UKRay

Ben, A week or two back I had my round knife break in my hand whilst I was cutting a straight strap - I had a lucky escape. My point is that all knives can be dangerous and accidents will occasionally happen no matter how careful you are. Saying that all safety utility knives are dangerous is like saying a gun is dangerous - sure it is - when it is in the wrong (or untrained) hands. Equally, it can be a valuable tool. I do like your trick for stretchy leather - I'll definitely file that one away 'til I need it. Thanks! Ray

Steve, I have looked at your website and seen the beautiful stuff you make and respect your work enormously. You are obviously a very skilled craftsman; that notwithstanding, I still think this is the most insulting statement I have ever seen on this forum. How can you even suggest that the people who work so hard to make the wonderful, exciting things we see on a daily basis here aren't as good as you just because they don't use a round knife to cut their leather? I am absolutely astounded. ...and Randy, your comment wasn't much better. Ray

You are quite right L'Bum, it IS a Jerry's Stripper - I knew it had something to do with getting your kit off! The device uses the same sort of knife blades that Luke is suggesting (we know them as Stanley knife blades here in the UK) but it allows you to cut several strips of fringe at a time. Luke, I can see the sense in making the leather wet so it sticks to the cutting board - what a great tip - and cutting individual strips means it would be a very neat job but this device really saves me so much time. I actually have two of them, one is set to cut 5 x 1/4" thong lacing which means I can easily make the slits for magic braid belts; whilst the other is set to cut 1/8" fringe for purses. They save me valuable production time. I would also agree that the rotary knife is a great tool for the job when used with a clear ruler - I tend to use that method for tricky bits as the Jerry's stripper isn't too good at cutting in tight spaces. I find it very effective when cutting soft leather and suede. Regarding the use of a round knife, I completely agree that a round knife will do the job perfectly well and, over the past thirty odd years, I have cut plenty of fringe with one - I just prefer to use the Jerry's Stripper because I find it a very good tool for the job. My work still ends up looking neat, tidy and properly finished. If this makes me a bad leatherworker in the eyes of round knife purists then I guess I can live with that.

Thanks, Jordan, I'm obliged to you. We use vintage printer's type trays for this kind of thing in the UK but I can see how one with large compartments might work pretty well for a buckle display. It sounds like it might need to be made up at home and I was hoping to find something made commercially as my woodworking skills are pretty rudimentary - my dad used to say I'd make a good 'chicken house carpenter' but he wouldn't want to sit on a chair I'd made - he probably had a point! I guess I want something that can be transported to shows or used to display buckles in my shop so people can see what is available and choose a belt to match it. I like the idea of straps...

Suddenly I feel like I've dropped into a story by JRR Tolkein... My way of cutting fringe is pretty simple. I use a gadget I got from Tandy Leather Factory called a 'Striptease' - you may want to check the spelling here! It is basically a bunch of razor sharp knife blades held in a frame and you simply draw your leather over the blades to create your fringe. It does have a few limitations but aside from a rotary cutter I haven't found anything easier. It is reasonably inexpensive and is great for cutting any kind of strips of leather. I also use mine for cutting 1/4" wide veg tan thongs for bag making as it is much easier than using a knife.

Thanks for the contribution, ntex, but I'm not familiar with the term 'shadow box' could you explain this one for me please? Ray

I always enjoy your posts, Bree. I think the geek in me needs the level of detail you include. The belt looks great but the thing I'm taking away is the information about the finish you used and the thread size - so useful to tuck away until a similar job hits my bench. Many thanks for a very interesting post!

The holster and belt definitely looks like it was a fun job, Karl, even if I haven't got a clue what you are talking about - Firefly? Do people get that in the UK? I don't think we do in Ludlow - mind you, we struggle to get more than three TV channels here. LOL So now I know what you wanted the 1/2" crown buckles for... Those oval punch holes do look veeery nice.

We Hatleys do tend to strike it lucky, don't we, Luke? Just look what YOU got when they handed out long lost relatives! LOL edit due to rolling on the floor laughing!

