Returnee With Questions

[splinters]

After a long absence, and I mean a long absence, I have returned to the craft and need to ask some questions concerning basic tools I should purchase and I hope you all will bear with me.

The first question concerns which mallet to select by head material, shape and weight.

Those many years ago I had a rawhide mallet that seemed to serve me well but on studying Springfield Leather's online store, saw their ad here so decided I would start with them as a supporter of the forum, I discovered a number of possible choices. I like the shape of the Barry King Maul but for starters I may select something a little less expensive in the rawhide or poly head. I see that some of these can be selected by weight and there I don't have a clue. There seems to be more selection today than in my yester year.

I sure would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts you all may wish to share.

Thanks,

Pat

P.S. What brought me back happen in this last year and is the fault on one T.C. Albert and his book "Recreating the 18th Century Hunting Pouch". I followed his step by step to make a replica of Albert's North Hampton pouch . That really got the fires started again.

My icon is a photo of my finished pouch. Fun!

[Bob Blea]

Welcome back splinters. You are right there are a lot of options to choose from. I started off with a rawhide mallet but once I went to a poly head maul I never looked back. I have Barry King ones and I would recommend starting off with something in the 12-14 oz. range if your just going to be doing standard tooling. If you are interested in large geometrics like saddle sized box stamps then you are going to need something heavier to get a good impression, like 20 oz. or larger depending on the size of your stamp. I find the maul is much easier on my wrist and arm that the mallet.

Also, my mauls are straight sided, not tapered. I was once advised that the tapered mauls made it too easy to rest your arm on the bench and cause you to be sloppy, so I've always just stuck with the straight sided mauls. A lot of people use the tapered ones and do good work, so there may not be much to that claim.

Just my 2 cents,

Bob

[splinters]

Thanks for that Bob, that's good working info. I'll be doing primarily belts and thinking of starting by trying my hand at learning basket weave stamps. So, now I obviously need to locate somewhere I can purchase a marble slab of adequate size.

Thanks for the welcome back and info again,

Pat

[Bob Blea]

A lot of people have good luck going to kitchen and bathroom countertop dealers and getting their broken counters or cutouts, often for free. Also, any company that makes monuments or headstones will likely have some mistakes they will be willing to part with for cheap.

[terrypen]

I purchased a beginner's kit from Springfield and it was a good start, but there are things in there that I haven't used. I bought the one that came with the granite slab (pricey to ship) and later found a local countertop/kitchen installer that gave me access to their scrap bin. I got another 12" x 12" piece of granite that is cut on 3 sides and I need to get a blade to cut the side that is not cut and they even gave it to me for free.

I also bought a 16oz Barry King maul, and it feels amazing in my hand compared to the mallet that came in the kit. I also purchased a couple of different mallet/tools from Harbor Freight. I got a dead blow hammer and use it for stuff that might damage my BK prematurely. They also have a teflon(looking) small hammer/mallet.

If I were to be looking for a maul now, it would still be between the BK and Maul Master found on Weaver Leather Supply.

Take it for what you paid for this advice.. as I am a newbie but enjoying the craft.

[splinters]

Thanks gents for posting your info about the mauls and where to search for a tooling slab. Makes good sense.

BTW Bob, took a look at C and B Leather. Very nice work.

Edited June 12, 2015 by splinters

[splinters]

Well I've decided to get the Barry King small round maul. I do have a dead blow hammer that I plan to use for things like punching holes and only using the Barry King for stamp work.

Thanks again gents.

P.S. I did notice that Barry King also has a swivel knife........... hum.

Edited June 12, 2015 by splinters

[Bob Blea]

Barry King makes a very good swivel knife. That is a good one to start with and you can upgrade later if you decide you need something fancy.

thanks for the compliment on my work too!

[splinters]

Your welcome Bob. Thanks for your comment concerning the Barry King swivel knife. I don't know that I would want something fancy later since it is function and quality I'm more interested in when it comes to tools. Going through some of the few tools I have left from my early try at leather work I did find my old 60's era, IIRC, Tandy swivel knife. Is in good shape. It has a 1/2" barrel with two knifes one of which is a 3/8" and the other a 1/2". Anyway, I'm considering the Barry King swivel knife with the 3/8" barrel and a 1/4" thin blade as a starter and would like to hear any thoughts on that.

I also think I would like one of their basket stamps plus a border stamp to go with that for a belt once I know which of the designs in those two stamps I would like and the sizes I should chose. Finding some info, book, articles, or threads here on the net, related to doing basket weave designed belts that may get me off to a good start would be a big help.

[splinters]

Do any of you use a weight on your project as a third hand as you do tooling? If so, would you tell me what you like to use?

Thanks

Edited June 16, 2015 by splinters