Sheilajeanne

Thanks! Will see if I can find these in a store. I had no idea where to buy them other than Tandy's! I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment - the only thing I have that's REALLY sharp is my Olfa utility knife! And this stretchy leather is an absolute PITA to cut unless the blade is razor sharp! Edit: oh good! Home Hardware has the round cutter blades! I thought I might have to go to Michael's to get them!

Sorry, should have clarified I was using a strap cutter not the Fiskar's blade! Since I don't have a replacement for the strap cutter blade, I am planning to use a rotary cutter on it, so thank you for the tips. I already found out the utility knife didn't work.

Yeah, CT brands often aren't all that high quality. They are for the home handyperson, and if you want professional quality tools, you have to pay a higher price, which most of us non-pros aren't willing to do. I think the Vanadium tools are the better set, but he broke a 3/4" wrench in that set, and I'm missing the 10 mm in the Job Mate set. I assume he broke that one, too.

Thanks for the info, MtlBiker! Good to know! A nearby city (Barrie) still has a fabric store where I could buy this stuff in person, but they are getting REALLY hard to find! As for the Fiskars cutter, I watched a video where they changed the blades on both Olfa and Fiskars 45 mm cutters. The Olfa seems much better designed, and has a washer, which I think keeps the blade turning better than the Fiskars cutter. My two small cutters are both Olfa. The leather I am working with is REALLY stretchy. I'm trying to cut a strap from it, but found it just bunches up in the cutter. Yes, THAT needs a new blade, too! Any tips for doing this? I'm making a tool roll and need a strap to tie it up with!

The one set is Jobmate, a Canadian Tire brand. Not sure who made the Vanadium set. My metric tools are Jobmate, and that set included the Imperial measurement tools, but a LOT of those are missing. The Vanadium set is Imperial measurements only and is complete. So, going to keep some of each. I am in the midst of making a tool roll to keep them all organized - that's why I'm asking! And my handyman seems worse than most at misplacing tools, which is why I need to tool roll, so I can bug him when he doesn't put them back where they belong!!

I have spare blades for my 28, so I think I'll be using that one instead. This one still isn't doing a very good job, even with the new blade.

Oh, look what I found! You can get a sharpener for the 45 mm blades!

Yep, 45 mm. One of the videos I watched mentioned there IS oil on the new blades, and it could be this one's been sitting so long that the oil has dried up. I may give it a wee squirt of sewing machine oil, and see if that helps.

Thanks, Fred!

I inherited a Fiskars cutter from my mom, and decided to use it to cut some stretchy chrome tanned leather. It needed a new blade, but when I snugged the blade up, I noticed it didn't want to rotate any more. Do these cutters need to be lubricated, or is there something wrong with it? Or am I supposed to leave the nut a little bit slack? This is the cutter I have: https://canada.michaels.com/en/fiskars®-comfort-loop-rotary-cutter/10221519.html?r=g&cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_CA_N_Craft+%26+Hobbies_N_Smart_BOPIS_N-_-Generic&kpid=go_cmp-12650001316_adg-125437386172_ad-511040951018_pla-981059439317_dev-c_ext-_prd-10221519&gclid=CjwKCAjw-sqKBhBjEiwAVaQ9a3fRLZ_w43W9nnzFkAJ-5YRVvCXN3heA6GR-TesyLY0r2WOfWjGjQhoCIaQQAvD_BwE

I think I will just keep the set that is the most complete, which is the vanadium chrome. My handyman says he managed to break both types of wrenches when doing work for me!

Am sorting through some wrenches I have, and one set is chrome plated Vanadium, another drop-forged steel. Which is considered better quality? I thought it would be the Vanadium, but the 3/4 inch wrench has a piece broken off it!

TEDIOUS?? You call THAT tedious? Um, have you ever done basketweave? Now, THAT'S tedious! (Which is why i refuse to do it.) For a first attempt, I'd call that awesome! Great work!

NL machines: Thanks for getting me to do my homework! It always pays off!

Thanks to those of you who have identified the machine. I'm not knowledgeable enough to do that without seeing a machine number. BUT what gives it away is the tag in one of the photos, which I hadn't noticed before - looks like the machine came from Taiwan, and the model number is 15NL. Bob, even separated from the base, those machines weigh about 90 lbs. I'm female, and not young anymore, and my back hurts more every day. Nope, nope, nope! The patcher was about a 3 hour's drive away, and I would have had to take someone with me who could handle that sort of weight, as there was no one on the seller's end who could help. Just wasn't going to happen, I'm afraid, though I did seriously think about it, especially after the seller dropped the price from $500!

kgg, if you're talking machines that will REALLY sew leather, like patchers, of course, I'd expect to pay a good price for them. But the ones I'm seeing are strictly domestic machines, though some of the more powerful ones would sew lightweight leather or canvas. Could have had a nice used patcher for $300 earlier this year, but it would have been just too hard to transport it without help. I still haven't gotten around to buying that marvelous gizmo Ferg has for getting the old cast iron machines up and down stairs!

The seller in this case confesses he/she has no idea what it's worth, and just picked that figure at random because it's 1234. But I guess this machine will sell for a pretty decent price because it's been professionally restored, and is really pretty! I have to confess I'm tempted myself, but I'd have to get the machine for free or next to nothing before I'd bite. And of course, that means it would likely need some work!

A friend I used to ride with many years ago was from Germany. Her husband owned a painting business. The same rules applied to go into that business, and the apprenticeship was quite long!

I don't know if there's someone out there willing to pay this sort of money, but this is a beautiful machine, and judging by the prices I'm seeing on the local Buy and Sell pages, they are highly collectible! I wonder if there are people who still want them because they know how to use a foot treadle, or if it's just the nostalgia factor. I know the one time I tried to use my aunt's treadle machine, I made a TERRIBLE mess! Anyway, looks like there's enough of a market for these machines that someone who enjoyed restoring them could make themselves a few bucks! According to the poster, their mother purchased this beautifully restored machine for $675 in 2000. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/551624489415948/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks&tracking={"qid"%3A"-7713944053134917084"%2C"mf_story_key"%3A"925710107827506016"%2C"commerce_rank_obj"%3A"{\"target_id\"%3A925710107827506016%2C\"target_type\"%3A6%2C\"primary_position\"%3A0%2C\"ranking_signature\"%3A8443488340489011200%2C\"commerce_channel\"%3A501%2C\"value\"%3A0%2C\"upsell_type\"%3A21%2C\"grouping_info\"%3Anull}"}

Taking the grandkids for a ride!

Too funny!

If you buy a beginner's kit from Tandy, you will be eligible for 8 weeks of in-person instruction. They limit the size of these groups so everyone gets some one-on-one help from the teacher. That's how I got my start. My teacher was top-notch. He was also the store's go-to person for any difficult questions I had about the craft once the classes were finished. I was fortunate to live close enough to a store to make this a realistic option. As for taking skills to the next level, there doesn't seem to be a good option other than online videos. The best ones, like Jim Linnell are pay-per-view, but these are people who are absolutely tops in their field.

Wow. Always nice to hear that a company has stepped up to the plate like that!

Whenever I buy any sort of dye or liquid from the Barrie Tandy store, IN PERSON, the first thing they do at the sales desk is tighten the cap, then put it in a ziplock bag. Can't believe a seller would be SO DUMB!!

Wow. How dumb can you get! I didn't think I'd have to mention this, but of course, in addition to the cardboard sheath, the guy that shipped mine also wrapped it in bubble wrap, and put it in a bubble envelope to make sure it was well-padded!