Is Everything From Tandy Sub-Par?

[JLSleather]

Jim,

that certainly didn't work out. Maybe you should have seen what she was doing for lunch!

Chris

Yep. Still kaint cutno leather, but the trip wernt wasted!

[Jim]

FOR SALE - one Swivel Knife. Used Once. . . . . . repeatedly.

[Oldtoolsniper]

So I could not figure out how to do a pattern that chief did on a belt. Arrowhead basket weave I believe he calls it. He did a video and now I can do it.

Tandy stamp new from the store JLS is talking about. After watching the video and getting consistent results on scrap I started down my belt, I've driven nails, and spent many hours on the handle of an axe, sledgehammer, and or splitting maul so I'm pretty good at hitting the mark. I'm going down the belt and at around one third of the way down I started getting glancing blows, just one or two at first but they increased as I went. Now I'm the guy who just started to wear reading glasses and they focus at a certain point, that point was the tool meeting the leather not the maul meeting the stamp. Pretty soon I couldn't hit the mark at all, I was convinced I must have had some sort of mini stroke and lost my motor skills so off to the couch I went. When I got back to the bench I noticed that stamp, it was now curved. A 16 ounce maul bent that fine quality pot metal stamp into a nice c shape. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of pot metal since a magnet won't stick to it. They are cast not made from a blank like the old craftool co. tools are. I've learnt my lesson and now I buy the vintage stuff from eBay.

As far as knifes go I have about twenty or so head knives. I'm a hoarder, I mean collector of tools to some extent. No you do not need one. Learn with a replaceable blade knife first, no use trying to learn how to sharpen a round knife until you are ready. It's a whole skill itself.

Learn to strop that replaceable blade they are not very sharp even when new and you will have plenty of knife for most jobs.when I use one, I use one that the blade does not retract on, they are firmer meaning less blade flex, I also live alone so no worries about others getting cut with an exposed blade.

Tandy does sell some tool shaped objects that you can learn with.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Oldtoolsniper

[johnv474]

Part of Tandy's market is people just getting into a hobby, before specializing. Some of those people may give up the hobby after spilling dye on the carpet or making one Fathers Day belt. Telling someone like that to buy a Barry King this or an other-big-name-brand that is like selling a sniper rifle to a Cub Scout or a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar to a fifth grader. The quality and prices of the tools and supplies reflects that when someone moves from beginner to hobbyist to expert, they will replace those tools. For all beginners and many hobbyists and some professional, the limitation is more often the skill than the tool.

[stelmackr]

Part of Tandy's market is people just getting into a hobby, before specializing. Some of those people may give up the hobby after spilling dye on the carpet or making one Fathers Day belt. Telling someone like that to buy a Barry King this or an other-big-name-brand that is like selling a sniper rifle to a Cub Scout or a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar to a fifth grader. The quality and prices of the tools and supplies reflects that when someone moves from beginner to hobbyist to expert, they will replace those tools. For all beginners and many hobbyists and some professional, the limitation is more often the skill than the tool.

This, in my opinion, is the best comment regarding Tandy and really describes its target audience. I started with Tandy products and use many of them to this day. I also have specialized and custom tools. I always chuckle with "I think I need the best whatever tool" and remember visiting the Al Stohlman section of the leather museum in Sheridan, WY and seeing the tools that Al started with: a pocket knife, a bent piece of metal, some other odds and ends and a dye of India ink. These primitive tools produced works of art that simply magnificent.

Bob Stelmack

[Art]

I don't have a problem with all TLF tooling. Some of it that I have received is so shoddily made as to be unusable. Example in point is the stitch groovers. The hole in the end often so misplaced that it cannot form a cutting edge. This requires quite a bit of sharpening experience to correct, not to mention tools the beginner might not have. This is a simple quality control problem usually precipitated by pinching the manufacturer for a lower cost.

The other foot is that some TLF stuff works well. Take the snap setters for instance. They do a reasonable job. So all TLF tools aren't bad, just some. It is enough that one can hope that complaining about it will fix it.

