Members pgivens Posted January 8, 2015 Members Report Posted January 8, 2015 http://www.goodsjapan.com/european-leather-stitching-chisel-leathercraft-pricking-iron-tool-6x3mm-1596-p.asp Has anyone bought and tried these tools? It looks like it is made by Kyoshin Elle and it is their attempt to provide a pricking chisel. They are priced pretty reasonably compared with Dixon (and especially compared with Vergez Blanchard) but I'm a bit skeptical. The teeth look a bit thick to me. I've never used pricking irons and I want to move in that direction but boy are they expensive! Quote
Members zuludog Posted January 9, 2015 Members Report Posted January 9, 2015 I haven't used Goods Japan pricking irons, but here are a few comments that might be useful I make mostly knife sheaths from 3 to 4mm leather, and use Tandy's Proline Diamond Stitching Chisel; 2 prong 4mm spacing. I am happy enough with the results, and a professional saddler said the spacing was OK. 2 prongs is a bit slow, but is OK as sheaths are small items and have curves; besides, this is a hobby, I don't have to earn my living from it. Perhaps I'll get a 4- or 6 prong sometime For thinner leather you'll need shorter stitches, so should use an iron with correspondingly narrower gaps between the prongs I use my chisel straight out of the box, but soon I might dress/fettle/polish the prongs with a needle file or a very small strop homemade from a piece of fine abrasive paper ( say 800 to 1200 grit ) glued to a piece of stiff card or a sliver of wood. The Proline chisels are reasonably priced at £10 to £15 each, but at the moment Tandy have a limited range available. There are no plans to discontinue them, but they are having difficulties with their supplier. They have another range available, the Fine Diamond, but that is more expensive. There are a lot of video clips about leather on YouTube, including the use of pricking irons. Nigel Armitage's videos are good, look for 'Help With Making Holes' by Armitage Leather There are several clips from Goods Japan, both for irons and other techniques, but I haven't watched them all. Put 'Pricking Irons' into YouTube's search box If you haven't already got one, you will need a soft hammer of some kind on a pricking iron Be careful what you get. Chisels with flat prongs are intended for thonging & lacing. For hand stitching you want those with angled, diamond shaped cross section prongs. Quote
Members pgivens Posted January 9, 2015 Author Members Report Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks for the response zuludog. I guess I should have been more explicit. I have been hand stitching for as long as I have been in this hobby (a couple years now) using various methods. I mainly use the diamond chisels from Tandy that I originally started with (I have the 5SPI set as well as one of the new "fine" diamond chisels that runs 7SPI). I have also experimented with using an overstitch wheel and piercing manually with an awl. I much prefer the workflow of using the diamond chisels, but in my quest to take my stitching to the next level I have started thinking that I need to use a pricking iron. In this case, I'm not using pricking iron as a generic term. I am differentiating between pricking irons--which make a very thin / / / / / shaped mark meant to be followed with an awl--and diamond chisels, which make a larger diamond shaped hole and can be driven all the way through the leather. I think for really elegant looking stitching that exaggerates the slanted pattern I need to start using a pricking iron. I just don't want to spend $280 on a set from Vergez Blanchard. This is the only decent looking substitute at a reasonable price point I have seen. I think they are pretty new, so I wouldn't be surprised if no one has used them, but here's hoping... Quote
Members Django57 Posted January 9, 2015 Members Report Posted January 9, 2015 Hope you get a response as I have been looking at these free shipping is a plus also. Quote
Members pgivens Posted January 9, 2015 Author Members Report Posted January 9, 2015 I'm kind of thinking about just pulling the trigger and if they are too thick maybe taking them somewhere to be filed down a bit thinner. Kyoshin Elle is a reputable manufacturer so I figure at least the steel will be decent. Quote
Members JanC Posted January 9, 2015 Members Report Posted January 9, 2015 I'd like to know how sharp they are. Quote
Members Chain Posted January 10, 2015 Members Report Posted January 10, 2015 I have just bought one of these http://www.goodsjapan.com/european-leather-stitching-chisel-leathercraft-pricking-iron-tool-6x3mm-1596-p.asp%C2'> and also the 2 prong one. I have only just sewn 2 pieces of leather together to try them out. The holes are not thick, in fact they can be a little tight which can be a good thing. They seem quite good to me though Quote
Members pgivens Posted January 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted January 10, 2015 I have just bought one of these and also the 2 prong one. I have only just sewn 2 pieces of leather together to try them out. The holes are not thick, in fact they can be a little tight which can be a good thing. They seem quite good to me though That's great. Would you be able to post a picture of the stitching you did? Quote
Members Chain Posted January 10, 2015 Members Report Posted January 10, 2015 The stitching is a bit rough, so are the pics but I was just trying it out. Quote
Members pgivens Posted January 12, 2015 Author Members Report Posted January 12, 2015 What size thread is that? And which SPI iron did you use? Quote
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