Needles And Fringes

[MorningStarL]

I know: it's two topics.

I joined last week. I make knife sheaths and since I joined here and started reading, I haven't drilled a hole in a piece of leather to sew through. I'm using 9 - 10 ounce vegtan and by the time there's a front and a back and a welt, there's a good half-inch or more to go through. I've ordered some Bob Douglas awls cuz you guys said they were best. In the meantime I've taken the blade out of a sewing awl and chucked it into the drill press, cuz I never had strong hands anyway and now I have arthritic fingers. That's working out okay. What I've done so far looks MUCH better.

But my needles are too big for what I'm doing, and I'm having to pull them through with pliers for every stitch, and back-stitching is almost impossible. I'm going to use up the waxed linen and cotton threads I have before I look at buying more, new, more expensive stuff like Tiger. It sure would help to get better needles though, and I'm asking for advice.

And since I'm here, I really love that Old West look like Chuck Burrows does at Wild Rose Trading Company. Lots of fringes there and I've never successfully done fringe. I'd like ideas on that too.

When I get the current sheath done, with an iguana skin insert, I'll post it on the Critique My Work forum. You guys rock, and I'm grateful for all the help.

[billybopp]

A lot of people really like the John James harness needles. They can be found at http://springfieldleather.com/20058/Needle%2CHarness%2C%2200%22Med%2C2pk/ . Other people like the Osborne needles, and there are other brands out there as well. I'm not sure what size you need, since that is dictated by the thread size and the size of the holes you've poked in the leather. I keep a few different sizes around for different uses. Variety is good.

Bill

[MorningStarL]

I'm going to have to do some research on all that. I use the 9-10 ounce vegtan almost exclusively, and a stitch wheel set at 6spi for marking holes, so it shouldn't be too hard for me to find out info I want. I've just been buying from Tandy, you know? And not liking how my stitching and holes look. Real glad I found leatherworker.net.