I think what the goal would be that a newer leather worker will take a tool home and use it, and if he gets less than desired results, he would know that it is his skill level, not the tool that is at fault. You don't want someone with perfectly acceptable skills questioning them when the tool is really to fault.

Art

[Colt W Knight]

I really like my Craft Tool Pro line swivel knives, and some of my stamps from tandy work really well. The Al stohlman maul is working well for me to. Lotta crap from there though. When I first got into leather crafting, I could go to the local tandy store and buy relatively inexpensive good quality leather. Over the last two years, my local store has quit stocking "acceptable" grade tooling leather, and the prices have nearly doubled. Im at the point now where I only go to tandy for buckles, conchoes, gromets and dye.

[LeatherNerd]

Wow. This topic has been an eye-opener for me. A little disheartening at first, but makes me hopeful that better stuff is out there.

TLF is the only place I've been. All my tools are from there, and I have a bad case of toolitis as they're into me for over a grand now. I just assumed that what they had was what was out there, because I had no experience with anything else.

The staff at my local TLF all know me by name and are super friendly. I know they want my business whenever I'm in there. I'll keep going back, especially now that what I'm reading in this thread is that there are two kinds of people: those who own Tandy tools and those who lie about it. But I'll start being more careful about what I pick up there. I have noticed that their basic craftool selection is chrome-plated and often has rounded edges instead of crisp sharp edges, sort of like the tool was cast/forged in a mold/die that was overused and worn out. I had no idea that several people on here consider their leather to be too expensive and too poor quality.

Direct question for anybody with experience: Is their top of the line "Oak Tan" leather sub-par compared to high-quality leather from other places? I hear people talking about "Hermann Oak" leather and I just assumed that "Oak Tan" was Tandy's rebranding of the leather, but now I'm wondering if it's a whole different product.

I just dropped $105 on a half hide of 5oz "Oak Tan" leather. It's their top-of-the-line stuff. It feels creamy and smooth under the hand and I notice a distinct improvement to the feel of the carving as compared to the various remnants and other practice samples I've worked on. It's clearly better than their bad stuff (then again working their bad stuff is like carving gravel). Is that a good price and a good quality leather? If not, I will be briefly saddened and then excited to go out and get "real" high-quality hide.

Thanks!

[56FordGuy]

Tandy has been great for me- it got me into the hobby. I wanted to try it, didn't want to risk a lot of money if it turned out I didn't want to really get into it. I bought the $50 starter set, got a sink cutout from a countertop place and made an awl out of an old wooden rake handle. That was enough to get me started and realize I wanted to do more, so as I've needed more things I spent a little more and bought nicer stuff.

My go-to now is Sheridan Leather. I've had the chance to visit twice in person (went by today, actually) and the folks there are very knowledgable, have an absolutely astonishing selection and are really patient with my beginner questions. Went in today to ask about a way to fasten something I wasnt sure about, the gentleman not only knew exactly what I needed but opened a package of rivets, got a small piece of leather and showed me exactly what the finished joint would look like. I bought my nice (not made of a rake handle) stitching awl there about a month ago, and hopefully this winter I'll be able to visit them again for materials and tools to work on some bigger projects. I need a maul (still using the cheesy wooden mallet from the Tandy kit), and want to make some chinks.

Tandy made it easy for me to get started and there's a store in town if I need something today, but for the most part I think I'm serious enough about the hobby now to invest in some higher end equipment. I wouldn't be here if not for them though.

[TinkerTailor]

My recommendations are to keep tool cost low to start. There are many ways to skive and bevel, french edgers are one of them. The safety beveler is cheap, easy, and if used on a 45° angle gives a nice clean cut with not much of a learning curve. No sharpening stone or strop necessary.

Art

If you flip the razor blades over once in a while they last longer. I find the edge bends and curls over just a bit and they don't cut as good, before they are actually dull. If you wait too long, blade is gone. As soon as it starts dragging, flip the blade over.

