LeatherNerd

¡Weeeeepaaaaa Boriqua! (Pasé dos años en Borinquen hacen 25 años ya....) Now that my gouge is shimmed and honed, I can get a clean single cut if I have the depth dialed in right, but I often find that multipass is unavoidable. I went to Tandy's website and nearly laughed myself sick today. They have training videos for both types of gouge, so I watched them. George demonstrates the wood-handled gouge with authority and grace. His video with the metal gouge on the other hand, the camera always seems to cut away right before he tries to make a tricky cut (like turn a corner or turn the gouge around to clean up the start of the channel). It was highly amusing. Good luck!

My Rampart Tools 3/32" gouge arrived today! It had a slight patina of rust in one spot but that polished right out. It was mostly sharp, two or three passes on the strop and it cut easily into a test piece. Used it to cut a deep channel near one edge of my strop, applied rouge and stropped it right good. Now it cuts smooth and clean, peeling up a long, unbroken curl in the first pass. This tool is MUCH easier to hold and work, and far and away easier to guide with a straightedge. Zero play in the tip even though it's adjustable. MADE IN U.S.A., back when that really meant something. There's just no comparison to quality workmanship! <3 <3 <3 The only reason my metal v-gouge isn't already in the trash is that the Rampart tool makes a round-bottomed groove. How the heck am I supposed to accidentally shear my leather clean in half with this round-nosed nonsense?!?

If they're Tandy stamps there's a good chance they're chrome plated, non-stainless steel. Stainless steel is nonmagnetic so a quick way to tell is to stick a magnet to them. If it sticks, they're not stainless. I'm new, too (about 5 months in) and all of my stamps are the cheap plated Tandy ones. So far my carving skills are so poor that I doubt better tools would make a difference. I'll eventually start buying nicer tools but for now I'm resigned to using the cheap ones. The chrome plating is just there to prevent rust, so if you are willing to put up with the maintenance hassle of oiling your stamps, you could grind them. Before using them on leather, make sure they're absolutely clean (I'd swish them with alcohol or other thinner, then dry VERY thoroughly, to ensure no oil could get on the leather to stain it). When you're done with them rub them with an oily rag to put just enough of a coat on there to stop oxygen from getting to the steel. A lot of old stamps used to be handmade by grinding steel nails, so there may be a well-known process for caring for unprotected stamps. The veterans on here might know. I haven't bothered to grind mine as I am very lazy about setup and cleanup hassle, though I live in Utah which is extremely dry--unprotected steel kept indoors can go months or years without rusting. Given that one of the most popular words to describe weather in the UK is "damp", however... your mileage will almost certainly vary. Lastly, I'll leave this up to more seasoned folks here, but I don't know how sharp a beveler should actually be. Mine all have a slight rounding to their corners and they're not meant to cut the leather; they're meant to smoosh down one side of cuts made with the swivel knife. The rounding on the edges also makes it easier to "walk" the tool and get a smooth bevel without getting "cut lines"where the toe of the beveler curves away from the face of the cut. That said if your kit contained the "Basic 6" (or 7 or 8 or whatever), your veiner, background tool, and the inside of your camouflage stamp SHOULD have crisp edges. OH! One last thought: consider posting pics in here of your tools (with closeups of the tool surfaces). Tandy has an unlimited lifetime warranty on their tools (at least over here; I imagine it's the same over there--you'd need to call them), and if other folks here agree that you got an exceptionally bad lot, you could send them back. Granted, you'll just get another set of cheap Tandy tools in return, but you might get a much better (or less awful?) lot. Best of luck, Dave

