What Would You Buy?

[Chris B]

I am wanting to get away from tandy kits. And I need some tools, once I learn the fabrication end of things I would like to go into saddlmaking. And right now I have about 1500 bucks to spend on the stuff. What would you buy and by what maker? I am in the market for pretty much everything from round knifes to edgers punches etc.

Thanks,

Chris

[Woods]

Chris, I am rather partial to Osborne tools, and even more specifically older Osbornes if you can find them. (it can be done, I found a whole box of old Osbourne knives and such barely 1 mile from my house, got the lot for around 80 bucks! That was my one lucky find ever!) Although I know next to nothing about saddle making, a shop should have:

At least 1-2 round/head knives, leather "utility" knife (looks like a large butter knife with a razor sharp edge), a bevel edge skiving knife, strap cutter, various sizes of round and oval punches (don't skimp on those, buy GOOD ones the first time, I speak from experience), several sizes of strap end punches (I think english points are cool, but that's my opinion), assorted mauls,several sizes of english and french edgers, an assortment of edge bevelers, several different sized creasers, a "V" gouge, stitching groover, and possibly a splitting machine.

This is by no means a complete list, and quite frankly I wish I had all those tools also, but I have a good many of them, and I keep adding as resources allow. This has not even touched on assembly tools such as sewing implements and such, but hopefully it will give you a start. With other folks stating their preferences as well, I don't think it would be long before we help you blow that budget, and still not have everything you want!!!! Good luck, and hope this helps,

Eric Woods

[Chris B]

Thanks Woods. I figure it wont be long and the budget will be gone. And thats the thing I want to buy good stuff the first time around. Dont get me wrong I like having tools, but I just dont like having to buy them two times. I realize that a splitter and a sewing machine isnt included in that budget but we can wish lol.

Thanks,

Chris

[Spencer G]

Check out Barry King for stamps. They are a relatively economical, yet good quality. I don't have any experience with his other tools, but I would be very surprised if they were at all lacking. I do use some Watt edgers, a creaser, cantle pliers, and a tack hammer. I'm happy with all of them, but they are not cheap. I have some Weaver "Master Tools" end-punches and hole-punches, as well as their round knife. They all work pretty well, but the shape of the round knife is not my favorite.

You can never have too many knives, but buy only those that work. If you know the size and shape of blade that you want, then buy the best (so, probably most expensive) that you can. Otherwise, try out a few different styles until you can distinguish what features are important to you. I have a Don Carlos large head knife also from Weaver that I use exclusively for skiving. However, I am not too impressed with it, and I wouldn't recommend it if you don't want to give it a fair amount of modification. I recently bought the new small Al Stohlman round knife from Tandy. Though I haven't used it much, it seems to hold a pretty good edge. The handle is poorly designed though, and needs to be reshaped. The round knife I use most is one that I made from A2 tool steel, so I would probably suggest going with a custom grade knife if you can. For straight knives, I primarily use the right hand bevel "marking knife" from Lee Valley Tools. It took some work at first to get the back flat and the shape right, but now it can slice 13/15 oz. skirting leather like nobody's business. I have the Al Stohlman trim knife, but I find the hawk-bill blade shape inconvenient to sharpen, so it mostly stays in a drawer.

With most tools, the best is simply that which allows you to do the job most effectively. So, I would suggest trying as many of different types and styles as you can before committing.

Regards,

Spencer

[Chris B]

Thanks for the info Spencer, thats what I was looking for. I wish I could go somewhere and try some stuff out, but with me being in Ohio, theres really nowhere I could go and try some out. Im looking carefully at everything and trying to decide, so I only have to buy the tool once, instead of 3 or 4 times lol.

Thanks,

Chris

[Spencer G]

I'm glad I could help. I've only been leatherworking for about five years, but I've been messing with knives for most of my life. One thing I have found is that you really do get what you pay for with blades. Sure it might not be a big difference between 50 and 60 dollars, but there will alway be a difference between 50 and 200 dollars. So, remaining in the bracket below simply art (500 and up usually), I would suggest going with the pricer stuff. Also, take a little time to do some research on steels. But, don't put all of you consideration on the steel, the heat treating is just as important. You may well be better off with somewhat lower performance steel heat treated well, than with better stuff treated poorly. Well handled 440 may beat out messed up ATS-34. Because of this, there is some variation in the spend more rule, but still stick to it unless good evidence to the contrary is available. Take Buck knives for instance. Most of their knives use lower middle to upper middle class steel, but they are very good at their heat treating. So they very often will often outperform middle ranking Boker knives, but are typically less expensive. This is usually the exception, however, and neither of these can touch a VG-10 Falkniven.

Check out J. Cook knives. I don't have one, though I wish I did, but I've read good things about them, and he has a bunch of nice woods for handle material. Send him and email and he'll tell you what he has currently.

Spencer

[BarryS]

Chris,

I agree with Spencer. For the price Barry King stamps are really nice. I use them almost exclusively, the other stamps I have are homemade or modified. Barry King also has fairly good edgers, however if I were going to get a new set of edgers I would get them from Bob Douglas. I have tried some of his edgers out and there is no comparison. He also makes the versagroover which is an excellent tool, leaps and bounds above my tandy groover. You might also look into some Ron's edgers. I myself have not used them but have heard many good things about them from other acquaintances. Just remember that good tools aren't necessarily going to be cheap, especially bought brand new. However, you will be amazed at how much easier and better good tools are to use. Not to mention what the ending product looks like. Hopefully this helped a little.

