Little bracelet

[Stetson912]

I decided to try more serious leather braiding before tackling rawhide. It was a challenge for sure. Next ill attempt to cut my own lace. The dark brown is kangaroo, the light is some old junk tandy lace that snaps if you look at it wrong, but I wanted the 2 tone. 

Its a simple 4 round braid for the core, a gaucho covered terminal button knot, a sliding ring knot on the loop end to tighten the loop, another ring knot under the button to hide stuff (shhhh!) And I tied the long multistrand gaucho over some foundation knots in the manner you would tie a bosal nose button.

[bruce johnson]

That looks good! Only thing I see is beveling the lace will help it to lay flatter and smooth up nicer. I deal with several braiders and sometimes we end up with trades going against splitters and string cutter/bevelers. My wife has a choice of several braided bracelets from kangaroo, cow rawhide, and horse rawhide.

[alfredleatherworks]

Great job with the braiding!

I’m still learning to braid, and it’s way more fun than I thought it would be. I definitely need to buy a good lace cutting tool, I’m eyeballing the Hansen string cutter. 

[Stetson912]

18 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

That looks good! Only thing I see is beveling the lace will help it to lay flatter and smooth up nicer. I deal with several braiders and sometimes we end up with trades going against splitters and string cutter/bevelers. My wife has a choice of several braided bracelets from kangaroo, cow rawhide, and horse rawhide.

Thanks, yeah I tried beveling by hand and i dont have the skill for that haha. Ill end up making one at some point. I do have a cheap heritage splitter for splitting eventually. Rawhide is another beast. I thought it might be good to see if I can get leather to work before wasting rawhide haha. If I disnt live in an hoa, I would even try making my own rawhide. Alas, ill have to try the chahin or maybe randy roberts at some point.

 

18 hours ago, alfredleatherworks said:

Great job with the braiding!

I’m still learning to braid, and it’s way more fun than I thought it would be. I definitely need to buy a good lace cutting tool, I’m eyeballing the Hansen string cutter. 

Thanks, I havent heard of that one, ill have to check it out. Most of the string sizes and bevelers are out of my budget. Nice tools, but pricy. There is or was a guy (randy roberts?) Who makes rawhide and makes a few lacing tools also.

[alfredleatherworks]

6 hours ago, Stetson912 said:

Thanks, I havent heard of that one, ill have to check it out. Most of the string sizes and bevelers are out of my budget. Nice tools, but pricy. There is or was a guy (randy roberts?) Who makes rawhide and makes a few lacing tools also.

The Hansen String Cutter is $495 plus shipping, so it’s not cheap and is on my wishlist and not something I’m buying tomorrow, lol. I like it’s design though. It’s simple, but effective. I’ve seen YouTube videos of this and other string cutters, and while they all seem pretty good I just like this one for some reason.

The Lace Master is an expensive ($700+) tool that seems popular, but with the Hansen being about couple hundred dollars cheaper and equally effective I’d rather save the $200+. 

Panhandle Leather sells the Randy Roberts lace cutting tool, but it too is $600. 

There is also the Bryan Neubert rawhide string cutter, which is currently backordered and sells for $450 plus $15 shipping. He also sells another version of the tool for $275 plus $15 shipping, which seems to be a simpler version? I’m not certain as the photos of the two tools seem the same, lol.

There’s a simple set of tools from Y-Knot Lace that range between $250 and $475 plus shipping.

I’ve seen people on YouTube using 3D printed string cutters that work by pulling the string towards you and the little device cuts a consistent width string as it moves around the perimeter of the leather, but I can’t seem to find a 3D print file anywhere for them. I did find a shop in the UK selling their physical product for this, but not the print file. Worth looking into though.

[bruce johnson]

24 minutes ago, alfredleatherworks said:

The Hansen String Cutter is $495 plus shipping, so it’s not cheap and is on my wishlist and not something I’m buying tomorrow, lol. I like it’s design though. It’s simple, but effective. I’ve seen YouTube videos of this and other string cutters, and while they all seem pretty good I just like this one for some reason.

The Lace Master is an expensive ($700+) tool that seems popular, but with the Hansen being about couple hundred dollars cheaper and equally effective I’d rather save the $200+. 

Panhandle Leather sells the Randy Roberts lace cutting tool, but it too is $600. 

