ScottEnglish

I've recently had success using brown packing paper, one side glossy and the other matt, instead of cereal-box cardboard for a strop. It compresses less than cereal-box cardboard so there is less curvature of the bevel near the cutting edge.

I only make very simple leather footwear with a few basic hand tools. But I hope nonetheless that this topic proves helpful to someone. Sharpening of knife: I strop my knife on a strip of cereal-box cardboard with Autosol Metal Polish upon it. The strip of cardboard is hooked over, by two folds, a pane of glass. This strop doesn't compress as much as leather so the knife bevel doesn't curve as much near the cutting edge with repeated stropping. Give it a go! Tell me what you think. By the way, I can't take credit for using cardboard as a strop. Credit for that goes to members of the Woodcarving Illustrated forum. The Autosol Metal Polish? Morakniv use it. So it must be good stuff! C. S. Osborne No. 245 leather belt punch: Take advantage of the round section of this punch by making a simple jig for sharpening it. Here's how I do it. I use a rectangular block about an inch and a half high. I place this alongside my sharpening stone. I then put the punch cutting-edge on the stone and rest the body of the punch upon the block. I eyeball the bevel on the stone and adjust the punch so that the bevel is flat to the stone. Then I note the point on the body of the punch where it touches the edge of the block and wrap a bit of masking tape around the punch at that point. I then align the edge of the masking tape with the edge of the block and again eyeball the bevel to ensure it's still flat to the stone. If the masking tape is correctly positioned I proceed to roll the punch along the stone and block ensuring the edge of the masking tape remains in alignment with the edge of the block. Left hand at the cutting end and right hand at the hammering end. This method of sharpening is very accurate. I finish the punch by using some wooden dowel with a smidge of Autosol Metal Polish upon it to remove the burr within the hole. Before putting the polish on the dowel knife (verb!) it roughly to shape to fit the hole. Then put the dowel in the hole and carefully twist it to and fro until the wood is shaped by the hole and cutting edge to conform to the exact shape of the hole. Then put a smidge of polish on the end of the dowel and remove that burr! Job done. Scott

Hi Matt S. Thanks for your informative post. My black boots were treat in exactly the same way as the three other pairs of vegetable-tanned leather boots I made. Only the leather on the black boots is rotting. I've learnt from other members that historically iron sulphate has been used to colour leather black. So we know it works. However, for whatever reason, my own experience has been negative. Thanks for your comment Littlef. I'll try vinegaroon in future if I want to colour vegetable-tanned leather black SUP.

Thanks for your comment dikman. Maybe baking soda would've worked. No, I didn't check the pH of the solution tsunkasapa. In future if I want to colour leather black I'll use vinegaroon!

I used a solution of iron sulphate powder and water to colour a pair of my simple boots black. They'd previously been dyed dark chocolate with Fiebing's Pro Dye. For some reason the dye kept rubbing off the leather. So I decided to colour them black using a solution of iron sulphate powder and water. But after several months the leather on my boots is literally rotting! It's cracking and breaking apart. The only explanations I can think of are that the solution of iron sulphate powder and water, despite rinsing and soaking the leather in water after colouring it black, was too acidic and some remained in the leather causing it to rot, or that there was a reaction between the remains of the Fiebing's Pro Dye and the solution of iron sulphate powder and water. I've made several pairs of simple boots before using the same type of leather, natural vegetable-tanned, and never had this problem. What are people's thoughts please? Thanks.

Thanks for that Bruce. I'd no idea how the belt punches were made. I'd also not considered the extra work involved in producing the No. 147 and No. 149 punches. No wonder they're so much more expensive. As I only need one hole punch, I might buy a No. 147.

Thanks Bruce Johnson for your post. If you're not aware, the clearance holes taper on the No. 147 and No. 149 punches unlike on the No. 245. A definite improvement.

Thanks for the reply TomE. You've mixed up the No. 147 and No. 149 punches. It's the No. 149 that PastorBob commented has more taper. Not the No. 147. All three punches are on the website you linked to. Your comment that the No. 149 might be best suited to lightweight leather makes sense. Here in the UK one supplier of this tool even groups it with some other tools under the heading Packing and gasket tools. They also describe the No. 147 punch as being a saddler's punch. I know nothing about saddlery, but I presume there will be some very thick leather to punch through.

