Would Like Some Advice Before Buying These Products.

[ItsSammwise]

Hello everyone!

I'm sure you know the story, but I'll say it anyway. I want to get into leather working as a hobby. But before I can do that, I need to get the tools. I was hoping you could look at my list and give me some advice. I'd like to start out by making belts, bags, pouches, quivers, and maybe even some journals.

Also if anyone in Belgium reads this, let me know if there are any leather crafting stores around!

Here is what I have so far.

Milwaukee 48-22-1901 Utility Knife http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003I85GT6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I27G62HDWK312K

Alvin Cutting Mat http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015AOIYI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I27CKQA5MD9NTE&psc=1

Double Faced Soft Mallet http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MWVAUUA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I2PKW7XXNO3GAK

Diamond Chisel Set http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CBRVKOK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I1Y7HHHHP2VGT4

Craftool Spacer Set http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038HWMB2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I1B73HOZBLR5I8

Beveler http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OHAHICM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I1XFWNFMC2IQXC

Skiver http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036KZ9KC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I2HZ7R8QJOFI4O

Burnisher http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SSQ2Y6Q/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=IJ1LRIQP7JJ0C

Hollow Punch Set http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037UUO74/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=IVCTO5OL2XPIW

Stitching Needles http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00114RBSI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I1B71JQEKKJLML&psc=1

Bone Folder http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PX893Q/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I1U39XRRZ9QJ59&psc=1

Awl http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T7R3/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=200363CCJN62D&coliid=I2UIWXMSHP8OXR

Also, I need some help picking out adhesives, stains/dyes, finishers, and types of thread. Thank you so much for reading. If you have any additions, remarks about the products, or want to tell me that one of those products is unreliable, please let me know!

Take care guys!

Sam

[mlapaglia]

DO NOT get those needles. PLEASE do not. Try these instead. They make a better looking stitch. 0 is a good size to learn with. the larger the number the smaller the needle. http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Harness-Needles-1192-10/dp/B0039VS9B4/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1438227815&sr=1-2&keywords=harness+needles

If you are using the AWL for doing hand stitching it is not the right one. You need a diamond shaped awl. I do not see any on Amazon.

The mallet you have picked is not a good choice in my opinion. Try something like this http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leathercraft-Polymer-Stamping-3301-04/dp/B003AXNCH2/ref=sr_1_5?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1438227843&sr=1-5&keywords=leather+mallet

Im not a fan of the chisels. This is why I suggest a diamond awl. It lets you decide your stitch per inch. with a 4 prong or 2 prong chisel you can not change the SPI. Some people love them so its a personal opinion.

Others will come along with more info on your other items. The ones I commented on are the ones that jumped out at me.

Are you committed to using Amazon?

Michael

[ItsSammwise]

Hey Michael,

Thank you very much for your response! No, I'm not committed to using amazon. I was looking at other specialized leather working websites that seemed to have better tools.

Thanks again,

Sam

[ItsSammwise]

Hello again,

I decided to buy these products. Any advice on dyes, glues, or finishers?

Harness Needle Type 0 https://www.stecksstore.com/harness-needle-size-0-small-10-pack-1192-10/

Mini Punch Set 0-5 https://www.stecksstore.com/mini-punch-set-tube-sizes-0-to-5-3003-00/

Lacing and Stitching Flat Side Awl Haft https://www.stecksstore.com/lacing-and-stitching-flat-side-awl-haft-3318-01/

Diamond Awl Blades :

Small 1-5/8" https://www.stecksstore.com/diamond-awl-blade-small-1-5-8-3319-05/

Medium 1-7/8" https://www.stecksstore.com/diamond-awl-blade-1-7-8-medium-3319-06/

Large 1-5/8" https://www.stecksstore.com/diamond-awl-blade-large-1-5-8-3319-07/

Adjustable V-Gouge https://www.stecksstore.com/adjustable-v-gouge-31811-00/

Polymer Head Stamping Mallet Large https://www.stecksstore.com/polymer-head-stamping-mallet-large-3301-04/

Tandy Leather Super Heavy Duty Skiver https://www.stecksstore.com/tandy-leather-super-heavy-duty-skiver-w-blade-3025-00/

Craftool Spacer Set System w/4 Wheels https://www.stecksstore.com/craftool-spacer-set-system-w-4-wheels-8091-00/

Craftool Adjustable Groover https://www.stecksstore.com/craftool-adjustable-groover-8074-00/

Edge Beveler Rounder Size 3 https://www.stecksstore.com/edge-beveler-rounder-size-3-8076-03/

Do you have any suggestions, tips, hints for a beginner? Also, where would you order leather online? What type of leather should I start off with?

Thanks everyone!

