Loose Snap

[Wardaug]

Bought snaps from Tandy, having complaints about weak snaps.  Any solutions, are there better snaps online I can order?

[RockyAussie]

I've been waiting for over 2 years for Tandy to wake up to the fact that there snaps are now made wrong. To be specific I am talking about the segma type snaps. All that has happened here in Australia is the price has gone up near double. I buy them by the thousands and that means nothing. The female part or should I say receiving part if you look at the slots and revolve it around you will see the slots don't stop equally all the way around and therefor when compressed they end up skewing sideways. This means that on 1 side the metal will be trying to push the male part out. Also to compound this problem now the male part is almost straight and has no knob. I am thinking if this goes on this answer will have to go into the adult section. Try the snaps from Ohio travel bag I think they could be better. Let us know if not but I get mine from a supplier over here.https://ohiotravelbag.com/

[billybopp]

I have a bunch of older Tandy snaps that are fine, but even if the newer ones were top quality I wouldn't buy them.  I really don't like the fact that they feel the need to plaster their name all over the new snaps.

 

Bill

[Boriqua]

I buy all my line 24's directly from scovill. I had it with the tandy snaps. If you dont use enough of them to meet the minimum purchase requirement from scovill some guys sell smaller quantities on ebay. I was able to fix a loose feeling snap with some advice i go there though. I gently squeezed the female part with a channel lock. Almost an imperceptible amount. I just put the channel lock on and gave it the lightest squeeze and it was perfect!

[silverwingit]

A few things regarding snaps.

First off, I HATE segma snaps! Hate 'em! I'll never try to use another one ~ever~ again. I can't tell you the misery they've caused me. I've wasted dozens trying to get them to set right (I never bought dies for my presses 'cuz I dislike them so intensely). Now I use spring snaps exclusively for thinner leather. I have thousands of them, looking for a good source. I finally purchased a Goldstar press & dies just for spring snaps. Their spring snaps aren't bad either, though there are better ones. They work OK and are dirt cheap. When used properly they work fine (Arthur Porter, who is a big exponent of Goldstar presses and snaps, uses them incorrectly in his teaching videos on the subject). The press is the deal, though.

Next, I learned some time ago to not pinch pennies when it comes to snaps. Snaps are the only leather hardware that is subjected to thousands of  "engagings" and "disengagings" and in that sense are the only leather hardware item that is subjected to that sort of intense use. (I'm not including items like belt buckles that just rotate, but am referring to items that engage and disengage). Steel snaps are to be avoided in general, though I've found some steel spring snaps that work OK (Goldstar's are steel). For larger snaps like Ligne 20 or 24, though, forget steel snaps. I never  want one of my products to be returned because of a silly bad snap. Bad for both my time and my reputation.

http://goldstartool.com/

One thing to be aware of is that Goldstar's and Tandy's snaps and presses are incompatible.

And yes, there are far better sources for snaps and all manner of other kinds of hardware used in leather products. I use Ohio Travel Bag for all my leather hardware and many tools as well (except spring snaps as above).

https://ohiotravelbag.com/

There are other sources but I know of no other single source that carries just about every sort of hardware imaginable from Segma snaps to genuine Birkenstock shoe parts and OEM Samsonite luggage repair parts. (Ironically their stock of spring snaps is anemic at best -- that's the only contradiction to my above statement I'm aware of. Understand that I am a spring snap nut because I make a lot of products out of garment leather where beefier snaps are inappropriate.)

And, even with OTB I choose only solid bass snaps. It's a bit more time-consuming but one of the great things about OTB is that they carry many variants of their snaps so you buy by the individual component rather than as complete sets. I particularly appreciate being able to choose different post lengths for my rivets and snaps. Yes, I also choose solid brass rivets. OTB carries their hardware items in many different "finishes," such as plain solid brass or nickel plated solid brass, painted SB, anodized SB, etc.

The only potential drawback is that OTB sells only wholesale so you need a tax ID. They also have a minimum order of $30, but you can eat that up in a hurry. They do sell  in any amounts from single parts to thousands.

Good luck,

Michelle

 

Edited June 22, 2016 by silverwingit