ClaireAshton Report post Posted July 18, 2014 Another thread led me to a thought, why did good leather instruction and pattern books begin and end with Al Stohlman? Am I right, or just not looking in the right place? My favourites are Al Stohlmans Handbook of Stitching, Cases 1, 2, and 3 and his Leathercraft Tools book. What are your favourites? While we are on the subject of leather 'knowledge', I do understand that here on this board is by far the best instruction if you can find and collate it. BW Claire Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WyomingSlick Report post Posted July 18, 2014 Another thread led me to a thought, why did good leather instruction and pattern books begin and end with Al Stohlman? Am I right, or just not looking in the right place? My favourites are Al Stohlmans Handbook of Stitching, Cases 1, 2, and 3 and his Leathercraft Tools book. What are your favourites? While we are on the subject of leather 'knowledge', I do understand that here on this board is by far the best instruction if you can find and collate it. BW Claire I have to disagree. I don't think this forum can claim to having the best information. That is still to be found in the many instruction books that offer in-depth detailed knowledge. However, this forum can claim to having considerable breadth of information ranging from unfounded opinions based mostly on misinformation that people have heard or read......all the way to opinions that are based on considerable experiance and actual investigation of the subject. You also do have those who may be short in time of experiance, but have shown remarkably innovative, and surprisingly, creative approaches to working with leather. Unfortunately, those are in a minority to those whose big deal is their latest "boned holster", or their ability to sew with slanted stitches. Yawn ! As to "why did good leather instruction and pattern books begin and end with Al Stohlman?" The fact is that the man was a GIANT and he left very big footprints. Why not so many good books since him? First, it is a monumental task to write and prepare an instructional book for publication. It helps a lot to have a partner like Ann Stohlman who played a major role in the development of the later books. Second, and very important.......what is the incentive to produce such a book these days when due to available technology; pirated copies of your book might well be freely available for the taking on the internet within weeks. Ask Peter Main how he feels aboout that? I've also noticed that many beginners seem to be reluctant to spend a little cash for books and patterns to learn with, and of those that do, some of them seem to not have read them. Time after time, we have beginners on here who haven't even grasped the fact that the leather has to be cased properly to take and retain tooling. LOL Some of them haven't even picked up on the fact that some leather is not conductive to tooling. Favorites Al Stohlman books - I would add Craftool Tech Tips to your list. Only 25 pages but every page is must have valuable information for the leather tooler. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted July 18, 2014 Good question! I think a lot has to do with Al's ability to illustrate his books so well, and the fact that he did a good job explaining things so others could understand. Not everyone can explaining things well. I'm always amazed that he had the time to do the leatherwork he did, write the books, the doodle pages, etc, and illustrate it all. When you look at the volume of his writings it is truly amazing. That being said, "Sheridan Style Carving" is a great book if you are looking to learn that particular style of carving, or even just floral carving in general. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) The Stohlman books got widespread - at least in part - due to the wide reach of Tandy marketing. While it's Al and Ann on the by-line, these books were sold through (and by) Tandy. You can't read too far on this site without realizing that while not everybody LIKES Tandy, most everyone has HEARD of them. Then, part of it is just who beat who to the 'punch'. I mean, I bought 'Art of Hand Sewing' in the 1980's. There are certainly other books - and these days videos, too - about hand stitching. I don't purchase any of them, because 1) I know how to stitch, and 2) I'm not a collector of these books. No offense to the author of the other book, I'm simply not paying to have someone tell me what I already know. I suspect there are others who think the same ........ OH .. not to take anything away from Mr & Mrs. Stohlman, I think their work is STUNNING and INSPIRING Edited July 18, 2014 by JLSleather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted July 18, 2014 Look for used books on the web. I have one that I bought in the 60s that is great for someone starting out, and would be a help to others with a medium level of experience. General Leathercraft by Raymond Cherry (1955). I have seen copies available on Amazon and at ABEBooks.com. Just had a look and there are a number of 1945-46 printings. Also look at FO Baird's books, especially for patterns. Watch Tandy's sales for Leather Secrets Tandy has promoted Al Stohlman's books so we see more of them. I have several and refer to them frequently. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
