New Member Needs Guidance

[JAZZMAN]

Hello everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I am now 50 years old and unable to work due to being disabled i have a degenerative disease in my spine which restricts my mobility and ability to walk without walking sticks. I have a lot of time and have been looking for something to learn with all my spare time. When i was young i got in to a bit of bother with the law and was sent to a special attendance centre as punishment. I remember we used to do leatherwork and glasswork and always thought it would be something i would love to get into a lot more. Well i have decided that it is time to do that now. My biggest problem is going to be my low budget so do you think i should start with a tandy kit or maybe just start buying things individually.I am a bit unsure where to start and so that is where i hope this forum will come in. I will be asking lots of questions that's for sure. I am really hoping that this will put back some joy into my life as i have had to give up so many of my other pleasures due to ill health.

Edited October 27, 2014 by JAZZMAN

[King's X]

You can start with the Basic 7 tool set. Master all of them and go from there, one tool at a time you can upgrade to a Barry King or Clay Miller. You can always get the tool numbers off of the basic 7 set and do your own search on ebay for them individually. Depends on much work you put into it, you may come out better then expected.

I would suggest you pick a project, start small and go from there. Learn as much as you can about leather, tools, processes , finishing and so forth before you take on any big project. This forum helped me so much at the beginning and I try to share in return. I cannot tell you how much guidance is stored on this site, but like anything you will have to put the time to look, read and find it. If done right, you will spend hours on this site before picking up a piece of leather.

As always, remember to share you photos, your questions and by all means a small contributions to the site administrators to help them offset the costs to run this site.

Good luck!

Sam

[JAZZMAN]

Hi Sam ,nice to meet you,sorry if i come across a bit silly here but would i not also need to buy a mallet , cutting mat and knife in addition to the 7 tool set, i thought i might begin with a belt or wallet.Is that 7 set of tools just for the carving side of things.

[zuludog]

I was in a similar position to yourself about 3 years ago; here are a few comments

Read and Surf the Net, including You Tube as much as you can; that will get you used to techniques and the jargon. I haven't been on this website/forum for long, but I can tell there's a helluva lot of information & advice here. I've just posted some ideas under the Resources section

The problem with leatherwork, like a lot of hobbies & pastimes is that you seem to need a load of kit all at once (and so need to spend a load of money!) But also you can start reasonably cheaply and simply, then carry on to spend as much as you want

As you read & Surf you will start to realise what you need to buy as a 'proper' tool and what you can make or improvise. In fact that aspect becomes quite interesting and satisfying. I have made or improvised a skiving knife, an edge slicker, a strop, a sewing pony, and I cleaned up a scruffy old craft knife to make a dedicated leather cutting knife.

If you have problems with your strength or posture, you can use a miniature drill, like a Dremel, instead of an awl

Most important thing is a decent desk or bench at a height that suits you, and where you can leave your work in progress, without having to set it up or clear it away each time you need it.

If you can afford it, Tandy's Hand Stitching Kit, product code 11189-00 has many of the things to start with, though you'll need to add a number 2 or 3 edge beveller fairly soon. Keep your eye on Tandy's UK website, they often have sales

Al Stohlman's book ' The Art of Hand Sewing Leather' is good, and is often recommended, but I think it's overpriced at about £15. It's included in the above kit, so you might as well put your money towards that.

There's always Ebay, but caveat emptor, and remember the UK version does not advertise knives

Try car boot sales & second hand tool stalls on markets. You probably won't come across a complete set of leatherworking tools, but there will be general stuff, and things you could modify

To save some money,

you could get just an awl blade and make your own handle

start off with a cheap snap - blade knife

I have heard of people making a stitch pricker from an old fork.

