Klara

Generally twice, but polyester thread three or four times.

Where in the world are you? How many horses are in your area? I'm assuming we are talking about English saddles, since you are talking about knee pads. The thing is that English saddle trees may be (depending on the material) rather fragile, so that buying second hand withou checking them out in person is a risk. The other thing is that saddles need to fit the horse, so ideally we try before we buy... That might explain why there's no demand for your saddles (or is there another reason why you are "unable to sell"?) Or they might be in such a sorry state that they are unuseable (you have cleaned them up, haven't you? Btw, why were they donated to you - instead of sold on Craigslist or E-bay?) I am also assuming that your primary motivation is to create revenue for the group. Then I would advise against finding a leatherworker (unless one is willing to donate his or her time for your cause) and even more against taking up leatherwork yourself, as tools and supplies are not cheap andyou probably don't want to invest a lot of money with uncertain outcome). I would try again to sell the saddles (for a really low price, if necessary). Either to horse people (you could announce that you are willing to come to the stable with a truck full of saddles - for fuel costs, of course), or to crafters for the leather, possibly to a saddlery school as teaching material, or as decoration.

Try putting the locking collar on the awl blade (on the blunt end), then force the blade into the jaws and then screw down the collar. I believe that's what I did when I had new, big blades and my grandmother's old haft. (Then the jaws came loose from the wood and I bought a Vergez Blanchard haft https://www.decocuir.com/manche-alene-mandrin-manche-747-vergez-blanchard-c2x17295710 which solved that problem. And created a new one because the haft is too big for my hand. But rasp and sandpaper took care of that)

Now that's an absolutely brilliant idea! I think I need to make another one!

It certainly looks like it on the JJ website, which is why I wrote that it doesn't make sense. Frankly, I believe it is a mistake by the person who wrote (or rather copied and pasted) the size guide. That said, at Decocuir they sell only 002 and 004 and then the x/0. Have a look - there is an English version (which I just can't see on a French system, so I can't link directly) - the page should answer some of your questions.

You are completely right, the sizing system makes no sense whatsoever (nor does the John James website). I simply bought needles in each size, put them into a needle case (video with link to pattern here ) so that two needles of each size are visible and I pick the pair that seems to go with the thread I want to use. And I generally pick the thread by colour (over the past year I've bought what made sense at the time) ... But you might find these guidelines helpful: https://www.decocuir.com/couture-cuir-fil-aiguille-choisir-guide-c1200x67488

Actually, the French way would be to start in the corner, so that the slit points to the inside of the item. https://www.decocuir.com/coudre-cuir-couture-point-sellier-c1200x67547 (hopefully you can see an English version, if not I'm sorry)

I have tried both ways, which is how I know that I enjoy awl work more. There's situations where it's vey helpful or even necessary to have pre-punched holes, but for me those are the exceptions. Btw., my living heroine is Jo from JH Leather... (the Stohlmans are the dead ones) It's getting OT now, but to me it looks like leatherworking is going (or has it arrived?) where knitting and woodworking have gone before: People who hardly know what they are doing are following an instructive pattern to produce something presentable as quickly as possible. Hardly anybody seems to want to learn the basics any more. I've always wondered whether that's because as adults we don't have a "good" way to dispose of our first, ugly attempts (as a child I dappled in pottery and produced ugly candleholders and sculptures - I gave them to my parents as Christmas presents and they put them in our display case).

I'd do (I did go) with Hags's advice: Decide what you want to make, find instructions for it on YouTube (oe elsewhere) and muddle through. If you want to handsew, Al Stohlman's book is the best, imho. It won't tell you what you are doing wrong, but the instructions are so precise (much more detailed than I have seen anywhere else) that you'll most probably be able to figure it out yourself.

Not sure whether to send you congratulations on recovering her or condolences on the state she's in, so I'll do both! Are you going to restore her?

Almost certainly true. But the thing is: I enjoy working this way, and not only because it's a lot more economical to work with an awl (and whatever cheap means of marking the stitches) than to hunt for the perfect set of stitching chisels. For me there's something very satisfying about using an awl. I've also found it faster. Yes, there's a learning curve, but I work for my pleasure, not for sale.

Perfectly possible, I guess it depends on the saddle makers idea of quality. After all, the machine-stitched one seems to have held as well, otherwise you would have told us.

OT I think it's a health and safety thing that proves that people nowadays are sorely lacking in common sense and decency. Nobody should need to be told to clean a rug that's disgusting before handing it over. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind a rug with a few hairs on it (cause it was dry when the horse tore it up its first wearing). @Catharina I looked up horse rugs on Padd and found that there's quite a good selection for about € 50. Do you think you can do the repairs cheaply enough to make it worth it? Or do people in your area have expensive rugs?

