What Has Been Your Best (And Worst) Tool/supply Investment?

[lightingale]

It's been 1 year since I bought my newbie starter kit from Tandy, and I've become immersed in this rewarding hobby ever since. You folks have helped me along the whole journey; this forum is a treasure trove of helpful information and inspiration! I even made an Etsy store, and have been having great success with it (and it's been helping pay for my tool addiction).

I've spent thousands on supplies in the meantime, and looking back, I can identify the best (and worst) investments I've made. I'd like to start a discussion on what you folks have discovered when in comes to tools and supplies.

Best investments:

1. Barry King bevelers. - There's no comparison to the Tandy ones. The steeper angle and finer checkered texture helped improve the quality of my tooling many-fold. Added bonus of no longer having annoying footprints! I picked up one of his swivel knives too, which he sized to fit my tiny hands. It seems to hold an edge longer and I seem to get less hand strain.

2. Beary 16oz maul - I used the standard Tandy poly maul until I read a few threads here on Beary mauls. It set me back about $100, but my tooling impressions seem deeper and crisper for reasons I can't explain. And... I seem to have less shoulder pain, although I need to build more arm muscle strength to be able to hold it up for long afternoons of tooling!

3. Strap cutter / learning to cut my own hides - You save a lot of money when you buy the whole hide and cut your own strips (I make dog collars and belts). It is also more rewarding!

4. A solid work bench - My husband won't tell me how much he spent on this custom thing. It's huge, 8 by 3 feet and drawers for tools on either side. We put it in the spare bedroom, and I'm loving being able to spread out and leave my tools about (this coming from someone who used to work on the kitchen table, which used to bounce and leave tool impression "shadows" even with a granite slab).

5. Adjustable arm lamp - When working at night, it's hard to be sure that your beveler is -exactly- lined up in the swivel knife cut, so having an adjustable lamp helps TONS. Not to mention it saves your eyes...

6. A custom maker's stamp - another gift from my husband. I stamp it on my creations with great pride! I hope it eventually draws more business as people look for who the maker is on my products.

7. Tandy Elite membership. I know I knock down Tandy tool quality a lot, but for someone starting out, you can easily make back the $150 membership fee in your first year on dyes, finishes, tools, and leather, especially if you like to experiment. If you buy leather there, buy the European tooling bends as they seem to be the best quality the store holds. Also, you get discounts on theleathercraftlibrary.com where you can buy all the Stohlman books, which are fantastic for beginners.

Worst Investments:

1. Buying leather online - I bought through Tandy, and especially when you don't really know what you're buying, you really should look at the leather IN PERSON. A half-shoulder is a lot smaller than it sounds, and that cheap single bend might be full of holes and brands. Also, you'd be surprised how much variance you'll see in the (lack of) quality of the flesh side! Had a bad experience with cracking...

2. Craftool stamps - Maybe I've been spoiled by Barry King's tools, but I've been repeatedly disappointed by Tandy's stamps. I haven't tried their new "pro" tool line, which might change my mind, but so far their selection in the pro line seems limited.

3. Buying one of EVERY COLOUR stain before trying it. Example: I only use Fiebing's antique paste in tan, dark brown, and occasionally black (diluting with Tan Kote as needed), yet I'm the proud owner of every single colour! I also got the super sale of the entire Eco Flo Professional Waterstains, some colours of which are horrible (blue and green, I'm talking to you!)... and how many shades of brown do I REALLY need?

4. Craftool 4-in-1 awl set - I REALLY wanted to learn to hand sew, but this stupid thing would NOT get through a single layer of 8-9 ounce leather. I thought I was the problem. I even bought sharpening stones (even ceramic ones) to fix it, and could not pierce the leather for the life of me. Gave up on it for a few months, until I bought an Osbourne awl. Problem solved, now saddle stitching is one of my favourite jobs!

5. Buying the entire set of Cova colours. There are MANY paints that will adhere perfectly well to leather. Cova colour is not the only one just because it is sold (overpriced) by Tandy!

