Martyn

I doubt my treatment was original. The leatherwork on the pack is date stamped 1949 and to my knowledge they just used a kind of red/brown coloured shoe polish. In the first pic you can see patches of it on the leather. When I washed the pack, the soda crystals dissolved this residue and it soaked into the wet leather, darkening it significantly. So most of the darkening you see in my pic was because of that, rather than the treatment. The reason I used olive oil, was because it doesn't darken leather as much as neatsfoot and I didn't want to darken it further. Neatsfoot can go rancid too. It shouldn't be a problem though, both are used regularly on leather. The linseed/beeswax I used on the canvas is probably non-original too. The canvas is something called Swiss salt and pepper canvas and is a blend of flax and nettle fibres. Flax is another name for linen and I figured linseed oil and linen would be harmonious, being from the same plant. It's possible they would have just treated the canvas with oil alone back in the day. Linseed oil does dry on it's own eventually - it was used to make oilskins and oilcloth. But without turpentine added to accelerate the drying, it takes months to cure. I doubt they would have used the particular blend I used though. I honestly dont know, though these packs were used in the Swiss Alps and it tends to snow rather than rain, so they may not have been too concerned with waterproofing. It's just leather and canvas at the end of the day though. I think I'd be tempted to try Art's suggestion of Montanna Pitchblend. The combination of resin, mink oil and beeswax sounds very promising. I'm sure it will darken the leather to some extent though.

Me too. Were you ever on rec.knives Art? Usenet was a wonderful thing, back in the day before all the kids swamped it. I think the first 'world wide web' forum I joined was 'the custom knife directory'. I liked that one. I think it morphed into the knife network eventually.

hey, hang on that's more than a bit unfair. In your first post you did talk at length about stainless v non stainless and did cite 12% Chrome content as pretty much the definition of stainless and you did write ...and you did title the thread 'lets talk about steel' not 'let me lecture you about steel but dont dare disagree'. ...and though I dont call myself a knife maker, I have made my own knives, I have been an avid collector for a long time, I know many people in the industry and it is my pet subject too.

You've lost me I'm afraid. Given that all steels are alloys, even plain carbon steels, an 'alloy steel is better than alloy steel' argument doesn't really make sense. OK, let me switch it around and take the argument from you. I will say that properly heat treated 1080 carbon steel is always tougher than any steel alloy with more than 12% chrome? Do you agree with that statement? If yes, then I've nothing more to add. If not, please explain why not and cite examples.

I couldn't agree more Art. The only knife that I own which I consider to be a true custom is this one... It was made for me, to a drawing I supplied. All the materials, shape, profile, plunge angle, hamon everything was specified by me and made exactly to those specs. That's custom - not selecting a handle colour from a choice of 6.

Look here... https://youtu.be/2jQjli3F0p4?t=304 A CR Green Beret in CPM s35vn, properly ht as well, one would assume being a CR. I've never had a green beret, but I have owned a CR pacific, a similar knife also in CPM s35vn, I sold it because I just didnt feel it was the right steel for the kind of knife. beautifully made thing though.

Because 12% is pretty much the industry standard for the definition of stainless steel. Asking me to pin down one single carbon alloy and ask me to pitch it against all alloys, isn't really a fair stainless versus carbon comparison. If you are going to call any with a whiff of chrome as 'stainless' then yes, you will find some that are perhaps tougher, or as tough for certain applications. Take L-6 for example, it has less than 1% chrome, you cant really call that stainless. What you are really saying, is that a tailored alloyed steel is better for a specific application than a non-tailored alloy steel. Well, yes, obviously. But that wasn't really the point you were pushing, was it?

Proper heat treatment being a given, I would argue that 1080 is tougher than anything with more than 12% chrome.

