Martyn

Absolutely not. If you're stabbing into a hard surface, I'm not surprised you're having difficulty keeping your awl sharp. If you absolutely must stab through into another surface, aside from a wine cork, you should use stacked scrap leather. Watch these...

Do they need to be tooled? Perhaps use bridle leather or some kind of leather that has lots of oil and wax in it and restrict the tooling to sewn on panels or something. Shift the focus from pretty to practical.

If anything, I think it's even more important in leatherwork. Leather is tough as hell, so you need sharp tools just to get through it, but it's also very flexible, so it will deform, drag and wrinkle if your tools are blunt. A clean cut in thick leather needs an atom-splitting edge. You mentioned your back side stitching was uneven, this will improve with a sharper awl as the leather will deform less as you need less force to drive it through. Stabbing through and into a clean wine cork also helps with this, though it shouldn't be necessary if your awl is sharp enough.

Awls, needles and thread come in different sizes. You have to get the balance between all three, right. If you need pliers to get the needles through, then either use smaller needles, smaller thread or a bigger awl. What you are looking to achieve is a tight fit, but no pliers necessary for 99% of the time. The thread should fill the holes, with no daylight visible. The thread size, stitch size/hole spacing should be an appropriate match for the thing you are making. Finally, if you think your awl is sharp, it probably still isn't sharp enough.

I had to share this, cos I'm blown away impressed. I've a fondness for celtic knotwork and when I saw BK did a celtic basket stamp, I though, OK, I'll see what all the hype is about - and ordered one. It just arrived, so I did a quick test piece. Now I have to say here this is only the third time I have ever done any basket stamping at all and my previous two attempts were unremarkable, to say the least. I still have a lot of alignment and consistency issues, but oh my goodness, this stamp is awesome. It's so crisp and detailed for such a small stamp, I cant get over it. I cant stress enough that I am a complete novice at stamping, but this stamp makes me look good - how many tools do that for you out of the box? All I can say is ....I get it!

Well, that was my point really. I think the OP may be a little naive if he hopes to hand stitch a luxury belt on his first attempt - but you never know.

I wasn't being flippant earlier, I think learning to saddle stitch is a good place to start. As John said, 100 inches of belt will take a couple of hours for someone who is fast, but fast takes practice. Accuracy and consistency is more important. Even if every other aspect of the belt is absolutely on point, a single dropped stitch in that 100 inches, and the belt is no longer a luxury item.

I dont think the issue of slanted versus straight is really the point here. What we have is an attempt to make a hand stitch imitate a machine stitch. The question is why when hand made double running stitch is always superior to a machine made lock stitch? The only reason the OP is stitching in a straight line is to imitate the aesthetic of a typical machine stitch. The title of the thread is 'machine look with saddle stitch'. The question is why? As cjmt said, why would you want to make a superior hand stitch look like an inferior machine stitch? It's like saying 'my tips for making something that has been well made, look like it's been not as well made'.

Sweet. How much for a hand stitched version? :D

Hi Paul, yeah here... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Unused-Number-39-EnglIsh-Crew-Punch-Saddlery-Leatherworker-1-X-1-4-/121941821849?hash=item1c644c8999:g:iFMAAOxyGwNTCP8T The guy seems to have a few of the crew punches. Obviously I cant prove they are Dixons, but if you google 'vintage #39 Dixons crew punch' and compare, the pictures say it all really. The big bargain - the plough gauge - I bought a few years ago though and was part of an estate sale. I didn't even know what it was for when I bought it and didn't know it was a Dixons until a couple of weeks ago. The main point is the the British Army still have their own saddlers and make their own tack, Sam Brownes etc and you can still train as a saddler in the army. They appear to have had a contract with Dixons, which makes sense and the tools appear to be unbranded, which was also common. I have a few ex-army vintage paraffin lantern's which are well known to be unbranded Vapalux, they are the same. Just an arrow mark and a number.

If you are working towards that goal, probably the best place to start is to learn to saddle stitch I think. There will be quite a lot of practice required before you're at the luxury end of things. By the time you have that sorted, you will know the answers to your other questions.

Yep, sorted. Well done and thanks.

Guys, something I've discovered - opr at least I think I've discovered, is that there is a whole bunch of army surplus tools out there, either in storage or being sold off cheap, which are actually unbranded vintage Dixons. It's worth keeping an eye out for them and knowing what to look for. They are unbranded, so obviously they cant be sold as Dixons, but that is reflected in the price. I've just bought and unbranded #39 1" vintage crew punch. It was sold as being army surplus, issued but unused condition. It came with a hint of rust and a fairly heavy coat of brown waxy grease all over it. It's simply marked 'SFT /|\1945'. The crows foot or broad arrow symbol /|\ denotes British army issue and all hardware in the British army, from canons to screwdrivers were stamped with it at one time. It turns out Dixons had a contract with the British MOD to supply them with tools for their cavalry saddlers. As is often the case, many of these tools have sat in storage and are unused, some are heavily used and everything in between. But also, used or not, they have a 'life' and once they exceed their lifespan, the Ministry of Defence gets rid of them. Obviously this is unbranded, so I cant be absolutely certain it's a Dixons, but I'm as sure as it's possible to be. Aside from the grease and obvious signs of age, I cant see any sign of use or damage on the tool. I would have to agree that the claim that it is issued but unused condition, is on point. After a clean up with scourer and a rub with micromesh... Looks like a brand new tool. The edge needs a proper polish, but it's all there. I paid £35 for this, BIN on ebay. The reason it pinged on my radar, was that I have a plough gague that is also unbranded but marked 'SFT /|\' which members on here identified as a vintage Dixons. This I got as part of a box of about 20 vintage leatherworking tools for £50. The point I'm making here, is if you see British Army surplus leatherworking tools, unbranded and marked with 'SFT /|\', a date and maybe a string of other numbers, take a VERY close look at it. It may very well be a Dixons tool hiding in olive drab and going for a song.