A box of treasures arrived on my doorstep, all the way from carr52 in sunny South Carolina, and I just have to show you guys what was inside. This lot must have taken literally hours of work... Tom, what can I say. A beautiful natural coloured plaited belt, very nicely finished off - no less than two very elegantly carved wallets and a very clever zipper purse complete with a real gold paint job! A wristband, three deer horns to make into a creaser, a slicker and a folder and some superb knotted buttons along with a really neat holder for my fishing pliers and a tiny pair of leather cuff links! You rock, fellah and I can't thank you enough! Would you believe that this guy asked me for a critique - impossible, it is all excellent!

Lovely work, I wish I could paint!

You have certainly got some interesting effects going on there and I like the tree carving - shame the picture was so dark - or maybe that is just my laptop monitor! LOL

This is very similar to the situation with CCTV cameras where the innocent person has little or nothing to fear from surveillance. Ebay have simply put some 'checks and balances' in place to protect the purchaser. As long as you operate your eBay sales in a respectable and honest way then you have little to fear. However, if you let people down or try to sell shoddy goods then you will fall foul of the checks and balances. IMHO, as a buyer and seller, I think that is a good thing not something to be afraid of. I certainly don't think it warrants any scaremongering. In simple terms, I want the eBay community to trust me so I work hard to make sure my feedback is always good - if that is a problem then perhaps folk should consider selling elsewhere.

Of course we should uphold our leather working heritage, John, and we should keep referring to it as we work to ensure standards improve rather than decline. Without 'benchmarks' we are unable to gauge the extent of our development or regression. By the same token, respect for, and understanding of, a great crafts person's work is essential if we want to progress beyond their boundaries or limitations. Sadly, there will always be people who appoint themselves experts after ten minutes acquaintance with a subject. They will often make the most noise in any group and will rarely accept any level of correction even if the person doing the correcting is an acknowledged expert. We have all met them... The one thing they tend to have in common is an inability to accept that they may be wrong so it makes little sense to expend time and energy trying to argue with them. IMHO the only route forward is through a program of education. Simply putting pictures on display won't be enough if you don't know or understand what you are looking at or looking for. Any one who sets out to educate must face up to the fact that some folk just won't be taught. The rest will thank you for your efforts and appreciate the time you have taken to help them understand. Educators are rarely self-serving - ask any teacher if they do it for the money! This is just my opinion and almost certainly worth precisely what you paid for it...

I suspect the reason things have just started to happen is because Johanna has been taking a hand... Thanks J. Much appreciated.

A bit of good news for a change. I contacted Joseph Dixon today and a very helpful guy told me they sell replacement round knife handles for £3.50 plus shipping but if I wanted to send my 'new' knife to them they would supply and fit a new handle for £5 including postage. My knife is now in the post! I would like to draw your attention to the pictures of my 'new' knife below which clearly show the sort of rust that can eat away at a precious blade. My old knife's tang simply broke off where the rust meets clean metal as I was using it. It is evidently a weakness and one that IMHO is worth knowing about if you want to keep all your fingers!

Yup, thats just about what I would have said too... LOL

I don't think it would make much difference. A few years back I sold one of my stools to a guy who went at least 300lbs and he still uses it regularly. That one was thong laced. Luke's stitched stools are superb and I can't see anyone ever having problems with those either. If you are going to lace then IMHO you should use at least 1/4" thongs cut from the same quality leather you made the seat from - 3.5mm thick is my favorite but I can't work that out in US - can anyone help here?

