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I am thinking of buying the 440C steel Master Tools Deluxe Round Knife from Weaver. Does anyone have or used this knife? Are they any good? Did the knife come ready to use or need extensive sharpening? I am also looking to buy a Master Tools French Edger. Are they any good? Do they come ready to use? Is the cutting bevel on the bottom or in the top channel (like the cheap ones from Tandy)? Thanks for your help.

I've been lurking for a month or two now, and have had the realization that buying a sewing machine for leather is... complicated. Right now I hand stitch wallets, bags, backpacks, purses. I am just a hobbyist and make them for friends and family. I might eventually sell on etsy or something once I get good enough. When it comes to machines, I am a complete beginner. I've been using mostly 7-9oz leather and carriage hand sewing thread and size 0 medium harness needles. I'm planning to continue working at more or less that thickness of leather, and am looking for a machine that can do between 2 and 4 layers-- so, I think that is probably up to about 1/2". I'm not particularly attached to the thread size or needle size, that is just what I happen to be using at the moment. I've been looking at a couple machines in my area on Craigslist, and the options seem to be a Juki DNU 1541S, an Adler 67 GK373, a Techsew 2700, a Consew 226R1, a Juki 1541S, or a Singer 111W155. Do any of these look like they would do what I'm looking for? Do any seem like a good deal? In absence of a yes to any of the above, does anyone know of a good sewing machine shop, or a dealer that knows things about leather, within reasonable distance of the Gainesville FL area?

Anybody like being referred when I can't get there? Got a message today about a rig I can't get round to. Responded that I will refer him if he would like. Not giving out his information, but if you are interested I'll give him yours. He wants ...: for 92fs Compact

Hello, I really need some sewing machine help and would greatly appreciate it. I've already bought 2 machines that don't work for this purpose: I am having a problem figuring out a good machine and/or foot for a certain problem I am having. For example, when doing a 30mm padded reversible calfskin dress belt where the calfskin is roughly 2 oz each side of the belt and a thicker, but slightly narrower piece of leather for the lining. If the belt is 30mm wide, I'd say the lining is about 18mm and 5-6 oz leather, so there's roughly 6mm wide to walk and stitch on each side. On the only true walking foot machine I have currently (Cowboy CB3200 Juki 441 heavy duty unison feed clone), the stitch is too close to the edge of the belt to use both feet, so I use the left presser foot and the roller attachment on the right side with a max of 138 thread. The problem is, when the left toe presses down, the leather layers, even though they have been glued, shift enough to twist, then when the center foot pushes down on what I'm calling the stitching channel, the leather moves something terrible. So, I figured the machine was just too heavy duty, so I bought a mint condition Singer 15-91 per someone's recommendation. It came with a plastic flat foot with a roller built in horizontally. That worked fine for completely flat projects, but for example for these padded belts, I don't have enough clearance to get it on the stitch line. So, I put a narrow zipper foot on it, which works surprisingly ok...but it doesn't always feed the top layer well and I've ruined a lot of time-consuming projects because of that. Also, the Singer lacks the slow speed crawling capability that I am used to and love with the Cowboy with gear reducer. The 15-91 only seems to like to run fast with leather, so I made a guide with magnets, and that's what I've been making due with until I find the right machine. Now that this has become full-time for me, I want to invest in a nice machine. I was looking at the Pfaff 335 and the Juki LU-1508NS. I know they are different style machines, but those are the ones that caught my eye. The local industrial sewing machine store, Stadham, carries Juki, and I like to buy local, so unless you all recommend a different machine for my purpose, Juki and Pfaff are my preferences, but by no means only options. I want to be able to run up to a 138 thread. I don't always use that thick of thread, but I want the capability. Besides belts, I run into a similar problem with leather billfolds. I use full leather card slots I split to roughly 1.5oz each, and cut the hidden slot pieces narrower than the outer edges and skive to reduce bulk, except for the tab at the top of each layer, to minimize the look of the bulk so that the edges of the wallet sewn are the back of the billfold the lining, the tabs of each credit card slot (usually 3), and the bottom credit card slot. So again, the stitch channel is very narrow, and I'm right next to much thicker leather. The repair guy at the shop who has been doing it for 50 years ground a single right toe foot down on a Juki 1541, with the idea if he raised how high it walks, it would serve as an edge guide (off the leather), and the center foot with the needle would feed. This didn't work. Someone else suggested getting a big old Singer straight stitch machine (forgot the model) and using either a roller wheel on the left and adjust it to the height of the leather it is sitting on to feed, with just the needle in the much shorter/narrower stitch channel/line. I know if I leave room to cut after I stitch it would be easier, but honestly I have so much invested in clicker dies and templates that I really would rather get a machine that would do it. Bob at Toledo is making me some sort of foot to try on the Juki 1508 that walks one foot in front of the other as he described it. I've never seen one, so I don't know anything else. If that works, I'll get the Juki, but if there's some answer to my problem you can think of, especially if it could be solved with my current machines, I'd appreciate any assistance.

A few days ago I was admiring (lusting over) Nigel Armstrong’s vintage dividers he uses in his sewing videos and I resolved to upgrade my crappy pair, but not for vintage or Osborne prices — $20 bucks was my budget. Right off I found the pair on the left (Shinwa 6” Dividers - $15) — high quality, Japanese Company, low cost. Perfect! EXCEPT where’s the adjusting/setting assembly? How do you keep them stable? Long research story short, the deciding factor was “It’s-Just-$15-Bucks-Ya-Idiot!” Glad I did. Adjusting/setting is not a problem with these guys — they do not move AT ALL after you spread them. I’m also glad I opted for the smaller 6” model — fits and feels just right in the hand. I scribed a few practice lines and circles — very stable. Extremely sharp points ( I might dull these a bit). The ones on the right? $7 Springfield specials. Not picking on Springfield per se but man those are some crappy dividers. Thin gauge, wobbly project killers is what they really are (now safely stored in the garbage bin and trash day is tomorrow! ). So, there ya go. A real bargain at $15 (free ship to boot). I won’t bother with a link ( it’ll be broken in a month). Just search Shinwa dividers. Amazon and eBay both have them for about the same price.