atcspaul Report post Posted May 16, 2013 (edited) i lost all my tools a while back in a home fire and have never replaced them and just starting now. anyway i need a little help on what tools to get. what are your favorite stamps? most of my carving will be wildlife and outdoor. thank you in advance. this should give me a good starting point and probably help others to Edited May 16, 2013 by atcspaul Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phatdaddy Report post Posted May 16, 2013 My suggestion would be to look at some books, craftaids and patterns. I'm not familiar with many others, but Al Stohlmans books and patterns often tell you what tool is used for each part of the pattern. Find a few patterns you would like to try and buy the tools referenced for it. Cheers, Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightingale Report post Posted May 16, 2013 I too lost my home in a fire just over a month ago. Fortunately a lot of my tools were saved by my husband on his mad dash out of the building, but I can give you an idea on the stamps I use the most. The sheridan bevelers are a MUST have, along with a few backgrounders of various sizes. Modelling tools are also a biggie. If you do a lot of trees and scenes, there are a variety of tools to help you with grass, branches, etc. Remember you need a lot more tools than just stamps, though. Edgers, strap end cutters, hole punches, dyes, finishes, neatsfoot oil, rivets and setters, sewing apparatus, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atcspaul Report post Posted May 16, 2013 thank you ligtingale. prayers are with you. our fire was years back and it still depresses me. so many things that can never be replaced. we spent the first few months mailing all our friends and family to see if they had any photos of the kids when younger. wedding pictures ect. that was what hurt the most. the rest was just stuff and happy no one was hurt. i had over 200 stamps alone. so far i ordered a delux kit from tandy to get me started and going to slowly ad from their. i am pretty excited to get started again. i am flying to the states monday and look forward to going to a tandy store to pick up some leather and accessories. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted May 16, 2013 thank you ligtingale. prayers are with you. our fire was years back and it still depresses me. so many things that can never be replaced. we spent the first few months mailing all our friends and family to see if they had any photos of the kids when younger. wedding pictures ect. that was what hurt the most. the rest was just stuff and happy no one was hurt. i had over 200 stamps alone. so far i ordered a delux kit from tandy to get me started and going to slowly ad from their. i am pretty excited to get started again. i am flying to the states monday and look forward to going to a tandy store to pick up some leather and accessories. A number of people are really unhappy with the quality of the stamps supplied in the kits. They are lower quality than the stamps Tandy sells individually. So you may be best off the take a second look at the stamps you are most likely to use and skip the kit. As mentioned previously, look at some patterns the style you want to carve, and get those stamps first, plus maybe some larger and smaller bevellers. So as soon as you get into the Tandy store ... go look at the patterns and pattern books, see what tools are used, and get those ones. And buy a few patterns too. Also some scrap pieces. The books and patterns by Stohlman reference some tools no longer made, so you need to cross reference to something that is close to the original stamp. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atcspaul Report post Posted May 17, 2013 thank you northmount. i did not realize their was a difference in the ones you get in the kits then the others Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murf Report post Posted May 17, 2013 I just recently started tooling leather. I purchased a couple tools from Tandy and there seemed to be a quality lacking in them, and thats how i ended up on this forum. Searching for a tool maker that does leatherwork himself. I was pointed to Hidestoart.com and from there I found Barry King tools. The tools themselves are alittle spendy at about 25 usd each but the quaility of my work improved. My most used tools curently are smooth bevelers (Sizes 2,0, and 00 for the small corners) and a narrow thumbprint tool (Shader). He also sells curved bevelers, stops, seeders, and lifters wich i will be purchasing for leaf work and sheridan styles. The biggest reason i like these tools and his selection is that they are tools i couldnt find anywhere else. To deal with the cost i purchase about 3-4 tools at a time every few months. Also find a good swivel knife, its worth its weight in gold. I finally broke down and bought a new SK-3 from leather wranglers. The black rubbered Ergo swivel knife from tandy with a hollow ground blade is what i used for a long time and i like this knife alot as well and that set up is only about 33 usd compared to the 150 usd of the SK-3 from leather wranglers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atcspaul Report post Posted May 18, 2013 i just one this 450+ set of tools, books, craftaids ect. this will get me going http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-LOT-440-LEATHER-WORKING-TOOLS-STAMPS-ACCESSORIES-WOW-NO-RES-LOADED-/121110762998?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=yAtb0bVv7zGtJItYFYWJxOomRQs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
