Where Can I Find The Equivalent Tool Or Product In The Uk

[ClaireAshton]

Not sure if this topic is in the right place. What I would like to do is to get a moderator to 'Pin It' in the most suitable section in the Forums.

When I read posts about almost any subject on here, I seem to spend ages trying to hunt down the easily obtainable equivalents to those mentioned in the post. Even if items are obtainable they tend to be very expensive if UK stocked and dispatched and generally out of the question if sent from the States. There are one or two examples of the reverse problem, I'm thinking of Dixon Tools and Tiger thread which you who live in USA find difficulties with.

So what I am hoping for are lists of equivalents, suppliers posting with the items they supply at normal UK post rates and so on.

So who wants to start?

Claire

[gary]

Who do you already use and for what items? The UK members here could help but they may just repeat ones you already know of. A bit of a steer would help us list useful ones.

There are quite a few leather and associated goods suppliers over here but for some things like specific fasteners you have to think outside the box - for example, lift the dot fasteners from boat suppliers or car restorers, some buckles from parachute and aircraft seat manufacturers.

Gary

[ClaireAshton]

OK, here goes.....

My places of supply in UK are (I'm not bothering with addresses, links etc. as they go out of date. I'll let Google take the strain)

• Tandy Leather Factory Northampton Most tools, leather, hardware, dyes etc. (Online, phone and personal visits)
• Le Prevo Best Hardware, some tools, (difficult to order and deal with generally)
• Identity Store Mainly Tandy products
• Abbey in Walsall and Knutsford? Tiger thread and some dyes. Poor selection leather
• Dixons Walsall Tools, very good quality but pricey (personal visits)
• Ebay Various old tools, beware of 'rare vintage' rusty rubbish. Tools from china are rubbish quality, at least all the dealings I've had, but i can't resist!
• Etsy Ian Atkinson for small lengths of Tiger thread
• Toolstation Very cheap tools, things like rolls of sandpaper, real sheepskin bonnets (for dyeing and finishing - one of my best ideas!) smooth pliers for pulling needles etc.
• Amazon My first port of call for anything vaguely generic eg adhesivesu
• Goods Japan Brilliant web source for tools etc. Web site very clunky, but useable and payable by Paypal. NB Only order one item at a time, if you were to order, say, five items then you could get stung for VAT and import duty. I believe the limit for duty is £15 (pounds if this doesn't display correctly) and everything I've ordered always come with a value of $9 (dollers US) on it! As each item is free postage and no discount for quantity, I take the trouble to checkout each item individually. I leave a few hours between orders just in case. Delivery is very quick to UK considering.
• Axminster Tools Online, fantastic range of non-leather specific tools. Thinks like steel rules, dividers, knives

Now for products themselves - only really the ones I have had to use because I can't source the American ones.

• Contact Adhesive (various including Barge) EvoStik Contact - brilliant. Available with brush but my favourite is the very small tube for direct onto small items eg wallet.
• PVA adhesive HobbyCraft Craft PVA in Litre bottles, dirt cheap and dispensed into a sort of 'eyedropper' plastic dispenser I got on amazon
• Heavy Maul In process of making one, don't want to pay £70 for another Al Stohlman one. Have ordered a fork lift truck wheel..... watch this space....
• Grommet (Oval chrome with 1.6" inside clearance available at Ohio Travel Bag? but too expensive to UK) Amazon for a house door number 0 (zero) on its side - one of my better ideas.

Now for 'Wants'

• Beveller (such as the Bevan one from Australia or I believe there is one available in USA) which is about £175 to UK
• Decent Stitching Pony / Clam / Clamp / Horse Made my own (similar to Al Stohlman book on Stitching) but want a leg clam similar to Fred moreau of France. Went to Walsall Leather Museum and they had loads of these clams in a box on display, all just merrily rotting away.
• Rounder Again made my own, but better would have been a properly manufactured one. You can get them on Ebay USA but at extortionate prices.
• Fiebings Glycerin Bar Soap Not at £15 a go!

