Correct Way To Use Pricking Irons? I Am Confused

[SmokeyPoint]

JHW -

I just switched from Tandy stitching irons to Blanchard pricking irons recently. It's a different process. From your original question, in order to mark the backside of the leather, you will need the reverse irons, or your marks will be going the wrong direction. (You'll end up with X's, not /'s) Using a single set (not using the reverse, or portmanteau, iron) of Blanchard irons is a three-step process: mark with iron, open with awl, sew.

I just bought some tape from Tandy to try out, so I haven't tried it yet, but I've been using Barges cement for my stitching. Spread a very thin layer on both sides, allow to tack up, press together and stitch after a little rest period. Never had an issue with my awl, irons or needles getting gummed up unless I go too thick on the glue or don't let it tack up first. Make sure you have good ventilation.

-Sean

[25b]

1. One is not *required* to use reverse/portmanteau pricking irons to mark the back side of the stitching. Myself and many others have successfully used the regular pricking irons to mark both the front and back sides of our work and the result is very nice, slanted stitches on both sides, so...it is possible to do this without having to buy reverse pricking irons. There is a technique to it (which I and others have discussed on here before ad nauseum so I'm not going to do it again here...)

2. If you want your holes to all be the same direction straight through, you still don't need to buy the "reverse" pricking irons...just refer to Nigel's video which I linked to above for marking multiple layers and then use your diamond awl to open up the holes all the way through.

Also, per Nigel, it's best to allow rubber cement (Barge's, et al) to set for 24 hours before stitching. I do this now after him telling me that and I find it works very well. Much better than only a brief wait.

[SmokeyPoint]

1. One is not *required* to use reverse/portmanteau pricking irons to mark the back side of the stitching. Myself and many others have successfully used the regular pricking irons to mark both the front and back sides of our work and the result is very nice, slanted stitches on both sides, so...it is possible to do this without having to buy reverse pricking irons. There is a technique to it (which I and others have discussed on here before ad nauseum so I'm not going to do it again here...)

2. If you want your holes to all be the same direction straight through, you still don't need to buy the "reverse" pricking irons...just refer to Nigel's video which I linked to above for marking multiple layers and then use your diamond awl to open up the holes all the way through.

Also, per Nigel, it's best to allow rubber cement (Barge's, et al) to set for 24 hours before stitching. I do this now after him telling me that and I find it works very well. Much better than only a brief wait.

Great tip on waiting 24 hours. I have no idea what I have been letting it rest for, I just set things aside and get back to it when I can. Sometimes that happens to be the next day, sometimes it's not. I have a day job so things get done in short bursts.

Interesting on using standard irons on both sides. As I said, I just recently switched. I'm trying to retool to focus more on hand-sewing. So I literally spent many hours over the past several days stitching in every possible way: left-hand, right-hand, knot, no knot etc., looking for the right combination to provide the look I want on the front and the back. Some things I make need to look good on both sides. Some stitching methods provide a great front, but a lousy back.

But I never considered using the iron on both sides.

So... if there's a technique, and others have written about it, how about a little help in finding those threads? Searching the forums makes the assumption that you know what keywords to search for, or you wind up wading through a mountain of un-helpful topics. I've already done several searches and came up empty for a walk-through on this.

Thanks,

-Sean

[25b]

Well, the built-in search on here really sucks, so the best way it to go to google and type in:

site:leatherworker.net whatever you want to search for here

Probably something like "pricking iron both sides" (without the quotes) might pull them up...

And then you should be able to find the threads...they were from around 3-6 months ago, I think...if I have time later, I'll see if I can find them...I just get tired of repeating myself and also someone else explained it where it made sense better than I could in the previous threads...

I've begun pretty much exclusively using stitching chisels lately due to the cast improvement in consistency I have with them...you can do the same thing with them (punch both sides), but have to be careful to only punch through each single layer on the front and back...not all the way through.

Some jerks will probably come on here and reply saying "you can't do that", but I have proof that I can because that's the only way I sew all my hand-sewn items now and it works very, very well.

