Members kjcreamer Posted August 23, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 23, 2015 Art, the Barry King awl in the link you sent looks beautiful. Will it fit other awl blades? There isn't much description with the item on the site. Also I have small girl hands. Would this medium size you recommended still be appropriate? I like the idea of a flat haft to help placement. Someone also recommended the "stinger awl" from leather burnishers.com. Any thoughts? Quote
Members johnv474 Posted August 24, 2015 Members Report Posted August 24, 2015 Here is a suggested combination, which can be adjusted to meet your needs/preference: Maine Thread (waxed polyester) 0.030 thickness, CS Osborne #3 harness needles, Tandy preinserted awl/haft or CS Osborne haft/awl #43 preinserted, stitching at 6-8 spi. Here is an example of that combination at 7spi, following Nigel Armitage's videos for technique. Here is a suggested combination, which can be adjusted to meet your needs/preference: Maine Thread (waxed polyester) 0.030 thickness, CS Osborne #3 harness needles, Tandy preinserted awl/haft or CS Osborne haft/awl #43 preinserted, stitching at 6-8 spi. Here is an example of that combination at 7spi, following Nigel Armitage's videos for technique. Quote
Moderator Art Posted August 24, 2015 Moderator Report Posted August 24, 2015 Art, the Barry King awl in the link you sent looks beautiful. Will it fit other awl blades? There isn't much description with the item on the site. Also I have small girl hands. Would this medium size you recommended still be appropriate? I like the idea of a flat haft to help placement. Someone also recommended the "stinger awl" from leather burnishers.com. Any thoughts? KJ, I like the BK awl haft as opposed to the stinger type. My hands are on the large side (9" span, 4"hand) and the medium is ok to a little small for me. I prefer the flat sided handle and I use the flat side for the contour of my thumb. The haft has 2 inserts that have different sizes on each end, so four different awl collet sizes. It'll fit practically anything. Art Quote For heaven's sakes pilgrim, make yourself a strop!
Members kjcreamer Posted September 15, 2015 Author Members Report Posted September 15, 2015 Update to anyone following this thread.I ended up with Barry King small flat haft. I emailed them and explained I have small hands and that's what they recommended. I also got the smallest awl blade they have (1 1/2"). Beautiful partnership. The BK awl comes with 2 double sided collets which allows you to use 4 different size blades (probably any manufacturer around would fit into one of the colletts, just as Art pointed out). Solid metal; not flimsy. I intended to sharpen the blade when it arrived bc everyone says nothing is sharp when you get it but I have to tell you it's plenty sharp for me; sliced right through the leather. I managed to stab my hand with the blade. It made this tiny hole but went right in deep. So sharp I didn't even feel it until I realized I dripped some blood on the floor. I also ordered a Bob Douglas slim awl blade which fits in the BK haft just fine as everyone suggested. Slices great through the second layer of leather that I marked with my pricking irons. And while I like the blade, it is 2 1/2" so when I add that to the BK haft the whole set up is a little too long for me to maneuver. It's not just wood length, but the collett adds length too. I can't imagine that too many people would run into this problem unless you're a female with small hands but I thought it worth mentioning. I hope it's not blasphemous, but I ended up using my Dremel to take off 1/2" of blade and put it in my old Tandy haft and that little difference (Tandy haft is a little shorter than BK haft) makes a huge difference. So now I have a primary awl set up with BK haft and blade and a lovely Bob Douglas blade/Tandy haft as a second choice. I have a selection of JJ needles but have primarily been using the #2 with the very last of my Tandy thread and some .08 Tiger Thread I got just a few small lengths from Rocky Mountain Leather. I had to see what everyone is talking about While I like the Tiger, it seems a little "meshy" to me but it was great to sew with. Not too waxy. On the other hand, I took theinfannator's advice from early in this thread to check out Royalwood Irish Linen thread. I ordered their sample card with the selection of colors and plys they have available. It was $2 and no postage. It came in less than a week and it was totally worth two bucks for me to see the real colors and how thick the different ply thread is. This is more what I was imagining when I started sewing. I will be ordering the 4 ply this week. johnv474, I will check out the Maine thread next. Thanks. As for the sharpening, I will be looking further into that in the coming months. I plan to watch some videos. I have no experience at all in even sharpening an ordinary kitchen knife. I plan to practice sharpening on my old Tandy awl blade so I don't kill my 2 new blades while I learn. I can tell there are some seriously knowledgeable people out there that know a lot about sharpening so I'll read those threads and ask questions as they arise. Quote
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted September 15, 2015 Contributing Member Report Posted September 15, 2015 See, not ya go m' attention. I remember when you could order tools, showed up so sharp you didn't ,know you were cut 'til ya seen the drops on the floor! Man, that was a while back. I just got a osborne edger -- just junk. ANYWAY, I'd likely do more hand stitching if I could get tools worth using. Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
Members zuludog Posted September 16, 2015 Members Report Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) kjcreamer - there are loads of videos, & previous threads about sharpening on this forum and YouTube, just work your way through them IMO one of the best is this video on YouTube 'preparing and sharpening a woodworking chisel' by Paul Sellers Although it's on chisels, the techniques can easily be used on leatherwork tools Also good is lb knives video on sharpening an edge beveller By all means get oil-; water-; or diamond - stones but beware that you may well end up spending some serious money. Ask around, you may already have something knocking about within your family A cheaper method is to tape down some wet & dry paper onto a glass sheet or marble slab or similar. I use the glass oven door salvaged from an old cooker. The paper won't last for ever but it will be good enough to start with. Put a wet rag under the glass to stop the whole affair sliding around You can make your own strop from almost any piece of scrap wood & leather. Again there are threads & videos. For a polishing compound you can use Autosol car polish, chromium dioxide compound, jeweller's rouge or fine valve grinding paste This video on YouTube is useful. Again, it's not specifically about leatherwork tools, but the techniques and information are good 'sharpening spoon knives' by rebelbodger Edited September 16, 2015 by zuludog Quote
Members johnv474 Posted September 16, 2015 Members Report Posted September 16, 2015 Along with Al Stohlman's book on hand sewing leather, there is another book he wrote called "Leathercraft Tools: How to Use Them, How to Sharpen Them" or something similar. It's not particularly expensive, but he has some good tips on how to sharpen some of the odd-shaped tools. Quote
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted September 16, 2015 Contributing Member Report Posted September 16, 2015 As a former tool & die maker, I can probably figure out sharpening steel Point is, a guy shouldn't have to sharpen a tool he hasn't used yet! Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
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