bkm

A plated product is going to be inferior where abrasion occurs. It would be simple to machine spikes from rod stock on a lathe. Zinc and brass (which is copper and zinc) would definitely be easier to machine which is why those materials are most likely to be found. With the right tool, you could machine stainless steel spikes. Stainless steel would be the best white metal. It won't take or keep the polish of nickel-plate with chrome, but it will last longer. There are different alloys of stainless steel. 304 (also called 18/8) is easy to machine, highly corrosion resistant, readily accepts a polish, and is easy to find. With 304 rod, use a carbide cutter and a pattern or cnc program to turn out spikes on a lathe. With that said, I have to say I despise the aesthetic of spiked collars. I understand they had a practical purpose to protect unsupervised livestock protection dogs from wolves, but that is hardly ever their purpose today. They are poor protection for a modern pet or working dog which should be supervised and protected from attacks from other dogs by the handler. It is more a matter of my subjective opinion, but I hate wide leather collars with or without spikes. I think the wide collars are uncomfortable and inhibit mobility, and leather is an unsanitary material for collars.

Al Stohlman details it in _The Art of Hand Sewing Leather_ The bristles are commonly used for brush-making, brushes for all purposes, so it would be easier to find them offered for that purpose rather than sewing.

I suggest Barbour's linen cord. For leather, I prefer the linen to poly and nylon for sure. I would only use poly to sew poly, nylon to sew nylon, and cotton, well I would probably use poly thread to sew that. I don't see how you could go wrong with a fine quality linen like Barbour's or Fil Au Chinois Lin Cable from Ets Toulemonde. For heavier work, the Barbour's is ideal and it can easily be dyed or stained the basic colors. If you do finer/lighter work or want more choice of bright colors, then the Fil Au Chinois is the choice.

For my leather thread, I just have a 1 lb spool of Barbour linen that will last a while. I cut and dye about a cupful at a time, which I keep in a little box. I'll taper the ends, wax and thread the needles from that. I only hand-stitch so I am not using more than that in a month. For machine sewing, which I do not do with leather, I have a rack like this: For odd spools, bobbins, notions and other things, I keep them in a Sterilite drawer tower.

I use a Hand Screw. I just clamp it to a chair or bench with a second one, but it could also be bolted to a pony/horse. The jaws are probably too broad, but it's maple and could easily be cut or shaved down to whatever you want.

Now you asked about pet collars in particular. Again the main options there for standard/traditional hardware like buckles and snap-hooks are zinc, plated-steel or iron, stainless steel, brass, and bronze. You have to consider whether the product is cast or made of wire. A snap-hook is cast, and a ring or buckle is typically made of wire and welded or brazed. I can tell you that if you use zinc or plated-steel for pet products, you will be competing with the imported stuff at Petco and Petsmart and you'll have to plan on prices around the $10 range. For premium and traditional items (meaning traditional hardware designs), the desired color is going to make the biggest difference. For white metal, it needs to be stainless steel or German silver (white brass). Stainless steel is widely available but it is usually significantly more costly than brass/bronze because the manufacturing process is costlier (the raw metal is not). German silver is just harder to find because it is mostly replaced by stainless steel. One problem for stainless steel, besides the premium price, is it is hard to polish to the highest luster. It tends to go dull gray. It does not compare to nickel and chrome plated steel in shine, but it is more durable as those plated steels will eventually rust. Stainless steel is also usually lighter and/or stronger than mild plated steels that are not heat-treated. One of the best sources for stainless hardware for horses and dogs is Herm Sprenger. www.sprenger.de For yellow metal, it will be brass or bronze. These terms get used interchangeably a lot, and it can be hard to tell what is what. For most hardware, either is a good choice, but bronze (copper and tin) has an advantage in strength and resistance to abrasion. For example, the links of a brass chain tend to wear each other away, whereas bronze will last longer. I think bronze resists corrosion better, which is why it is used for bearings and propellers in saltwater. With stainless steel, it is not practical to make your own hardware. You might be able to bend wire and weld, but castings would be a major undertaking. With brass and bronze you could quite practically cast your own either with sand casting or the lost-wax (investment) method. You can also bend brass or bronze rod and braze it with a torch. Another option for premium products is to go to non-traditional hardware. The two most popular sources for this is the technical climbing equipment market, and the tactical/military market. For example, instead of using a traditional cast snap-hook, use a forged aluminum carabiner. Instead of using a traditional style roller buckle, use a AustriAlpin D-ring Cobra quick release buckle. http://www.austrialpin.net/