I generally take the seat off the legs and wrap it around them. I have been known to attach a strap to the seat to tie it all together... I even added a shoulder strap for an artist who wanted to carry it on his shoulder as his hands were full of easel and paints. I guess you just do whatever works for you. They are surprisingly comfortable though. Luke makes his stools a little taller than mine and he sews his 'pockets' on whilst I use a heavy lacing. Like I say, whatever works. Have fun. edit due to my inability to spell

I make quite a few of these stools - the picture is of the batch I finished this weekend. My legs are always 2ft long with the hole for the tri-bolt drilled halfway. I get the legs made by a wood turner which isn't cheap but they look much better than anything I can make myself. IMHO, the best way to design one of these is to built a tripod from broom handles and use it to work out how large a seat you want to make. I make the pocket pieces exactly the same size as the rest of the pattern and it works fine for me. Check out the picture. I order the tri-bolts in quantity so if anyone wants any please get in touch by PM. They are not too expensive but, being quite heavy items, shipping can add a bit.

Sadly, I had already taken the knife to be welded before I saw your post, Karl. I went round to see the guy this morning and he has made a terrible mess of it - huge blobs of weld and holes burned in it. To be honest it is completely ruined. The good news is that I found another old Joseph Dixon knife this afternoon (in my local flea market) that is almost identical to my old one. It has a badly damaged handle and, like my old one is badly rusted at the tang but it is relatively sharp and with a bit of work and a new handle will do very nicely. Anyone know where I can get a new (or old) round knife handle from? Before you ask, the handle on the old one was what caused the problem when it split in two and allowed me to put undue pressure on the old rusty tang... so no, it won't do! Sometimes living so close to Walsall has its advantages - second hand saddlery and harness making tools constantly appear in the junk markets round here. Today, I admit, I got lucky as I probably won't see another round knife for months!

I just got another email from them about buying a workshop manual and parts list for my 45K - I haven't got the 29K ones yet and I paid for those weeks ago along with the subscription. I can't believe these guys... maybe I am being unreasonable and this is simply the way they do business but if I take money for leathergoods I expect to deliver the goods - is there any difference here? Should I just be patient and wait?

I have kept this to myself until now, but I'm absolutely sick of trying to get the guys at Proleptic to send me out my magazine subscription. I paid out quite a considerable amount of money for an international subscription and have had nothing but promises, confusion and curt emails (from a person called Michele who is definitely to be avoided at all costs). If I were you guys I wouldn't touch this offer and what ever you do don't send them any money. I also ordered some workshop manuals for my Singer machines and they haven't shown up either - although I did get an envelope with some blank paper in it... Go figure! The sad thing is that the magazine is excellent. It is interesting and completely 'on-topic' for me. They sent me out a trial copy and I enjoyed it so much I happily shelled out the money. What a mistake! I can't imagine that this is a scam as I have seen the magazine and Johanna says the guy is okay, but, y'know what, it definitely feels like a scam!

I had a clearout and got rid of all my old knives a while back, Tony - obviously a foolish move but if we had the power of foresight we wouldn't make these mistakes now would we? LOL. I do have a tiny three inch round knife that I'm using at present but it won't really do. I'm going to buy myself a Stanley knife tomorrow! I manage with a single splitter too... Those German knives are gorgeous and I'm sorely tempted... I'm going to see if i can get a new handle for the Dixon and mabe get it welded somehow - but it will always have a weak spot and I won't entirely trust it... The new Dixon knifes are an obvious solution but does anyone know anything about the quality of the steel they are using these days?

My trusty and exceptionally ancient Joseph Dixon round knife finally broke last night (and I was very lucky not to have cut my wrist when it happened!). This leaves me with a problem - how do you replace a 100+ year old tool that you have used regularly for more than 30 years? I need a new knife urgently and already feel very vulnerable without my old friend. I'm sure plenty of folk will have experience of modern blades and I would appreciate some advice on choosing a replacement. Ideally I'd like something very similar to my old Dixon but I'll gladly listen to any suggestions or offers. Just remember that I need it very soon so waiting lists aren't an option. I still have a living to make! If you have an old Joseph Dixon knife in good condition and would be prepared to sell it, I'll gladly pay a fair price (cash or PayPal as required). The same offer applies to a professional quality modern knife. I am very happy to beg and plead as appropriate... Thanks guys, Ray edit: Instant cash or PayPal available depending on location.