Barry

[edgemoor]

I am wanting to get away from tandy kits. And I need some tools, once I learn the fabrication end of things I would like to go into saddlmaking. And right now I have about 1500 bucks to spend on the stuff. What would you buy and by what maker? I am in the market for pretty much everything from round knifes to edgers punches etc.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi if you want the best for making saddles ect you want tools from Dixons in Walsall uk

I have used there tools for 30 years

I'm not sure who sells them in USA but you can buy them online from www.josephdixon.co.uk

if any body knows of anyone selling them in us please let me know as I'm moving out to Texas

and setting up a training school I'm sure my students will want to use there tools

[Chris B]

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate you guys taking your time to help me out.

Thanks,

Chris

[Art]

Hi Chris,

There are some drawers in my toolboxes that I can look in and see way over $1500 in tools. Don't get the idea to spend your $1500 all at one time. Buy your tools as you need them, figure what tools you need for a project and buy just those. You will spend your $1500 over time, and won't buy stuff you don't need. Go to a show or two and try stuff like you were buying the only tool you will ever have. Don't look at price till you have made your decision. Go to the shops of other makers and look at their tools and ask to try them or better yet ask them to show you how to use them. Tell them what you are doing, they will help. Consider buying very good used tools, and the only person to get them from is Bob Douglas.

The only set you should consider is stamping tools, and the only set is the one Lonnie sells at Gomph-Hackbarth (not related to Gomph or Hackbarth) but still good tools and prone to a little rusting (get them hot blued by a good gunsmith).

Knives;

Old School

Rose, Gomph, Either older Osborne, a few others (ask Bob Douglas for advice)

New School

Dewey Peters, Bill Buchman (deceased), Bob Dosier, others

Edgers;

Old School

Honest to God, don't bother or Bob Douglas, they just get a lot of use.

New School

Bob Douglas, Barry King, Ron Edmonds, Jeremiah Watt, Wayne Jueschke

Punches;

Old School

Gomph, Osborne, Buy from Bob Douglas, it is real easy to mess these up and Bob won't sell you something unsharpenable

New School

Weaver, C.S. Osborne (CSO tools are not delivered bleeding sharp you are expected to take care of that yourself)

Get a Weaver catalog, most of the stuff in there is pretty good, ask here if you have questions. Buy American, let the Euro folks use makers on the other side of the pond, the English (Dixon) and French (Blanchard) are fine toolmakers though.

The tools you will use for saddlemaking will of necessity be bigger than those for general projects, buy those as needed also.

Art

I am wanting to get away from tandy kits. And I need some tools, once I learn the fabrication end of things I would like to go into saddlmaking. And right now I have about 1500 bucks to spend on the stuff. What would you buy and by what maker? I am in the market for pretty much everything from round knifes to edgers punches etc.

Thanks,

Chris

[Chris B]

Thanks for that Art. I wish I could order from Weaver but since I dont have a tax id number i cant.. and they are only an hour and a half north of me. I was in there show room and looked around, but since I couldnt buy anything I got out of there kinda quick lol. I dont know if getting a tax id number would screw up my taxes from my day job or not. And I wish there was a saddle maker in my area, I would try to work for them on my days off lol.

Thanks,

Chris

[edgemoor]

Thanks for that Art. I wish I could order from Weaver but since I dont have a tax id number i cant.. and they are only an hour and a half north of me. I was in there show room and looked around, but since I couldnt buy anything I got out of there kinda quick lol. I dont know if getting a tax id number would screw up my taxes from my day job or not. And I wish there was a saddle maker in my area, I would try to work for them on my days off lol.

Thanks,

Chris

have you looked at www.Josephdixon.co.uk they sell there tools on line and there much better than weaver tools

been making saddlers tools in England for over 300 years I belive

[JerryLevine]

have you looked at www.Josephdixon.co.uk they sell there tools on line and there much better than weaver tools

been making saddlers tools in England for over 300 years I belive

Being one of the Euro folk, I would back up all the good things said about Dixon's tools; most of my punches and edgers are Dixons, as are many of my 'general' tools (dividers, races, pliers, etc). You get what you pay for; they're expensive, but worth it. I would also echo the advice to try as much stuff as you can before you buy and don't buy everything at once. With the US$/GB£/Euro exchange rates the way they are at the moment, now would be a good time to buy from this side of the pond.

I also have Dixon's round knives, but in the last few weeks I got to try out Bee Natural's K2 Kutting system (here's the URL: http://www.bee-natur...=7490418_10497), which was absolutely fantastic, the best one I've ever used for both skiving and cutting. I've since bought one for myself. Again, expensive, but you get what you pay for. The one I tried was in use in a saddle shop and so had been properly sharpened. I'm not sure what they're like out of the box, but Bee Natural do offer a sharpening service so I'm guessing its going to be pretty good.

Good luck with your buying.

Jerry

Edited April 11, 2010 by JerryLevine