One of the main reasons brass and bronze are attractive is because they can be alloyed to a color that when polished is most similar to gold. By itself, the copper is reddish (and fairly soft), but when alloyed with a white metal like zinc or tin, the result is a yellow to white color depending on how much of each element is used. There are a few other metals that can make brass or bronze very strong. Aluminum has been used very successfully in brass, and in bronze we have very useful alloys with aluminum, silicon, and manganese. One thing to watch out for is the lead content. In modern alloys, lead is usually added for machineability. Brass keys contain too much of it, and practically all the big lock and key manufacturers are under lawsuit. For a lot of leather goods that are personal items, leaded hardware is really not acceptable.

The thing you have to watch out for is die-cast zinc. Zinc is easy to cast but it is pretty weak and makes for cheap-quality fasteners. I think it's fair to say the cheapest and most shoddy metal fasteners and hardware are made of zinc. The idea of "solid brass" comes from the propensity of cheap zinc hardware to simply be brass-plated to give it the yellow color. "Solid brass" is in contrast to brass-plated zinc, or brass-plated steel. Steel is the strongest metal commonly found in hardware. It is strongest when it is forged and heat-treated, but that can make a small piece of hardware an order of magnitude more expensive. Mild steel rusts, but "stainless steel" alloys that incorporate a lot of nickel are very resistant to corrosion. Nickel can cause allergies on some people and animal's skin, and it can discolor light-colored fur. Another white metal alternative to stainless steel is "German" silver or nickel silver. It is an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. In essence, this is "white" brass. It is non-ferrous so it doesn't "rust," and it has a white appearance similar to silver. Silver is a wonderful metal for fasteners and hardware but it is most often excluded from consideration due to the cost. Leathercrafters whose products might be fitted with silver hardware could consider allowing for the buyer to add their own. For example, I bought a ranger belt from a leathercrafter once, and fitted it with a silver buckle I acquired from a smith. The buckle could have been anywhere from 2x to 10x the price of the belt. So it wouldn't always behoove the leathercrafter to force the buyer into a 10x option when they may not be willing. Brass is copper and zinc. It is mostly copper, but the alloy has the characteristic of being stronger than either pure copper or zinc alone. It is also very malleable. It is non-ferrous so it doesn't "rust" but it does corrode. Chiefly, the zinc erodes due to a chemical reaction (dezincification), and the copper corrodes (by itself the surface turns the familiar green, but in alloy it usually develops a "patina"). Bronze is a copper and tin alloy that is often has higher tensile strength than brass but is less malleable. Iron is often not as strong or as durable as bronze, but ductile iron can be tough and would be much stronger than brass or zinc and is more affordable than bronze for larger items.

It doesn't make sense to me to punch the leather three times. Every time you put the awl in, you're cutting some leather fibers making the leather weaker around the hole and making it so the hole will close-up to a larger size. Ideally, the awl only pushes the fibers to the side, the needle goes through with the thread, and the fibers close-up around the thread. Practically, the awl cuts some fibers. The fewer the better. Edit: reading more carefully, it looks like the welt being sewn amounts to 6 layers of 8 oz. which would be 3/4" of leather. I regularly sew up to half an inch with a single awl pierce but I have not tried 3/4". I imagine the technique is to obtain good alignment of the holes through all the layers.

Here are two Z-twist cables in Z-twist Here are two Z-twist cables in S-twist I didn't do anything to these cables except twist two of them together either S or Z, the same way they would be twisted were they stitched in leather, except I twisted them more turns per length than most stitching would result in to exaggerate the effect.

I also became convinced that S and Z threads do make a difference in hand stitching. However, it is not based on whether you are left or right-handed. The difference is made based on whether your stitching twists S, Z or is straight. As you lay the cables through the awl holes, is one cable passing over, under, over under... or the other, or is one always on top. If you always stitch with the same needle-handling, you will be twisting them S or Z because the needles are alternating and your hand technique is not. If you alternate your needles and your handling technique, then they will be straight. A right-handed person can use either S or Z twisted cable, but they should pay attention to whether their stitching is twisting the two cables S or Z, or straight.

