Problem Saddle Stitching English Bridle Leather....help!

[Redhairing]

Hi- I am using 4-5 oz. bridle leather for a satchel and using a diamond stitching chisel to go through a thin calf skin interior pocket and the bridle leather and am getting a horrible round blister shape around my holes on the surface. they don't smooth out with hammering.....any ideas? Is the surface just too firm a temper to prick through the backside? I would be very difficult to catch the pocket edge by pricking through the top....is this just another lesson learned about a particular leather? Only make holes from the top or could my tools be too dull? I'm using a mallet on a poundo board....thanks!!!! Susan

Edited November 30, 2015 by Redhairing

[terrymac]

My guess is your chisel is dull. The leather is stretching before the chisel penetrates.

Terry

[DavidL]

Could also be that iron is catching on the calf interior maybe because the chisel is not sharp enough or glue doesnt hold the leathers together.

An option is to use a rounded bone fold or wooden slicker and gently even out the marks. Your fingers will do if neither are available. Too much pressure could mark the leather.

[zuludog]

Similar thoughts to terrymac. Try this sequence of ideas----

Just use your chisel as a pricking iron, ie marking the positions of the stitches by tapping the chisel with moderate force, just enough to make the marks or depressions

Then make the holes themselves with a saddler's awl; make sure it is sharp!

If the resulting holes are OK then the problem lies with blunt prongs on your stitching chisel

Sharpen the prongs with a needle file and a small polishing pad made by glueing some fine wet & dry paper onto a sliver of wood, like a lollipop stick

Lubricate the prongs by stroking them on a block of beeswax before use

You need a surface that is quite firm, but not so hard that it will blunt the prongs I use an HDPE kitchen chopping board

If this doesn't work then I'm afraid you'll have to try other advice.

As a temporary measure you could try burnishing down the bumps/blisters with the back of a spoon or a rounded plastic screwdriver handle if you don't have a burnisher

Have a look at this video on YouTube 'Hand Stitching Leather' by Leodis Leather It's a bit long, but covers just about everything

At about 1:04:50 he shows using beeswax on a stitching chisel

In fact there's a lot of advice on YouTube, especially by Nigel Armitage and Leodis Leather. Armitage has a video on making a simple wallet (forgotten the exact title) It shows several basic techniques

Edited November 30, 2015 by zuludog

[Redhairing]

Thank you all so much! It's clear to me now. Tried to smooth out the blisters with a bone folder with little success. Dull tools plus softish poundo board equals pockmarks. I will learn to sharpen my chisels and meanwhile ordered the Seiwa chisels that Nigel reviewed and start again!!!

[TinkerTailor]

Have you tried to go back in with the stitching chisel from the other side? You can see the marks to line it up, and wont miss the calf, which was why you punched from the other side in the first place. This should neaten up the holes significantly.

[DavidL]

Have you tried to go back in with the stitching chisel from the other side? You can see the marks to line it up, and wont miss the calf, which was why you punched from the other side in the first place. This should neaten up the holes significantly.

That would create a hole going both ways in the back.

Im curious if the irons are meant to go all the way through. They are meant to pierce farther than pricking irons. Are the stitching diamonds recomemended to go clean through the leather?

[Redhairing]

Thanks for that advice, TinkerTailor. Yes, I tried going back through with the chisel and stitching and the blister shape is lessened but still not pretty. Will sharpen my tools tonight and might sew on a slightly bigger exterior pocket to cover and hide the blemished stitching rows.

[mlapaglia]

That would create a hole going both ways in the back.

Im curious if the irons are meant to go all the way through. They are meant to pierce farther than pricking irons. Are the stitching diamonds recomemended to go clean through the leather?

Yes they are meant to go all the way through.

[zuludog]

Pricking irons have short prongs that just mark the positon for a hole, but you make the hole all the way through by following up with a saddler's awl

Stitching chisels have longer prongs, and are intended to be knocked all the way through the leather. Often this is enough, but If the combiined thickness of the leather is more than the length of the prongs, then you must finish the job with a saddler's awl