For those who have the time and/or the bloodymindedness, here's what I did to mine to make it mostly tolerable: First, I cut a shim/spacer out of 5oz leather. I fiddled with the length so it would fit all the way at the top of the swing, but also be long enough behind the post to "catch" and prevent it turning with the post (this isn't strictly necessary; I just didn't want it to work itself around to the keyhole and slipping off the notch in the blade). The keyhole is a 1/8" hole which I then cut a 90° notch in so it would slide over the post. Make sure it's not too wide to fit behind the post when the rig is assembled. Reassemble and you should basically be good to go. This took 95% of the play out of my blade. I have noticed that it simply will not cut a gouge starting from the edge, however. I have to place the blade on the surface and start along the line, and the blade will push itself down into the leather. Once done, turn the piece around and cut the edge you originally started from. Mine is VERY cheap, meaning the post and threads show lathe gouges, and then they plated chrome over the top of that. As a result, the post gets really hard to turn at the top of the swing (fulling extending the blade). I fixed this by putting a dab of Flitz metal polish on the threads and running it back and forth. It REALLY did not like turning with the polish on the threads, but after a few good hard twists the worst of the chromed bumpies polished out and it turns very freely now. In polishing the threads I removed some chrome which exposed the metal, which is probably not stainless steel. To prevent it from getting rusty (and to give it that last little bit of slickness) I put a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the threads to coat and protect. <soapbox>DO NOT USE WD-40, it's a rust penetrant and metal protector, but not a proper lubricant. It dries to a gummy wax.</soapbox> I've attached pics of the shim and how it looks in my gouge with the blade fully extended--you can see the shim has to bend a bit to get around the screw posts. Good luck, and enjoy! Or, perhaps in this case, suffer less! P.S. Is this worth posting as a separate thread called "How To Fix That Crappy V-Gouge" or similar? Most seasoned leatherworkers have already abandoned this tool. This might help some newbies get some extra life out of theirs, but maybe we should be discouraged from doing so so we can get on to using a proper gouging tool?

I am new to leatherworking, so I reserve the right to be wrong. I can tell you the things I've tried that have worked, but the things I've tried that haven't worked I am probably doing wrong. So, that said... I have a hide of 5oz oil tan leather that has worn like iron in anything I make of it and hasn't ever stained anything. In THEORY you're not supposed to dye oil tan leather (at least that's what I've heard) but in PRACTICE I can tell you that putting dye on oil tan leather WILL change its color. I haven't gotten GOOD color results and I haven't tried it in any kind of wear-test situation but I suspect the color will try to rub off, because oil tan leather is loaded with oils and waxes with may tend to repel the dye binders and pigments. Bear in mind also that I've only ever tried waterstains, which would probably be the worst candidate for dying oil tan leather. Oil dye might soak into the oil and mix with it, and spirit dyes MIGHT cut the oils and waxes and actually penetrate the leather fibers. THIS IS ALL THEORY, HOWEVER, AND ALL THE "REAL" LEATHER PEOPLE I KNOW SAY THIS IS PROBABLY A BAD IDEA. I'm doing it anyway because that's how I roll but the thing I recommend for sure is that if you don't try to dye oil tan at all, you probably won't have trouble with dye ruboff. You can (and probably should) condition oil tan leather to keep the oils fresh and supple; I'm a fan of Aussie leather conditioner but that's just me. Now! On to veg-tan leather. I love, love, LOVE Tandy's Professional Waterstain series. My experience so far has been that once it dries it is extremely colorfast, even without a top coat finish, and even when it's wet. If you're doing traditional colors, however, you're limited to Bordeaux, Tan, Desert Sand, and Light Brown. All the other colors are "weird", like Turquoise and Fuchsia. Hi-Lite color stains are, in my opinion, the most beautiful dyes in the whole wide world, but I can't figure out how to keep the darn stuff on for the life of me. The stuff that can seal it in (Super Shene, Resolene) also likes to dissolve and remove it when you're putting it on. Be prepared to experiment and ask for help before going down that road. I just bought my first pot of Oil Dye yesterday so my experience with it is extremely limited. All I can say for sure is that it stinks like paint thinner. Best of luck and let us know what experiments you try and how they turn out! Dave

I can't speak for anybody else, but I infer from Art's post: that the design itself is fundamentally flawed. I've shimmed my tool and made it mostly workable, and I'm talking with my metalworking FIL about other ways to tighten up the play. I wonder if I should start a post about fixing my gouge or if I should just join in the chorus of "avoid this tool". :-/

Thank you kindly, @TinkerTailor! I have this coming in the mail now: https://www.vintagetools.net/product/rampart-tool-co-332-inch-gouge-600ey I noticed there are two styles; one seems to adjust with a screw in the ferrule. The other (which I ordered) has a knurled knob to take up the slack. I realize that this is the same mechanism as the other Tandy gouge, but I'm counting on better machining and craftsmanship so there will be nearly zero play. It that's not the case I'll order one of the other style. I came home and took some pictures of the gubbins of my metal gouge; I wonder if I should publish my "fix" for taking up some of the slack in the tool? I can get semidecent cuts now and can even push the blade down into the surface of leather to start a gouge instead of needed to start the gouge at an edge.