I would strongly suggest not to buy a lot (or anything) before you have found out what types of blankets are used around you (with which hardware) and might need repairing. And whether there is a market at all (my horse had one rug all his life which he hardly ever wore and I repaired it myself). I also have my doubts about seat belts: I cut some out of a car wreck and they are not just nylon webbing (at least those weren't): Inside it's almost like glass fibre. Very hard to cut, very difficult to sew. Not easy material to work with and not necessary for horse rugs. By all means, line up your suppliers (I second the recommendation of Pethardware, as far as I know they are the best for pet-related hardware with a nice selection of stainless steel buckles and snap hooks), but don't get carried away with ordering before you know exactly what you need. Paracord.eu is brilliant for roes and webbing, they sell by the meter and individual pieces of hardware. You know Decocuir? Leather, tools and hardware, but more aimed at light-weight things for humans. Btw, I have no idea what "binding" is exactly, but I had a quick look into our local Self Tissus today and thought their rubannerie looked quite promising.

For the basic, easy-to-make stitching pony that doesn't matter. Because the wingnut on the bolt will clamp the workpiece, as long as the jaws are parallel. https://www.instructables.com/Simple-and-Cheap-Stitching-Pony/ For a French saddler's clam it seems more important, but I looked at one in a shop with a wooden hinge - and there was as much play between the jaws as with my cheap metal hinges. I guess it's my thigh that holds things together. The thing is, people seem to get carried away with tool quality, wanting only the best. Imho, a stitching pony needs to hold your workpiece securely without damaging it and it needs to be comfortable to use. That's all. It needn't be pretty, it needn't be impressive. Unless of course, you want to make it so. Or if an ugly one will put you off leatherwork. I, when I made mine, wanted to make the perfect dog collar, not the perfect stitching pony...

That sounds to me more like a traditional English saddler's clam than a modern "everybody can make one" stitching pony. There's at least one video on YouTube on making one and plenty more on using them. As you can see, the jaws are not wide at all and I'm sure there's a good reason for it.

Mine (one for the chair, to sit on the base) does not rotate and I never thought I needed the feature. The jaws are probably 2 or 3 inches wide - I just used what wood I had. If the jaws are narrower, you just need to move the piece more often. If they are too long, working might become uncomfortable - I don't see myself bending over 20 cm jaws. What is more important is the space between the jaws, both the opening and the height. The more space, the bigger the item you can sew. I put in the bolt too high because I was only thinking about dog collars at the time. When I wanted to make biggish bags, I first made a French-style saddler's clam...

Are actual people writing these "ads" or are they cobbled together by cmputers? I mean, not only has it nothing to do with the topic of the thread, I can't really make sense of the text either... But again thanks for the link, @chuck123wapati , it led me to watching a few shocking videos on YouTube... And better understanding of the last years...

Can you contact the teacher to ask what exactly he/she means? Or, if there are tool vendors at the conference, just take from home what you have and buy there whatever else you really need.

NOT Leathercraft Tools It's excellent, I have it, but it's not primarily about carving. It's about all the tools you might need for leather work and how to sharpen them. So definitely a very useful book but not what you are asking for.

Yup, sorry! Happens if I watch/read too much in French... Today's language lesson: J'ai regardé le vidéo = I watched the video

I've just regarded this video and I admit I'd be disappointed if I had bought a wallet, took it apart some day (I can't imagine that ribbon holding up well) and found such an interior. But I wonder whether one couldn't use another liner and sew it down somehow? Guess I'll have to make a wallet some day just to try it... Of course, when I just had a closer look at my current wallet, it turned out that the pockets are in fabric, which just a thin strip of leather at the top...

I'm mostly with Matt S on this one: In my opinion leathercraft (or any craft) is mainly a question of technique, which is acquired by some knowledge and LOTS of practice. I don't think there can be any secrets about construction, not least because you can buy an item and reverse-engineer it. There's nothing secret about skiving, IMHO, it's just a balancing act between taking off too little, cutting holes in the leather, cutting holes in your finger, creating an uneven edge. But I figure after the first 10 miles of skived edges I should have worked out most of it, including how to keep my knife sharp... As I'm also with Spyros in that I have zero interest in making fine wallets, I certainly won't buy the book, sorry.

Probably fewer than you think because brass hardware is becoming rare. And the cheap crap will wear out before the leather or nylon around it. I've been saving hardware all my life, even plastic, but Khazan's headcollar went straight to the trash after his death, there was nothing worth saving. @tsunkasapa Beautiful collar and thanks for explaining the ring.

If you want to follow Stohlmann exactly, you need to buy unwaxed linen thread (so you can thin the end for threading the needle) - and a piece of wax. I have John James needles in all sizes as they are cheap where I live (and I make a wide variety of things). But when I started, I just filed off the points of two same-sized sewing needles I already had. (Embroidery needles come without a point but have the big eye as in your Tandy link.) Worked just as well... It might be the best thing to do for repairing the wallet because I suspect that the stitch holes are fairly small? In any case, using a smaller needle than you have in the machine won't do any harm, but you don't want to use a bigger one and widen the holes! Here is an overview of needles and threads and what to use them for https://www.decocuir.com/couture-cuir-fil-aiguille-choisir-guide-c1200x67488 - I only see it in French but someone once said there is an English version.