I don't think so. Strength is about a materials ability to resist force, toughness is impact resistance, but crucially also about how far a metal can deform without fracturing. I didn't say that. But I would argue that for a knife to be a good knife, you do need to be able to work the metal with reasonable ease. The fact is, the better the edge retention, the harder the knife is to maintain - it's directly proportionate. I do like stainless BTW, I've several folders in s30v, my first was a Sebenza about 12 years ago. But there it is, stainless is great for folders. Knives that have moving parts that you dont want to rust, knives that get carried in salty, sweaty pockets and used for all sorts of applications, by people who generally cant be bothered to sharpen them or maintain them (that incudes me). But fixed blade knives are easier to maintain, they have no moving parts and the typically larger size, means they are often used in higher impact and bend/stress activities, which makes carbon a more suitable choice. Similarly, precision tools are only precise if they are razor sharp all of the time. Given that is your mission, why would you pick a steel that is harder to sharpen? A chisel made from s30v would be horrible.

I would disagree with the toughness part. You're right, kniofe steels are not steels specifically used for knives - with the possible exception of some of the crucible formulas. Generally, steel is steel and whatever formula is used as appropriate for the application. It's not just cost that makes carbon steel a better choice for structural applications, it's tougher. Adding chrome to make steel stain reduced, is primarily cosmetic (except perhaps for divers knives and domestic cutlery/food prep). That cosmetic benefit comes at a price and everything after that, vanadium or whatever, is about trying to buy back some toughness, which you never quite get. I would also argue that extended edge retention isnt necessarily a benefit. It's a function of wear resistance and increased wear resistance also means harder to sharpen. If your plan is to never sharpen your tool, then high wear resistance is a benefit. But if you like your edges as keen as possible, then it's just extra work. If stainless always out-performs carbon, ask yourself why we never see it in stress-critical structural applications, mission critical springs etc and why the very best carpenters tools are always carbon steel?

I've just renovated an old army backpack, this... to this... The leather simply had 2 generous coats of olive oil and a couple of coats of my homebrew leather wax 2 parts neatsfoot oil to one part beeswax. Rubbed in and a heat gun applied lightly to encourage absorption. The canvas portion was cleaned with sodium carbonate solution and when dry, re-waxed with the aforementioned mixture of boiled linseed oil, turpentine and beeswax in a 1:1:1 ratio. It does take at least a week to dry and I would NOT use it on leather. The reason is because it's quite acidic. Linseed oil is heavy in linoleic acid which drops the pH quite a bit. This would leave the coated product quite acid, too much for comfort with leather I think. In my case, the wash with sodium carbonate crystals made the fabric quite alkaline, so after the waxing, it should be pretty well buffered. The other thing is that linseed oil is a drying oil, it doesn't evaporate, but it polymerises into a solid on contact with air. It would make the leather go hard and lose suppleness. For water-proofing I would make your own blend of neatsfoot oil (or possibly mink oil) and beeswax in 1:1 or 2:1 ratio. Alternatively, use a commercial product like snoseal or even natural shoe polish.

It's a BK geometric 'honeycomb serpentine'. I actually prefer the front, which I think is a BK quatrefoil hollow with a seeder in the middle.

I just scrape the build-up off with the edge of a metal ruler, then run 180 grit sandpaper over if to freshen up the nap and re-charge with compound.

I love the look of it, but what about retention? Is is held just by friction?

I used soda crystals on a renovation of an old army backpack recently. It's basically soda ash, the main constituent of ...soap. Aside from being an amazingly effective degreasing agent, it also raise the pH significantly, which allows dye molecules to bind more effectively with the fibres. This s a picture of the leather base of my backpack before I did anything to it. It's very worn and old (the saddlers stamp says 1949), dirty, dry in parts, greasy in others, and covered in years of army red/brown boot polish... This is the same pack (I've added strap attachments for a bedroll). All that I've done is wash it in a solution of warm water and soda crystals, let it dry, re-waxed the canvas and for the leather, 2 coats of olive oil and a rub over with some home brew leather wax (2 parts neatsfoot oil and 1 part beeswax). I was astonished at how effective the soda crystals were at stripping out all the old oils. I picked up on it from a UK horse riding forum where some were using it as a deep clean and de-grease for heavily soiled tack.

I would say strip out the Mink oil with a wash of soda crystals (sodium carbonate) and then dye with vinegaroon.

This pic illustrates the reason for using a diamond awl - you see how the stitches sit in relation to one another? This is using 0.8mm thread and it's just about big enough for the holes. It would be a bit better with 1mm. It does a number of things - it allows the stitches to sit one on top of the other, the stitches fill the hole end-to-end and side-to-side and you get a good angled stitch, which both looks nice but is also functional, as it maximises the amount of leather between the holes while allowing a higher number of stitches per inch without weakening the leather )if the stitches were in a straight line, the holes would almost be touching).