Edited September 17, 2015 by 25b

[SmokeyPoint]

I think I found the one you're referring to: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=59849&hl=%2Bpricking+%2Biron+%2Bboth+%2Bsides#entry385161

I'm all for trying unconventional methods if it gives me the results I am looking for.

To the OP...

One thing I did the other day was to take all of my new pricking irons (6-9 SPI/7-10 TPI) and all of my thread sizes (Tiger thread, .6, .8, 1.0, 1.2) and make a grid on a piece of leather. The different stitch lengths went left-to-right, and the thread sizes went top to bottom. This gave me a great visual indicator of how a stitch would look for a given thread at each stitch length. From there, I can take the item I am working on and, assuming an equal thickness of leather, find the look I am wanting. Leather thickness affects stitching results, so I intend on making more of these for different thicknesses of leather. I'll post a picture when I have time to take one.

I bring this up because I suspect that if you have only 6 SPI/7 TPI, that you may find that it is too long of a stitch length for, as you put it, "very thin leather". Longer stitch lengths tend to want thicker thread. But then again, most things in life are subjective.

Edited September 17, 2015 by SmokeyPoint

[jhw]

thanks much for replies.. i actually use 9tpi blanchards.. sorry i dont know why i put 7tpi in my original post

stitches are tiny ...use lin cable thread 632, works well on all the different kinds of thin leather i have been using so far, been side tracked recently repairing bass bag, using various samples of leather for some of the repairs.

[SmokeyPoint]

That sounds much more in line with what you describe.

As an update, I stand corrected on the portmanteau irons. As 25b described, it is indeed possible to get consistent stitching on both sides of the leather by using the same iron on both sides. As an experiment, I scribed a line on one side of the leather, poked a hole with a round awl at each end, and scribed a line between them on the back side. I then used the pricking irons to lightly mark slits on both lines, starting from the same hole front and back. Since the Blanchard irons are precision made, the slits lined up perfectly. Using a round awl and sewing without a knot produced even, consistent stitches on both sides. They didn't have as much angle to the stitches as the traditional method, but consistent angles on both sides is what I have been trying to achieve.

This falls under the "don't knock it until you try it" category.

[25b]

That sounds much more in line with what you describe.

As an update, I stand corrected on the portmanteau irons. As 25b described, it is indeed possible to get consistent stitching on both sides of the leather by using the same iron on both sides. As an experiment, I scribed a line on one side of the leather, poked a hole with a round awl at each end, and scribed a line between them on the back side. I then used the pricking irons to lightly mark slits on both lines, starting from the same hole front and back. Since the Blanchard irons are precision made, the slits lined up perfectly. Using a round awl and sewing without a knot produced even, consistent stitches on both sides. They didn't have as much angle to the stitches as the traditional method, but consistent angles on both sides is what I have been trying to achieve.

This falls under the "don't knock it until you try it" category.

Thank you for actually trying and ultimately validating what I said. There are so many people on here that just want to argue and post some knee-jerk response of "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!" without even trying it...it's refreshing when someone takes what I post at face value and then finds out I'm really not full of crap.

So...thanks again for that... I'm glad it works for you...

[jhw]

thanks smokeypoint, appreciate you posting your results, you've inspired me to do some testing on some scraps i have of the thin leather i have for the bag i am working on..well which i hope to get back to working on. side note, my pricking irons on careful examination did not seem to pick up any sticky residue from tape (when i used my irons incorrectly that is)

ps i did borrow the book mentioned in an earlier post by 25b from the library. it goes over how to make reinforced aka bound edges very briefly, again i will need to experiment and hope i dont run out of scrap leather (:

Edited September 18, 2015 by jhw

[DavidL]

The same iron on both sides works well. Only downside is that its difficult to align the first hole seeing as it is the opposite orientation on either side. Once you get it right it works fine the entire length of stitching.

Do you glue the pieces then do the method. The two marks make an exact X?

I tend to now do regular stitching but im open to try the other method again.