UKRay

Hi Paul, I'm just up the road from you in Ludlow, Shropshire. Hope you enjoy your time on the forum. Ray

Do I detect the hint of a basque hidden in this hat, Tom? Ray

Really useful link - many thanks jeeperaz.

As usual, Terry has hit the nail on the head. Unless you have the right tools you really can't hope to get up to speed with this task. IMHO, the triangular section hole could actually inhibit speed because the sides of the hole will close up when the needle is withdrawn. Personally I'd shell out the not-very-many $s for a nicely finished curved awl, Doug - lets face it, unless you really get into this type of work it will probably be the only one you buy! Okay, I'll admit to having three - each a different size, but I'm a sad man who should try to get out more... I meant to throw in a few words about stitch marking wheels. I like to use the 'pricker wheels' that were popular in the 1920s/30s. They can be purchased quite cheaply on eBay and IMHO are a much nicer thing to use than the standard TLF offering. The little spikes make less mess than the big chunky markers and the neat little holes are easier to see. Regarding thread, I'm in complete agreement with Terry (again). Get thread that suits the awl and the job you are doing with it. I use linen thread for most of my historic work because it is what would have been used at the time. IMHO it also seems less likely to cut the leather than synthetic - particularly important for shoes which are sometimes wet - wet leather is often soft leather. Linen seems to have more 'give' and 'tolerance' to use. Now I have a question : how do you guys finish the soles of your shoes? I ask because single thickness sole turnshoes are notorious for soaking up moisture (okay, I know they should really be worn with patterns). I saw a pair a week or so ago that had a 'riveted on' sole that seemed to work quite well but I'd be interested to know your thoughts. From a historical perspective, is there anything to suggest that they may have had extra soles added? Ray

I make about twenty strops a month and always stick the flesh side to the wood. I get a better bond and it leaves a flatter working surface to polish the blade. Just my opinion and worth what you paid for it. Ray

I've still got this thing and still don't know what it is - perhaps some of the newer members of the forum would like to have a try at identifying it? Just read through the thread to get up to speed. Ray

I'm looking for a picture and any information about the “Revelation” riveter. Apparently they are very heavy duty beasties but I can't find anyone who knows anything about them. Hope you can help. Ray

Ready sharpened? Ready polished? Nah, Terry... that is one of those old 'American Dream' stories! <grin!> Anyway, how can anyone know precisely what you want from a tool? Right, they can't. Equally they can't possibly make an awl that will suit everyone. Sure it will do some things but... okay. I'll stop. I have a couple of files, some emery paper and a small hand vice in my toolbox that are specifically for making awls work properly. Oops - did I start up again? Sorry! Ray

This may sound like I'm stating the obvious but Tandy sell a very good hand toggle press for those 3D stamps. I use mine for all kinds of jobs including key fobs, hair barrettes etc. They aren't cheap but they do take away a lot of the uncertainty associated with the things. They also drop the stamp square onto the leather, thereby avoiding the nasty unwanted corner impressions you get with a standard handle. Ray

I guess I'm around the 60% success rate but many of my customers come back ages after I give them the quote - half the time I've forgotten who they are (you get like that as you get older!). Most of my work is production leatherwork - a far cry from the sort of custom stuff most people take on. For example this week I have priced and won orders for 'whip ends' (the bit of leather that fits on a riding crop) and sets of harness including saddles for rocking horses. Both came from my freebie blog site www.barefootleather.blogspot.com

Yup, those old Varifocal lenses certainly make some chores harder. Just try screwing something to the underside of a bench! Stitching is simply another skill that can be learned and, providing you practice it, will improve with time. One of the things I would add to Terry's words of wisdom is that you shouldn't necessarily expect an awl to work straight out of the box. Be prepared to polish the cutting edge and keep it sharp. Be prepared to add a little to the bend if it makes the job work better for you. Too many people think tool designers have all the answers but they don't! I have arthritis and some days I can't move my hands properly but I simply alter my tools to make it easier for me to do whatever task I need to achieve. I have even been known to put a little leather thumb strap on an awl handle so when I drop it the wretched thing doesn't fall far... hardly rocket science but it makes my job easier. Have fun, Doug - and anyone else who is trying this. It isn't as hard as it might look to do a really nice job. Ray