I'm posting this so as not to lose, but will edit when I have a think. I may try to put it in my first post as well so it's 'on top'

Edited July 20, 2014 by ClaireAshton

[Renoir]

I'd add any shops or UK distributors worth visiting. For example:

A.W Midgely and son, Cheddar - huge range of leather, all types ( http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56577#entry363093 ) More for advanced hobbyist/professional, although they will do you a single hide if you want.

Pittards leather ( http://www.pittardsleather.co.uk/ ) - Yeovill - lots of smaller thinner hides (mainly 1-2mm) in a large variety of colours and prints. a few larger hides in brown. Lots of 2nd and 3rd class stuff too, and scraps. Little or no veg-tan though, mostly or all chrome-tan, since they make gloves. They have a shop attached to the factory with a large room full of hides where you can browse.

Le Provo - used them, good tools and good leather, helpful on the phone but clunky online ordering.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Renoir

[gary]

Wow. That's most of them.

There's Marcus Gear, Sedgewicks, kangarooleather.co.uk, Neumann plus the ones you know of and a few more for leather.

For tools you have it licked. there's also Bowstocks.

www.kingsmerecrafts.com has a few pages devoted to suppliers.

For US style tools and accessories it does seem we're poorly provided for.

Gary

[fivewayswelshcobs]

I'm surprised about the comment for Abbey for poor leather as they actually have one of the largest supplies of leather in the UK, it may be they do not stock what you are looking for but that doesn't mean a poor leather selection and as for Dixon tools you get what you pay for these will last for the lifetime not just a couple of years. As for glue and thread go to Abbey it usually cost more to go else where.

[ClaireAshton]

I'm surprised about the comment for Abbey for poor leather as they actually have one of the largest supplies of leather in the UK, it may be they do not stock what you are looking for but that doesn't mean a poor leather selection and as for Dixon tools you get what you pay for these will last for the lifetime not just a couple of years. As for glue and thread go to Abbey it usually cost more to go else where.

Hi,

The leather they have at Walsall is OK, just that they don't have a great selection to choose from. The other reason I wouldn't bother going there again for leather is that is all behind the counter and unless I can get hands on I'd rather not bother.

Claire

[fivewayswelshcobs]

Walsall is not the main base Knutsford is and if you want to look at the leather they put it on the counter where the light is better and you can see the whole piece front and back or once you get to know them you can go behind the counter but the leather on the counter is more usual. If you want to see what they have either go to Knutsford or talk to them up there and get them to bring a selection down to Walsall. Abbey is very willing to work with you.

[Northmount]

Moved to "Suppliers" and pinned. Looks like a good resource list for the UK.

Tom

[ClaireAshton]

OK. time to pad it out a bit.

Suppliers

Le Prevo in Newcastle upon Tyne. Old fashioned supplier who cannot embrace the 20th century, never mind the 21st. If you order online they will email you back with the total and you have to then phone them, or snail-mail, with your card details. I don't know about you but I am an Amazon Prime Child, whose shopping cutoff time is not when a shop closes, but when Amazon can't deliver the following morning! Now Le Prevo has a good stock of some ranges, but doesn't try to cover everything. They don't tell you the carriage rates when you order, which to me personally I find off putting. Their prices online are less VAT, fair enough, but these days with Ebay and Amazon, unless a supplier is slick - then I tend to look elsewhere.

Update on Abbey - mixed I'm afraid. After being reprimanded ( ) for giving Abbey Walsall a hard time, I went online and ordered some stuff from them, including 936? ml of Tan Kote. I also ordered from Tandy Northampton (UK) and thought "no need to pay the extra for Tan Kote from Tandy, I've ordered it from Abbey". Received confirmation from Abbey, so Tandy ordered went off. |Too late the email from Abbey, no Tan Kote from Abbey in 639ml(?). I just hope that they HAD run out in the Quart size and weren't looking for some mythical pint and a half size.

More to follow. Can peeps send me lots of money so I can do this shopping research properly?..............