I made my skiving knife by cutting down and sharpening an old putty knife. It's not bad, even though I say it myself, as the old steel has taken a razor sharp edge

I would leave tooling, carving, and colouring for the moment. Do simple suff well, get the basics right first, and build up your experience & skill

[zuludog]

Just re - read your last post

The usual grid patterned green cutting mats are cheap enough; might as well get a big one. If you're really short of money almost any plank of wood, or an old kitchen chopping board will do. Put a damp rag or tea towel underneath to stop things sliding around

You don't need an expensive round/head or clicker knife. I use three knives --

A cheap snap blade knife from a DIY store

An old Stanley knife from a secondhand stall. I cleaned it up & repainted it. There were a few old rusty blades in it, I cleaned them up too, and resharpened them; they work very well.

An old paring/vegetable knife we've had for years. It's carbon steel so we don't use it in the kitchen any more. I reground the blade on an oilstone so it resembled a leather or clicker knife, and bound the handle with thin cord for more grip.

You will need a sharpening stone of some kind, and a strop - I made my own from scraps I had lying around

For a mallet , remember that you don't need to bray anything; you're dealing with leather, not quarrying for granite

Tandy, and other suppliers are expensive. I got a hide mallet in a local craft shop that was having a sale

Shop around places like Halfords, DIY stores, cheap hardware stalls on your market, for any kind of soft hammer - hide, plastic, nylon, aluminium, copper. It doesn't have to be the very best

You can use an ordinary steel hammer if you put a piece of wood or a wad of leather or cloth between the punch and the hammer. Or you could make a push - on padded leather cover for the face

To 'bray' - an old northern English dialect word for really hitting or beating something severely.

[JAZZMAN]

Hello Zulu, and thank you for your very helpful and thoughtfull responses to my questions, you are very kind to spend so much time and thought on me. If you do not mind me asking one more question, what do you think would be the best starter project that i would gain the most from, i agree with you that it is best to do something simple well rather than a complex project badly, any ideas would be most welcome. Thank you once again for your kindness, hopefully i will make some new friends on here as well as learning new things.

[zuludog]

A starter project? Hmmm...... Look at it from another angle. Instead of naming a particular piece of work, how about 'something you want to do'

Even if your skills are not up to it at the moment, regard it as something to aim at. It is possible to work and relax at the same time.

OK, enough of the philosophy! You couldn't find much easier things to start with than a key fob, or a credit card wallet/holder, or a simple belt

They can teach you pattern making, marking out ( sometimes called setting out), cutting, edge bevelling, stitching, skiving, edge finishing, dyeing, burnishing, tooling. You don't have to use all these techniques, and there are probably others that I've missed

Have a look at the books I mentioned in my recent post in the Resources section, they all have projects in them

How are your walking sticks? You could make some soft, thin leather palm protectors.

Perhaps some of the other Members on these forums would be kind enough to give you their advice and suggestions

[MonicaJacobson]

Ditto zuludog - I think you do your best work if you're making something you want or need. There are all sorts of people, and some people thrive on practice, but I like to make something useful, or I cut corners and do sloppy work. As a result, lots of things I made were really crappy. However, I had a great time making them.

I made some tobacco pouches for my Dad and brothers, some journals and journal covers for my sisters, lots of bracelets and a few poorly designed wallets.

Good luck on your search for cheap tools. Do you have craigslist in the UK? I had similar trouble, starting out - no money for it at all. I bought the bare minimum of tools, and scraped along, buying a few more things every couple of months.

Here's a list of the things I got in the first few months, as a bare minimum kit:

awl
mallet (I use an $8.00 deadblow hammer from Shars.com)
A few dyes
Resolene or Saddle Lac - some people use mop & glow
Someone's old Tandy stamping tools I bought on Ebay
Tandy Pro swivel knife

Angled swivel knife blade
Strop

edge beveler
grooving tool
needles
thread

saddle soap or gum trag (I didn't have these - I was happily oblivious of the need to burnish edges)

edge burnisher

I didn't have a pricking iron at the time, but it makes a huge difference. You can either buy the overstitch wheel to mark where to make holes to make sure they're evenly spaced, or you can train your eye (which can take a while), or you can buy a pricking iron. If you do that, you need a four prong one and a two prong one. Depending on the type of project you want to do, the slits and the spaces between them need to be smaller. Roughly 6 stitches per inch for a bag, and more like 8 - 10 stitches per inch for wallets. (Though, honestly, you can cheat on that when you start out. It's not the most important thing in the world.)