When you are starting out, Tandy is good for basic starter tools. Replace the ones you like/need to with better when you can. Learn to sharpen and hone, it can make a crappy tool fine to use. Most cheap hole punches need a little touch up on the edges.

The pain of using crap tools makes you appreciate the good ones.

Be mindful of things they sell that are available elsewhere however. Blue nitrile gloves are at your local drug store in boxes of100 for couple more bux than tandy sells you 1/2 dozen. Sponges, glue applicators, squeeze bottles, paint brushes? Local dollar store...

The most important thing to keeping costs down is keeping your eyes open

[DR80]

I bought the Craftool diamond hole chisel set. http://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/diamond-hole-chisel-set?ip_lookup_country_id=SE

In my opinion it's useless. They make elephant sized holes. And you have to punch REALLY hard to make them go through relatively thin leather.

Those are a much better alternative. http://www.leathercrafttools.com/tools/punch/diamond-hole-punch/list.jsp

[25b]

I bought the Craftool diamond hole chisel set. http://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/diamond-hole-chisel-set?ip_lookup_country_id=SE

Those are a much better alternative. http://www.leathercrafttools.com/tools/punch/diamond-hole-punch/list.jsp

Yeah, I agree...tandy is garbage. You can pretty much count on not being able to get any of your investment back out of them when you figure out they're junk.

Leathercrafttools.com does have better quality tools at decent prices. I recommend starting there...

Edited October 31, 2015 by 25b

[Sheilajeanne]

Okay, I can't seem to get the quote function to work for me, but I am replying to the posts on the previous page about Tandy catering to beginners, who often don't stay with the hobby, and who would be discouraged if they had to pay top dollar for professional grade tools. Also, Bob mentioned seeing Al Stohlman's very unsophisticated tools in the leathercraft museum...

EXACTLY! I got my start in leatherwork at around the age of 12. I made my own tools from the innards of an old pocket knife and I forget what else. I took apart an old holster from a cap gun (remember those?) I'd had as a kid, and made several projects with it before losing interest. My total investment was a few pennies for some sewing needles that broke as I was sewing. (OF course, they weren't harness needles!)

I am now starting seriously into leather work, and Tandy is the only store I know. I bought a beginner's kit, and am working on the 8 weeks of free classes that come along with it. I find most of their stuff is reasonably priced, except for some of the items like the quartz slab and poundo board, which are $40 and up, even with my wholesale membership. (I run a dog boarding business, so I qualified for that.) I went to Home Depot and bought a granite tile for $9.00 that works just fine as a work surface for stamping, etc. and if it breaks, I can replace it quite a few times before I get to the cost of what Tandy wants for their slab!

One of my stamps has a burr on the pattern, and I've ruined an oblong punch and a hole punch by using them on the wrong surfaces. The stitch gouger is a PITA, as the blade won't stay in position (set screw keeps coming undone.)The only tool that is REALLY a piece of garbage is the wooden mallet that came with my basic beginner kit. The more expensive kits have poly mallets, for good reason! I managed to get a poly mallet on sale for half price ($20), and I'm happy with it. The wood mallet is soon going to be used as kindling in my fireplace.

Other than that, I'm too green to really comment on the tools, but our instructor is top rate. He brought in some of his projects to show us this week, and we were all going 'WOW' at the quality. We have some naturally talented people in the class (which he keeps to a maximum of 8, to make sure everyone gets enough individual attention.) I can understand why he didn't bring his work in to show us during the first few weeks, as we would have been totally discouraged, and probably dropped out! He used to go the rounds of leather craft shows and competitions, and you can see how he would have done very well there.

So, my feeling is it's a great place to start, and see if the hobby is for you. If you stick at it, yes, you are probably going to want more sophisticated and better quality stuff. Same goes for pretty much ANY hobby! The staff is extremely knowledgeable, and if they don't know the answer to a question they will refer us to someone who does (usually our instructor....they will say, "That's a Bill question!")

