at the cutting surface, and you should strop before use. Paste wax gets pretty hard and doesn't rub off as readily or in enough quantity to effect edge dying or anything in my experiences. If you do have an issue, you used too much wax. a dab will do ya. Plus it gets in the crevaces of the metal and stays there. It wont rub off on your hands like neetsfoot/other oils will. Also, its not the cutting edge i am worried about with the oil, its when you put the tool down on the work or table and leave an oil mark. With wax, if applied nice and thin it doesn't transfer with incidental contact. It is harder waxes like carnauba, not beeswax, with a little thinner to make them appliable. They then harden in 10-15 mins and then you buff off the excess. Good to go. Wax also does not stick to dust. Oiled tools collect dust . Dust holds moisture. Dusty oily tools can still rust. I have even used spray on floor wax in the past but it ends up looking like I clearcoated my tools.

Only supplier i know is in canada in Calgary. Buckskin leather.

I use veg-retan hot-stuffed latigo for some of my items, it is very firm with no stretch, but still thin, 5-6oz. It burnishes nicely. Super durable.I use it for the straps on bicycle bags that get used hard and put away wet all the time. Burnish up the edges smooth without any wax and then 2-3 coats of 50/50 resoline.

Wood paste wax. Woodworkers swear by it. I use it on all my tools. I use the wax on the whole tool, handle and all. The problem with neetsfoot is the discoloration it may cause on the leather being worked on.

This is a really cool round knife trick. It gets to the point of a round knife. I don't think you can do this faster any other way, https://youtu.be/J5GqItjXtRI there are quite a few good tricks on this channel from a real pro. Like this sharpening video. The strop is a 4 foot 2x6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OTSNhCePno

But if you buy a couple of sets of mini puncheswhen they are on sale, you can have them in more that one size. I use blue locktite to hold in the punch. I prefer the bigger handle to the tiny shafted individual small punches. Also I like that the replacement punch tubes are not as expensive as a whole new punch when you break/bend them as can happen. Also, thirded. Buy new only what you need for the current project. To build up on tools check thrift and antique stores for old tools and learn how to sharpen and clean up old stuff. The old tools are coveted because they are miles better that new entry level craftool and chinabay. Better steel, design, manufacturing etc.. Also, watch craigslist (or whatever is the local buy/sell.) Retired people who have or thought they would have a leather hobby pass on and their tools can and do come up for sale.

SAFETY WARNING:: You forgot to mention the part about the special atomic shielding needed due to the fact that the hole the needles make is so small it is actually a negative hole, and can disrupt the spacetime continuum, causing bad things and stuff.

I make little sheaths out of scrap for everything whenever i am uninspired. I have many little knives which are very sharp. Usually 40 minutes later i have a sheath and have thought of a way past my inspiration block. Hands on tools is the way past creative slumps. I can not leave an old beat up shoemakers knife in a thrift store ever. They all get sharpened properly and sheaths made. I have had all the tendons on the back of my right hand re-attatched after a mishap with a 10 inch masonary blade on a 1/2 horse angle grinder. It was probably 25 lbs. I was cutting post holes in concrete for giant gates we built at the aluminum/stainless fab shop i worked at in the past. The grinder kicked cause i got a little distracted for a moment. I was holding it correctly, and it had a guard on it. It kicked towards the ground, away from me, and out of my hands. It then bounced of the ground, flipped in the air and just kissed the back of my hand on the way by........blade still spinning from momentum. Many hours of hand therapy and surgery later and i have no side effects other that i get dropsy with my right hand when i am tired..... and i have developed a twitch in my middle finger when i encounter jerks...

A piece of advice I gleaned from another thread. The buyer should buy BOTH machines together due to the fact that the factory and all the spare parts for these machines were bombed in wwii and are not available, so having a second machine will keep the one going longer.

pm sent, I am in Vancouver bc, just a borderaway....

If you have to hammer, get a drilling hammer from a hardware store, they have short handles and are 3-4 pounds. Only like 20 bucks. They are used for hammering rock chisels and drills. Go outside and find a concrete slab to put your marble on to do your makers marking. I probably could hammer my stamps right through the leather in one hit if i swung the 4 lb hard enough. A press or a vise is the way to go however. I think that leaving it in there under pressure for 15 mins or so can help. Hang a dumbell on a rope from the handle of the press to keep pressure on.