Well, that was a mouthful! That have you folks found to be worthwhile?

[electrathon]

For me the best buys were also Barry King Tools, mainly bevelers. I have tried and tried to explain to people how much differnace it makes. No one will listen till you make them use them. Then they make the order.

Worst buys ever were craft tools. I bough a lot of them when I was getting started (I am a tool addict). I rarely use them any more, but I do have hundreds (not a typo) that I have ended up with when I have bought others out in the last few years.

[Ferg]

Best.....

Tools:

75% of my stamping tools are mid-fifties. Remainder are of the high priced variety. My SK3 swivel knife and the Knipers round knife will never

leave my bench.

Machinery:

Consew and Seiko, pretty much the same company, are my sewing machines. Flatbed and cylinder arm. Cloned Fortuna Skiving Machine.

My Wife:

The best any man could ever have. She seldom complains about all the machinery I have bought over the years and I receive at least one

kiss and a big hug every day.

Worst:

Some will hate me, I see little use for most so-called "Green" products. Unfortunately that includes most of the stains and finishes Tandy

sells now.

Buying leather from companies I know nothing about..

Hardware I have that is so outdated it is pathetic but still made.

At least 50% of current Tandy tools are junk. I bought several.

ferg

[bruce johnson]

Best Investments

I. A range of maul sizes - makes the maul do the work. I am not muffling one too heavy or whacking away with one too light.

2. SOLID stamping surface. - I only thought I had this before. I looked at a lot of stamping benches and talked to a lot of people about likes and dislikes. I like the one Wayne Jueschke takes to shows and Ken Tipton has a nice one too. I based mine on theirs along with size and height advice from Ben Cox.

3. Best quality tools I can find with cutting edges - edge bevelers, knives, swivel knives, plough gauges, etc, . You can get anything sharp, something that stays sharp or maintains easily is a pleasure.

4. A good organization system for tools and supplies. Stamp storage is always evolving and I am sure happy with what I have now. My thanks to everyone who has invited me into their shop. Ken Nelson had one of the real jewels - blueprint/map drawers for storing patterns. I found a couple scratch and dents at the office furniture outlet warehouse. I think it was Greg Gomersall who told me about the concrete form tubes for storing leather. The fact that they exactly fit a 24x48x72 Gorilla rack was just my dumb luck.

5. Rubber stall mats on the floor all the way around. Easy on the feet, warmer than concrete, and I can't remember the last time I dropped a knife and said bad words about having to resharpen one. Murphy's Law says a dropped round knife lands edge first on a concrete flor and then bounces three more times in different places on the edge before it falls over.

[celticleather]

Best investment - Vintage tools by Dixon, Osborne or Barnsley.

Worst investment - Practically anything from Tandy!

[Northmount]

If you have a business name, registered, you don't need to buy a membership at Tandy, and you get the elite pricing. Most places, cost less to register a business name than the elite membership costs.

You don't need to incorporate a business, you can run as a proprietorship, and work it in with your personal income taxes. Each has their advantages. Even though an incorporated business has limited liability, you, the President, Chairman of the Board, etc. still can be found liable for your errors. A corporation also has a lot more record keeping to be done. So small time business or busy hobby business, you may find it well worth your while to register a business name.

Of course if you are doing your business dealings under the table, no taxes, it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Tom

[Cyberthrasher]

Best investment: Barry King Swivel knife, airbrush, and Springfield Wholesale membership. $35 a year gets me all the same prices as Tandy's Elite membership.

Worst investment: Haven't had much bad luck. I did buy a side of craftsman grade HO that showed up not so happy for tooling. The previous craftsman grade side I bought was beautiful, so I thought I'd get lucky again. I lost that round of roulette, but I knew the chance was there when I bought "Craftsman" grade.