Nifty! I found a rampart gouge for about $14.00 in a vintage tool collection website. It's fixed 3/32" and I have no idea what condition the blade is in but for that price it's probably worth investigating. Thank you!

Ouch. Thanks for the tips! I will save my pennies for a nice one like Ron's groover. Until then... I may try the wooden one but it sounds like either way I'm going to have trouble. I'll see if I can't fixate the blade a little better. My FIL is a retired machinist who may have some good advice on how to turn the post/slot into a continuous-contact surface, like single-toothed gear. Then again with the emphasis on "retired" he may say "Yep, that could be done... by somebody else. Go away." :D Thanks!

Hi all, I have the "other" kind of V-gouge from Tandy, the all-metal one. The staff all recommended the other one with the wooden handle but it was out of stock and I needed to cut gouges in a product and ship it right away. I have this one: http://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-adjustable-v-gouge-2 And it sounds like everybody loves this one better: http://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-adjustable-v-gouge I see why this gouge is problematic. The blade has over 1/8" of play up and down, and with the blade sharpened on the outside, it naturally pushes itself up and out of the leather. With the blade adjusted far enough out to cut 5oz leather clean in half, I can depress the blade all the way back up into the handle. I spent about an hour fiddling with it, and found the design to be fundamentally flawed, but perhaps fixable. The adjustment knob has a keyed post that pushes the back of the blade up and down, and the blade has a notch to fit over the post. To make sure there's enough tolerance for the blade to swing at different angles, there's a huge gap between the top and the bottom. I'm away from my shop today but can post pictures tonight if it helps. For now what I've done is punch a hole in a piece of 5oz leather and wedge it onto the post inside the notch on the blade. This stiffens the play considerably, but also makes the knob difficult to turn. The blade still has enough play to pop up out of the leather sometimes so getting a clean gouge requires multiple passes. Does anybody else have this tool, and is there a trick to making it work well? Is it a well-known "take it back and get the other one" kind of thing? Thanks! Dave

