Sedgwick Bridle Butt

[club49]

I purchased some Sedgwick bridle butt from Abby Leather. It is a beautiful looking piece. My problem is putting a crease in it. I am very new to leather working. I have no problem with creasing veg tan leather. The Sedgwick has the wax finish and water doesn't penetrate it. When I crease it the line is very light. I used a Osborn wooden creaser. I am a little nervous to use the swivel knife on a long straight line. I am doing belts, I forgot to mention that. I live in NJ USA, that leather as you all know is not cheap. I do have an adjustable creaser from Tandy, I heated it a bit, it didn't do any better then the wooden one.

Thank you,

Jim

[gmace99]

Heat a screw crease. Get it hot enough that when you wet your finger and touch the crease it hisses it will be hot enough. Make sure it is not so hot it burns the leather test on a off cut first.

If you get stuck I could always do a quick you tube video for you.

[Birdman]

In addition to the good advice above......

Remember that when using a hot creasing iron, the mark is permanent.

Cold ----and it isn't a disaster if you slip! It can be 'rubbed out'.

So bearing this in mind, you may wish to make a good mark cold. This may need several passes with the tool.

This will give you a good 'tram line' to help keep the hot iron in place when going for the permanent mark.

As suggested above, practice on some scrap and note how easily the iron will slip across the leather if the tool is to close to the vertical. The outer edge of the screw crease not only polishes the cut edge, it keeps the tool in place.

A new screw crease also benefits from 'running in'. Its like a fountain pen, it gets used to the way you hold it and wears/polishes itself accordingly.

So the suggestion of practice has two benefits. It helps develop your skill as well as 'running in' the tool!

I will slightly disagree with gmace99 on the temperature of the iron. 'Hot enough to sizzle' will burn the leather far to easily, and will also require a fast (and skilled) action to prevent this.

My own personal preference is so that I can just bear the heat as the tool is briefly dabbed onto the palm of my hand.

Another tip.

When doing a batch of creasing, say when making a bridle, the iron takes longer to heat to begin with because the heat distributes itself along the metal. So you need to top up the heat more often in the first few minutes than you do in the last few minutes.

I hope this helps.

[gmace99]

I have made thousands of saddles over the years (5/6 a week ) and always heat. I do agree that you should do it cold to practice however after a short use it will fade the heat is permanent. Also when I say hot enough r to sizzle I don't mean red hot . You have to get it hot enough to do the job but not burn. This is how I and the professional bridle makers that I worked with at Jeffries have always done it. But do be careful and test it on a scrap of leather

Edited July 29, 2015 by gmace99

[club49]

Thank you both, you have been a big help. I will have to practices a bit. I like the way your lines look in the thumb nail. Thank you very much.

Jim

[club49]

I want to thank you Birdman and Gmace99. I did what you suggested and it came out very nice. I heated the screw creaser with canned heat, I heated it enough to where, I couldn't touch it and leave my finger on it.I did have it a little to hot a few times. I could see and feel the finish melting. Thank both of you guys.

Jim

[gmace99]

Your welcome. Getting the heat right will come with practice. Test on a bit of scrap leather first. You don't want to burn the leather.

Look at the E Jeffries video about 2 minutes 15 seconds in you will see George the bridle maker heating a shoulder crease.

I use a shoulder crease also but can take a bit of getting the hang of it so screw crease is a good and cheaper way to start.

The video is good it shows you the speed we work at in the factory's over here. It might also show you how to stain and burnish several straps at once.

I worked in the saddle making department for Jeffries. It is also worth a look on their video.

Hope this link works if not go onto google and type e Jeffries video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fTDhLlu13V0

You can also look at my videos on YouTube the using a round knife to do a belt point might be of interest..... Type uksaddlery into YouTube

Edited August 4, 2015 by gmace99

[club49]

Thank you gmace99 for sharing that video. I am surprised they all have all their fingers. That was amazing, I think I will buy a bag for my wife .

Jim

[Trox]

Your welcome. Getting the heat right will come with practice. Test on a bit of scrap leather first. You don't want to burn the leather.

Look at the E Jeffries video about 2 minutes 15 seconds in you will see George the bridle maker heating a shoulder crease.

I use a shoulder crease also but can take a bit of getting the hang of it so screw crease is a good and cheaper way to start.

The video is good it shows you the speed we work at in the factory's over here. It might also show you how to stain and burnish several straps at once.

I worked in the saddle making department for Jeffries. It is also worth a look on their video.

Hope this link works if not go onto google and type e Jeffries video.

You can also look at my videos on YouTube the using a round knife to do a belt point might be of interest..... Type uksaddlery into YouTube

HI and thanks for posting this video and info. Impressing speed on this bridle maker, nice work too.

I have seen this video before, then and now I have the same question: This tool the bridle maker is using instead of a plough gauge, I think it was called a "razor gauge" or something like that. I have never seen these strap cutting tools, other than in this video. Do you have some more information about it, and perhaps where they are sold.

In advance thank you.

Tor

Edited August 6, 2015 by Trox

[gmace99]

Hi Trox

That tool is not on sale anywhere it was made at Jeffries and the will not sell them.

[25b]

Hi Trox

That tool is not on sale anywhere it was made at Jeffries and the will not sell them.

Sounds like a good opportunity for someone adept at reverse-engineering tools.

[gmace99]

it is a fantastic tool cuts way faster than a plough gauge

[25b]

it is a fantastic tool cuts way faster than a plough gauge

Well, I thought my plough gauge was fast...

If anyone can produce better pictures, I might be able to come up with some drawings and/or prototype which I could post full dimensions, specs, etc. for...

[Matt T]

Sounds like a good opportunity for someone adept at reverse-engineering tools.

You can see at 2:06 what the tool looks like from the bottom. It's just a bunch of brass shims with a razor squeezed between at an angle. There is a wing nut on one side to loosen / tighten the shims together. I've thought of making something similar to this but using a rotary blade.

[25b]

Yeah, I've seen the video before...I'll need better pics than that to replicate it.

[club49]

If you make one that slides over a straight edge to make the first cut on a double shoulder, I would buy one tomorrow. Put the straight edge on top of the double shoulder, slip the cutter onto the straight edge, in this case a 6' ruler, put the blade down in a cutting position and slide it down. It sounds easy, all you need is the tools and skill. I wish I had them.

Jim

[Matt T]

Jim, how about gluing some non slip material to the bottom of the ruler and then cutting along the ruler with a head knife or rotary knife? It wouldn't be hard to make what you describe, but I just don't know how useful it would be.

If you make one that slides over a straight edge to make the first cut on a double shoulder, I would buy one tomorrow. Put the straight edge on top of the double shoulder, slip the cutter onto the straight edge, in this case a 6' ruler, put the blade down in a cutting position and slide it down. It sounds easy, all you need is the tools and skill. I wish I had them.

Jim

[Trox]

So basically they made a production tool with fixed width (widths) that is small and handy for the bridle production. I prefer to use a draw gauge on reins under a inch and plough gauge for wider straps. I would like to have something small like this tool, that could be pushed. But what kind of blades do you use in them? If they are utility blades, do they not flex?

[club49]

gmace99 What kind of wood are they using in the video to mold the leather around for the saddle? I am asking because one day I will attempt to make a case for my metal detector.

Jim

[gmace99]

Do you mean the saddle tree? How far into their video is it?

If it is the saddle tree it is made from laminated beech ply...........7 or 9 layers are glued together in a mould and set in a oven or in a vacuum press.