Lippy

FYI, the industrial knife sold by Tandy is actually made by Warren Cutlery. Nice people and you can buy direct from them. https://www.warrencutlery.com Here's an interesting discussion about the traditional clicker knife. http://halflightbindery.com/journal/2014/3/28/66mqiv4g4mnt7clbkahnulb3nml752 Perhaps there's a reason the "traditional" head knife and clicker knife are still around. The old school leather workers must have tried many different knife styles and those two have survived. Guessed they worked! Cheers!

Mike, Thanks for the update on the smaller Regad machines. It looks like the "real" machines have digital controls and the others are more of a traditional wood burning tool. That said, there's a big difference in costs. Really interested in knowing Regad's feedback on pricing. Do you have any connections at Vergez Blanchard? Cheers, Tom

Well, Regad does have a website. Try clicking on this link. http://scrapyro.e-monsite.com/pages/8-fonctions-en-1-appareil/ It appears to be a lower cost machine that uses the same or similar tips.

Can you imagine . . . they learned to use those tools without the aid of the world wide web! And, the tools they used didn't run on batteries. Yikes!

Big Sioux many thanks for doing the extra testing. FYI, if you read "Jimsaddler's" profile it states he is the "President of The Saddle & Harness Maker Association of Australia" with an interest in hand sewing. Even before I knew his position and history he seemed to always offer good advice and comments. Happy sewing and long live this forum. Cheers!

Clearly some of you haven't done a complete search in the forum. Try this link, http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19465 on the exact subject. Also search for "Jimsaddler". He was once a very regular participant to the forum and has great knowledge. I learned a lot from his posts and comments. Cheers.

On Ebay there is a seller called "rockymountainleather" listing new Vergez Blanchard tools. Have a look. The prices seem very fair and he's made a lot of sales. Just search for Vergez Blanchard. Good luck!

So . . . are there only two forum members going to the Pendleton Show?

Hey . . . the Pendleton Leather show is Oct. 25 & 26. FYI, our Oregon weather has been fantastic the last couple of weeks (ie. no rain and great fall colors) so it's a nice time to visit. Some might say the show is better than Christmas. ;-) www.pendletonleathershow.com I'm only posting this because I've really enjoyed the show over the last couple of years. Nice vendors, and a great selection of leather and tools. Unlike the Sheridan show where some vendors only have things "on display" . . . all of last years Pendleton vendors were ready with stuff to sell at good prices. Just looking at the stacks of leather sides from Oregon Leather is mind blowing! Well . . . let's just say there stacks of leather was impressive. Cheers!

It looks similar to the Hansen String Cutter with added micro adjusters. http://www.hansenstringcutter.com

Tim George of Hamley & Co. in Pendleton, OR is famous for his rawhide braiding. On a slow evening the other night I found a couple of videos on Youtube showing him in action (let's say slow action) cutting strings, etc. He's one of the best full time braiders. If you do a search on Youtube you'll see he's featured in about five videos. Cheers!

Electrathon, It's a timing issue. I'll try to make it next time. Paul is a great guy and I'm surprised he hasn't stepped in with a comment on my micro-bevel question.

Hey Electrathon, Thanks for your suggestions. Good luck with your classes at Oregon Leather. Heard last years classes went really well. Cheers, Lippy

For those of you who own a pull-through splitter do you prefer a micro-bevel on the blade's cutting edge? I just purchased the small Tandy/Craftool splitter and noticed it comes with a very slight/small micro-bevel on the angled side of the blade. Straight out of the box the blade was only okay. After a little polishing of the blade's flat edge using 600 grit wet-dry paper laid on flat glass along with a little stropping it was much better. Most leather samples pulled through with just a little effort on my part. That said . . . would I get a sharper edge and better cut if I removed the blade's top side micro-bevel? As for sharpening the flat side, isn't a piece of plate glass a flat enough surface for the wet-dry paper sharpening/polishing? I've read some posts suggesting the use of a granite "machinist grade" precision surface stone. Is that over-kill? Actually, I'm please with my little splitter. It get's the job done without breaking the bank! Just trying to improve it's performance. Thanks for your time, Lippy

Shtoink, It's a discovery thing. Ya' just gotta try a lot of different combinations like awl sharpness, thread size, needle size, tapered thread ends, etc and then, at least for me, there was a moment when everything just clicked. The best moment was finally conquering awl sharpening. So many issues with leather can be solved with sharp tools. Slight confession . . . sometimes on doing the ending back stitches and trying cram the threads back through the holes that already plugged with a couple o' threads pliers can be useful. Cheers!