Whats With Tiger Thread

[leathervan]

Is it suppose to be the strongest or what. Seems like it has something special about it. Maybe the best thread around? If not what is the strongest thread around?

[barehandcustoms]

I doubt it is the strongest but I would rank it #1 on my list of best threads to work with. I keep other types of thread around the shop but always end up grabbing this stuff. It is easy to sew with, terminates well with a lighter, not over waxed, very consistent product....the list goes on and on

The strongest thread I have worked with would probably be some of the twisted nylon industrial sewing machine thread. It is very bulky thread to hand sew with though.

Edited August 14, 2014 by barehandcustoms

[cgleathercraft]

For me it feels, lays, and looks way better.

Bought two spools from Abbey because I wasn't thrilled with the other threads I had been using. As soon as it arrived it I stitched about 3 inches of scrap with it. Wont touch the rest of the thread I have now unless I absolutely have to. I'm working on a wallet for a friend now and I can't wait to start stitching it up!

A lot of people have put it on a very high pedestal and I believe they were right. Everyone has their favorites though so take it for what it's worth.

Doesn't seem to have much, if any, stretch. I don't imagine there would be much strength difference between it and a similar sized and material twisted thread. I could be wrong! Would like to see some comparisons of tinsel strength between different threads and advertised strengths.

[barehandcustoms]

http://ludlowleather.com/products/ritza25-tiger-thread

Just FYI

Might be cheaper then Abbey's since the shipping is only $5.70.

[ramrod]

i bought a small amount of it off of ebay last week. .6 mm. i'm working on some watch bands. i love the stuff. very easy to work with. the amount of wax is perfect. and what i really like about it is, since it is woven, it holds the needle better. my linen tends to "strip out" the needle sometimes. this stuff won't do that. oh yeah - and did i mention the color choices?! do yourself a favor and give it a try.

[Avgvstvs]

One thing people seem to like about tiger thread is that it comes in a lot of widths (0.6mm, 0.8mm, 1mm, 1.2mm, 1,4mm and 1,7mm) to accomodate different spi's and comes in a lot of colors (I've seen 16, there may be more idk).

It has a refined and consistent look about it that many other threads don't have.

It is 'flat' so it lays differently than 'round' threads.

As others have stated, pleasant stuff to work with.

If you plan on ordering some, you should consider getting small quantities of different sizes via resellers to put the finger on the thread that suits your type of work best. Buying spools is a lot cheaper but getting a spool in a size you don't need is a commitment you might not want to make.

http://ludlowleather.com/products/ritza25-tiger-thread

Just FYI

Might be cheaper then Abbey's since the shipping is only $5.70.

Not in my experience. Ordered three spools from abbey a while back. Cost me less than $ 40 a spool shipped. Even though the sipping costs are prohibitive, abbey sells the 500m spools for around 13ish pounds excluding VAT (which you don't pay if you're from outside the EU) - thats about $ 22.

To give you an idea of shipping costs from abbey, I ordered three spools, an awl haft and a couple of blades and shipping costs via DHL were CAD $ 37ish . I assume shipping would have been quite cheaper for a single spool.

[Troy Burch]

I understand there is a lightly waxed thread and a heavy waxed one in Tiger thread, which one are ya'll useing ?

[Avgvstvs]

I don't know about the wax level. What I see at abbey is either Ritza 25 (the one I referred to earlier) and Ritza 44. On the julius Koch site, Ritza 44 is advertised as machine sewing thread and is silicone lubricated (ranges 0.6mm-0.8mm) whereas Ritza 25 is described as hand sewing thread (ranges 0.8mm-1.2mm).

Abbey lists them slightly differently (and oddly enough stocks sizes outside of the range advertised on the Julius Koch website):

-Ritza 25 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand sewing

-Ritza 44 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand stitching leather

Abbey might have their spools made on 'special specs' - there could be a difference in wax level applied on the thread.

I don't know if they meant to phrase it another way. Never used ritza 44 but it seems to come in only 3 colors (mid-brown, brown and black). The upside of the 44 would be that it comes in 0.4mm for fine work - I didn't know that!

[Troy Burch]

-Ritza 25 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand sewing

-Ritza 44 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand stitching leather

Thanks for the info. now tell me the difference between hand sewing and hand stitching?

Edited August 15, 2014 by Troy Burch

[Avgvstvs]

-Ritza 25 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand sewing

-Ritza 44 this is (a) very strong braided polyester thread which is waxed for hand stitching leather

Thanks for the info. now tell me the difference between hand sewing and hand stitching?

The above is copied and pasted from the abbey website's description of the threads. I think they just goofed up and didn't describe their products consistently. I don't think there's any difference. Then again, English is not my mother tongue so I might be missing something.

[Troy Burch]

Thanks, I figured it must be something like that.

[leathervan]

I meant thread for hand stitching and not sewing thread.

[barehandcustoms]

Never heard of someone actually using tiger thread in a sewing machine. Pretty sure everyone who replied is hand stitching with it.