Leathercrafttools.com Pricking Irons / Diamond Hole Punches Question...

[TXAG]

Ok, so I was going to order one or two of these from them, but I am having a hard time converting their"pitches" to actual stitches per inch.

If any of you all understand this, can you please tell me what pitch size of theirs would be roughly equivalent to 6tpi? Also, is 6tpi a good all around hole spacing for wallets and small pouches/sheaths? Or should I go with a different hole spacing? I would like to use a nice thread on the heavy side that will show up well (contrasting stitching)

Thanks for any help on this...

p.s. If anyone could have a look at their thread selection and let me know if you see anything comparable to Ritza/Tiger thread, that would help a lot too...thanks for...,

[mlapaglia]

Ummm who is "them"? I cant find a link or name.

OK its in the title. Never liked when the information is not repeated in the body of the text. dont mind me Im grumpy tonight.

The "pitch" represents the distance between each prong tip. For example, as for 3mm-pitch tool, the every prong tip is 3mm apart from each other. Please keep in mind that the pitch has relevance to the prong size too. The greater numbered pitch tool has the somewhat thicker prongs.

prong thickness is 1.5mm thick on a 4 prong. the rest is math to convert to SPI

Edited January 21, 2014 by mlapaglia

[TXAG]

Sorry -- it's in the title...LeathercraftTools.com

[TXAG]

God, it would be nice if this forum software worked the way it's supposed to. Grrrrrrrrrr.......

http://www.leathercrafttools.com/tools/punch/diamond-hole-punch/list.jsp

Sorry...I don't think I should have to type out an entire URL and not be able to paste it (ctrl-V) nor use the stupid "link" icon. I find it hard to believe that neither of those work. Anyway, I am done ranting now.

[electrathon]

click on the little box in the very top left of the header of this section. It says "toggle editing mode" and try it again.

[TXAG]

Any help on my original question?

[electrathon]

one inch is 25.4 mm

6 stitches in an inch is them 25.4/6=4.23 4.23 mm prong to prong

The width of the prong is half of the space and the gap is half if the space, so divide 4.23 in half and you have 2.11

you want a 2mm to get similar size to what you are looking at.

[camano ridge]

TX, to put it a little simpler the pitchis the number of teeth or marks it will make , a 7P has 7 teeth and will make 7 marks. The number of stitcheds will be one less then the number of teeth. So a 7P would make 6 stitches per inch.

[mlapaglia]

TX, to put it a little simpler the pitchi s the number of teeth or marks it will make , a 7P has 7 teeth and will make 7 marks. The number of stitcheds will be one less then the number of teeth. So a 7P would make 6 stitches per inch.

OK, but I can buy an 8 tooth 3 pitch. That doesn't fit with your explanation. They even sell a single prong in 4 different pitches. "Available in 4 pitches (3, 4, 5, 6 ｍｍ)." So Im not sure your information is correct. I could be wrong but I do not believe I am.

Edited January 21, 2014 by mlapaglia

[camano ridge]

Here is the reference I was using http://www.bowstock.co.uk/acatalog/Pricking_irons.html

[mlapaglia]

Here is the reference I was using http://www.bowstock....king_irons.html

I saw that too. I tried my best not to say you were wrong but the information was flawed. if I failed you have my apology. Tooth pitch is defined as the distance between teeth(This applies to saws). This can also can not be correct since a single prong 2,3,4mm pitch tool can be purchased. Therefore my first post is totally wrong also. I got that information here.

[mlapaglia]

Possible solution. Forget pitch get a Dixon pricking iron. They sell them #/inch so a #6 is 6 per inch. no messing with pitch. If you dont like the size of the mark the Dixon leaves you can contact them and ask them to make you a 6/inch pricking iron but with a width/thickness similar to that of a 10 or 12 they will probably do it for you . As they mill the tools themselves , special requests are not a problem.

There are several Dixion irons on E-bay if you want to pay less than new.

FYI since Dixion does not talk about pitch and a 6 is 6 SPI its probably why most of us think that the number we thought was pitch was the size per inch.

Edited January 21, 2014 by mlapaglia

[TXAG]

I am glad you all were able to see how I was confused by this. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent, but I wasn't able to figure their pitch sizes out.

I'd love to get a Dixon, however, there is a very large price differential between theirs and the LeathercraftTools one, even used. I'll keep looking though.

Thanks everyone for your efforts in trying to help me figure this out...

Also, is 6 tpi generally a good stitch width for wallets and small pouches? I know it probably depends on the leather thickness..the wallets I've made before were 3 layers of about 6-7oz. I'll also be making a roper wallet soon...wondering what the best spacing might be for it too.

[mlapaglia]

6 tpi is fine for what you are doing. I use it for anywhere from 1 piece of 5 oz to 3 pieces of 9 oz.

Check Ebay. I have had good luck with the company in that link,. 28 dollars is good price and better quality than a 5 dollar iron from your link.

Per electrathon's post above a 4mm is for all practical purposes a 6 tpi. I really doubt the ones you are looking at will last at the price they quote.

They say "LeatherCraftTools.com's Diamond Hole Punch PRO has the fully-quenched body," but do not say what the metal is. Probably iron not steel. probably bend easy. You have to store it coated in machine oil so it is an iron type metal of cheap steel. quenching is not enough to make iron useful but could make it brittle if done wrong . (God I hope I remember my high school metals shop correctly

)

If you have to go cheap get the Tandy Pro line ones. At least we know they are pretty good and you can test them at the store and see which one is the one you want. Or call the store and ask them which is 6 tpi.

Edited January 22, 2014 by mlapaglia

[Nuttish]

Those aren't pricking irons. They're punches. They also look sort of shitty. A pricking iron barely marks the surface; you then open your hole with a diamond saddler's or harnessmaker's awl.

Actual pricking irons are nearly unknown to American leatherwork anymore so they're difficult to find over here. They're the standard for European work. The contemporary American equivalent would be an overstitching wheel. However, you can easily find reasonably priced vintage Osborne and Gomph pricking wheels, which would lay tiny diagonal marks without piercing the grain like a pricking iron. Look at Bruce Johnson's site. He has a lot of very nice old tools for good prices.

Osborne is the only US manufacturer of actual pricking irons. https://www.osbornel...ils.php?pid=424 . Otherwise you're spending quite a lot to get a European tool.

6 tpi may be very wide for a wallet depending on the thread you use. What style of work do you intended to do?

If you like, I can post some pics comparing stitch lengths of 6-12 tpi with various threads (including Tiger - it really doesn't look like traditional linen thread at all) and showing what some of these tools look like next Wednesday when I get back from a trip.

Update: Ok 3 layers of 6/7. So if you're making Costanzas I would recommend sticking with 6 tpi.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Nuttish

[TXAG]

If you're trying to imply that I make huge, uncomfortable wallets by your use of the term "costanzas", you would be wrong.

Also, I already have an over stitch wheel. I dont' like it because it's a huge pain in the ass to use. That's why I want a PRICKING IRON.

Edited January 24, 2014 by TXAG

[Nuttish]

Ok then.

If you want a new pricking iron, you've got Osborne, Vergez Blanchard, Dixon's, maybe Craft Sha, and poor quality Chinese or Korean stuff.

If you want a chisel, you've got the options everyone else told you about.

Pricking irons and chisels are different tools.

Have fun.