Joseph Dixon and Bob Douglass Tools

[Tiffany]

I just bought a couple of Joseph Dixon tools...a single creaser and a pricking iron.

The iron makes hand-stitching a LOT easier. My Bob Douglass awl is magic compared

to the Tandy crap.

I'm extremely impressed with the quality. You really do get what you pay for.

Edited February 16, 2008 by Tiffany

[bruce johnson]

Tiffany,

Right about that. Every time I talk to Bob, I come away smarter about new and old tools, and how to take care of them. When you get ready to upgrade edgers, Bob makes some dandy Bisonette edgers. My wife likes them a lot. I prefer another style, but use hers on occasion (especially when she is not looking).

[barra]

Tiffany. Most of my tools are either old Josepth Dixon and some are Thomas Dixon. You have made a good choice. What size pricking iron?

There are a couple of tricks with pricking irons. If pricking long lengths of strapping you make your second and subsequent impressions by placing the 1st and 2nd teeth of the iron in the 2nd to last and last impression from the previous strike. Also when going around curves, the iron is sort of walked like when you use a stamping tool. Tip the pricking iron up so that only a few teeth make impression around the curve.

I learned under an old English saddler and harness maker and he had all pricking irons. I then bought my dixon tools off a retiring saddler (94 yrs old and he lived to 106). He had all pricking wheels which took some getting used to.

Single creasers are also known by the term tickler which I always thought a tad funny until I heard how the term came about and it made sense. Now as with most things there are probably more than one version of how something came about but this is the one I heard.

A single creaser/tickler is used to mark leather. When a teacher marks a students work, they usually place a tick next to the correct responses. Ticking is an old term for marking. hence a tick(ler) is a marker.

Barra

Edited February 16, 2008 by barra

[D.A. Kabatoff]

Hi Tiffany,

if you like the idea of using a pricking iron, look at the ones made by Vegez Blanchard. They are difficult to find and quite expensive but the quality is infinitly better than the modern Dixon version. Seigels of California sells both Dixon and Vergez and when you see them side by side you'll understand what I mean. They are available in a number of different stitches per inch as well as from 3 - 12 prongs.

Darc