Why Some Vintage French Edgers' Blade Lean To One Side?

[bruce johnson]

I am with Art. This tool has been sharpened that way. When I'd get the occasional one I figured it was poor sharpening. One some you can see they held it an angle against a stone or wheel, the scratch marks showed that under magnification. I went merrily along believing that was always the case until I got a set with matched right and left Gomphs in 3/5/6 sizes in an old harness makers chest. Gomph likely didn't do it, and that led me to believe some special purpose or the way a guy was taught. Since then I have got two more pretty intact estate sets of similar vintage with matching rights and lefts in either Gomph or HF Osborne. These sets all came from within a close enough region of each other. These were all level on the bottoms and looks like these users knew what they were doing when they modified them. Same shop?similar purpose? Same mentor?

Still I sit here - without a definite reason why they did this. I mean I can see the right or left for right and left handed users. What I am still trying to wrap my brain around is why rights and lefts in matched sizes in the same sets? What special purpose was there to these 100 years ago? When I square them up one side of me says "Bruce, this guy when to a lot of effort to modify this French edger his way and you are wrecking it!". The guy on the other shoulder stabs me with the pitchfork and says "Dude, you're just fixing what that putz mucked up 100 years ago. If HF and Henry meant for them to be angled, they'd have angled them right off, GRIND, GRIND, GRIND!! ".

[Cyis]

hahah, thanks you all for the sharing!

[ConradPark]

It's not a bad sharpening job, it's a different style - very common among old European tools, especially in the clobber trade, however the style is getting common among Japanese and Korean high end leather tools too. When you do heat edging - draw a fancy line between the stitch and end of the edge, the longer side of the tool helps the tool to not slip over the edge as you push (or pull) the tool. The shorter side is the one that marks the line. As with everything else, its always down to preference, no such thing as right or wrong. What I have noticed though, is that the style is more suited for fine work ( 0.5mm - 2mm), any larger and there is no longer much benefit with having one side taller/longer.

The stitch line is 3mm and the 'fancy' line is made with a 1.5mm French edger, like the one you showed in the picture.

Edited February 18, 2016 by ConradPark

[simontuntelder]

Conrad, that's not a french edger, that's a creaser you're referring to. And creasers weren't really used by shoemakers - they mostly used glazing irons.

A French edgers isn't very common in Europe. It's sometimes referred to as a skirt shave in the UK. It's used to skive, miter an edge and in numerous other applications.

Edited February 18, 2016 by simontuntelder

[ConradPark]

I stand corrected, as I mistook the picture for a 'creaser'. Simontuneelder - Glazing irons are used for melting wax into the leather sole and to smooth out the surface, especially around the heel area - different tool and use from creasers, but no worries, we all do mistakes . I do agree that creasers are hardly used by shoemakers today, just happens that in the way past in the olden days it was indeed different. I share a studio with a group of shoemakers that still make and continue the tradition of making shoes by hand and we are all lucky to have amassed a small collection of vintage creaser tools, all of them from makers of shoe making tools. Unfortunately most of the makers doesn't exist anymore.