Klara
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Everything posted by Klara
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In France there's an organisation called Emmaüs (and smaller ones that operate aöong the same principles) where people can leave stuff that is still useable and the organisation fixes it up (or not, it varies) and sells it for little money. Amongst lots of other things (double-glazed window, furniture) I got a bike there (actually 2, but I haven't gotten around to fixing up the second) and can say that over here new tires and tubes cost less than a new cheapo bike. And the old ones run much better!
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Very probably, as everything would have been handmade before then. Or possibly it might be a mid-20th century term, from when really cheap mass-produced crap started to floof the Planet. Anybody remember the (old) film of the musical "The Fiddler on the Roof"? There the village tailor can finally buy a sewing machine and jumps with joy: "Now my clothes will be machine-made, now they will be perfect!"
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Great! The first Entlebucher toy I've ever seen! (Entlebucher is one of the 4 Swiss Mountain Breeds, short hair and sometimes short tail and fairly small)
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It certainly can be if one enjoys that kind of work. And there's nothing wrong with buying 20 lbs of leather scraps if one has the money and storage space. I'm just trying to point out that for "some wallets" 20 lbs might be overkill. Says the lady who bought D-Rings in packs of 50 in three colours to make a few dog collars... (in my defense, the 30 I'll need would have cost the same as 50)
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Where do you live? The way I see it, there's a lot more leather around than I once would have thought. Ideally you would find a local store where you could see and touch the leather before buying... Price per pound is not important, as you need pieces of a certain size to be able to make certain things. Springfield promise "pieces ranging from small and scrappy to pieces big enough to make handbags, approx. 2 sq. ft" - but they don't say how many pounds will be big and how many scrappy... (I still haven't used any of my surprise package of leather cords - what I have is always too thick, too thin, the wrong colour or too short...)
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Whether there's leather you like for your wallets in the box is a gamble. Maybe, maybe not, I couldn't begin to guess. BUT: How many wallets do you want to make? 20 lbs is a lot more than you need for "some". What had you planned to do with the rest? Also, chrome-tanned leather is not expensive, I think you should be able to find a more appropriate quantity for much less money (because shipping cost will be lower). (I've had a hard time learning this and still have not fully integrated it, but do as I say and not as I do: Buying materials just because it seems like a good buy and one day it might be useful for something is a slippery slope to clutter and chaos. Have at least a vague plan for what to do with things before ordering. Often enough the plans won't work out and you'll still get a nice stock of materials - knitters call it "sable", stash acquisition beyond life expectancy -, but the mess will accumulate slower.)
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Everybody I ever worked for in Germany and France (there the red wine was at one point included in the meal paid for by the company). @fredk How long did the 1000-Club stay in business? And how did they manage to get any customers? That's the sort of cheek that drives me crazy...
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I dare say people in France and Germany see it the same way. Since things are beginning to clear up, I'll throw another term into the discussion: Home made. Which for some reason is bad ("Make your work look hand made, not home made") - unless it's cooking or baking. Home made bread is a good thing (well...), a home-knitted sweater not so much... Given that quite a number of craftspeople and artists work from home, I assume that home-made is short for "know-nothing no-skills hobbyist made"?
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I believe I still don't understand your question: Ethics? If people talk to me they realize that my stuff is hand-made (because then I can explain that the wool comes from my sheep, that the only thing I don't do myself is the shearing, but I sort, wash, dye, card and spin the wool and then use this yarn for knitting or weaving the final product which I've designed myself.) If people just look they may not realize things are hand-made because they "look too good". Though in most markets (not the big Christmas one, sadly) I'm sitting at my spinning wheel and working while waiting for customers, that helps.
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My customer can buy or not buy, they cannot tell me how to do my work. Incidentally, my labels state the fibre composition and handspun/handknitted/handwoven, whatever applies... I've just thought of Peter Collingwood, world-famous English weaver, who hated the whole handmade hype and in an interview said something like: "Of course it's handwoven, I'm not working with my feet!"