All hand sewing should be done with at least lightly waxed thread as the thread takes alot of abuse being pulled through the holes over and over. A machine stitch just pulls a loop through not the whole thread. This causes a lot less thread damage, waxing isn't as necessary here.. The wax also lubricates the thread and helps prevent fraying.

I have used sticky backed 120 grit sandpaper stuck to a ruler or straight stick to sand the edge back straight, Keep the ruler parallel to the edge, and concentrate on just sanding the bulge until your sanding marks start to get wider and wider. Once the sandpaper is touching flat on the edge the whole length, the high spot is eliminated. After it is straight, then bevel and finish the edges. This method can also correct edges which are either not quite lined up or not cut with the knife vertical. If you have glued the seam well, the seam line will almost disappear during burnishing. I also have sections of plastic pipe cut up that I can stick sandpaper on the inside or outside for curves. If the leather is too floppy, clamp the edge in your stitching clamp as close to the edge as possible to hold it for sanding.

Phone lonsdale leather in vancouver. They carry angelus.. I don't know if they ship but its worth a call.

Once you pull the double cast stitch tight you can if u are careful finish the second half of the surgeons knot in the same hole if the leather is thick enough. The twist holds it from unstitching if that makes sense.

if you double or triple cast the last stitch, or all of them, you will be tieing surgeons knots inside the holes. If you do this, just cutting and burning the ends should be enough.

Its funny when you look at your finger and see a pretty big slice that would have been stitch worthy in someone with Madge Hands, yet due to the callous from the thousands of other cuts, you have no idea when you even did it. The downside to calloused hands is when a harness needle does find enough force and speed go through, it usually goes deep. and hurts way worse than a cut. If you manage to push the needle through the skin, there is no stopping it.... edit: i forgot about the cuts from thread on my baby fingers when pulling stitches tight.... I have leather baby finger socks but sometimes i forget to put then on. Tiger thread cuts like a knife....

Btw the TSA scanners at airports can be set off by glycerine saddle soap as the machines think there is nitroglycerin in it. Just a heads up to avoid travel delays due to false alarms

Modify your former to insert cedar or some other softwood strips where you are putting tacks. When they are swiss cheesed, rip them off and replace. Lattice garden panels are a pretty good cheap source for these. I like cedar because it is fairly easy to push in the tacks, but they still have good holding power horizontally. For the curves, I get 8" by 10 sheets" of cork 4 for a dollar at the dollar store, it is thin, but you can layer it up. cut it into strips, and laminate it up on the curves. I use 3m super77 spray contact cement for jobs like this. It makes the job real fast.

An additional note, When I do baseball stitching to wrap handles and things, I hand punch the sides on opposite angles. The threads must pull on the flat of the hole, not the end of the slot or the thread will rip right out. In other words, the V's formed by the holes are pointing up \ / when the stitch V's point down / \. If I used chisels for this, I would need lefties for one side. Here is a photo of the stitch with some of the stitches on the left starting to pull to see what I am talking about. This is fairly stretchy 6 oz chrome tan, around a 3" circumference and i stitched it with an initial gap between sides of 1/2". It is stitched on very tight to stay in place and required probably 15-20 lbs of pull to get it together at times. This one I did with the left side leaning the wrong way and a few of the stitches started to rip, i managed to keep it together though.

They are called edge irons and usually are cobblers tools best pic i can find.

I have seen wide creasers in old tool collection that make that shape. If I remember I will find a pic when I am at home

I totally agree with this he is an amazing resource and very gracious to share his knowledge, however in these types of threads, playing devils advocate can really lead to interesting discussions. Sometimes i will raise an odd question, solution, or scenario in order to foster discussion, and to perhaps lead to collectively finding better ways of doing things. Experts are to be respected, but not unconditionally and without valid questions. At one time all the experts thought the world was flat......Until someone questioned that. just payin the interest on fergs $.02

I used a really small grommet and had a hell of a time getting the wick it started. I used a small low jar for stability and keep it full to prevent air space. I chose mason jars cause they are designed for heat and pressure. (at least as much as can be created by 4-5 cubic inches of alcohol vapour). I do alot of stuff that may be dangerous. As a kid, i dont even want to think about it.... My little jar of fire is the least of my worries....DON'T TELL, BUT YESTERDAY I RAN WITH SCISSORS......SHHHHHH.