Although absolutely no pressure has been put on us to buy more tools or leather, many of the students do stay after class to do exactly that, and Bill or the other staff members are always more than ready to help. Even when Bill was showing off his work yesterday, with his main goal being to introduce us to what we can do with dyes and stains, he made no effort to market their products. If you asked him directly, "How did you do this?" he would tell you what tools and dyes he used, but he didn't run and grab them off the shelves, though he easily could have!

I am looking for better tools so I can cut my own projects. Yeah, that swivel knife sure is useless, except for carving patterns! Is a utility knife like a box-cutter (Xacto knife)? And is a round knife the half moon shaped blade with a handle in the middle of the non-cutting surface? What other tools am I really going to need? I have a skiver, and a stitching gouge. The skiver (cheaper one) is okay, but you have to be really careful with it, as it often doesn't cut evenly, but with a second or third pass, you can usually get the result you want. Do I really need a corner cutter?

Edited November 1, 2015 by Sheilajeanne

[LeatherNerd]

I bought the Craftool diamond hole chisel set. http://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/diamond-hole-chisel-set?ip_lookup_country_id=SE

In my opinion it's useless. They make elephant sized holes. And you have to punch REALLY hard to make them go through relatively thin leather.

Those are a much better alternative. http://www.leathercrafttools.com/tools/punch/diamond-hole-punch/list.jsp

Interesting. I've got the Craftool set and I like it, but I would venture to say that this is because I don't know any better--in fact the last time I was in the store the sales guy told me not to ever try the nicer quality ones until I'm ready to start hating my Craftool kit. I know that when I try it I will suddenly see what a load of crap I've been putting up with, but for now I don't have anything to compare it to and I must protect my blissful ignorance until I have my pennies saved up.

[Bonecross]

Tandy Leather in Montreal has been really good to me, even if I mail order...

[TomG]

Here's the bottom line, IMHO. Like every other vendor in the world, you can get good stuff and bad stuff. You can have a great Tandy store with terrific, knowlegable staff, or a dump where half the staff don't know which end of a skiver to use.

I've bought some horrible leather from them and I've bought some beautiful sides and doubles. Their regular stamps are not the best in the world, but they will let a person who is new to the craft, to at experience a variety of designs without breaking the bank. And if you are careful and mark your tools to keep the same side forward as you stamp, you can actually do some nice stuff.

Their new line of Pro tools is actually very nice. At least the ones I've tried.

I would never hesitate recommending a new person buy from them. They can always return items they don't like or are not up to par. And when you sss that you are really going to get serious about the craft, you can upgrade your most used tools with better quality stuff.

[magsie]

I'm new to the whole leather working world and decided to buy the deluxe kit from Tandy because I knew that aside from whatever little projects took my fancy, I wanted to be able to do minor tack repairs on my own stuff, easily punch new holes in stirrup leathers, make some fancy browbands and dog collars, maybe try making myself some chaps, and incorporate more leather work into other fabric pieces that I make - the tooling side wasn't as important to me (although now that I've tried it, it is pretty fun and I'm getting more into that too!). I should also add that I live a good two hours away from any leather shops and Tandy is the only one that lets me order online, ship it or pick up in the store, or just go into the store to purchase - oh, and I qualify for the wholesale discount which helped a bit with the initial cost of everything. It ended up being cheaper for me to get the kit with a few things that I didn't think I would need, but I've ended up having fun learning how to use, than getting all of the tools and accessories that I knew I would need individually and not really being sure if I was getting the right things. The pieces that came with my kit may be different than come in the the others, but I've actually been really pleased with how easily everything cuts, punches, sets etc. Any problems I've had with the stamps have been more down to operator error than anything else and the leather I've bought has been fine too, but my standards are probably pretty low when compared to a lot of you guys!! The only thing that I've really found frustrating is the dyes and stains. And I've found the videos and tutorials that they have really useful since I can't go to any classes and don't learn well from books. I suppose I'm just echoing what pretty much everyone else has said, Tandy serves a particular purpose for a particular market and anyone who really gets into leather working will eventually move away from Tandy, but without Tandy I wouldn't have even tried leather work and I wouldn't have eventually found this site which has been really helpful and encouraging to me.