Hi Sam, New to the forum so I'm picking through older messages, hope I'm not zombifying dead threads... :-) I'm new to leatherwork so take this all with a grain of salt, of course, but: Your V-Gouge: Tandy sells two kinds, and from all reports I've heard you got the good one. I have the bad one, and am about to start a thread asking for help. Failing that I'll return it to Tandy and invoke their lifetime warranty (I can visibly demonstrate that the design is fundamentally flawed) and exchange it for the kind you got. Your Super Skiver: I have heard it works okay for skiving down the end of a belt or other thin strap, but if you want to do any freehand work or edge work, the Safety Beveler is where it's at. I have one and I love it. I can still skive down strap and belt ends (though I do still leave ridges sometimes, the curved blade is tricky to learn) but I can also skive along seams that I want to bring together as well as scoop out small impressions behind a punched hole when the leather is too thick for my rivets. (I've seen a video where George Hurst does this with a French Edge skiver, however, so that's probably the better way to do it.) Re: glues. I used to use barge exclusively until the night I needed to glue nearly a square foot of leather back to back. Used up a whole tube of barge and nearly gassed the entire house. Adequate ventilation is apparently not just a good theory! Now I use EcoWeld contact cement exclusively. It's VERY runny and was hard to control at first. I tried applying it with q-tips and a glue spreader stick but if I ever had enough on the applicator to do anything it would go out of control, and if I had it under control the applicator would dry out after half an inch of coverage. Then I discovered paintbrushes. This is a WONDERFUL way to apply the stuff, but you have to wash the brush IMMEDIATELY (like, while waiting for the cement to become tacky, you get up and rinse the brush the instant you're done applying glue). I *still* ended up ruining most of my brushes. Finally I settled on a big box of cheap sponge/foam paintbrushes. These have turned out to be ideal. They load up great but the chisel point keeps the glue under control right up to the line, and the foam rinses clear of glue dozens of times before I have to toss it. At $2.00 for a box of 10 I'm not heartbroken when I have to toss one, either. That said, I just learned last week that barge can do something water-based cement can't, and that is glue damp leather. I'll probably pick up another tube (and yes, I buy it by the tube not the bucket so that tells you the amount of glue throughput I have here ;-) ) just for days when I have a project that needs to be glued and stitched while it's being wet molded. As far as dyes and finishers go, I absolutely LOVE the results I get with the hi-lite stains, so I have a pot of each of the 4 colors Tandy sells. The problem is that acrylic finishes will "activate" the dye after it's dried. This makes it wet again and painting or wiping on the sealer can wash the dye back to a much lighter shade and even pick the dye back out of the tool impressions. Super Shene® will do this to some extent but wiping 100% pure Resolene is absolutely Satan on a hi-lite finish in my experience. From advice I've read elsewhere I'm going to start thinning my Resolene 50/50 with water and I'm going to get a sprayer for it. Until then Resolene doesn't go on my hi-lite finishes. Tandy's "Professional" line of waterstains have been great to work with, however. (Again, remember that my experience is limited--I've never used oil dye at all and I'm hearing that stuff's the best.) It tends to want to blotch unless you work it in, and a damp sponge is the best applicator I've found for it. That said, I've found that I can mix the stuff with just about anything for fantastic results. There's a pearl dye that mixes with any other color to make it shimmer, and you can mix, say, yellow with brown to lighten it or yellow with red to make orange. The amazing thing is that they generally mix well with other eco-flo water-based products. I could be Doing It Wrong™ but just futzing around with my own bench of products I've found that Natural (clear-ish) Leather Edge Paint will mix with pearl or a color to give the edge paint a translucent effect, the gel antique finishes seem to mix okay if you use enough of a ratio to thin the gel out, and it even sort of mixes with acrylic paints (it falls out of solution quickly so use it fast, but I did use Navy dye to bring Cova Color's sky blue down to a deep night-sky blue without having to wash out the color by mixing in black). In theory you're supposed to come back over the waterstain with a top coat to seal it, but in practice once it's dried that stuff is way more colorfast than hi-lite dye. Keep that in mind if you ever use too much--you have to wash it back out with water before it's dried. A top coat may be needed to make it water resistant, and who knows, maybe the waterstain does tend to scuff off because the leather surface is essentially still unprotected. The thing I *LOVE* about waterstains is that you can slap Super Shene and even Resolene on it, even while it's still damp, and because the solvents are totally different the sealer won't pull the dye off. If you're going to use resist techniques with waterstains, practice on scrap first. It's touchy and likes to stain 100% instead of partially. This can leave a blotchy or stippled effect where the resist isn't on super thick. So far the best results I have gotten are very specific: one coat of Super Shene, wait 24 hours, another coat of Super Shene, wait 24 MORE hours, THEN apply stain. It will leave the leather almost entirely clear. Sorry to write you a novel. Again remember that I'm new and my experience is very narrow. Good luck, and HTH!

Which groover did you get? I'm using the one you originally mentioned. I learned a trick last week that's been a godsend: tools with weird profiles can be used to cut their own sharpening strops. I grooved the edge of my sharpening strop, then rouged the groove. Now I run the groover backwards up the channel and am getting good results. This may not last as I am not able to polish the inside of the edge; I've heard a dremel and a toothpick work well but haven't tried it. Not sure what "not enough lip" means, so please advise if I'm wrong, but if it means the difference in depth between the cutting bit and the end of the spacer bar, you can change this by loosening the bit and pushing it up into the holder. I have this tool and I like it but I'm new so I may not know any better. I really like it compared to the kind where the cutter is on the bar because I can turn it into a freehand groover by removing the bar--I don't need a separate tool for that. Which groover did you get and how/why do you like it?