That's right, Cordura is for abrasion resistance, not tensile strength, and of course it is much thinner than webbing. The 1050d ballistic is slightly better for tear resistance, but it is still probably less than 200 lbs tensile strength compared to webbing which can be ~4000 lbs for a 1" strap. But the OP's stated use did not mention reinforcement, but rather a "liner." In any event, I appreciate the advice from experience. I am working on another project now to build a semi-tactical dog harness/vest with nylon. While leather is the traditional material for harness, it is typically heavy and stiff and not comfortable for all-day wear. I have several webbing harness that I use for carting, ski and bike joring, and for the highest loads (with broad 2" straps). But all of them are overbuilt for light-duty use. I made another one with grosgrain ribbon (polyester). This is normally only a decorative material, but I found 1 3/4" ribbons to be excellent for light-duty use, and obviously much more comfortable than nylon webbing. The grosgrain ribbon would also make a luxurious strap liner, but I can't recommend it for anything that would see abrasion and it hardly adds any tensile strength. Presently I am working on a jacket/harness sewn of a woven nylon fabric for personal use. Most tactical harness incorporate both a Cordura-type woven fabric and webbing straps.

Another suggestion I have is to consider using ballistic nylon or Cordura instead of webbing. You haven't detailed your design at all, so I wouldn't know how the leather/webbing composite is intended to work, but you mentioned thin, shiny webbing. Invista 1050d ballistic nylon is shiny and smoother than Cordura, and it is thinner than webbing. It has great tear resistance a texture that makes it very pleasing for bag use. For webbing, my favorite is Blue Water tubular nylon. It is a little smoother, thicker and stronger than seatbelt webbing and because it is tubular the edges are perfectly smooth. The flat webbing has rough edges. Of course, any webbing is going to add a lot more bulk than just a woven sheet like the 1050d.

Have you tried piercing the webbing with a harness needle? Since it is woven, you probably do not need to make holes in it. The hard thing with webbing is to get neat ends. I suggest covering the ends with leather, or overstitching them.

I have read mentioned in the topics linked in the first post about "throwing the back loop." Throwing the back loop results in an S twist stitch. Passing the needle from the right over the loop on the left results in a Z twist stitch. I alternate these techniques depending on which edge of a strap I am sewing. I have also read mentioned in the topics linked in the first post, and in related tutorials of a technique to pass the needle through the loop to form an overhand knot in each stitch. I have a made a model of what I believe the result of this technique is. I do not believe this increases the strength of the stitching. Knotting a cable does not increase its strength. There are, of course, many other types of stitching, such as chain-stitching, which may have decorative purposes.

I have modeled a strap with a double row of Z stitching, Z and S, S and straight. The choice of S or Z twist cable can be made based on the type of stitching done, rather than which hand is dominant for the sewer. So if one is making Z twist stitching, S or Right twist cable can be selected. Whereas if one is making S twist stitching, Z or Left twist cable can be selected. The lay of the cable should be determined by the work. For a double-stitched strap end, I use Z and S -- as shown in the model in the middle. The way a diamond awl is oriented should also be considered. I have made a crude example in construction paper.