Also, if you're buying things on ebay, you can figure out exactly what you want on Tandy's website, and then search for it on ebay. You should also check Tandy's prices to make sure you're getting a good deal.

[zuludog]

Looks like this is becoming an exchange of ideas for tools on a budget

it helps if you're something of a scrounger and a hoarder. Keep your eye out for likely bits of wood, metal, and anything that's old, broken, and cheap

I use an old dart head as a scriber & general prodder

Years ago I took the glass oven door off an old cooker to use as a work board when making model planes.

In leatherwork I use it as a base when skiving, and for laying out damp leather to flatten it, as some of the leather I use for practice or small items has been reclaimed from old bags or boots

The door is useful for working with paint and glue as it just scrapes off the glass when it's dry

Put a damp rag or old tea towel underneath to prevent it sliding around

For an edge burnisher I used till recently a tip I was shown on a course:--

Clean up the sewn edges with a knife and abrasive paper, and coat with gum tragacanth. Cut a scrap of 2.5mm to 3mm leather into a square of 20mm to 30mm sides.

Then just fold it over and hold it in place, and start burnishing!

As you use it the inside of the fold will itself become polished, so use it over again.

I have since made, ie carved, my own burnisher/slicker/creaser based on those I have seen on websites. For the wood, I used a broken axe haft

[bigsmile]

I am also new to leather work. I can use all the help I can get. I find alot of used things on the internet ebay ect. I have found most of them to be good deals. I am ready to start projects. Have already made several belts. Looking for help finding leather both hides and scrap. Mostly small items. Have a big smile to all Ronald

[zuludog]

Bigsmile

If you can't find leather in Texas, God help you!

[zuludog]

Alright, Bigsmile, I couldn't resist that

I'm sure if you asked for help under Resources, Suppliers, or Getting Started, then you would get several suggestions

Do you have a saddlers or craft shop near you? Perhaps they will let you have some small pieces or point you in the right direction

[zuludog]

I've just been playing around with Google and came up with these

www. leatherhidesuppliersusa

leatherhideswholesaletexas

texasleathergoods.com

southtexassaddlery.com

kellylarsonsales.com

waterhouseleather.com

rojeleather.com --- seems to deal with exotics

leatherhidestore.com

macphersonleather.com

theleatherguy.org

brettunsvillage.com

theleathercollection.us

Some of them are wholesale, but they might be willing or even glad to get rid of their small pieces & oddments. You don't get if you don't ask.

Some of them sell tools as well

I'm sure there will be more suppliers if you do a more extensive search; and there's always Tandy

If you search for 'leather' you tend to get finished goods; for leather to work with, search for 'hide'

Over to you!

[bigsmile]

Many thanks zuludog for all the info. I have and will spend many hours learning. I love my new found craft.

[Wild Bill46]

Jazzman, Bigsmile ------------------

Just as an added tid bit, If / and when you want to start tooling, you might even go to one of those stone counter top stores

and ask for a piece of Marble / Grainite scrap. usually their happy to ablige, and are usually free, or perhaps a nominal charge,

and use that to learn tooling on. Its all you'll ever need ! As hole punches go, for beginning ,

try sharpening different sized copper tubeing, or wireing conduit. see; Tandy Pony or Horse clamps, Maybe is possible

take the design and make one for yourself from wood scraps --------------- Wild Bill46

[bigsmile]

Thanks for this good ideas Wild Bill46

[bigsmile]

Yes Jazzman I am in the same situation. I lost my feet. I am also looking for happyness again. I have come along way in the last few years. I have found joy in life even without feet. I spend alot of time around positive people and give as much as I receive. Hang in there the sun is up and enjoy the day. That is my plan.