NDphung Report post Posted February 23 7 hours ago, DieselTech said: Yeah everybody I've talked to, says they love their KSBlade chisels & pricking irons. Stupid priced thou for a full set. Lmao what ain't expensive anymore. Even McDonald's! Everybody I've spoke to, thinks the KSBlade chisels really refined their stitch work. If you have access to Instagram, there is an australian leatherworker: carswell_leather , who is not a big fan of KS Blade. He posted on June 23, 2021 a small video where he shows the pricking irons he has and used. He has Kevin Lee, KS Blade, Amy Roke, Wuta and 4Z. He prefers Amy Roke over the KS Blade. Because the thick body above the teeth (similar to Sinabroks, offshoot of KS Blade both Korean) blocks the view of the teeth from above. I also saw a video where the thick body that protrudes from the handle above the teeth bumps against the round body of a briefcase handle when he tries to prick the leather under the handle. I think it all comes down to personal preference. You need to carefully match your need and aspiration (what you plan to do) to your constraint (KS, Amy Roke ain't cheap). The list of Pricking Irons I looked at is Huge: KS Blade, Sinabroks, Amy Roke, Kevin Lee, Crimson Hide, JunLin, Pro Atelier Plus, Rocky Mountain Leather, ZJ Handiworks, Jayme, Beagle, Doldokki etc. It is very hard to choose. I personally have a set of Junlin/Leatherworkschool Collaboration and Rocky Mountain leather. Mainly for their price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJole Report post Posted February 23 16 hours ago, DieselTech said: This is what I think is funny. These are all budget diamond stitching chisels. All 4mm spacing or so they say on them. All saddle stitched with a right hand cast over & .55mm poly-braid thread. Look at how they all appear. The tandy 4mm stitching chisels have a huge spacing difference compared to the other 2 brands. Is the difference in the measurement? I seem to recall that the Japanese makers (and perhaps Korean and Chinese) measure the distance from prong tip to prong tip, whereas others (Tandy, maybe?) measures the distance from the sides of the prong to the adjacent prong. I may be misremembering this. 16 hours ago, DieselTech said: This is what I think is funny. These are all budget diamond stitching chisels. All 4mm spacing or so they say on them. All saddle stitched with a right hand cast over & .55mm poly-braid thread. Look at how they all appear. The tandy 4mm stitching chisels have a huge spacing difference compared to the other 2 brands. Is the difference in the measurement? I seem to recall that the Japanese makers (and perhaps Korean and Chinese) measure the distance from prong tip to prong tip, whereas others (Tandy, maybe?) measures the distance from the sides of the prong to the adjacent prong. I may be misremembering this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparctek Report post Posted February 23 10 hours ago, NDphung said: If you have access to Instagram, there is an australian leatherworker: carswell_leather , who is not a big fan of KS Blade. He posted on June 23, 2021 a small video where he shows the pricking irons he has and used. He has Kevin Lee, KS Blade, Amy Roke, Wuta and 4Z. He prefers Amy Roke over the KS Blade. Because the thick body above the teeth (similar to Sinabroks, offshoot of KS Blade both Korean) blocks the view of the teeth from above. I also saw a video where the thick body that protrudes from the handle above the teeth bumps against the round body of a briefcase handle when he tries to prick the leather under the handle. I think it all comes down to personal preference. You need to carefully match your need and aspiration (what you plan to do) to your constraint (KS, Amy Roke ain't cheap). The list of Pricking Irons I looked at is Huge: KS Blade, Sinabroks, Amy Roke, Kevin Lee, Crimson Hide, JunLin, Pro Atelier Plus, Rocky Mountain Leather, ZJ Handiworks, Jayme, Beagle, Doldokki etc. It is very hard to choose. I personally have a set of Junlin/Leatherworkschool Collaboration and Rocky Mountain leather. Mainly for their price. I agree with the list of Irons being huge. I started using the Tandy ones, but once I decided leather working was going to be a hobby I stuck with I started looking for upgrades. It took a long time and a lot of you tube video watching to finally settle on something. I chose the Pro Atelier Plus pricking hollow irons. They are nice and sharp out of the box, you can get a lot different tooth configurations and even chose to buy a set. They are good quality and I have punched all the way through about 5mm worth of leather to test how well they do. I have no complains on them so far, after about a year and half or so of use. I am looking at this hobby as something that will keep me busy when/If I retire, so I am saving up while I can to buy tools so I don't have to once I do retire. I recommend taking a look at these if you chose to go that route... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mablung Report post Posted February 23 (edited) 22 hours ago, tsunkasapa said: Yes, that is important, but the geometry of your awl will affect that as well. If one (or more) of the 4 planes on your is off from the rest it will cause your awl to not want to travel straight through. I hope I explained that clearly, I don't do diagrams on a computer. Good point. I think one of the planes is off on mine--but I also know technique played a huge role in the janky-looking stitching. It is all over the place. Edited February 23 by Mablung Double-posted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUP Report post Posted February 23 This is probably already known. To digress a little to the stitching., I discovered yesterday that when I do the S-pattern of threading, presuming I am doing it correctly, I can unknot the thread - just slip my fingers in between the 2 threads forming the S- formation and separate them. So I can remove the thread from the needle smoothly without needing to cut it, whenever I reach the end of the length of thread. So there is no real knot, it is just the thread twisted to prevent it from coming off the needle. It appears that while an ordinary knot is uncontrolled tangling, the S-method is a controlled one. The controlled tangle can easily be untangled. I'm not sure if I make sense but I'm so pleased. Even if I am doing the S-thingy incorrectly, it is correct for me. This is so convenient! I no longer have to cut the thread each time I make a mistake and end up with different lengths on ether side of the leather when saddle-stitching. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselTech Report post Posted February 23 (edited) 12 minutes ago, SUP said: This is probably already known. To digress a little to the stitching., I discovered yesterday that when I do the S-pattern of threading, presuming I am doing it correctly, I can unknot the thread - just slip my fingers in between the 2 threads forming the S- formation and separate them. So I can remove the thread from the needle smoothly without needing to cut it, whenever I reach the end of the length of thread. So there is no real knot, it is just the thread twisted to prevent it from coming off the needle. It appears that while an ordinary knot is uncontrolled tangling, the S-method is a controlled one. The controlled tangle can easily be untangled. I'm not sure if I make sense but I'm so pleased. Even if I am doing the S-thingy incorrectly, it is correct for me. This is so convenient! I no longer have to cut the thread each time I make a mistake and end up with different lengths on ether side of the leather when saddle-stitching. Nope that's correct. That's the beauty of the "S" style threading of the needle. You can release your needle by just grabbing the short tail of the thread in the loop & give it a pull & it will release the needle. You can also put your needle back on if need be. Or adjust the length of 1 side of the thread. If 1 side gets longer or shorter for some reason. Edited February 23 by DieselTech Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUP Report post Posted February 23 @DieselTech that's the best part then, even more than not causing a knotty problem when stitching! Thank you for showing it to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselTech Report post Posted February 23 14 minutes ago, SUP said: @DieselTech that's the best part then, even more than not causing a knotty problem when stitching! Thank you for showing it to me. Here is something else I recommend. If you happen to run across it in your journeys. It's got a bunch of different methods. For hand sewing about anything. It's a good book with lots of visual aids. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUP Report post Posted February 23 @DieselTech thanks. I'll look it up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselTech Report post Posted February 23 8 minutes ago, SUP said: @DieselTech thanks. I'll look it up. Welcome welcome!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
