Ok Or Not? To Use Lighter To Seal Thread End?

[joeyrsmith]

New here. Soaking everything in.

New to leather work and loving it.

Quick ? on using a lighter to seal the ends after a saddle stitch run.

On the backside of course.

I am getting that little ugly bump, probably because I am using artificial sinew.

Its melting the ends and just doesn't look right.

Any other ideas for a newbie?

Thx

Joe

[TwinOaks]

Pull the thread a little "extra tight" and hold with a pair of needle nose pliers, then heat to the point it starts to melt. Once it's good and soft, release with the pliers and mash it with your finger or thumb. Yes, I'm saying put your finger on molten plastic. Yes, it will burn a little. After a couple of times, you'll either develop a sense of how long you can mash it without getting burnt, or you'll get a callous and won't notice it anymore. Learning when to let go is the fun part. The "extra tight" part means that you're pulling a bit more of the thread/sinew from the hole than you should, and it will pull back IN when released. The idea is not to make a ball of thread/sinew that won't pull out....that's the point of back stitching.....it's to "weld" then end so it doesn't fray. I've found that if you let it get to the "ball of molten plastic" on the end, THEN mash it flat, you'll end up with a little disc on the end of the thread that can/will still snag or scratch. If you just melt it enough to keep from fraying, and stretch it so that it pulls back in the hole...when you get done, the end will be between the layers or just under the surface of the back.

[katsass]

From the grump; ditto on what T.O. says, BUT, I don't suggest that artificial sinew is a good type of stuff to use for most stitching. If wanting to use a synthetic thread for general stitching, I'd suggest 'Nyltex', hell for strong and has a good appearance when done. Artificial sinew is, IMO, used only where a 'primitive' appearance is wanted. It's not nearly as strong as a true stitching thread, and not as easy to work with.. Mike

[joeyrsmith]

Thx guys, yes I am learning that the thread I started with is not that great. Will have to get what katsass suggested in another answer to a question I had earlier.