[Sheilajeanne]

Okay, I have finally found something from Tandy that totally, irrevocably, sucks beyond all belief!

I ran out of tracing film that was included with my beginner's kit. Bought a 36 inch roll while at my class (8 weeks of free classes are included with the kits...great deal!)

The stuff is made of the slickest, slipperiest plastic imaginable. The only way I could hope to transfer the design to the leather was to put threads through the lacing holes of my project and tie the film in place! Even then, it slipped a bit, and I frequently had to check it and readjust the position!

Not only that, the pencil marks I made while tracing the design from the instruction sheet were very faint and hard to see.

The next time I'm anywhere near Michael's or a fabric store, I am going to check out their tracing paper! Heck, plain tissue wrapping paper would have been better than this junk!

Two other lesser beefs: many of their wallet and purse kits are on special right now for Christmas, so I bought a couple. Unfortunately, I didn't check out what tools I would need until long after I got the kits home.

Each kits uses different tools, and very few of them are the 6 basic tools you get in the beginner's kit. Talk about tool-itis!! I am now up to 30 stamping tools, and today I found I need yet another tool (a snap setter) to finish the clutch purse I'm working on!

One of the purses includes 2 different floral designs for the exterior. Each of the designs uses a different set of tools, with very little overlap. One design required me to buy 11 tools, the other 10!

My instructor was in the store when I was buying some of them (and complaining bitterly about the number of tools and the cost) and he helped me weed out the ones I really didn't need.

Second beef: I am finding using the alphabet stamps a real challenge. There is a faint dot on the bottom of the stamp to help you get the letter facing the right way when stamping. In spite of that, I've managed a few mis-stamps, and many stamps that weren't lined up properly with the other letters I was using.

It didn't help my efforts when I discovered (after the fact, of course!) the dot on the letter 'n' was at the TOP of the letter, not the bottom!

Guess that's what happens when the goods you sell are made in China, where they are not familiar with our alphabet!

Edited November 23, 2015 by Sheilajeanne

[Kulafarmer]

Thanks for the info. SOme things from Harbor freight are great others are crap and it is a crap shoot which you get. I have a grinder that has out lasted the big names, and another that burnt up the first hour. Don't like that kind of inconsistency.

I am looking for what I think would be the simplest tool kit to start with for what I want to do which is learn the basics of cutting, sewing and finishing simple projects like wallets, notebook covers, and the like. Aiming for bag and case making in the near future. The SNAP-ON man and I get along great but he is disheartened because I only purchase what I need when I need it.

1.5 and 1 inch Punch. That fork looking thing that punches holes

Diamond Awl

Corner punch

Round knife

Skiving knife (if someone says you can't skive with a round knife)

Good divider

v-tool

Burnisher

What do people think of those adjustable groover things that some folks use to recess the stitches.

Dont fall prey to tradesman snobbery,,,

Have been reading the forums here, most folks are truly helpful, but there is an undercurrent of that elite mindset with a few posts here and there.

Old sayings about more than one way to skin a cat run true,

Lots of us cant afford 140$ for one edger, or 40$ for a single shading stamp, so gotta make do with what we got,

I have seen plenty of beautiful professional grade pieces made with cheap Chinese tools and home made gadgets.

