Needles breaking at the eye

[BradB]

I am having a problem with needles breaking off at the eye, this has happened on a bunch of different needles and I can not figure out if it is me doing something wrong, crappy metal the needles are made out of or what... Has anyone ever had this problem and if so how did you fix it?

[rdb]

There's actually quite a few reasons, not to forget crappy metal....

Holes too small, making you force the needle through, bending it...snap

Too big of a knot at the bottom of the needle, forcing you to add strength to pull through...snap

Needle too small for thickness of leather...snap

Use a harness needle on belt type thickness.

Use a smaller needle (therefore more brittle) on thin leathers.

Now, ask me how I know...lol

I'm sure the other handsewers can chime in with more precise info, like what they call all those different needles...lol

[ClayB]

if it's the needles with the big long eyes, I HATE them. I used to break them all the time. Go to a needle with a lot smaller eye and it will work a lot better

[calanneh]

I am having a problem with needles breaking off at the eye, this has happened on a bunch of different needles and I can not figure out if it is me doing something wrong, crappy metal the needles are made out of or what... Has anyone ever had this problem and if so how did you fix it?

Been there...done that....over and over and over...........

So if lotsa broken needles means the hole is too small or the needle is too big.....

Whats it mean when you have to use pliers to pull it thru??

Most of my leatherwork is reenactment gear or tool cases so I use wax thread instead of lacing cuz I want good tight stitches. I tend to use a awl to punch holes by hand instead of a punch. This makes it tight and does cause a few broken needles......

What I can tell ya about using the pliers to pull the needle.....grip it jsut above the eye.....and if u grip the eye, grip the flat part....

cal

[MADMAX22]

Ill add that some needles seem to be more brittle then others. I still havent found all the best ones yet as it seems that hand sewing hard stuff no longer requires a good quality needle.

If you need extra strength to pull thru the leather make darn sure you pull straight. Once you deflect in any direction you are gonna break your needles. If you use plyers make sure you arent bending or applying pressure at a bad angle on the needle which is the same effect as bending it when you pull it thru the leather.

Just my experiences so far but Im still a amatuer.

[BradB]

Thanks Guys, in this instance I punched the holes instead of using the awl and was using pliers, maybe the hole was to small... If I made them any bigger though it would look weird.... Guess I will just go back to using the awl!

I still think the needles are made out of crap metal, or as Grandpa used to call it Pot Metal(whatever the heck that is)!

It was the needled with the big eye holes, I have to go buy more tomorrow so I will see if I can find some without the bigger holes.

Thanks Again!

[whinewine]

Thanks Guys, in this instance I punched the holes instead of using the awl and was using pliers, maybe the hole was to small... If I made them any bigger though it would look weird.... Guess I will just go back to using the awl!

I still think the needles are made out of crap metal, or as Grandpa used to call it Pot Metal(whatever the heck that is)!

It was the needled with the big eye holes, I have to go buy more tomorrow so I will see if I can find some without the bigger holes.

Thanks Again!

Brad:

Unfortunately, the harness needles with the big eyes break very easily (other than the inexpensive steel, the metal in the eye area is so thin that there is so little strength= therefore, bending & breakage...). I buy the needles by the hundred, rather than per 10. It's cheaper & better that way.

Glovers needles, on the other hand, (the sharp, 3-corner ones) have the small eyes & will outlast the harness needles a thousand to one. I still have some from the '70s. I buy those in packs of 25.

What you may want to try are similar needles, but with the small eyes (I think, but I'm not exactly sure, that they're called 'tapestry needles'- a good sewing shop should carry them in different sizes). They do have sharp points, but they're easy to make dull.

BTW, 'pot metal' is the metal that used to be used for hood ornaments, window-winding handles & car logos on '40s. '50s & '60s automobiles (maybe later). Also known as 'white metal'.

[Hilly]

When I first started sewing leather, I used the needles included in those Tandy kits... Broke every single one within 5 stitiches. Switched to harness needles, and have never had a problem since. You can drive em in like nails, and they won't break. The only time I've ever broken one was when I tried intentionally to bend it, and it broke in half, not at the eye.

You can get them in different sizes, but the smaller the needle size, the smaller the eye, too, so you need to use thread size to match the needle eye. Made a big difference in my hand stitching now that I have choices other than that "rope" thread that Tandy sells

I've also tried glover's needles, but they were too sharp, and if your aim was off the tiniest bit, they'd stick in the edge of the hole.

Glover's needles do work well with thinner leathers, though, such as garment weight.

[BradB]

Thanks again for the response and the help/suggestions... Now to build up calluses or make some gloves or covering on my hands, they are so sore from sewing last night I can hardly type lol. I know there was a thread on here about different ways to cover your hands... Off to search for that... this site is great!!

[MADMAX22]

Thanks Guys, in this instance I punched the holes instead of using the awl and was using pliers, maybe the hole was to small... If I made them any bigger though it would look weird.... Guess I will just go back to using the awl!

I still think the needles are made out of crap metal, or as Grandpa used to call it Pot Metal(whatever the heck that is)!

It was the needled with the big eye holes, I have to go buy more tomorrow so I will see if I can find some without the bigger holes.

Thanks Again!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal