Mrvista

you might find this useful, watched this on YouTube, it would seem that the bell is adjustable, as you sharpen the knife, the gap between the knife and the bell gets wider, the gap needs to be closed up, to ensure that the skived off leather is deflected away, and not pulled up around the feed roller. Don’t know if your model has this adjustment, but might be worth watching the video. regards Andy Apricity Leatherworks. https://youtu.be/8IHP9eHgHHA

Decided to make my stepson a bag for university, as he arrived home at Christmas carrying all his paperwork in a crappy plastic folder. Here is my take on a bag which I saw in 'The leatherworkers handbook'

If you want a really sharp beveller? I use a piece of wire the right thickness for my beveller, and overlay it with a piece of Micro mesh abrasive cloth, then press down on the mesh over the wire, and stroke backwards, believe me, you will have a razor sharp beveller! If your beveller is very blunt, you can start with a course piece of micro mesh cloth, and then work through the different grades, even down to 12000 grade micro mesh. I bought a pack of these, and 2 years later they are still going strong. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Micro-Mesh-Regular-Sheets-Abrasive-Polishing-x/dp/B003RTABUK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544617687&sr=8-2&keywords=micro-mesh

I find that at the end of each stitch that I pull tight, I then roll the left hand needle very slightly anti clockwise, this takes out the twist, you don't need to roll both threads, as when you do the next stitch you roll the left one again, which was on the right.

Try one of these: You just mount it on a standard bench grinder with a 1/2" spindle, fantastically quick burninshing for different thicknesses of leather, I use this in conjunction with good old beeswax, I coat my edges with any form of edge coat, leave to dry, then apply beeswax, and slick it on the slicker. Make sure you have a bench grinder that runs a minimum of 6000rpm. Hope this helps Andy

Hi Sonja. i don't know where you are based, if your looking for good Bridle leather then you need to go to Marcus Gear in Walsall. Their website is a little average, however, the leather they sell is top knotch, Nigel Armitage( master craftsman) put me on to them, they have a great range of leather, will split Bridle shoulder to your desired thickness for an additional charge, and you can visit them and view their wares, I live in Brighton, but if I'm in the midlands I will always get over to buy from them. http://www.marcusgear.co.uk/products.asp regards Andy Apricity Leatherworks on Pinterest.

Hi JTWeatherford. Where the partition of the inner pockets meet the gussets there were three layers of leather, the partion is natural veg tan and thicker than the Dakota shoulder leather, to provide a little stiffness/strength to the bag, therefore I either had to dye the edge of the veg tan, and Dakota leather or sand, burnish and edge coat these three layers. That's the route I decided to take! Thanks for your comment 😊 Hi JTWeatherford. Where the partition of the inner pockets meet the gussets there were three layers of leather, the partion is natural veg tan and thicker than the Dakota shoulder leather, to provide a little stiffness/strength to the bag, therefore I either had to dye the edge of the veg tan, and Dakota leather or sand, burnish and edge coat these three layers. That's the route I decided to take! Thanks for your comment 😊

Nigel Armitage review, I bought some, and there very good. Take a look at this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/liakL3TyPA0

Here is a Rucksack which I made for my 15 year old boy, it should get him through Uni! Two large internal pockets, one smaller one, flap and catch to secure. Used a three bar buckle to attach the padded straps and the carry handle to the top. Took me a while to figure out the padded shoulder straps, as they had to curve around the sides, but finally cracked it Over 1000 hand stitches, a labour of love!! You can find me on Pintrest, search for Apricity Leatherworks, as this is only the third bag I've made, I wouldn't mind feedback. Andy

And just to be vulgar, what did your client have to pay for this beautiful bespoke piece of mastery? You dont have to reveal the price if you don't want too!!

Hi John. I'm in the same boat as you, sadly I will not be retiring for a few years yet. I only took up leatherwork about 9 months ago, starting from scratch, I've bought some books, and plenty of tools, and also found just the best guy in the UK to give my new hobby a big kickstart, I was fortunate to spend two days with Nigel Armitage, who I am sure many on this forum will know and respect. So my advice to you is to find a local Leatherworker, pay him some cash, get some tuition, and your leather working skills will take a huge leap forward. Happy stitching! Andy

I use a Chesnut log, it's about 12" across, and 36" high The end grain is perfect for punching holes, and I use it if I am using pricking irons. Oh, and when it gets too used, you can just plane the top, and start again!

Sorry, I know you would rather ship these within the US, if you need to up the postage, no probs, I'm in the UK. Regards Andy

Can I please have the 11 set? Let me know how to pay you. Regards Andy

Does anyone know of a uk seller selling Vergez Blanchard pricking irons?

Are you trying to take off too much leather in one hit? If you do this you can distort the leather and get an uneven skive. Try taking off less, and see if that's the problem. If it's not then try Electrathons tip.