Its in your hands as they say

Edited November 29, 2015 by Kulafarmer

[NVLeatherWorx]

As has been said here many times now, Tandy is where most of us started but I can honestly say that their quality is a thousand times worse now than it was just 20 years ago and when I started working with leather the entire Craftool line was made here in the USA, their leather was the finest US tannage you could find, and their staff actually knew how to work with leather; this was over 40 years ago. The big changes to the lack of knowledge and quality happened after the Leather Factory bought the Tandy name and it has been downhill since then. Regarding the question posed by someone about their leather, it is indeed garbage, even the higher end. All of their hides are now tanned South of the border and the formulas used for the tanning are questionable; some of the blends even include the use of animal urine to get the pH that they are looking for. They do get some hides from Europe but they are typically very small and their quality is not what you would actually classify as premium. There are still a couple of quality sources right here in the US for the best leather that money can buy, even though you might pay a little more for it than the stuff you can get from Tandy. Just like everything else, you get what you pay for. If you are just doing this for a hobby and have no real intentions on being serious about it then you may want to stay with Tandy because it is most economical; if you are looking at getting serious about your work and making money with the products that you make then you need to start planning for that now and making the change. Regarding the number of tools you need there is a simple answer for that and every long-term leather craftsman knows this to be true: you can tool any style or pattern with the basic tools, it is all in how you use them and adjust your techniques. There is no need for anyone to have to own every tool or stamp made out there thinking that it requires a certain set or type of tool to accomplish a style or pattern. This is what makes this craft unique, the finished product is based on your own individual interpretation and styling.

[TinkerTailor]

Tandy got where they are because they have tutorials, a colourful catalog, and most importantly, they had mail order. You could get their items anywhere and order from a picture. For the most part quality was consistent. Prices were higher than wholesale, but they were also one of the few willing to deal in small quantities of things and ship to Alaska..... They also set up nice storefronts that people would travel to to see all the items layed out. And staffed them with people who knew the trade from a home crafters prospective.

They are going to have to step up their game in the internet age. Their quality has dropped and their prices have risen to the point that there are quite a few smaller players who can compete with them due to online sales. As well, bigger players have seen the income potential of small sized but numerous internet orders. The internet has equalized things, and the brick and morter store front days are dying. Makers can research pricing, and quality reviews online and find alternatives to tandy in seconds. Factory direct in small quantities is common now online. Why order buckles from tandy when weaver and ohio travel bag and hudson4supplies will ship in small quantities, sell online and have better stuff for close to the same or sometimes alot less money?

I bet in 5 years time, tandy will be either have pulled up their britches, or may not be here any more.

[NVLeatherWorx]

Sorry to say this because it creates a disagreement with your post TinkerTailor but Tandy hasn't staffed their stores with a knowledgeable person in quite a few years now. In the days of just Tandy Leather every store employee was a skilled craftsman and knew exactly how to help a new customer learn what they needed to; today every employee in their stores has been trained in the corporate line of what to say to a customer and when asked a technical question on "how to" they are referred to the Leathercraft Library for the video series or one of the many forums out there. Even the person instructing their in-store classes just follows the company curriculum that has been provided. I know this for a fact because I spend a lot of time with some of them outside of their store environment and they freely admit that this their corporate structure. That is why I have been bombarded with requests from private individuals as well as groups to instruct for them as they can never get a real useful answer from the staff. The days of the Tandy name being what they once were have long since passed and all the rest of the "stuff" that they can do is being done by everyone else out there who has jumped into the online marketplace. Tandy is the last resort if that is all you have but when I can get my Hermann Oak and other finer goods from everyone else, and at small quantities, and for much less than the lower grade quality items from Tandy cost (and I am a business with wholesale pricing from everyone) then why should I even give them consideration? I spend my funds wisely and get much more than Tandy could ever offer me and when it comes to the instructional elements, I would rather see a newbie contact one of us qualified and experienced craftsmen with their questions than see them jump on the Tandy site or the bulk of the YouTube videos that are out there (even those are questionable in most circumstances). Kind of the same thing as a person who has only worked with leather for a year calling themselves a Master Craftsman or using it as an ID; just doesn't fit or match the actual level of experience and knowledge. The name Tandy has been severely smeared since the sell out to the Leather Factory but then again, that is why they bough it because their name had already been associated with low quality and value so they needed to take on the Tandy name because it had the following and recognition. Too bad they ruined it.

