Lippy

The Saddle Tool Dude's link doesn't work anymore. Do any of you know if he has a new leather tool website? What he had was a really nice start to a leather tool history database.

"Azrider" . . . we need photos. Please! Thank you!

Here's a link to a post made last week with video and links to the Capgun Kid's original hand stitching articles. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=28041&view=findpost&p=176210 Cheers, Lippy

Anyone who wants to improve their hand stitching should watch this YouTube video of a Hermes leather worker doing the saddle stitch. It's hard to see the size of the awl blade in the video, but you just know it's sharp and thin. I'd worry less about the size and shape of the blade. First, learn how to sharpen the awl. That's the hard part. If you don't want to spend the money on a pre-sharpened Douglas blade go online and buy an Osborne blade. Try several sizes and shapes as the don't cost much. Down the road your goal may be to find the largest thread size that works with the smallest harness needle and match that with the smallest awl blade that will allow the most stitches per inch. Here are a few articles on stitching that are really worth reading. They're written by a forum member "The Capgun Kid". He talks a lot about awls and thread size. http://www.gunfighter.com/cgi-bin/bbs/cowboy-a/cowboy-a.cgi?read=38276 http://www.gunfighter.com/cgi-bin/bbs/cowboy-a/cowboy-a.cgi?read=39449 http://www.gunfighter.com/cgi-bin/bbs/cowboy-a/cowboy-a.cgi?read=39815 http://www.gunfighter.com/cgi-bin/bbs/cowboy-a/cowboy-a.cgi?read=40851 http://www.gunfighter.com/cgi-bin/bbs/cowboy-a/cowboy-a.cgi?read=38679 Then search the forum for posts by "jimsaddler". He's got great tips on hand sewing. Cheers!

Warren Cutlery makes the knives for Tandy and they are cheaper if your buy direct from them. http://www.warrencutlery.com/ Very nice folks. Someone earlier mentioned the Murphy knives. Check 'em out here. http://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/blades.html Also very nice people and they have a whole selection of leather knives. 'Been making them for a long time. I like the head knife because you push it away from your body and it's easy to cut a straight line without using a ruler thanks to the blade design. Why fight tradition. The head knife works well for me. Working with leather demands that you learn how to sharpen a knife. Cheers.

Here's an image That I posted in an earlier thread about stitching clamps or clamps. It shows them in use and gives a few different styles. To open the jaws in my clamp it's as easy as making a fist with my left hand and sliding it down between the clamp halves. When the jaws open you place the item to be stitched in position using your right hand. Relax your left hand and the jaws close. The "head bolts" at the bottom do allow some minor adjustment for the tension on the the jaws. If you really wanted a stronger gripping jaw an ugly bolt and a wing nut could be placed higher up. Frankly . . . I think the fewer "wing nuts" in this world . . . the better. (Oops! That's another topic.) Anyway, wing nuts and protruding bolts, etc. are always a pain when the thread get caught on them as you are trying to pull the stitch tight. Placing the head bolts higher would have also increased the tension. A leather loop as shown in the middle set of clamps (see image and thanks to Barra for posting the clamps) would also add to the gripping tension. Towards the end of this video about the making of a Hermes leather bag it shows clams in use. Once you get past the sales "fluff" the video shows some really fast hand saddle stitching too by folks who look like they've done it many times before. It's been a fun process researching and building the clamps. Again, thanks for the nice comments. Lippy

Thank you! I just use it for the first time. Wow . . . it's so cool.

With lots of encouragement from JIMSADDLER, BARRA, and THE CAPGUN KID (see other stitching clam threads) I've just finished my stitching clam. It was made by steaming four veneers (approx .375" thick) of "Pacific Coast Maple" that were formed in a bending jig. It's 36" long and 3.375" wide which is perfect height for stitching while sitting in my deck chair. The "throat" is just under 4" at the widest point and about 19" in length. I couldn't have done it without my forum friends. Thank you!

Leathertools, Thanks for the tool restoration tips! Hope you find these images of the Henry G. Gomph & Co. 1860's price list interesting. Sorry about the roughness of the images. I did the best I could scanning a copy of a bad copy. If you can't read the prices let me tell you . . . a 4 inch head knife sold for $1.25 and an overstitch was 80 cents. Cheers

If that's all you're missing . . . you must have a fantastic collection. Would you ever consider posting a few images of your favorites? I've got a few "user" Gomph tools and was wondering if you could give suggestions on cleaning the handles and removing some of the rust. Cheers!

The subject of thread twist is still puzzling to my tiny brain. First off, I've got several spools of English linen thread that is "reverse" twist. Is that the same as "left" or "z" twist? Second question, can someone please explain the physics behind why a "rightie" should use the "s" or "right" twist. Is it the insertion of the awl on the right or left side that makes the difference? Cheers & Happy New Year!

