Stitching and punching?

[CaptQuirk]

 

Get a stitching wheel and a groover.  Also get a diamond awl.  That's all you need.  Except for callouses and patience.

And BandAids... Lots of BandAids. And maybe a something to bite and scream into, when the awl goes through the leather AND your finger, and the wife is sleeping.

[Michael Sheldon]

I learned with a stitching wheel and awl, and that's what I used for years.

But frankly, unless you're going through more than 3/16" to 1/4" total thickness, I'd go for the Japanese-style stitching chisels. Much easier to use, and less blood. And, as is typical, skip the ones Tandy sells. They're not that good, and significantly over-priced. Do a search on Etsy, and you'll find dozens of sellers. Nigel Armitage has a video on using these and pricking irons.

I switched to using the chisels, and now only use the awl for very heavy pieces, and where laying the piece down flat is not possible.

[Windrider30]

First pardon my french but skip using an awl. I used mine for about 5 minutes and jammed it under my thumb nail. After teaching my wife and the neighborhood kids a few dozen new swear words i ripped the awl out of my thumb and tossed that evil ice pick out the door. Now i use...hear the collective gasp. ..Tandy's pricking irons and love them to death. 

I do want to get a set that is 9spi but yes tandy's are a bit expensive but i love mine. What you really need is a pair of wing dividers and a set of good pricking irons and band aids as you will still put an iron through your finger once in a while...leaves a nice square hole in you.

I set my wingdivider  to an 1/8 of an inch (once in a great while just a bit more than an 1/8th depending on my project and leather thickness) then again depending on my project i use my...collective gasp..Tandy groover to run a neat line down the line my wing divider just made. The groover just protects the thread a little bit better. Then use my pricking iron and my mallet and try not to hit my hand with my mallet cuse that makes me scream out sumdabitch that hurts and the 6 year old neighbor kid has my southern accent down to a tea...funny to hear a 6 year old auzzie kid scream that out in a southern twang!!! The go about doing my saddle stitching. And i honestly believe after all of my projects...one messenger bag which took me 28 hours in hand stitching alone...I can claim to be an "expert " at hand stitching.

[Matt S]

 

First pardon my french but skip using an awl. I used mine for about 5 minutes and jammed it under my thumb nail. After teaching my wife and the neighborhood kids a few dozen new swear words i ripped the awl out of my thumb and tossed that evil ass ice pick out the door. Now i use...hear the collective gasp. ..Tands pricking irons and love them to death. 

I do want to get a set that is 9spi but yes tandys are a bit expensive but i love mine. What you really need is a pair of wing dividers and a set of good pricking irons and band aids as you will still put an iron through your finger once in a while...leaves a nice square hole in you.

I set my wingdivider  to an 1/8 of an inch (once in a great while just a bit more than an 1/8th depending on my project and leather thickness) then again depending on my project i use my...collective gasp..Tandy groover to run a neat line down the line my wing divider just made. The groover just protects the thread a little bit better. Then use my pricking iron and my mallet and try not to hit my hand with my mallet cuse that makes me scream out sumdabitch that hurts and the 6 year old neighbor kid has my southern accent down to a tea...funny to hear a 6 year old auzzie kid scream that out in a southern twang!!! The go about doing my saddle stitching. And i honestly believe after all of my projects...one messenger bag which took me 28 hours in hand stitching alone...I can claim to be an "expert " at hand stitching.

A messenger bag took you 28 hours of stitching? I'd better buy those Tandy irons cos single gusset satchels only take me an hour to stitch with an awl. Maybe, if I practice real hard I can get it up to 28 and become an expert like you.

[Windrider30]

 

A messenger bag took you 28 hours of stitching? I'd better buy those Tandy irons cos single gusset satchels only take me an hour to stitch with an awl. Maybe, if I practice real hard I can get it up to 28 and become an expert like you.