[biglew]

Sorry to say this because it creates a disagreement with your post TinkerTailor but Tandy hasn't staffed their stores with a knowledgeable person in quite a few years now. In the days of just Tandy Leather every store employee was a skilled craftsman and knew exactly how to help a new customer learn what they needed to; today every employee in their stores has been trained in the corporate line of what to say to a customer and when asked a technical question on "how to" they are referred to the Leathercraft Library for the video series or one of the many forums out there. Even the person instructing their in-store classes just follows the company curriculum that has been provided. I know this for a fact because I spend a lot of time with some of them outside of their store environment and they freely admit that this their corporate structure. That is why I have been bombarded with requests from private individuals as well as groups to instruct for them as they can never get a real useful answer from the staff. The days of the Tandy name being what they once were have long since passed and all the rest of the "stuff" that they can do is being done by everyone else out there who has jumped into the online marketplace. Tandy is the last resort if that is all you have but when I can get my Hermann Oak and other finer goods from everyone else, and at small quantities, and for much less than the lower grade quality items from Tandy cost (and I am a business with wholesale pricing from everyone) then why should I even give them consideration? I spend my funds wisely and get much more than Tandy could ever offer me and when it comes to the instructional elements, I would rather see a newbie contact one of us qualified and experienced craftsmen with their questions than see them jump on the Tandy site or the bulk of the YouTube videos that are out there (even those are questionable in most circumstances). Kind of the same thing as a person who has only worked with leather for a year calling themselves a Master Craftsman or using it as an ID; just doesn't fit or match the actual level of experience and knowledge. The name Tandy has been severely smeared since the sell out to the Leather Factory but then again, that is why they bough it because their name had already been associated with low quality and value so they needed to take on the Tandy name because it had the following and recognition. Too bad they ruined it.

First I would like to say that there is am amazing amount of education available on the net.. FREE..YAY

But there are tandy stores out there with good staff.. The livonia michigan store is managed by a fellow named Chris. He is a wealth of knowledge and honest about products. The two other employees also are good leather craftsman. They are great to just hang out with and share knowledge.

I wish i could afford the high end tools I see.. jerimiah watt, joseph dixon... vergez blanchard.. to name a few. I will acquire them as funds allow. But the artisan within will make even the crudest tools sing!

[Mike516]

I need a new place to get supplies. I've been ordering stuff from Tandy for a few years now. Little glitches here and there, someone will call and tell me something is out of stock or I'll get charged a little more for shipping than what was quoted online. But this last order totally pissed me off.

I get my order and I'm missing 8 of 10 buckles that I had ordered. I called the store, and the guy tells me they only had 2. So I said but I need 10, you don't have them so you just didn't send them? He tells me somebody should have called to tell me they were out of stock. I mean, I could have ordered them in the meantime from somewhere else. I asked him when they'd be in and he said the next day. So I asked if they planned to send them out when they came in. He says yes of course, I'll send them right out. Good thing I used brass buckles I already had because I never got them.

I know I need to keep more stock on hand but at this point I think Tandy has lost me as a customer. They were pretty easy to order from and seemed to always have stuff in stock. But I'm good and annoyed at them right now and they're too far from me to even have the prospect of a lunch date.

Maybe I'll try SLC. Does anyone use them at all? Is their stuff any good?

[electrathon]

Even the person instructing their in-store classes just follows the company curriculum that has been provided. I know this for a fact because I spend a lot of time with some of them outside of their store environment and they freely admit that this their corporate structure.

I personally teach at Tandy regularly. I know a number of others that do to. I have never been told to teach "company curriculum". To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing. I have taught tooling, hand sewing, lacing, purse construction, leather Christmas bells, leather Christmas stockings, holster construction and more that I can't remember right now. I have sponcered and brought to town out of state teachers that have taught advanced leather. Never once has there been any input whatsoever as what to teach or how to teach it. The only thing we have been told is that we were to encourage the use of Tandy tools, not to sell tools or leather from non-Tandy companies.