[billymac814]

Best investments were

Tippmann Boss, it got me machine sewing and allowed me to keep taking orders and opened up a lot of doors. Part of me wants to sell it but I'm emotionally attached to it. I keep thinking if I ever set up a small shop back in my house I can put it there but I really don't want to even use it anymore.

Cowboy 4500, way nicer to use than the Boss.

Adler long arm patcher. I do a lot of repairs on this machine, I pretty much pay my shop rent with it every month which isn't cheap.

Steel rule bender, allows me to make my own dies fairly easily, this saves a ton of cutting time as well as money.

Also off topic but I always order leather by mail from w&C and never have a problem with quality, they send beautiful pieces everytime. Other places not so much.

I haven't made too many bad investments. But I bought a Tormek t-7 for way too much money and for me it doesn't work easily on most of my knives, the ones it does work on though it does an amazing job. I may sell it at some point.

[Toolingaround]

Hi Folks

Sigh.......wish I could afford Barry King or any other high end tools.

In defense of Tandy I have an old A-104 from the 1980's I was given which runs like magic! Seriously it is just a joy to use. Gives me a hint what good tools must be like.

My new Tandy bevelers not so good. However I am now completely ambidextrous when I tool or stamp because some of my new tools are so bad they will only run when I use my off hand. However now I can use either hand without even thinking about it. I can do some nice beveling with crap tools just because I practice and don't have a choice to afford expensive things right now. So take heart newbies and do the best with what you have until you can have the best.

Cheers, Toolingaround

My most recent thing.

[Cyberthrasher]

So take heart newbies and do the best with what you have until you can have the best.

Yeah, I'm not one for jumping out and buying things. My first sale (a custom bracelet) went to the $50 for my Barry King knife. Now I keep on trying to convince myself that I really do need a Bear Maul and a more versatile cutting knife. Think I may be buying myself a LeatherWrangler's round knife for a present

[billymac814]

Nice post, its good to show newer people that you don't need to spend a fortune to turn out good clean work. Sure nice tools are nicer to use but in the end practice goes a lot farther than expensive tools.

Now start raising your prices so you can buy better stuff!!

Hi Folks

Sigh.......wish I could afford Barry King or any other high end tools.

In defense of Tandy I have an old A-104 from the 1980's I was given which runs like magic! Seriously it is just a joy to use. Gives me a hint what good tools must be like.

My new Tandy bevelers not so good. However I am now completely ambidextrous when I tool or stamp because some of my new tools are so bad they will only run when I use my off hand. However now I can use either hand without even thinking about it. I can do some nice beveling with crap tools just because I practice and don't have a choice to afford expensive things right now. So take heart newbies and do the best with what you have until you can have the best.

Cheers, Toolingaround

My most recent thing.

[simontuntelder]

Best investment - Vintage tools by Dixon, Osborne or Barnsley.

Worst investment - Practically anything from Tandy!

Couldn't have said it any better.

[Pip]

best buy, was actually a swap a box of old but fab 1950/70/80 leather tools for an axe sheath and for me to name and show which each item did, I could only have the ones I knew from the box. I was disappointed how little I knew at the beginning, but after a (fluke) carving of a rose which came out stunning on the sheath (i still have no idea how!!) the guy left the rest of the box with my partner who was manning the table when i went off to pee. I came back and was well pleased with the few old tools I named, spent an hour sharpening and honing and polishing a round knife which fits my hand like a glove (even though at the time I had no idea how to use it), and thanked the guy again as he went passed. Only later did i find the entire box of tools in the car, the guy had made my partner promise not to tell me til we packed up for the day. The fair we were at, was empty, I lost money, was a little downhearted, but happy at the few tools the man had given me then SURPRISE. i never got his name, never saw him again and never got to say thanks properly. He rekindled my faith in humanity and the power of surprise, because of him every first 'none commission' item i make with his tools goes as a gift, or for charity.

Worst buys, a supposedly premium veg tan hide from Tandy which was on sale (not) which my Dad paid for, to be given a second class (if I am kind) hide, I later found he had paid full price for. I figured at the time 'Ah thats why its on sale!' but it wasn't....... I was gutted and will never buy leather from them again.