Personally, I would feel a great sense of loss if you stopped posting your work here, Tina. Your originality is what makes your work great - and what makes people want to copy it of course! Ray

Doug, my awl starts out at the handle end as a piece of round section steel but as it approaches the bend (it looks a lot like the one Terry uses) the shape flattens out as if the circle has been thumped with a hammer (which is probably how it was made!) and although the extreme blade end is very sharp and almost pointed it swiftly becomes a very flattened out circle section. This means the hole it makes is wide and flat rather than small and three cornered. Hope this makes sense. The width of the flattened bit of the awl blade is no more than 3/32". Ray

Happy Birthday, Regis. Hope you have a great day! Ray

Hi Dagrim, I use a curved awl and a straight needle in exactly the same way Terry describes to butt stitch sword scabbards. I crease a stitch line and then run over it with an appropriate sized stitch marker and then use an awl to punch along both sides of the entire job before saddle stitching. I do it this way because to make a nice job you need to get into a rhythm with the hole making. They all need to be exactly the same angle and go through the centre of the leather in exactly the same way. After a fair bit of practice I can now butt stitch 2mm thick leather reasonably easily and quickly using this method. I make replacement scabbards for period weapons so the technique has to be right. Pictures attached may help to confuse you further but they show an original 17th century sword scabbard that has crumbled away and below it my new leather before dyeing and boning to conceal the stitch line. The next image is an extreme close up of the butt joint and the stitching from the other picture. As you can see from the compression the work is stitched very tightly but the thread doesn't cut the leather. I have gone a bit wider on the stitch depth than the original but when the job is properly boned flat it doesn't show. The critical issue is how tight you pull the thread and this is only learned through trial and error. Give it a go, it isn't difficult to make a good job - now a great job is something else, I'm still working on that one! Ray

IMHO a couple of turk's head style braids would look nice and wouldn't interfere with the look of the pipe too much either... Ray

One or two of you may have heard this story already 'cos I'm getting old and apt to repeat myself. It started when I wanted a pair of turnshoes for a medieval event. Suze very kindly sent me a book that explains the whole process. I made up the pattern as per the book instructions - I should tell you that I've been carrying that book around with me since Suze sent it. It gets read in the doctors waiting room, the dentist's waiting room, bus queues, railway stations and I'm starting to think I may be able to quote large sections of it aloud. The pattern looked great. I cut out the bits and started stitching. I soon realised that I had forgotten to flip the pattern for right and left foot - so I then cut out two more to match the odd pair I first made. I then stitched the left top to the right bottom - well, it wasn't obvious to me.. okay? I then unstitched the left top and stitched up to the left bottom and put it in a bucket of water to soak. I then stitched the right top to the left bottom from the other pair... I then unstitched the right top and sewed it to the right bottom - Hooray! Whoop Whoop Whoop! I then put it in the bucket of water to soak. Then the phone rang and I had to drop everything to rush to the aid of a client who had apparently tried to commit commercial suicide by telling the media a load of nonsense. I sorted him out and he is (just about) still in business - but I was gone three days. The shoes were left to soak - actually I had forgotten all about them in the panic. When I got back to my workroom I hauled one of the soggy parcels out of the water and laid it down on some clean newspaper to dry off a bit before turning it inside out as per the instructions. I then started fishing about for the other sodden lump of leather but it wasn't there any more. Now, I'm not famous for my memory but I know I made two shoes and put them both in the bucket. Old Mrs Brown, my ancient Border terrier, had smelled the leathery water and (possibly whilst having a drink from the bucket which was on the workroom floor) had obviously found the soggy leather. I found part of the shoe hidden in her bed and the rest appears to have been eaten but we aren't going there... okay? I duly set about stitching up a replacement and was well into the job when I recognised that I was stitching the wrong shoe. It was the insidy outsidy bit that threw me. Honest! I finished the shoe I was stitching and started on shoe number four. The final shoes went into the bucket and I breathed a sigh of relief. The following morning I fished out the soggy leather and started turning it inside out. Let it suffice to say that this is one of those tasks that are better left to younger, fitter men than me. It was two hours before I had anything that looked like a shoe and a whole morning, punctuated with telephone calls and external hassles before I had a pair. Yup, you guessed it. I had two left shoes. The rest of the afternoon was spent turning the 'spare' shoe inside out and finally I was left with a completed pair and a spare left shoe. But that isn't the end of the saga. I let the leather dry nicely and hand finished the shoes according to the instructions. Then I went to try them on. They were too darned small. I tried to stretch them but the leather had hardened off nicely and they weren't going anywhere. In a moment of frustration I hurled them at a friend who had dropped in for a coffee and told him this story. To cut a long story short he tried them on and they fitted him perfectly. I'm starting again tomorrow... Ray