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Actually, what "handmade" conjures in my mind is that the item has been made by one person. Who possibly used a machine at some point... I'm a member of an Artisan's Association (as a dyer, spinner, weaver and knitter - and yes, I do have my own flock of sheep) - we all sell hand-made products, but I use a drum carder and spinning wheel, the tailor a sewing machine, quite possibly also the guy who makes handbags from chrome-tanned leathers, certainly the lady who makes bags from fabric and recycled leather garments. The common point is that we start with raw materials (not kits!) and use our skill to make something from them. Also it is our decision what to make and how to make it. That's not the dictionary definition, but it's what I think when I read hand-made. Unless I go to IKEA and see a ceiling-high stack of "hand-made" baskets. Then I'm thinking of exploited workers in some faraway country getting paid pennies for a day's work... (though there's still a good chance that one basket was made by one worker)
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Obviously I'm not Ken, but I have a lot of experience riding horses not my own and generally they have a saddle. If I find it uncomfortable that's just too bad...
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Thanks for the info! I was struck by how well my first Vörda knife cut when new (I admit I find them hard to sharpen and am not as diligent as I should be) - I picked it up for 5 € in the returns section. The regular price isn't much higher...
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Out of curiosity: What makes a straight-bladed bread knife a bread knife instead of just another kitchen knife? This afternoon I attacked mine with a dowel rod, sandpaper and honing compound, but I couldn't say whether it's now better than it was. But I discovered that IKEA does identify the steel: X50CrMoV15. Whatever that means...
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The diameter of steel I have is bigger than the diameter of the teeth. My bread knife doesn't have one edge but many - in a book on kitchen knives I've read that bread knives are probably not worth sharpening, one should buy a new one when they no longer cut at all. They do saw pretty well for a pretty well for a pretty long time, after all. But I was struck how well my new knife cut, and I believe it has lost that edge (pun intended. Interesting how many everyday expressions are knife-related, isn't it? )
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Completely OT but not worth a thread of its own: All this talk about steel and sharpening makes me wonder whether I should try to strop my bread knife. A dowel rod a bit smaller than a tooth, some leather stuck to it, honing compound - could work, couldn't it?
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Thanks for this link, I see they have blades with different shapes Now I'm tempted... Pity that the UK isn't in the EU any more...
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Makes sense. As I don't sharpen knives for woodworking I can spend the time on leather knives Regarding the chicken: I figured cutting the belly open to take out the innards would be similar to what a surgeon does and a craftknife was as close to a scalpel as I could get at the time (with dial-up internet, Amazon selling books and Aliexpress not yet in existence). Well, it was an idea and I still have all my fingers. And a hand-forged, small, pointy knife made by my friend, which I bought soon after. By the way, would scalpels work for leather? Could I scrounge used ones from the vet? Something to find out...
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While I either agree with most of what you write, @Spyros or don't have an opinion (never used wool daubers yet), I feel differently about the knives. For me, knife sharpening is one of life's essential skills, not just for leatherworking. (After nearly cutting off my thumb with a blunt (!) kitchen knife while butchering a chicken, I tried using an Xacto for cutting them open. It's not the right tool for the job.) And I just love a rounded blade... In theory I would consider knives one of the items worth spending money on, but I still bought a cheap head knife to hone my sharpening skills... (pun intended)
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Can you tell us who makes leather tools out of 20CV or M390? Thanks!
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In one way it makes sense. In another not, because I figured that practically all industrial processes are now computer-controlled which should have made them a lot more repeatable... I wonder whether the difference is not that once upon a time there were people in quality control who took pride in their work and their company's name. People whose jobs have been cut in the last decades... And especially in leather tools the market nowadays consists of a huge amount of newcomers who don't know the difference and will buy anything. Preferably for the least amount of money possible...
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Are there even any round knives on the market where the exact kind of steel is known? I've been thinking whether I should ask my knife-making friend to make me one - or book a workshop to make one with his instruction - but I'd get two new Osbornes for the price, with a more certain outcome...
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It's a question of taste. I find low-carbon blades much easier to maintain than stainless steel.
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Wow, that is amazing! Great job!
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By the way, as I was working with chrome-tanned leather which doesn't mark well with wing dividers I drew my stitching line with a pen (special leather marker) and ruler (and a bit freehand in the curves), and it might be my best line yet... Meaning that you could even skip the wing dividers/groover for the moment if your budget is tight.