The best and worst..........The first piece of leather I bought from a local store which i travelled to especially, before I knew what to look for (i still don't fully).... asked for advise (as i hadn't found this site yet) and was sold a nice piece of waxy expensive bridle leather which was totally unsuitable for what I wanted/needed (and expensive at £70), to learn how to carve leather on (i know I should have done more research but I was young). As I left the shop, the assistant turned to her mate and said 'see I told you I'd sell that to someone today!'. I read up on what i had bought, after several very disappointing attempts, was really upset, so much so I never used it, and eventually swapped it for some other leather, and accidently found a teacher for a while, so not all bad.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Pip

[Art]

By favorite, I kind of take it as Used the most.

Favorites:

Barry King 96oz maul. What is hit stays hit.

U.S. Gov't 60" all steel desk from the'50s with ruberized top. Rock solid with a 4" surface plate on top. Doesn't move, ever.

Bob Beard Skiving Knives, right and left handed. There none better.

Ditto his swivel knives. Same for his figure carving tools and his geometrics are really grand.

Anything the BearMan makes, love the mauls and awl hafts.

Not too favorites:

Any newer Tandy tool, after 1998 or so. Manufacturing quality is abyssimal even when design is good.

Gomph-Hackbarth tools are of good quality, but my hands are too big to use them, they are too short.

Art

[Chief31794]

My best investment would be the contributing member I paid to support this site. What a great site with lots of good info.

Best tool investment: Hand Press with dies for rivets and snaps. Never could get the hang of setting snaps perfectly every time with an anvil and punch type set up. The press sets them perfectly every time has never missed in 5 years and 1000's of snaps and rivets. Barry King checkered and smooth Bevelers, Camo, Veiners, Basket Weave, Thumb Print, and Mules Feet.

Worst Tool Investment: cheap exacto knife set for cutting patterns, replaced it almost immediately with a good quality knife.

Chief

[K-Man]

Best tools: quality stamping tools such as Barry King, Gomph-Hackbarth, Bob Beard, BearMan Mauls. A quality sewing machine such as Cobra 4.

Worst tools: Tippmann BOSS machine.

[Bob Blea]

Yeah, I'm not one for jumping out and buying things. My first sale (a custom bracelet) went to the $50 for my Barry King knife. Now I keep on trying to convince myself that I really do need a Bear Maul and a more versatile cutting knife. Think I may be buying myself a LeatherWrangler's round knife for a present

I got a LetherWrangler's round knife last year. It was a huge step up from my Tandy round knife, and I discovered how much I was having to fight my old knife that I thought was sharp. It along with my LW SK-3 swivel knife and my Barry King tools have been the best investments I have made in leather craft. I've also started buying Robert Beard figure bevelers as I'm trying to learn to do figure carving well, but I'm finding I'm using the figure bevelers all over the place, so they have been great too.

Haven't had too many bad experiences, though I have many Tandy tools that have been replaced (like a stitching awl) that were never really used or didn't work well. The modern day figure carving tools from Tandy were particularly disappointing....

Bob

[Art]

Hi Bob,

If you are using Bob's figure bevelers, you notice that they have a steep back edge. I use his MB series Matter Bevelers to tamp down the aura the steep back produces and bevel it down to the background. I have a big MB 5 or 6 which I use for most of it and I think a 3 where things get a little tight.

Art

[Cyberthrasher]

I got a LetherWrangler's round knife last year. It was a huge step up from my Tandy round knife, and I discovered how much I was having to fight my old knife that I thought was sharp.

I had a nice discussion with Paul last night. Needless to say, as soon as I have the money in hand I'm getting my name in the queue for something extra special.

I picked up a bunch of old Craftool figure bevelers from usedleathertools.com (one of the members here) and I tend to use them in lots of places. I admit that I do need a lot more practice in order to use them to their full potential.