There is also the Bryan Neubert rawhide string cutter, which is currently backordered and sells for $450 plus $15 shipping. He also sells another version of the tool for $275 plus $15 shipping, which seems to be a simpler version? I’m not certain as the photos of the two tools seem the same, lol.

There’s a simple set of tools from Y-Knot Lace that range between $250 and $475 plus shipping.

I’ve seen people on YouTube using 3D printed string cutters that work by pulling the string towards you and the little device cuts a consistent width string as it moves around the perimeter of the leather, but I can’t seem to find a 3D print file anywhere for them. I did find a shop in the UK selling their physical product for this, but not the print file. Worth looking into though.

There are few more, some that I sell currently and pretty much have had all the ones you listed through here. The newer Hansen's can be good or sometimes have a bit of a lip at the joins in the bar as it is tightened. I personally never had that problem with any of the originals (albeit only maybe 3) and have machined down two of four later versions (made after his death) to smooth the joins. The splitter is a little funky with adjustments and blade position vs top of the eccentric roller. Most rawhiders make it work - kangaroo and latigo braiders can have issues. 
LaceMaster also has the Vaquero cutter and beveler besides the LaceMaster. It will cut and bevel. Several rawhide braiders prefer this one and priced around $400. Good choice for people who already have a splitter. The LaceMaster has a splitter notch. Some like the LaceMaster for kangaroo and latigo and the Vaquero for rawhide. I have sold to folks that can get the job done with either one. I sell a fair amount of LaceMasters and just ordered more today. 
Y-Knot lace - I sell more of the Combination bevelers than others. $250 - cuts, bevels at two angles, and precise thumb wheel width adjustment. Good if you already have a splitter. I sell quite a few of the Y-Knot hand held splitters too. Interesting demographics with the splitter. About a third goes to braiders, 2/3 to guys who work on baseball gloves. Until a couple years ago, I did not realize just how many of those baseball glove folks there are! I sell a fair amount of the Y-KNot carpet blade bevelers and had been a user since the first version when Jim Downey had the business. It replaced a razor blade and board setup I used previously that had some inherent dangers made obvious by reaching over it one morning. 
Neubert - Seems to be on backorder perenially. I have had two through here. I want to like them but it bevels off the top of the string with the blade facing the fence. The fence limits how narrow a string you can do. That is my only minor issue. 
Brett Haskett in Idaho makes a few braiders tools - a couple string cutter versions and a splitter blade attachment for replaceable blades. His wife processes string and what they don't need for upcoming projects they sell. He usually makes small runs on his tools so contacting him and getting on the list is best. 
I have not had one of Randy Roberts but I heard it is similar to one the late Len Yule made as well. Some people really like it. Randy processes a bunch of rawhide. I haven't seen him for a couple years but good guy to BS with. 

Second hand ones - out there to watch for -

Joe Benner had a version similar to the Neubert but with a rotating base to work on the bench or over the edge. It had a thumbwheel precise adjustment and beveled with the blade facing away from the fence so tiny narrow strings could be worked. I traded my own back to Joe when he couldn't find a machinist for another run of them.  If anybody has one, I am a buyer.
Wayne Jueschke made one similar to the LaceMaster that included two bars and a hold down for the string feeding in. I liked them and sold them too but the cost of materials  and age forced him to stop making those a little over a year ago. I still get calls for them. 
Hobby Hog (or something like that) makes one similar to the others with bars and notching but not very common and less "beefy". 
Gail Hought - clamped on the edge of a bench and similar big diameter shaft like the Hansen without a splitter. Early versions had a steel bar, later versions were delrin. Work nicely. I did bunches of saddle strings on one and when I got tired of hand beveling reins and latigos I knocked the corners off with the Hought.

[Stetson912]

@bruce johnson thanks for the plethora of information! It will be an investment if ever im more serious with braiding. Lot of good oprions out there

@alfredleatherworks ive seen some 3d printed ones but also no files. Seems like a cheap easy way to go. Id be curious to see if they worked well

[bruce johnson]

20 minutes ago, Stetson912 said:

@bruce johnson thanks for the plethora of information! It will be an investment if ever im more serious with braiding. Lot of good oprions out there

@alfredleatherworks ive seen some 3d printed ones but also no files. Seems like a cheap easy way to go. Id be curious to see if they worked well

Actually some of the printed ring type cutters have an interesting origin. i think they were a South American thing first. The rings were cut from hollow cow horns to begin with. Some guys then used PVC pipe rings. Now it takes a computer and filament!

