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  • CFM
Posted
16 hours ago, Gosut said:

.This Bowie isn't the D guard. The shape of the blade is a clip point, but with the increase in the width of the blade at the start of the clip. The D guard Bowies had the straight blades (I thought this one did when I bought it online), but I suspect that the cheap one I was thinking of getting is just the same blade as the one I have now, but with a different handle. After I start this project, it may be best not to have the expense of another Bowie, anyway (even if it is inexpensive).

i got one of those humpbacked bowie blades from a friend one time, i took my Dremel tool, all i had at the time,  and cut the hump off and made it a drop point.  with your humpback bowie your sheath can be made the same way  as  a straight blade it will just have to be wider to fit.

Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms.

“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!

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Posted
1 hour ago, tsunkasapa said:

A waste of money. 

Then please post waxed thread, needles and a awl cheaper

 

13 hours ago, Klara said:

Nope, absolutely not. You don't three different threads, just one coulour that goes with your leather and diameter that goes with your needle. The set contains only a scratch awl (if it is one?), no two identical needles, and what's the ring for? 

 

 

.Then tell us whats better, tell me what you would get that's better.

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  • CFM
Posted

Still useless, the SCRATCH awl will not work for stitching.

Tandy 4-IN-1 Awl Haft & Blades #3209-00 98834320401 | eBay 

Cheaper? No. USABLE? Yes.

C.S. Osborne Shoe Awl Haft #144 Made In USA 96685122229 | eBay

Spending money on useless tools is NOT cheap.

Hoka Hey! Today, tomorrow, next week, what does it matter?

  • Contributing Member
Posted

Both 'scratch' awls work fine. I have several of both and they do work well for poking holes in leather up to about 3mm thick. I have several as 1. I have them left over from teaching kit 2. I have numerous work benches and a couple of transportable work kits in which I keep them 

Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..

  • Members
Posted

As Tsunkapasa says. 

The first thing I look for in a kit is stitching chisels. And when I do that, I discover that there are very few, if any, useable "complete" kits left. Nothing on Ebay,  on Amazon I found this. There's 4 stitching chisels and a groover/edge beveler multi tool. @Gosut you might be better off buying separately just a chisel set, a decent edge beveler and use a compass you already have.

Not the cheapest version,  but the most fun, is to find an actual brick and mortar store with knowledgeable sales staff, where you can compare different tools. Choices over which I've agonized in front of the PC have become very easy touching the tools. But be warned, unless you are good at sticking to shopping lists, that can get very expensive (I can't help it,  Deco Cuir have leather in the shop that's not on the website...)

Saddlers needles (John James) are ridiculously cheap - I've bought all sizes. Thread is astonishingly expensive, but I am convinced that the stuff in the cheap kits is not good quality. And you really, really don't want to work with bad thread! A piece of beeswax costs little and you can use it for the thread (if you buy unwaxed, which has the advantage that you can thin it out for easier threading) and the edges of the leather.

Regarding the awl: You can pay a fortune and get one that's ready to use (the sales lady let me try a Barry King when I said I didn't understand the price difference to "normal" awls. Now I do.) or you can learn to sharpen awl blades, which is the better long-term solution. 

You'll probably also want to make a leather strop (meaning you need to buy the polishing compound. I only use the green.) - it makes a huge difference in knife and awl sharpness. I'm assuming that you already have a sharpening stone for all your other knives...

 

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Posted
19 hours ago, Klara said:

As Tsunkapasa says. 

The first thing I look for in a kit is stitching chisels. And when I do that, I discover that there are very few, if any, useable "complete" kits left. Nothing on Ebay,  on Amazon I found this. There's 4 stitching chisels and a groover/edge beveler multi tool. @Gosut you might be better off buying separately just a chisel set, a decent edge beveler and use a compass you already have.

Not the cheapest version,  but the most fun, is to find an actual brick and mortar store with knowledgeable sales staff, where you can compare different tools. Choices over which I've agonized in front of the PC have become very easy touching the tools. But be warned, unless you are good at sticking to shopping lists, that can get very expensive (I can't help it,  Deco Cuir have leather in the shop that's not on the website...)

Saddlers needles (John James) are ridiculously cheap - I've bought all sizes. Thread is astonishingly expensive, but I am convinced that the stuff in the cheap kits is not good quality. And you really, really don't want to work with bad thread! A piece of beeswax costs little and you can use it for the thread (if you buy unwaxed, which has the advantage that you can thin it out for easier threading) and the edges of the leather.

Regarding the awl: You can pay a fortune and get one that's ready to use (the sales lady let me try a Barry King when I said I didn't understand the price difference to "normal" awls. Now I do.) or you can learn to sharpen awl blades, which is the better long-term solution. 

You'll probably also want to make a leather strop (meaning you need to buy the polishing compound. I only use the green.) - it makes a huge difference in knife and awl sharpness. I'm assuming that you already have a sharpening stone for all your other knives...

 

Did you bother reading the name of this post or anything about it " Minimal Tools Needed for Knife Sheath"?

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Posted

Yes. And the minimal tools are:

  • 2 (nearly) identical saddlers needles (neeles with a blunt tip and a fairly small eye that is almost the same size as the shaft. Made from good-quality steel so it doesn't break) - not an assortment of tapestry and mattress needles as in your links.
  • A stitching awl. Meaning an awl that smoothly cuts through pretty thick leather. A round awl - scratch awl  - is useful but not essential. 
  • Something to mark the stitches at equal distances: A fork, stitching chisels or a stitching wheel. 
  • Something to mark the stitching line an even distance from the leather's edge - a groover or compass.

(Of course you can also eyeball the stiches, but marking them makes things a lot easier and gives a better result.)

  • For stitching fluently a stitching pony (or saddler's clam) is extremely helpful, I consider it essential. 
  • A rag to burnish the edges and rub the thread, if you wax it yourself (and feel like polishing it. I've never...)

The minimal materials are, in my opinion:

  • Leather suitable for the project 
  • One spool of good-quality thread that goes with the leather and your needles. Not an assortment of dubious-quality stuff as in your links.
  • A piece of beeswax to wax the thread (unless you buy it waxed) and for burnishing the edges.
  • Glue makes leatherwork easier, but for example Jo from JH Leather works mostly without it (then she uses tacks).

Personally, I consider sharpening equipment for maintaining my cutting tools essential as well  - it allows me to spend less on them (only the most expensive ones cut right out of the box) and to enjoy them longer. And of course it also works for kitchen and pocket knives.

This is not a long list (if you want to see a long list, read Nigel Armitage's first book), but the tool kits you linked just don't cover it. Why are you so invested in them? Are you the seller?

 

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