Tandy Leather Craftool Chisel Set

[DR80]

Hello. I just bought a diamond chisel set from Tandy, but the holes are elephant size. How are they supposed to be used?

I compared them and took some pictures. My other chisels make too small holes. (have to use plier or awl to widen the holes)

Thread: 0,6mm Ritza 25.

Craftool chisel set from Tandy leather: http://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/3009-00.aspx

"Ebay" tool: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141503695809

[shtoink]

I suspect that these are for slightly different purposes. There seems to be a bit of an overlap in the terminology used to describe these things.

A recent post in another section of the forum was covering something similar. It might help clear up some of the details.

[Boriqua]

I have the Tandy set too. I am officially so over Tandy tools PERIOD! I have the 3mm chisels just like you have pictured in a 6,4,2,1 prong. First they came so full of tool marks and burs that it makes them difficult to remove once punched through the leather. They just paint over the tool marks so you dont see them which in turn makes it difficult to polish out. but my biggest beef is that the 6 prong and 4 prong makes one sized hole and the 2 prong and one prong makes another. Those two make huge holes.

So when you are stitching along you can see a slight inconstancy where you switch to go around a curve with the 2 prong. Makes me nuts. I gave up on them except in certain instances and now primarily use them like I would a pricking iron. I just tap the tools into the leather to make the impression in order to keep a consistent angle and then do all the work with an awl and pony.

[Colt W Knight]

The prongs on my Tandy chisels bent when I was working on larger projects. Once they bent, they lost what little strength they had and became worthless. I am also over Tandy Tools.

The holes are big for 2 reasons.

1) They are cheap tools and need the extra metal for strength

2) The bigger holes are easier to pull a needle and thread through.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[DR80]

The prongs on my Tandy chisels bent when I was working on larger projects. Once they bent, they lost what little strength they had and became worthless. I am also over Tandy Tools.

The holes are big for 2 reasons.

1) They are cheap tools and need the extra metal for strength

2) The bigger holes are easier to pull a needle and thread through.

What do you think about this set?, looks like Seiwa, but not so expensive. https://www.leathercrafttools.com/shouhin.jsp?id=8278

[Boriqua]

What do you think about this set?, looks like Seiwa, but not so expensive. https://www.leathercrafttools.com/shouhin.jsp?id=8278

Ian Atkinson speaks highly of the Seiwa in his hand stitch video Which can be seen here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0EL7K2NhYs

He does go over the chisel briefly at about 50 minutes. Ian is one of my Youtube leather heros and if you havent checked out his videos I think you should.

[Art]

What do you think about this set?, looks like Seiwa, but not so expensive. https://www.leathercrafttools.com/shouhin.jsp?id=8278

They are most likely NOT Seiwa. The unpainted part of a Seiwa tool stops right behind the prongs, it does not go all the way up to the handle. The Seiwa come dipped in plastic up to the start of the black part, the prongs are buffed smooth enough that the plastic will slide off in one piece. These things for all intents and purposes, look very similar. They are not. The Seiwa are worth what you pay for them.

Art

[Boriqua]

My problem with the Siewa is that it doesnt look finished very well between the prongs which makes it a pain to remove once you have hammered it through your leather. I took a close up screenshot of one being offered by goods japan on ebay. Is anyone making a chisel that is Finished. Those insides should be polished. I have to admit I am getting tired of spending fair money on tools that I have to finish making usable.

[Art]

The finish on mine are about the same, however they do work pretty well. If you want them smoother, you can work on them some with jeweler's files, or I know I have some things for the Foredom that would polish them up. Any decent quality steel can be made better.

Art

[Colt W Knight]

I couldn't say because I don't have any experience with them. Now that I have a sewing machine, I don't use these chisels as much anymore.

[Boriqua]

The finish on mine are about the same, however they do work pretty well. If you want them smoother, you can work on them some with jeweler's files, or I know I have some things for the Foredom that would polish them up. Any decent quality steel can be made better.

Art

Hey Art .. is the individual prong width consistent over the different chisels. Im pretty good with sharpening and polishing so I could clean those up but my biggest complaint about the Tandy set was the holes being one size when punched with the single or double prong and another on the 6 and 4. Thank you so much for your sharing your personal experience!!

Alex

Edited September 3, 2015 by Boriqua

[DR80]

The finish on mine are about the same, however they do work pretty well. If you want them smoother, you can work on them some with jeweler's files, or I know I have some things for the Foredom that would polish them up. Any decent quality steel can be made better.

Art

Hey Art .. is the individual prong width consistent over the different chisels. Im pretty good with sharpening and polishing so I could clean those up but my biggest complaint about the Tandy set was the holes being one size when punched with the single or double prong and another on the 6 and 4. Thank you so much for your sharing your personal experience!!

Alex

I think it's different thickness, because goods japan sells different single chisels, dependent on spi.

[Colt W Knight]

My problem with the Siewa is that it doesnt look finished very well between the prongs which makes it a pain to remove once you have hammered it through your leather. I took a close up screenshot of one being offered by goods japan on ebay. Is anyone making a chisel that is Finished. Those insides should be polished. I have to admit I am getting tired of spending fair money on tools that I have to finish making usable.

On all my leather punches, I have started "dipping" them in beeswax before punching. Tools really like to get stuck in thick leather, and the beeswax makes it easier to removes and keeps them sharper longer. It also prevents bending tools because you don't have to wiggle and pry them out of the leather.

I have a chunk of beeswax I keep on my table, and before I punch something, I just dab the tool into the wax.

Ultimately, if you want the best stitching holes and uniformity, I would move to using quality pricking irons and a sharp/polished diamond awl. I got tired of hand stitching and bought a sewing machine. Hand stitching yields better results, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't think many people care about the difference between well done hand stitching and well done machine stitching.

[25b]

Paraffin wax works as well as beeswax and is readily available in grocery stores (baking section...stuff I have was made by "gulf"...same as the old gas stations. )

I found it difficult to find beeswax locally. I eventually found some, oddly enough, at the local Renaissance festival.

[ContactCement]

I recently purchased the Craftool Pro Fine Diamond Awl 3.5mm. It punches through 2 layers of leather fine. However removing the tool and its prongs is another story with or without hard beeswax rubbed on the prongs. The Craftool Pro Fine Diamond Awl 3.5mm prongs made 7 diamond slots / stitches per inch in White leather and didn't look good with 150 speedy stitcher waxed thread. My imported diamond punch from China made better 8 stitches per inch with the same thread in the Brown leather.

[bikermutt07]

I'm throwing in my .02.

If I had it to do over again, I would order the crimson hide chisels\irons.

They are a hibred of chisels and pricking irons.

Nigel has a great video about them.

I may still do it over again.