[Bob Blea]

Hi Bob,

If you are using Bob's figure bevelers, you notice that they have a steep back edge. I use his MB series Matter Bevelers to tamp down the aura the steep back produces and bevel it down to the background. I have a big MB 5 or 6 which I use for most of it and I think a 3 where things get a little tight.

Art

I've got two of the bevelers (B1 and B3.5) and I know what you mean. I've got a BF5 (same as your BM series except smooth, I think) too and as I work with them I keep finding more places to use them. They've been great buys and have let me start really exploring figure carving without getting too discouraged.

[Bob Blea]

I had a nice discussion with Paul last night. Needless to say, as soon as I have the money in hand I'm getting my name in the queue for something extra special.

I picked up a bunch of old Craftool figure bevelers from usedleathertools.com (one of the members here) and I tend to use them in lots of places. I admit that I do need a lot more practice in order to use them to their full potential.

Paul is a great guy and has always been very helpful to me. I too have a few Craftool figure bevelers that were passed down to me from my wife's family. They are mainly the really large sizes so I had trouble finding good uses for them aside from matting. I have a few old foliage tools too. I tend to gravitate towards small stuff, so having the little Beard bevelers has helped. But yes, if you can get the classis Craftool figure carving tools, those do work well and you can learn a lot from them. If you can find a good deal you can get a pretty good setup for the price of a couple of Beard bevelers LOL

[raysouth]

Great topic.

Best experience: Tandy manager willing to spend time to get me started some years ago. Tells me, to this day, what is the best way to go in certain areas. Extremely helpful.

Best equipment: Difficulty here as I consider all of my items to be great.

Best supplies: Toss up, as have had good luck with nearly everyone I have dealt with. Tandy, Springfield, W&C, Bunkhouse Tools, Tippman, Toledo Sewing Machine Co., Bucklecity, Ohio Travel Bag, Dick Blick Art Supply, C.S. OSBORNE, Fore Supply, Greg Dorrance Co., Hearlihy, Hidehouse, Justin Blair, Kramer, Karate Depot, Needs Aprons, Colwood, Trigg Brothers, Tarrago, Standard Rivet, Supermagnetman, Tuffcase, Studio-N, Black River Laser, TaxHas, Studs & Spikes, Shoelace Wholesale, Store Supply, Walnut Hollow, Buckletown, BucklebarnU.S.A., Grey Ghost Graphics, and quite a few more, that slip my memory bank at this time.

I suppose, as with most everyone, I have made errors when making items, used wrong dye, closed my eyes when they should have been wide open, pounded on things when I should not have done so, (OUCH), made some bad cuts and ruined a good project piece, etc.

Due to my errors, I haver become a bit wiser, paid more attention, kept myself in, (mostly), one piece, made a few nice things, had TONS of fun along the way, met many fine folks, and hope to meet more, and have never been so good as to be able to say that my tools were not good. Suppose I do not have the same experience and tools as others but they all seem to work at my level, even though I continue to try everything I can. Still not courageous enough to try sewing with the new leather sewing machine but if it does not sell soon and I am still able, I may give it a shot. Always something to think about.

I do have a few favorite tools that I seem to go back to each time I work in the shop but not able to explain this, other than to say, "they just feel right".

I enjoy hearing/reading the conversations very much and IILG, Leatherworker.net, Leatherpro and many others are superb places to share thoughts and pass along ideas.

An old cliche, "ever onward, ever upward" is the way to go. Have fun, share the goodness, love til it hurts, and wish you all the very best of everything.

Not a steno so hope any typos are not lethal.

Ray

Edited January 29, 2013 by Helmut

[oldtimer]

Best investment: I found a batch of 53 different H.Gomph hand tools at a bargain price

Worst investment: a brand new aluminiumTippmann Boss.

/ Knut

[Fd3615]

best investments - dual action siphon feed airbrush ( amazon - 120 ) an arbor press from harbor freight that i use for rivets and hardware as well as stamping - 1 ton press and done...