Sam

[LeatherNerd]

Hi Sam,

New to the forum so I'm picking through older messages, hope I'm not zombifying dead threads... :-)

I'm new to leatherwork so take this all with a grain of salt, of course, but:

Your V-Gouge: Tandy sells two kinds, and from all reports I've heard you got the good one. I have the bad one, and am about to start a thread asking for help. Failing that I'll return it to Tandy and invoke their lifetime warranty (I can visibly demonstrate that the design is fundamentally flawed) and exchange it for the kind you got.

Your Super Skiver: I have heard it works okay for skiving down the end of a belt or other thin strap, but if you want to do any freehand work or edge work, the Safety Beveler is where it's at. I have one and I love it. I can still skive down strap and belt ends (though I do still leave ridges sometimes, the curved blade is tricky to learn) but I can also skive along seams that I want to bring together as well as scoop out small impressions behind a punched hole when the leather is too thick for my rivets. (I've seen a video where George Hurst does this with a French Edge skiver, however, so that's probably the better way to do it.)

Re: glues. I used to use barge exclusively until the night I needed to glue nearly a square foot of leather back to back. Used up a whole tube of barge and nearly gassed the entire house. Adequate ventilation is apparently not just a good theory! Now I use EcoWeld contact cement exclusively. It's VERY runny and was hard to control at first. I tried applying it with q-tips and a glue spreader stick but if I ever had enough on the applicator to do anything it would go out of control, and if I had it under control the applicator would dry out after half an inch of coverage. Then I discovered paintbrushes. This is a WONDERFUL way to apply the stuff, but you have to wash the brush IMMEDIATELY (like, while waiting for the cement to become tacky, you get up and rinse the brush the instant you're done applying glue). I *still* ended up ruining most of my brushes. Finally I settled on a big box of cheap sponge/foam paintbrushes. These have turned out to be ideal. They load up great but the chisel point keeps the glue under control right up to the line, and the foam rinses clear of glue dozens of times before I have to toss it. At $2.00 for a box of 10 I'm not heartbroken when I have to toss one, either.

That said, I just learned last week that barge can do something water-based cement can't, and that is glue damp leather. I'll probably pick up another tube (and yes, I buy it by the tube not the bucket so that tells you the amount of glue throughput I have here ;-) ) just for days when I have a project that needs to be glued and stitched while it's being wet molded.

As far as dyes and finishers go, I absolutely LOVE the results I get with the hi-lite stains, so I have a pot of each of the 4 colors Tandy sells. The problem is that acrylic finishes will "activate" the dye after it's dried. This makes it wet again and painting or wiping on the sealer can wash the dye back to a much lighter shade and even pick the dye back out of the tool impressions. Super Shene® will do this to some extent but wiping 100% pure Resolene is absolutely Satan on a hi-lite finish in my experience. From advice I've read elsewhere I'm going to start thinning my Resolene 50/50 with water and I'm going to get a sprayer for it. Until then Resolene doesn't go on my hi-lite finishes.

Tandy's "Professional" line of waterstains have been great to work with, however. (Again, remember that my experience is limited--I've never used oil dye at all and I'm hearing that stuff's the best.) It tends to want to blotch unless you work it in, and a damp sponge is the best applicator I've found for it. That said, I've found that I can mix the stuff with just about anything for fantastic results. There's a pearl dye that mixes with any other color to make it shimmer, and you can mix, say, yellow with brown to lighten it or yellow with red to make orange. The amazing thing is that they generally mix well with other eco-flo water-based products. I could be Doing It Wrong™ but just futzing around with my own bench of products I've found that Natural (clear-ish) Leather Edge Paint will mix with pearl or a color to give the edge paint a translucent effect, the gel antique finishes seem to mix okay if you use enough of a ratio to thin the gel out, and it even sort of mixes with acrylic paints (it falls out of solution quickly so use it fast, but I did use Navy dye to bring Cova Color's sky blue down to a deep night-sky blue without having to wash out the color by mixing in black).

In theory you're supposed to come back over the waterstain with a top coat to seal it, but in practice once it's dried that stuff is way more colorfast than hi-lite dye. Keep that in mind if you ever use too much--you have to wash it back out with water before it's dried. A top coat may be needed to make it water resistant, and who knows, maybe the waterstain does tend to scuff off because the leather surface is essentially still unprotected. The thing I *LOVE* about waterstains is that you can slap Super Shene and even Resolene on it, even while it's still damp, and because the solvents are totally different the sealer won't pull the dye off.

If you're going to use resist techniques with waterstains, practice on scrap first. It's touchy and likes to stain 100% instead of partially. This can leave a blotchy or stippled effect where the resist isn't on super thick. So far the best results I have gotten are very specific: one coat of Super Shene, wait 24 hours, another coat of Super Shene, wait 24 MORE hours, THEN apply stain. It will leave the leather almost entirely clear.

Sorry to write you a novel. Again remember that I'm new and my experience is very narrow. Good luck, and HTH!