The main reason it took 28 hours to stitch is due to the size and the amount of stitching over all, not to mention I decided to try something new, no typical 90 degree edge on the gussets or bottom simply stitching them together, gave it a really cool looking round edge, bloody nightmare to get the leather to bend around the corners let me tell you. Came out really nice though and it is all leather, no metal closures.  Bag in question https://gibbinthegremlin.com/collections/messenger-bags/products/dark-brown-leather-messenger-bag  Though I will freely admit I like using a 90 degree angle because then you do not have to fight the leather. As this design does not really allow for you to glue the leather in place. As I said before I hand stitch everything I do, I use no machines what so ever on my projects, old school is a slow process but love the end result. Oh and the 28 hours does not include the 15 minutes or so of punching holes, using a pricking iron is WAY faster then using an awl and at least for me safer because man that thing hurts when you jam an awl underneath your nail!!!

Edited August 23, 2016 by Windrider30

[Matt S]

 

The main reason it took 28 hours to stitch is due to the size and the amount of stitching over all, not to mention I decided to try something new, no typical 90 degree edge on the gussets or bottom simply stitching them together, gave it a really cool looking round edge, bloody nightmare to get the leather to bend around the corners let me tell you. Came out really nice though and it is all leather, no metal closures.  Bag in question https://gibbinthegremlin.com/collections/messenger-bags/products/dark-brown-leather-messenger-bag  Though I will freely admit I like using a 90 degree angle because then you do not have to fight the leather. As this design does not really allow for you to glue the leather in place. As I said before I hand stitch everything I do, I use no machines what so ever on my projects, old school is a slow process but love the end result.

That's a nice looking bag, and a lot of stitches. Stitching in the gusset to one of these usually takes me about an hour. That's only 60" of stitching at 7 SPI. The whole lot is English bridle leather, the high tallow content makes for a beautiful and functional bag but glues don't hold it much and the corners are super-fun, what with having to bend 90 degrees in two planes. You can't quite see it in the photo but the gusset is one long piece.

 

1" per minute is usual for me unless the leather is thicker than 1/2". Awls are fast but they require some practice, they need to be sharp and they need to be smooth. Tandy awls are, apparently, absolute junk. Can't say I've ever had the pleasure.

(Yes the upside-down buckle got corrected before the customer picked it up! :-p )

[Windrider30]

I have never had any problems, well it take that back did have one problem with one of the pricking irons, I bent the one single punch that it came with (I have this set https://www.tandyleather.com.au/en/product/diamond-hole-chisel-set ) I called them up when it happened and they said to send it back and they sent me a whole another kit free of charge. Other then that I really like the pricking irons they are fast and to be honest you can get away with out sharpening them for a while before you have to sharpen them again. Love the bag and I have yet to do a single gusset like that. Also how thick is that leather I have never used English bridle leather always thought that was more for horse tac then anything else.

[Matt S]

The front and back/top are 2.5-3mm shoulder, the gusset is 2mm belly. Makes each seam about 5mm thick so quite manageable. Yes bridle-finish was originally developed for use with horse gear, which is why it is firm, supple and water-resistant. These all make for great properties for general leather goods such as trouser belts, bags, cases, satchels... if you split it down it makes for great wallets and watch straps too. This stuff is from the last pit-tannery in the UK.

[Windrider30]

one other tool that you need that no one mentioned a good set of pliers some times its a real pain in the ass to pull the needle all the way thought the leather so its easier to grab the needle with a pair of pliers and give it that little bit of extra tug it needs to clear the hole!

[Michael Sheldon]

 

one other tool that you need that no one mentioned a good set of pliers some times its a real pain in the ass to pull the needle all the way thought the leather so its easier to grab the needle with a pair of pliers and give it that little bit of extra tug it needs to clear the hole!

True enough, though I generally only need it for backstitching. My preference is for a set of bent-nosed, smooth-jawed heavy needle-nose pliers. A thimble or stitching palm can also be useful in such cases. Though I've yet to find a thimble that's actually large enough for me.

Only problem with pliers is that they scratch up the surface of the needle, which increases drag, which makes the needle more likely to get stuck, which means you need the pliers....

Which does bring up a point. Use new needles frequently. Just because they aren't bent doesn't mean they aren't worn.