Indidana, how did resolene work for you? I had this same exact problem... but with resolene. I've all but sworn the stuff off. In my case, I tooled the leather then stained it with Tandy Eco-Flo Saddle Tan Hi-Lite Color Stain. It was absolutely gorgeous with a deep, rich tan darkening down to brown in the tool marks. When I wiped on the resolene, I wiped the whole thing back to an anemic-looking yellow, surfaces and tool impressions alike. I applied the stain again, arriving at a murky, low-contrast brown that looked nowhere near as nice as the original finish, but at least didn't look awful anymore. Then I dabbed on another coat of resolene, letting it soak and pool slightly. The end result was a mediocre finish that, as soon as I shipped it to a friend in humid Portland, Oregon, became sticky. Oh, and the dye must have pulled up and mixed with the resolene while I was daubing it because after all that, it still stained his hands and clothes. I have heard that resolene in particular becomes gummy if overused so the second coat was probably doomed to fail, and dabbing it on and letting it pool probably sealed my fate (but not my leather). I'm still experimenting, and I need to try spraying. But for now one thing I've found that has a dramatic effect on my results is drying time. I applied the hi-lite stain an hour after tooling and I think the leather should have been dried overnight. And I applied the resolene the next morning, and I'm starting to think that 24 hours at a minimum might be needed to let the hi-lite stain fully cure, since it is specifically designed to pile up and thicken in crevices. These are just my experiences so far and my thoughts for where to go next; I'm new to leather so take my experiences with a grain of salt and my theories with a grin and a big bag of popcorn.

Wow. This topic has been an eye-opener for me. A little disheartening at first, but makes me hopeful that better stuff is out there. TLF is the only place I've been. All my tools are from there, and I have a bad case of toolitis as they're into me for over a grand now. I just assumed that what they had was what was out there, because I had no experience with anything else. The staff at my local TLF all know me by name and are super friendly. I know they want my business whenever I'm in there. I'll keep going back, especially now that what I'm reading in this thread is that there are two kinds of people: those who own Tandy tools and those who lie about it. But I'll start being more careful about what I pick up there. I have noticed that their basic craftool selection is chrome-plated and often has rounded edges instead of crisp sharp edges, sort of like the tool was cast/forged in a mold/die that was overused and worn out. I had no idea that several people on here consider their leather to be too expensive and too poor quality. Direct question for anybody with experience: Is their top of the line "Oak Tan" leather sub-par compared to high-quality leather from other places? I hear people talking about "Hermann Oak" leather and I just assumed that "Oak Tan" was Tandy's rebranding of the leather, but now I'm wondering if it's a whole different product. I just dropped $105 on a half hide of 5oz "Oak Tan" leather. It's their top-of-the-line stuff. It feels creamy and smooth under the hand and I notice a distinct improvement to the feel of the carving as compared to the various remnants and other practice samples I've worked on. It's clearly better than their bad stuff (then again working their bad stuff is like carving gravel). Is that a good price and a good quality leather? If not, I will be briefly saddened and then excited to go out and get "real" high-quality hide. Thanks!

Look fantastic! I especially love the mix of materials and the attention to detail, such as the peening around the corners of the metal tag. The soft lining looks fresh and new and warm and inviting. The rivets and the tag look like they've already been to see the world, had a great time, got broken in perfectly, and can't wait for the next trip. Absolutely gorgeous. +1 what zuludog said. That collar is art. I would pay a premium for that kind of hand-crafted, loving attention to detail. Seeing it at a mass retailer makes me start comparing it to any old $9.96 collar at Wal-Mart. I'm not recommending against it necessarily, so much as I second the "think carefully" part. If a professional retailer can market you as exotic, scarce, and "exclusively at our outlets" or whatever, then it may be worth it. If they just want to put it on a shelf or in an online catalog, it'll devalue your work. When I buy something online, I consider it a defect rather than a feature to read "handmade items; may vary from pictured". It means some faceless person is going to give me something different than what I'm ordering. The problem is NOT the handmade difference; the problem is the faceless presentation. These collars need to be handed to someone--or very nearly so. Etsy might be a good place to look into, where sellers and buyers are often in close personal contact. That collar above needs to be presented as the kind of treasure it is. Even if you scale up your production, preserve this aspect of uniqueness and originality so that every time they grab their dog by the collar, the feel of the suede and the leather remind them that they're holding a "Jane Smith Original" that is as unique and special as their dog. I wish you the best in however you decide to pursue it. If the professional outlet can deliver enough volume for it to be worth it for you to simplify and streamline your product, that's a valid choice. Either way I hope you have many years of success doing what you love. Again, absolutely beautiful! Welcome! Dave (Total newbie to leather, but a couple decades consulting for small- and micro-businesses)

Looks awesome. I grew up in ranch country, and you either loved the cowboy stuff or you hated it. I... was not in the "love it" category. I still have a hard time finding interest in anything cowboy-, cattle- or horse-related, but I have to admit these bags look great! If this was your first project, I am doubly impressed. And making a run of 8 at once... kudos. I don't have that kind of consistency yet!