I'm in complete agreement with Dave about the speed issues associated with belt sanders as I have come to realize that my little belt sander is waaay too fast. I'm not able to shell out the big bucks for a variable speed sander right now and will have to make do with another cheapo version. I just wondered if anyone knew what speed would work best - given that smaller, cheaper sanders ALWAYS seem to run too fast. A speed of 490 metres per min. (call that around 1700 feet per minute for arguments sake) is available with a Record Power sander here in the UK - this seems to be fairly standard. http://www.toolbaydirect.co.uk/product_inf...=52&id=5301 Any thoughts on this speed thing? Ray

Very useful, HS, many thanks - now what would be really useful would be a source for acetone in the UK. I wouldn't know where to start. Is it restricted in any way? Ray

No danger of me moving to Texas anytime soon. Tn maybe.... I'd definitely like to visit though. What is Fort Worth really like? Right now I'm in design and build mode. I have been looking for a source of those wood pellets here in Shropshire but can't find a single supplier. They sound like they could be the ideal solution as long as they are cheap enough. Apparently you can build a kind of hopper on the end of your building so you never need go outside to get fuel. Now that sounds like my ideal arrangement! You can't turn the fire off when you are glueing though... Hmmmm, more thought needed here. Ray

One of the great mysteries of the world just got solved - why do cowboy boots have those pointy toes... obvious when you know the answer. Cucarachas! I could have done with a pair at a hotel in Barcelona a while back. Man, you have never seen so many! Sorry, Paul, I don't have a pattern for you - I hope somebody else does! Ray

Thanks, Dave, I really appreciate your support. Strangely, I do still feel that eBay is a great selling tool if it is used correctly but having no defence against thieves and people out to badmouth you means the whole thing is wearing a bit thin. I'm pleased to say my new e-commerce site is almost ready to go - in fact, I have already had a few customers! Hopefully the website sales will replace and exceed the eBay sales. Ray

I am currently embroiled in a wrangle with eBay to get some negative feedback removed from my eBay shop. It was left by a guy who ordered one of my strops and then 'claimed' it hadn't been delivered. I pointed out that I had a proof of posting but he wouldn't accept that so I gave him an instant (within 5 days of sending the goods) refund and, in the light of his unpleasant manner, told him he wasn't welcome to buy from me again. He subsequently left me negative (and untrue) feedback. I didn't find out until recently that he is a UK leatherworker and knifemaker from Nottingham - so why the heck was he buying a strop from me? I can't help but feel that he was out to damage my business in some way. I have never met the guy so I really have no idea what his motive might have been but I'm very upset by the whole business. Right now I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what they did about it?

A string of 12 volt LED fairy lights give off a surprising amount of light, Holly, and can be strung around the place to make it look pretty - powered from a car battery they ought to last a couple of days. Ray

You are quite right, Ed, it is fascinating; but it begs the question - what on earth were you looking for when you found it? LOL Ray