Unfortunately, it only changes the 'unread content' link on the top right corner. The links in the top menubar/header gets added to, rather than replaced. I'm sure Johanna will figure it out, these things take time.

Here... Or here...

Yep, you can create a blank stream that includes everything or filter it how you want, name it whatever you want and set it as your default. 1. Click 'unread content' to open the default stream. 2. Open the first drop-down and 'X' the bdsm tag to clear the box. 3. Set your preferences from the row of drop-down boxes. Leave everything blank to include all new content. 4. Click 'save as new stream' and give it a unique name eg 'My Unread Content'. 5. Next to the stream name at the top are three little icons, a pen, a dustbin and a tick. Hover your mouse over the tick to highlight the option. Select it and your custom stream is now your default.

...and the same piece filled in with stitching.

Just thought I'd add this image to the above.. From top to bottom... Seiwa Diamond 5mm/5 SPI Chinese Proline (the black set above) 4mm/6 SPI Chinese Proline (the silver set above) 3mm/8 SPI The Seiwa are better chisels, the shape of the hole is a little flatter diamond and the angle is shallower, but for the money, the Chinese chisels are excellent.

Yep, that makes an awful lot of sense having just had a whole bunch of problems I wouldn't have had, if I'd have done this..

But that's where it's needed and that's what it's for. It's like the inside of a knife sheath where the stitching comes through from the loop, if you dont drop it into a groove, there is a real risk of the knife blade making contact with it. It makes sense when it makes sense. But I think a lot of times - possibly most of the time - it's used when it isn't needed.

Thanks for all the tips guys, it's much appreciated, I will definitely be trying them. To be honest, I think I've bitten off a little more than I can chew with this. I've found it really quite difficult. It seems to require a level of skill and a gentle touch that I dont have yet. There are definite improvements with the box stitch. Piecing the top lightly before going in from the side with the awl, was a definite help. Also, making a stitch groove was a help too. However, I made a huge number of other errors. My skiving was way off. I made the angle far too shallow and it's caused the lid to dip and the sides to mushroom. Also, I put too much tension on the stitches which also made it mushroom - that was because my gluing came unstuck and the lid fell off as I was making the holes - so I had to anchor it with stitching, which created alignment issues ...and on and on... I also tried tooling the lid, which was a mistake as I've not done hardly any before - actually only the basket weave on this project and I made a dogs dinner of it. My theory was that if I made the lid busy with tooling, it might hid the bad stitching. :D ...anyway... I'm not happy with it at all, but I am happy with the improvement, if that makes sense? I need to do some more of these. They are very challenging for me, but I am learning so much. I think I'm on the right strack with the stitching and just need practice - lots of it. Skiving needs my attention big time. I like the idea of using a pin to secure the round, but wonder if it'll leave a hole I cant hide? I guess I'll have to try it and see. I also need to learn a bit of restraint. I skive too much sometimes and need to learn when to stop. Less is more on this. here's another pic of it in hand for scale - it actually doesnt look too bad if you hold it at the right angle and turn the bad bits away. I can see people getting a few of these as gifts. :D

Not enough salts (ferric sulphide) in the liquid. Add more steel wool - or a finer grade steel wool, more vinegar and wait longer for it to pickle. Or Not enough tannin in the leather. Try a sample of leather from a different hide.

I think you just got unlucky with your China order. At least you got a refund. Dont give up too easy though. I bought these... ...from Amazon UK for £14 BP (inc shipping) for the set, 6SPI and they are excellent. Specification: Material: tool steel Length: 10.5 cm Color: black Tooth width: 2 mm Tooth pitch: 4 mm (6SPI approx) Quantity: 4 PCs (1 teeth, 2 tooth, 4 tooth & 6 tooth) Not as good as the Seiwa, but really very good and at the price, superb value for money. They took about 3 weeks to arrive. I bought these... Specification: Material: Stainless steel? Length: 10.5 cm Color: silver Tooth width: 2 mm Tooth pitch: 3 mm (8SPI approx) Quantity: 4 PCs (1 teeth, 2 tooth, 4 tooth & 6 tooth) from ebay uk. They were £11 BP for the set (inc shipping), they also took about 3 weeks to arrive, they are 8SPI and are also excellent. They seem to be exactly the same as the black painted set above, except a higher SPI and possibly made of unpainted stainless steel. I cant confirm what metal they are made from - but at that price, does it matter? If a prong snaps off, I'll just buy another set. They are Chinese and part of me wants them to be terrible, but they aren't. They will do for me - at least until goods Japan start carrying more stock of Seiwa.

That's great advice, I'm about to put the lid together and I'll try just that. Difficult? Nobody told me or I might have thought twice. :D Actually, this little trinket box is a pretty good learning project. They are small, dont use up much leather, reasonably quick to make and contain quite a few skill challenges (for me anyway). Thanks, Martyn.

Thanks, yeah I was thinking a groove was perhaps the way to go. I'm going to have to get that book. Punching the bottom round would be tricky, because the spacing is different to the holes on the wall. So I'd have to count how many holes I have round the edge, then manually set the spacing on the bottom round. It's a lot of work. I think I'll try it with a groove. So long as I can get the hole into the groove, the groove will straighten out the stitches as you say. It wont be perfect, but it should look neater. Thanks.