I am happy, bordering on insufferably smug, to report that I have never cut myself doing leatherwork. Not once! And I've been doing it for moooonths! Heck, I've probably made a DOZEN different projects by now... don't worry, you'll get some experience under your belt someday... Um... so yeah. I've always been super paranoid around things that can hurt or kill me. When I drop a knife I instinctively jerk both hands back and then jump back a step if I think my feet are in danger. My father-in-law despairs of me ever getting anything done in the shop because I clamp pine boards down to the drill press. I have a tiny 2' x 6" wood lathe and my approach to it is beyond delicate and well into hilariously skittish. I've reground more than one chisel because I skipped it off a knot and dropped it onto the concrete while jumping six feet away. I am, in short, kind of a sissy. :D With leather, I know the cuts are coming, it's only a matter of time. (And if I'm honest, I have sawn open my pinkies from stitching with unwaxed sinew. I seriously need to make a set of pinkie socks.) For now I count myself very lucky that I cannot do the straightedge-plus-fingers-plus-knife thing without paying attention to my fingers first, and getting a straight cut second. I have to redo cuts frequently as a result. As I get used to it and calm down, I expect I'll get careless and join the "red splotch of courage" club. Specifically re: Art's post, part of the reason I am so skittish is because I've seen photographs of what's left of people who drop the lathe chuck and grab for it over the top of the spinning head, and last year a good friend of mine pinched the edge of his hand in the gears of his wood lathe. By the time he realized what was happening and slapped the kill switch, the quarter-inch wide gear had peeled a quarter-inch strip of skin off across his palm, around to the back of his hand, across the back of the hand and then down to the forearm. It was halfway up his arm when he got it stopped. So yeah. Not smug. If anything I am now doubly paranoid that I may have jinxed myself...

Dave here. Been working leather for about 5 months, so I guess I've pretty much learned all of the leather things, right? :-) I got started working with leather back in May. I saw a very simple journal in a movie (5oz oil tan wrapped around a notebook with a thong on the back and a concho on the front to wrap it around) and I thought "hey, I could probably make that!" So I headed down to my local Tandy Leather store... BOY did they see ME coming! I went in thinking I'd spend $20 on leather and a concho and just slap it all together. I walked out of there with half a hide, needles, thread, drive punches, stitching chisels, glue... and oh yeah a whole fistful of conchos. The more I fiddled the more I loved it! I love that I can sit down and plan out a big project (for me, I mean) and work it through the stages to completion over a week or more... or I can just sit down and knock out a bottle cap label or a key fob and just relax. Most of my stuff is small (journals are about the biggest and most complicated items I make) and to be honest right now I think over half of my projects have been building storage and cases for my tools... I really enjoy doing things I don't know I'm not supposed to do. I stamped and tooled on my first journal (made of oil-tan leather) and while of course it looked nothing like well-tooled leather, I did get good impressions permanently stamped in. I took it down to Tandy and they said "Whoa... you're not supposed to be able to do that... but that looks awesome." Over the past months they've learned my face and name, and now they're pretty good to say "you know there's an easier way to do that, right?" Last week I was looking at waterstain vs. oil dye, and I asked the store owner if oil dye could be used to dye oil-tan leather. Hey, it's got the same word in the name, so I just kinda figured... She started to say no and then remembered who she was talking to and laughed and then said, "Well, I guess you CAN put it on oil-tan leather and it WILL change the color... but what color you get and how long it will last is anybody's guess though." I bought a bunch of waterstains and have mostly stuck to dyeing veg-tan... mostly. :-) I love trying experiments and new techniques, in doing things wrong to understand why doing things right works the way it does, and in doing things right to end up with beautiful pieces. Looking forward to hanging out and getting to know you folks! Attached: a friend asked if she could borrow one of my journals for a harry potter "slytherin student" costume. I said sure, and over about 5 evenings and a full weekend I put together this real, working journal. It's made me happier than anything I've built to date, and this excites me because I can look at it and see dozens of mistakes, so I know there's plenty of room to improve.