In view of PastorBob's observation about the No. 149 arch punch I will amend my question: Is the C. S. Osborne No. 147 drive punch superior in use to the No. 245 belt punch? Thanks.

Hello again PastorBob. Yes, I see what you mean about the No. 149 arch punch. It does taper more. That would be a negative for me. Thanks for pointing that out.

Hi PastorBob. Thanks for your reply. I agree with you, a sharp punch makes all the difference! However, I'm curious as to whether the C. S. Osborne No. 147 and No. 149 punches offer any advantage over the No. 245 punch. Hence my question.

I've used some C. S. Osborne No. 245 belt punches. Is there any advantage in using their other round-hole punches? Namely the No. 147 drive punch and the No. 149 arch/wad punch. Thanks.

I've only just seen your post Aven! Thanks for the link. I'll have a look.

Hi tozafoot. I've only just read your post. Thanks for mentioning the Natural Footgear website. I intend having a look at it.

Hi Doc Reaper. Matt S is the fellow you need a post from. My initial experience of a solution of iron sulphate and water was disappointing until I increased the amount of iron sulphate in the solution. I left the scraps of leather soaking in the solution for several hours. Matt S said something about black tea in combination with the iron sulphate solution making it more effective. Hopefully, he will help us out.

Hi tozafoot. Try Podohub for suitable lasts. Namely the Sparta, Athens, and Chamonix models. They have no heel lift. You can even pay a little more and have no toe spring! See Design adjustments in the ordering form. These are the models one of which I intend buying. Thanks for mentioning how feet have the potential to change shape when barefoot type footwear is worn. This might explain why my ball width seems out of proportion to the rest of my foot!

I've decided to start making lasted footwear and need to buy my first pair of lasts. I've taken various foot measurements. There is a problem though. And a common one I imagine. My foot measurements don't exactly match the last I want to buy. Obviously length is non-negotiable. Ball width too I presume. But what about ball girth and instep girth? How much excess is allowable for these two measurements? Thanks. Scott

TomE: I suggested skiving bevel side down as there is more clearance between the handle and workpiece/workbench than bevel side up. I see no advantage in skiving bevel side up. But I only make simple boots so maybe I'm missing something. Scott

Thanks for your post Matt S. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer and struggled at school. But your above explanation of the science is straightforward. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me. And I trust others also. Scott

I hadn't used my Japanese paring/skiving knife for very long when I commented in the above post that it doesn't need a secondary bevel. It does! Whilst the edge remained intact whilst skiving leather it broke up when cutting leather upon a cutting board. To revise my opinion of the knife, I'm not sure I can discern any real difference in sharpness between my Japanese paring knife and a George Barnsley English-style paring knife. But in use I do prefer the Japanese knife for both cutting and skiving. It's also comfortable to hold having a proper handle. Unlike my previous gaffer-tape bound English-style paring knives! When skiving with a Japanese paring knife, remember to use it bevel side down! I hope this helps someone. Scott

Thanks for your post Matt S. You're the unnamed forum member I mention in the thread I started entitled: Iron sulphate to colour leather black.

Thanks Doc Reaper for explaining how you make vinegaroon. I've had problems with dyeing too. It's proven costly, time consuming, and the results have been disappointing. Hence my interest in an alternative. You might be interested in the thread I started entitled: Iron sulphate to colour leather black. You can buy iron sulphate, also known as sulphate of iron, from a garden centre. Scott

Thanks TomE. That makes sense. Thanks also to jrdunn and chuck123wapati for your comments.

I've used a solution of water and iron sulphate to successfully colour natural veg tan leather. It does work. I presumed it did as a member of these forums said they use it instead of vinegaroon. The final colour is black with a hint of grey. If leather is immersed in a weaker solution or for a shorter duration the colour is grey with a hint of blue. I understand from the aforementioned forum member that unlike vinegaroon it's necessary after colouring leather in this way to wash it in water to remove weak sulphuric acid.

I'm having no success making vinegaroon. Whether I use steel wool or fine chips of steel after several days the metal doesn't seem to be dissolving in the distilled malt vinegar! What's going on? Thanks. Scott