You can sew through any shape hole you like, but a diamond awl will give you a hole that lends itself to a traditional saddle stitch (assuming that is what you are trying to achieve?). These two videos are well worth watching - the technique holding the awl in hand, traditional style, but there is a lot of discussion on philosophy that should be informative to you...

How 'big' is determined by your project, so obviously for a wallet you would use smaller awl/needle/thread than you would on a sheath for a felling axe. There is no universal answer. But whatever it is you are sewing, the relationship between awl - needle - thread needs to be right. While it certainly should be as snug as is comfortable, if you are using pliers all the time, then you've got it wrong somewhere. You should be sewing, not pulling on pliers. For medium to large projects, I find an Osborn #43 1 3/4 inch awl is a good match with John James #2 saddlers harness needles and 0.6/0.8 and 1mm Tiger thread.

Have you tried burnishing with wax?

As tight as possible... but... You have to be able to sew! If you are putting the needles down to reach for the pliers on every stitch, your progress will be very slow and your consistency will suffer. IMO, the fit should be as tight as possible, while still being possible to draw the needle by hand for 98% of the time. Also, the tightness is not just about hole size, it's a relationship between hole size, needle size and thread size. Some brands of needles have larger eyes than others, you could switch brands and be able to draw the needles easier without changing the hole size or the fit of the thread in the hole. Similarly, you could go for a smaller needle and still have the same fit of thread in the hole. You could use the same needles, but bigger awl and bigger thread. Also, the holes start to close up pretty much straight away. If you leave too much time between making the holes and sewing, the needles will be tighter. Consider opening the holes up with a hand awl for half a dozen holes at a time, immediately before sewing through them. What awl are you using? What thread are you using and what brand/size of needles are you using?

"I sometimes run a stitching wheel over my stitches after I tap it down, it seems to help align the stitches in my mind haha." Get thee behind me Satan. Ha. Seriously, I get that people are happy to use them, but they are a get-around that shouldn't be needed really, IMO. I like to see the stitch lay on the surface in just the way it was sewn. A saddle stitch is a beautiful thing in my eye, that's kind of spoiled a bit when you run mechanical devices over it. "Is the cast not pulled into the centre of the stitches? Could that be the reason it favours one side?" Yes, I think you are absolutely right. It always does favour one side. I figured out how to control it though, it's just a question of reversing the stitch. My first needle tends to be from the left, so my cast is on the left and the prettier stitch is on the left. If I switch so my first needle is from the right (usually the face of the work), then the cast is also on the right and the prettier side gets presented on the right. The only problem is I'm right handed, so I always use the awl in my right hand, which is why my first needle is from the left (following the awl out). So switching from left to right hand needle priority is not going to happen for me if I'm sewing using an awl - not unless I add an extra step and use the left hand needle as a place holder - if that makes sense?

I made this video in response to another thread, but I thought I'd add it here too as it illustrates the operation of the pony once modified...

Good isn't it? Worth seven bucks of anybody's money. It doesnt sound like it'd make such a big difference but it really transforms your stitching experience and improves workflow. I went straight from a wingnut to the clamp, so you can imagine the difference it made for me. Also, if you are familiar with the Tandy pony, you'll know that the legs are fixed not hinged and to open the clamp you need to force it open with a provided block of wood. Horrible design. I made a quick video showing the operation of mine...

Guys, some advice needed. I'm restoring an old military backpack with leather straps. The originals had no padding and look like intruments of torture. I was thinking of padding them with shearling, but really have no clue what to get. Is it all pretty much the same? Is some better for padding shoulder straps? Tandy are selling a hide for £100 which is way more than I want to pay, but it could come in for other projects. On the other hand, I've spotted a hide on ebay from Turkey for £35 - that is much more my budget, but I'm wondering if it'll be suitable for padding shoulder straps? What should I look for? Can it be trimmed down with shears etc? As you can see, I know nothing about this stuff - any and all advice most welcome? Thanks, Martyn