This image shows a collection of stitching clamps I found on the internet. They are similar to what "The Capgun Kid" was describing in his other post. You'll see one clamp is made in France by Vergez-Blanchard and another is sold through Bowstock in the U.K. Cheers, Lippy

Hey C'Gun . . . Ya' first have to answer my previous question . . . If you were doing say eight to ten stitches to the inch which needle and linen thread combo would you suggest? Now, to post an image when you are in the process of doing a new post or reply just look below the box where you are typing and you'll see the heading "attachments". You can either type the name of your images in the smaller box or click the browse button to search you hard drive for the images. That should do it! Cheers, Tom

Capgun, If you still have your original article drafts you could just open the documents, select all of the text and then copy the text. The next step would be to go to the LW forum and create a post and then . . . assuming the article text is still in your computer's memory just do a paste into the post window. Look here . . . I've just done a copy and paste of your third stitching article's first paragraph (see next paragraph) from the online article which was in the Cowboy Action Shooters' Discussion Archive at www.gunfighter.com. "This is the third, and last posting about stitching for beginning leatherworkers and shooters who want to try their hand at making their own gun leather. It's also a little late after the first two pieces. Sorry. There are a lot of other things occupying our minds lately, so I did not push it." Another alternative would be to save your original documents as PDF files and then just attach the PDFs to the post as you would do for any photographs you wanted to post. - - Now back to stitching. If you were doing say eight to ten stitches to the inch which needle and linen thread combo would you suggest? Cheers, Lippy

Hey C'Kid! Bet you also have a big white beard and a red suit 'cause you just gave us a really nice present! Cheers, Lippy

Here's Valerie's we link. http://www.leathercourses.co.uk/ Her book is fantastic. If you're interested in leather you need her book in your library.

Here are a few articles, tutorials, on stitching that are really worth reading. The Capgun Kid must be a shy kid as he's the one who wrote 'em. Perhaps we could encourage him to post a few photos and tell us more. http://www.gunfighte....cgi?read=38276 http://www.gunfighte....cgi?read=39449 http://www.gunfighte....cgi?read=39815 http://www.gunfighte....cgi?read=40851 http://www.gunfighte....cgi?read=38679 Have fun reading!

I've noticed that "The Capgun Kid" is now a forum member. Perhaps we can get him to post a few pictures of is hand stitching techniques and maybe add his stitching articles to the Leatherworker.net tutorials. If you haven't read his stuff check out the links I posted previously on this thread. Long live hand stitching! Cheers, Lippy

Dave, Thanks for the warning. Everything I've read mentions using a light touch with both the sanding and stropping belts as the 1x30 Harbor Freight sander runs around 3400 rpm. That said, even using a light touch when a belt of any type breaks can't be nice. Cheers, Tom

Thanks for your comment. Please tell me why it is so dangerous. I did buy a Surgi-Sharp belt. The splice/joint in that belt didn't look difficult to make as long as the belt ends were skived with a smooth taper. Isn't it mostly about using the proper cement or glue. Is barge cement the right glue? Is there something stronger that also remains flexible? There's no need to make sanding belts as they aren't very expensive. However, it would be nice to have the ability to whip out a few stropping belts.

Anyone have any expierence making a leather stropping belt for a bench belt sander? After reading about knife sharpening using the Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander I bought one on sale for $35. I'm now trying to . . . "hone" . . . my knife sharpening skills. My first attempt at making a leather belt broke apart at the seam. Is there a stronger glue than Barge? The ends were skived and trimmed at an angle like some of my sanding belts. I coated both ends with Barge glue, let the glue setup and then clamped the joint after that to dry. Any and all suggestions accepted!! For those who might have a similar belt sander, do you have any ideas on how to slow the speed down? FYI: It has a 1/3 hp, 3 amp motor that runs at 3400 rpm. Cheers, Tom (aka: Lippy)

Jim Saddler . . . you are my hero! When are you going to write the book on hand stitching? Is the oval awl blade something you make or can I find it in the C. S. Osborne catalog? Likewise, what size needle would you use for 12 stitches per inch? And, is there any difference in quality between Osborne and John James harness needles.

I can't stop thinking about Ellis Barnes since reading of his death. He was such a "full of life" character. While I only talked with him over the phone six or so times, he was always full of energy and eager to answer my questions. He made me feel like an good friend. Wasn't Mr. Barnes in his late eighties? He told me he had diabetes and was in a wheelchair. In spite of age and health problems that didn't stop him from working everyday. He mentioned that he graduated from UCLA with a degree in metallurgy which may explain why his tools worked so well. Using his tools will always remind me of him and our conversations. Farewell Mr. Barnes!

Barra, Thanks for the measurements and the photos. I did find some "steam bending wood" videos on Youtube. That seems to me the best way to build them rather than trying to cut them out with a bandsaw. Have you ever seen any clams that are hinged at the bottom? Cheers, Lippy

Jim, Do you have any suggestions for making a general purpose clamp set? What about overall dimensions? Are they hinged at the bottom? Please tell us newbie's more. You've always have great stuff. Cheers!