grommit Report post Posted February 24, 2016 Hello all, I will keep in short, so yous are bored! I spend a few years making custom knifes, and I was starting to learn leather stamping on my sheaths. but January 11th 2015 (my birthday) I suffered 2 strokes and cut a long story short, I can now get partial movement on my bad arm n hand. Lucky I'm alive, so why not get back in the saddle so to speak. I am waiting for my stamp being delivered, and fingers crossed I might be able to hold the stamp. If there's a will there's a way! motivation and determination keeps going. I am looking forward to learn everything I can, if possible physically. iI look forward to update you all, if I can stamp with both hands. I wont give up the challenge. Thank you so much for reading my interdiction. ATB Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Hello Brian and welcome to the forum. You just have to take it slow.......I do it because my hands tell me when it is time to quit working. I would suggest you take your time and enjoy it rather than go all out and loose your patience. Good luck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zuludog Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Welcome to the forum! I am sorry to hear about your strokes, but as I understand things, working & doing things will help to repair the damage I, too, make knives, but I live in a flat, so the only power tool I have is a bench top pillar drill. All my shaping & sanding is done by hand. I have to accept that the work I do will take longer, but nevertheless I enjoy the work I can do. You will probably have to work on the same principle Surf & Search on Google & YouTube for Drill Stands, including Dremel Workstation 220, these may help. You could rig up holders & adapters for tools, awls, stitching chisels, and so on. Plus you could use a mini drill like a Dremel, though there are, of course, other makes Proxxon do a range of small power tools; good quality, but priced accordingly I know a professional leatherworker who has no hesitation in using a Dremel if the leather is too thick for a hand awl Have a look at Dremel Workstation 220. That will hold the drill both vertically & horizontally, so you might also be able to use it for burnishing, sanding, and sharpening Best Wishes Zuludog Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grommit Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Thank you for the warm welcome. King's X, hello, great words of wisdom, I can only take it slow tbh. took me 13 months from nothing in the left side to moving one finger a little after a couple of weeks with intense physio therapy, getting movement by the weeks. So I admit I have all the patients and the time to adjust to my problems. But at the mo the cold has attacked my muscles and joints, leaving no feeling in my grip which is really weak. Enough of my disability! I am alive and I accepted that fact that I got my self into that state, I love life and have a second chance. There's is far worse people out there, so I thank my lucky stars. Zuludog, thankyou to taking the time to reply. If your same person I have seen your post on BB forum. I'm lucky to have my workshops still with Ian over in Norfolk, so I know about doing knife making in flats etc. I've had a great role model in my dad, he was parallelized in a farming accident, and watching him adapt to the problem took years, be eventually he overcome the problems.....if theirs a will theirs a way! looking at the 220 etc. I can use my right hand perfectly so like you said I could burnishing etc. nice one pal! my main problem is my bad arm is lacks the grip and the arm is 'Robotic' in operation...slow gets there! 7 double injections of botox lol pity they didn't put in my face.. at the moment my grip is like this, (see the pics) well, I'm off to my daily exercise session, and hopefully walk a couple of miles on the treadmill....no land speed records, but more like tortoise than a hare. respect everyone, ATB Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LumpenDoodle2 Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Zuludog's right, you can do a lot with a dremel. Another thing, if your grip isn't too good at the moment, get some of that neoprene pipe insulation, and either pad out the tools for your left hand, or make a removable grip. Not only will that save the tool bouncing out your hand, but let you make the most of the grip you have. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grommit Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Hello there, thanks for reply. Funny enough as we speak I am currently working on my grip. ive just got my heavey brass makers stamp today, so I trialed a without the handle, padded some to see what what. like I said earlier its trial and error. theirs a trick wrapping a elastic band round your fingers for extra grip, why not. I got a small sealed tub with copper coins in, making it heavy to use with leather items so they don't move...well in theory! I've had 13 months to adjust one handed, so ill be fine.. the bad arm is not totally useless so work out what I can use it for and adjust accordingly. I am thoroughly enjoying my lease of life with the leather making, all down to friend whos made a knife and himself wanted to stamp the sheath...'Bingo!' could I do that??? 7 month in 3 hospitals the only hobby was getting myself better, so now I have something to look forward to, Wup! Wup! The Stamps I bought seem coming from the ring of Saturn, but all in good time ill get there. ATB Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billybopp Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Hi Brian, Welcome aboard! Sorry to hear about your stroke, but never forget - Where there's a will, there's a way. You will find that there are a lot of us on here dealing with disabilities of one form or another. From arthritis to being wheelchair bound and most everything in between. There are a number of threads on the site where people show off their workarounds! I have some damage to both hands due to rheumatoid arthritis, although thankfully it's not TOO severe. As mentioned above, you can put your tooling leather in a sealed plastic bag when you're ready for a break, and come back to it a little while later. You may also want to consider getting a spray bottle to "refresh" your casing when you go back to it. Also, if it will extend to days, you may want to refrigerate your sealed up leather between sessions to slow down possible mold growth. I've also heard of folks putting additives into the water they case with to do the same. To mention a couple, you may find it easier to grip your tools with large, soft grips on them. Some have used heat shrink tubing, rubber pencil grips and a few other things to help with that. Another good example is using a modified mechanical arbor press for tooling so that you don't have to grip the tool at all! I've used my arbor press for 3D stamps and it works great, but have yet to modify it to use with handled stamps .. but it seems easy enough to do .. have somebody drill the ram down its length and then a smaller threaded hole from the side for a set-screw. I've give some thought to getting a deep-throat arbor just for that purpose, and rigging a return spring. Check out this thread. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=65483&hl=%2Btallbald+%2Barbor#entry427187 If you find you can't do your stitching with an awl, the aformentioned drill press idea could work well, as could a modified arbor press. You may also want to consider using stitching chisels which can go all the way through the leather in a whack instead. They are a VERY close second to a pricking iron and awl for making a pretty stitch line. Additionally, one of the nice things about sewing is that you can do a bit and walk away to rest your hands for as long as necessary ... No problem! I'm always amazed at the ingenuity of the things I find on this site, so please be sure to show off the workarounds that you find! Bill In any case, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zuludog Report post Posted February 25, 2016 GROMMIT Yes, I am the same person as Zuludog on British Blades Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grommit Report post Posted February 26, 2016 Wow!! A great reply. I understand I'm not the only one with a disibility, but we adapt to to the problems in life. My theropy is learning to use my Brain again. Writing, reading, spelling, memory and my speech was lost for few months before my brain repairs itself as best it can. Thanks I look forward to write in 'workaround' about my adaptions. Like you said taking time to rest is so important! The sealed bag is great and a spray bottle. I was looking about my tools that I have already and how, I've got old stamp press for my knives..might work out if it's suible on the leather!! Straight stamping the border for example (using the correct force of course lol) getting the off set position to use a bevelling stamp is going to bit harder, I hope to research about that. There's is a lot to research tbh and my reading and taking the info is not good ha ha! Short burst then rest. I appeciate all the 'how do it' and write it on my notes. Take care ATB Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