It is commonly understood that single need machines are to be used with Z twist cables, and that S twist or reverse twist cables are for double needle machines. In this topic, it was advocated to use S twist for right hand sewers and Z twist for left hand sewers. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19465 The subject was revisited in this topic: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56618&hl=%2Bleft+%2Btwist+%2Bright I am sure the leather and stitching have no way of revealing the dominant hand of the sewer, but only their technique. I am right-handed, but I can just as easily insert the right needle first. I can use the awl in my left hand, or I can just flip the leather over and insert the awl from the other side. In either case, nothing reveals which hand I used, if not both. What does apparently make a difference is which needle is in front and which is in back, and subsequently whether the cable coming from one side passes over or under the other cable. If a right handed person inserts the needle from the left first and commences a procedure to hand sew, they may end up with cables laying the opposite of a left hander beginning with the right needle and following the same procedure. The procedures that determine the cable lay need to be considered by both right and left hand people so that the cable lay matches the diamond awl or pricking iron pattern and is suitable for the piece being sewn. I am convinced the hand sewer needs techniques for straight stitching as well as both right (S) and left (Z) hand cable lay. This is one of the reasons we have reverse pricking irons. I sew strap ends -- in fact that is the only leatherworking experience I have. If I sewed both sides of the strap with Z twist stitching they would look asymmetrical like this: \ \ \ \ \ \ I want to use both S and Z twist stitches so they look like this / \ \ / /. \ \ / / \ or \ / While it is probably only a matter of attention to extreme minutia, the twist of the cords in the cable should tighten with the coil of the stitching, so it should be opposite of the cable lay. Furthermore, the fiber twist should be opposite again of the cord twist. The simplest way to demonstrate this to yourself is to take a short length of cable and over-twist it, and bring the ends together. It will twist itself opposite. Again, take a piece of common Z-twist cable, hold an end in each hand and over-twist it to the left (counterclockwise with your right hand), and then bring your hands together. The cable will twist itself in S-twist. Now concerning sewing again, if the cables are layed in S twist, the cords should be Z twist, and the fibers in S twist. So for Z stitching that looks like: / / / / S twist cable should be used, where the cords are twisted right, and the fibers in each cord are Z twisted to the left. For stitching that looks like \ \ \ \ Z twist cable should be used, where the cords are twisted left, and the fibers in each cord are S twisted to the right. Most machine cable has S twisted fibers, and Z twisted cords. You can probably twist your cable the way you want with the cords on your thigh but to set the fibers in the cords, you would need to spin them that way. For straight stitching like this | | | | | | the cable twist cannot make a difference except possibly at the loop end where the cable reverses direction. But for a double-row of this stitching, the pattern should be given attention: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | vs vs

My picture doesn't show the thickness, but it is 0.20" folder over on itself. Although the end is skivved, the thick part is 0.40". Drilling would be bad not just because it is impure, or contrary to a tradition, but because it would cut and remove leather fibers, weakening the strap. An awl cuts fewer fibers, but removes nothing and works mostly by wedging between and spreading the fibers apart to create an opening for the needle and thread. A similar result could be achieved with a multiple-hole "diamond chisel" (as Tandy calls it) which is like a pricking iron but punches diamond-shaped holes through the leather. I considered this, but determined that they are reputed to make too large of holes. Also, according to Al Stohlman's book, piercing the leather too far in advance of the needle results in the leather closing up and therefore he advises against piercing with the awl more than one hole at a time. Some people might use a drill press with an awl blade to pierce the leather. If I were piercing half an inch of leather, I would also consider this method to produce enough force and keep the holes straight and perpendicular. It took me a little practice, maybe 50 stitches, to consistently keep my awl in the stitching groove on the backside. Although my awl doesn't always emerge in the dead-center of the overstitch wheel dent on the backside, the groove helps locate the thread and keeps the stitch straight.

I am using #4 harness needles from Tandy, with Barbour's 5 cord linen thread. I use a Craftool Pro Stitching Groover, and Craftool overstitch wheel that marks 6 SPI, and I run the wheel over the finished stitches as well. I make the holes with a Craftool Pro diamond stitching awl. I prepare the 5 cord by tapering the ends a bit with my pocket knife, and waxing it. I have found that if I flatten the waxed end and cut it cleanly, I can get it in the #4 harness needle eye even without tapering it. I untwist part of the 5 cord, and pierce it with the needle and draw the loop up to the eye, and wax it more. This is the method illustrated in Al Stohlman's book on hand stitching. I dye the Barbour thread with Procion MX Jet Black dye, using Soda Ash dye fixer. Because my threads are fairly short, about 18", and the short threads are more likely to untwist, I add a little extra left twist to the Barbour thread before I wax it. Once it is waxed, it won't untwist. I am just starting out, and these tools and methods are working well, but I have not tried much else and I am always looking for even the slightest improvements since I am doing a lot of repetition. I need to order more needles. I have 10, but I use 8 for every strap I sew (two stitches or four needles on each end). I am thinking of getting a 25-pack of Osborne #5 needles. I am pretty sure I could get the thread in the #5, and that it might work in the leather a little easier, although I am not having much trouble with the #4 needles.