There are a few Australian lace and string tools too - one version was the Dene??? that used to be sold in the US out of Washington I think. Then there is the tried and true Aussie strander too.  

[Stetson912]

@bruce johnson I have an aussie strander, its good for leather and maybe thinner rawhide, i also have a draw gauge i gor from you i can chuck a razor into for rawhide. Ill probably end up making the board and blade type beveler and cutter to get by. 

I've seen the donut stranders used in Argentina a lot. Im sure they are broader than that, but they do look interesting. I like watching it whip around the hide as they cut a long strand 

[alfredleatherworks]

15 hours ago, Stetson912 said:

@alfredleatherworks ive seen some 3d printed ones but also no files. Seems like a cheap easy way to go. Id be curious to see if they worked well

I have a Creality Ender 3 Pro that I love working with for making stuff in my shop. Quite the learning curve, but fun once you get into it.

17 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

...The newer Hansen's can be good or sometimes have a bit of a lip at the joins in the bar as it is tightened...

I didn’t know he had died, or that there was an old vs new version (or that the new version isn’t as good as the original). Given I’ve been quite interested in the Hansen, this is all good stuff to know. I follow Scott Gore and I believe he uses a Hansen or similar style string cutter with a built-in splitter, though honestly I usually see him split his rawhide using a separate tool. I really like how well the tool seems to work, though to be honest while I’m leaning this direction I’m very open to changing that if there’s a better direction to go. This is the sort of tool I hope I only have to invest in once.

17 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

LaceMaster also has the Vaquero cutter and beveler besides the LaceMaster. It will cut and bevel. Several rawhide braiders prefer this one and priced around $400. Good choice for people who already have a splitter. The LaceMaster has a splitter notch. Some like the LaceMaster for kangaroo and latigo and the Vaquero for rawhide. I have sold to folks that can get the job done with either one. I sell a fair amount of LaceMasters and just ordered more today.

The LaceMaster or Vaquero might warrant more interest on my part by your description.

17 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

Y-Knot lace - I sell more of the Combination bevelers than others. $250 - cuts, bevels at two angles, and precise thumb wheel width adjustment. Good if you already have a splitter….

I think the only part about these I don’t like is that they look small and handheld, and I’d rather a bench-mounted device. They seem a great product though. Is this video a Y-Knot tool? Because it’s bench mounted and kinda cool.

17 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

Neubert - Seems to be on backorder perenially. I have had two through here. I want to like them but it bevels off the top of the string with the blade facing the fence. The fence limits how narrow a string you can do. That is my only minor issue...

Joe Benner had a version similar to the Neubert but with a rotating base to work on the bench or over the edge. It had a thumbwheel precise adjustment and beveled with the blade facing away from the fence so tiny narrow strings could be worked. I traded my own back to Joe when he couldn't find a machinist for another run of them.  If anybody has one, I am a buyer.

Good to know about the Neubert beveling off the top and the issue with the blade vs the fence. The Benner version sounds like one I need to keep my eyes and ears out for.

15 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

Actually some of the printed ring type cutters have an interesting origin. i think they were a South American thing first. The rings were cut from hollow cow horns to begin with. Some guys then used PVC pipe rings. Now it takes a computer and filament!

There are a few Australian lace and string tools too - one version was the Dene??? that used to be sold in the US out of Washington I think. Then there is the tried and true Aussie strander too.  

Thank you for the info on the ring-type cutters! They’re what most of the braiders I met in Uruguay last year were using. I saw them made from wood and PVC. EDIT: Here’s a YouTube video of someone using a PVC version that shows it working quite well.

I’ve seen the Australian stranders, they seem to get good reviews from those that use them. I have and use regularly the black plastic “lace cutting stick” tool, which I like for thinner vegtan, though I generally only use it for cutting lace for double-loop lacing thus far. It doesn’t help you bevel the edges though, and even as much as I use it I still have it go sideways regularly and cut my string off in the middle of a good run. Very frustrating!

I’d really like something I can get bench mounted though, and that gives a good consistent result without an unnecessary amount of expletives, lol. A built-in splitter would be cool if it actually works.

EDIT: There’s also this cool contraption that I ran across recently, but it’s maybe a bit bigger than most of us are looking for, lol.

 

Edited August 19 by alfredleatherworks