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In addition to the comments above I cannot stress the importance of a strop to polish your blades. Exacto blades are pretty sharp but a few passes on a leather strop will make it scary sharp. Its an easy project too. Just mount (glue) a piece of vegtan onto a piece of wood. Load it up with green compound and polish all your blades. You’ll be amazed the difference it makes. I’ve used many different blades, some pretty expensive, but I make 80% of my cuts just using a Japanese style skiving knife in aogami blue steel. You can find them reasonably priced around 40 bucks. Just my 2c.

I have since given up on dyeing my own. It is really a skill and art form in itself. I’ve seen some pretty creative patterns done by hand and by airbrushing. Alas I have zero skill when it comes to dyeing.

I assume that you mean DRY? I find that letting it dry naturally overnight is fine. This one is double sided Barenia. I let it air dry overnight and stitched the next day. There are a few hot spots from the mold but the form came out fine. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJlgUuni2F/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Have you tried Etsy? I’ve seen some EU vendors selling these in A3/A4/A5 sizes. Premium prices but not bad if you just want to experiment with small pieces before investing in a full or half.

Looks great! You just need 27 more years of patina and it would be a perfect match. Thats some seriously nice color after only 4 months of use. What tannery?

Here I just used two different size pricking irons (smaller on top / wider on side). That solved the issue of differing stitch count. Then I used an awl to connect the two at a 45 degree angle. I may have had to backtrack once to match things up. https://www.instagram.com/p/BeiVBE8AL08/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

May I ask for the general location of the equipment? Thanks.

Maybe give Pilgrim a try. They shipped a wicked sharp replacement blade for my American crank splitter at a very reasonable price. http://www.pilgrimshoemachine.com/ If not then perhaps talk to a local machine shop. Good luck!

They are helpful but were really only made for certain types of leather. My American splitter works great on veg tan or other thick/stiff stock but not so much on floppy stuff. There are also limitations as to how thin it will practically process. I’ve noticed that bell skivers are actually cheaper than crank splitters and I feel that they are more flexible and have more utility (although more fussy as well). I’ve actually been thinking of selling my American to buy a bell sliver.

When you “think” it’s sharp then it’s not sharp enough. You need to know that it’s scary sharp. Sharp enough to slice through a piece of paper without grabbing at all. I find difficulty getting a head knife sharp enough to be functional (which is why I choose to use Japanese style knives) but it can and is often done well. I’m sure others will chime in and there are quite a number of YouTube videos on the subject. I find that Patience and stropping are the key.

Hello Dantan - I am interested in the 51W54. I am located about 5 hours from Boston (Long Island, NY) so let me know if you don’t find anyone in the local area to purchase the machine. It was the machine that I used when learning shoemaking. Apart from its quirks, it’s a pretty reliable machine (though keeping things tight can be a challenge). The visibility of the needle is wonderful with the wheel. Take care - Ed

Before tossing your laptop I would revisit Adobe Illustrator. It has a function called “Live Trace” which can convert a hand drawn image (scanned, photo, etc) into digital line art which can be cleaned up, sized correctly and sent off to the die maker. It could certainly save you a few bucks. AI is also great for making templates including sewing lines and stitch spacing. Take a class or two. It really is a great program. If you have any question about it, feel free to DM me. I don’t have the most recent version of AI but I reckon most of the functions are still the same.

I’ve seen this done to varying degrees of success: http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/35165-how-to-modify-a-shop-press-into-a-clicker-press/ A Harbor Freight press is fairly inexpensive (don’t forget the 20% coupon). It would probably pay for itself on the first job.

Those are pretty remarkable. Nice execution! Maybe one thing to think about would be making a fully modular system rather than a customized rig (like the ones used in the military). This would allow the user to pick and choose which setup best fits their trade. Picking and choosing could be simplified and optimized fairly easily on a website (and could be made fun and interactive). Do you hand cut each piece or do you have dies made? While a major upfront cost, dies will dramatically cut down on time and, in the end, cost. Looking forward to seeing your brand and projects evolve. Good luck!

Is your thought to glue the leather onto the pan? I thought that the handle covers were removable so you can put the cast iron pan into the oven after the initial sear on the range.

Thanks. I’ll look for it!

I don’t think George Barnsley gets enough love. They are well designed and manufactured tools at a reasonable price. Nice tool! Enjoy it!

Hello All - I am trying to re-cover a baseball and was hoping to get a few pointers: Can I use the existing skin as a direct template (or maybe make it a little smaller to account for the stretch when wet)? How do I end the baseball stitch so that it’s hidden? Should I glue the leather down before stitching it up? There are a few “tutorials” online but too vague to follow. Any tips or tricks on doing this is appreciated! - Thanks

It should be possible to thicken up edge paint with either fumed Silica or strait Silica. Depending on the percentage, you should be able to achieve a viscosity of anything from syrup to a semi-solid. The drawback of this system is that they typically leave a matte finish when dry.

What is the HP/wattage and RPM of the motor? I like the small footprint of the unit.

I’ve found that many issues pertaining to stitching can be avoided with templates. Take the time when making your templates to calculate the stitch spacing and do a dry run with your tools. I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator to make my templates and you can create stitch lines in various spacing using the Line tool. I do this regardless if I’m using a chisel or awl to make sure things make sense and my stitches end up where I want them to.

“You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live” - by what I can gather through your post - you got this. Looking forward to seeing more of your incredible work in the years to come. Speedy recovery.

Congratulations on turning one of your passions into a business. I hear that the Philippines is a difficult place to find leather and leather crafting tools but, from what I see here and on Instagram, there are many talented artists. Keep up the good work and best wishes on growing your brand.

As @JLSleather said, oversize the piece by 1/4-1/2 inch and trim the excess to size. It’s a perfect edge every time.

I had purchased their stitching chisels and edge creasers. Both were good. I ended up selling the chisels when I purchased KSBlades. Still use the creasers. I contacted them directly by email and paid 27ish dollars for expedited shipping (~8 days). Check around. Pricing is different depending on the venue. I believe that ebay is cheaper than Amazon.