I recently bought a Campbell-Randall Keystone splitter/skiver. I have found it to work exceptionally well for my purpose which is leveling six-foot long 3/4" straps and skivving a taper on the ends. The blade was sharp when I received it and splits the flesh side so smooth that after dye and a swipe with a wood slicker, it looks nearly as good as the finished side. I mounted my splitter on an oak plank wide enough for the splitter and a little over two feet long. I clamp the oak plank to my workbench when I am using it, and I can put it away when I'm not using it. On the plank, I mounted some one-inch oak dowels like rollers (only I didn't bother to make them turn). I use these to guide the in-feed and out-feed so that I am sure the strap maintains pressure on the splitter's roller. Without these infeed and outfeed guides, I would have to lock the roller height handle and guide with my hand or the strap will lift off the roller and the blade will just go through the strap. The strap has to stay on the roller, so you need a little pressure behind and in front of the roller. I've been leveling straps at 0.200" and when I check them, they're usually +/- 0.001 For straps, belts and so on, I don't see how it could get any better. If I wanted big pieces split or leveled I would order it from the tannery done on their band knife splitter.

I bought a H.F. Osborne draw gauge, and fitted it with a new Terry Knipshield blade. It cuts through the heavy HO harness like butter. The blade doesn't bend or break, and it hasn't gone off-course. I've cut about twenty 3/4" straps so far, and they're all perfect. Since I hand sew each strap with 56 stitches, and will only produce a couple hundred a year, this is the right tool for my rate of production. The wooden strap cutter might have been fine for 5-6oz leather, but I'm much more pleased with the HFO draw gauge. I believe the Knipshield blade is fashioned of modern tool steel that will hold an edge longer than the original carbon steel blades. It was reasonably sharp enough when I received it, and I could probably cut a hundred straps with it. I have a set of Japanese waterstones I will use to sharpen it as needed.

#4 Craftool Keen Edge Beveler is cutting 1/16" -- more accurately the blade width is 0.071" which is less than 5/64" #3 Craftool Pro Edger is cutting 2/16" -- more accurately the blade width is 0.107" which is just less than 7/64" I am looking for something that cuts less than 1/16", probably 3/64" or maybe as little as 1/32". If I look at Weaver's catalog, they list the edgers they sell by inch sizes, but they nearly all seem impossibly large. They list 3/16", 1/4" even 1/2" and 1". That doesn't make sense to me. The smallest size they list is 1/32". They do list a Master Tools edger in 3/64". Yet Tandy has three sizes that are smaller than the #4 (1/16") In the vintage/antique tools I see for sale, CS Osborne, HFO, Gomph etc., the #1 is the lowest number. If that is 1/16", that seems impractical for fine leatherwork. Looking at the Weaver listing, one can correlate the CSO part #'s with the inch sizes listed. There seems to be no consistency whatsoever. http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Catalog/CatalogListing.aspx?CatalogId=001&CatalogDetailId=32&NSM=Y

I bought a Craftool Keen Edge Beveler #4. When I received it, I tried it out on some straps. I thought it was taking off a little more leather than I wanted. As I've become more involved in leatherworking, I'm also looking for better tools. I would have been inclined to buy other than Tandy if I could figure out what the size numbers mean so that I could get one of another brand that removes less leather. I find that to be difficult. So the next time I placed an order with Tandy, I included a #3 edger, and stepped-up to the Craftool Pro tool. I figured that at least within a single brand, the edgers would have consistent size numbering. When I received the #3, I found it takes off quite a bit more of the edge than the #4. The #4 Keen edge beveler is probably the right size for a bigger piece of the thick leather I am using. However, because my straps are so narrow (3/4"), I feel it takes off too much. I know I can adjust this a bit by the angle I use the tool, but since I intend to edge a few hundred straps, it behooves me to have the right tool. I suppose I could just order a #3 Keen Edge beveler, but before I order a third edger, is there any better advice? I know there are several other types and brands of edgers. Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

I read in another (2013) thread that some HO harness had some rawhide in the thicker portions. I found that to be the case on the one end of the HO back I was working where it is about 0.30" thick overall. There is a hard layer of bright rawhide about 0.065" thick. I broke several blades in that. I was having to pull so hard that I could not keep the blade straight. Regardless, I'm going to look into a sturdier draw or plow gauge. I am leaning toward the draw gauge to keep in the Western tradition, although unlike an overstitch wheel versus a pricking iron, the difference doesn't really have an effect on the resulting style.