Where to start?- New to leatherworking

[britlet]

Hi all. I have just started into the world of leatherwork and joined the forum. I am an amateur and I intend to start with a couple of 'simple' projects (I hope). The first one is to saw a leather border on each end of a thin wool rug (70cm on each side). The other project is to saw together a removeable simple leather cover for my notepad.

Could you guys give me some advice as to what tools do I need to start with please? Also if there is any literature I may need to buy (some sort of leatherworker's bible suitable for beginners) and/or videos/websites to watch and visit?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

PS: By the way I have already purchassed a large hide which is about 2mm thick

Edited August 8, 2016 by britlet

[zuludog]

This sort of enquiry crops up regularly on this forum, and I've been discussing this fact with a friend. We wondered if people no longer thought for themselves, or did they just expect to be spoon fed?

For a start, don't you think if it would have been more helpful if you'd given us something a bit more useful than 'UK' for your location? Then we could have pointed you towards retailers, workshops, courses, and so on in your area. Or even asked you round for a cup of tea and a chat about leatherwork.

There is a load of information on The Net and YouTube; Search & Surf. Just done a brief Search myself. There are at least 15 pages, each of about 20 videos about leatherwork on YT

Searched YT for tools for leatherworking and found 9 or 10 videos; similarly for beginning leatherwork, though some of these overlap

Searched Google for leatherworking books and found several references; or ask at your library and see what they have

Search threads on this forum - 'getting started'; 'tools', as many as you have the stamina for

Videos by Nigel Armitage and Ian Atkinson are frequently recommended on this forum. Atkinson does one on tools for leatherworking; Armitage does one on how to make a simple wallet, which is a good introduction to leatherwork.

Tandy is the most popular supplier of tools & materials for leatherwork at the hobby level; it is an American company, but they have recently opened a shop in Manchester. Google for 'Tandy Leather Manchester' that way you will get the prices in £ Must include 'leather' in the search; if you just use 'Tandy' you get the electronics retailer. The Identity Store, Matlock is a Tandy agent. Both of these shops are pleasant & helpful

You may well find that 2mm leather is too thick for binding 'a thin wool rug'; I think 1mm would have been better. Ask youy supplier

Away You Go!

[LumpenDoodle2]

Hello.    The best way to get a 'taste' of what you might need is to wander over to youtube and see the different types of leather (chrome and veg tan), and see the different applications and tools used.   

Do you know what type of leather you have?    If it's upholstery/chrome leather, you might get away with using it as an edging, because of its flexibility.    If it's vegetable tanned, then keep it for better projects, like your cover, and get some thin upholstery leather to bind the rug.

As to tools, get yourself a cutting board (green self heal), a straight edge/ruler, and a good quality stanley knife (and replacement blades).   Now we come to the sewing.    You can pick up a reel of decent (not great) thread (including needles) from eBay, and an awl.

That will get you started.   After that project, you will probibly throw the tools into a drawer and go out and spend decent money to buy what you will now know you really need.

Read this forum, watch the recommended youtube vids, and you will soon start to work it all out.

Just to add, personally I prefer Le Provo for my stuff, so have a look there too.

Edited August 9, 2016 by LumpenDoodle2

[zuludog]

Alright, after my criticism here are hopefully a few more helpful comments, like my suggestions for starting tools

A cutting mat, the usual green thing, get the biggest you can manage, they're cheap enough; from most arts & crafts shops, inc The Works & Range

A steel cutting ruler; those with the wavy section by Jakar or Maun are as good as any, and cheap at £3 or £4

Discount stores sell cards of snap-blade knives for about £1; good enough to start with. Or you can get a Stanley type craft knife; get a fixed blade as the retractable ones wobble too much. Do you have a market near you with a secondhand tool stall? Can get a stanley knife for about £1 but you'll have to clean it up. Often has some old blades in it; no bad thing, see later

Don't be tempted by a starter set, they usually have things you don't want, and not have things you do. In particular the 4-in-1 awl is expensive and not very good. I have had my own awls for a while, but I've tried Tandy's Craftool Pro Stitching Awl # 83020-00 and I think it's quite good

A book that's often recommended is The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Al Stohlman. Tandy UK currently have it on offer at £8-49

Buy tools as  you need them; as you learn & gain experience you will be able to make better choices. Having said that, if you do have several things to get, it might be worth joining Tandy's discount scheme

The key to good leatherwork is very, very sharp tools; you will need a fine stone and a strop

Stones - oil are the cheapest, and because they've been around for ages you can often get then secondhand - back to the market stall! and clean it up as shown in YT videos. Ceramic & water stones can be expensive, and a bit messy; diamond stones are probably the easiest to use, but can be expensive. Cheapest is wet & dry paper on a piece of glass or plastic coated wood, eg old kitchen cabinet

Blades for stanley knives are disposeable, but in fact they seem to work better if you re-sharpen them, probably because you reduce the bevel, and polish them. So I use some old rusty blades that came with a s/h knife, and cleaned them up & resharpened them

Make your own strop, it is easy, and could be your first leather project! Info on this forum & YT. Start off as you mean to continue, with a proper stropping/honing compound. I use Veritas Green

IMHO this is one of the best sharpening videos on YT. Even though it is chisels the principles can be used on lots of different tools. 'Preparing and Sharpening a Woodworking Chisel' by Paul Sellers. Other than that YT has llots of videos on sharpening, and a section on this forum

Here are some websites for you

http://www.bowstock.co.uk 

http://www.jwoodleathers.co.uk

http://www.leprevo.co.uk

http://www.abbeyengland.com

For thread I use natural  18/3 linen thread from Bowstock; as good a place as any to start. Ask them for needles to suit

[britlet]

zuludog your criticism is welcome and thank you for being honest. I have taken your points on board and have already ammended some areas such as profile info etc. I do frequent various forums for my various hobbies and yet i still seem to forget and fall in the newbie trap. Definitely not the kind of guy looking to be spoonfed though And I am very grateful for the great advice from both you and LD2. Thank you.

 

My first post was abit generalistic and not very detailed so i'll try and give a bit more info.

As a person I tend to like the preparation stage (i.e. having the basic knowledge, tools, etc) before starting. I am not a brand junkie however I do like to buy something half decent from the start that will last me. I'm a firm believer in the "you get what you pay for" saying. Now at the same I am conscious of how easily one can fall for hype created online and end up buying tools or items that will never get used so I'm trying to avoid that if possible. I am thinking of starting with the basics needed for cutting and stitching (and then I can buy specilised tools later as and when needed).

I've already got a copy of the Al Stohlman book and am starting to read it tonight.

TandyLeather is one of the websites which I found a couple of years back during my searches and although I havent bought from it I did save it in my favourites for later use because it looked very good and with a comprehensive range of tools and materials one needs.

I do have a Japanese water stone which I purchased a couple of years back when I started to buy Japanese chef's knives. I assume it will be ok to use?

 

As for the leather it is a whole piece which I bought in Manchester in a shop which makes sofas and armchairs. When I visited their showroom they had a few hides hanging up and I asked if they were for sale. The chap said yes and I was bracing myself when I asked how much. To my surprise he said £40. I assume this was one of the hides that may have had some faults and which they could not use for making sofas. Perhaps my 2mm estimate was generous. 1mm is more likely and the leather is quite flexible. I am not quite sure if it is chrome or vegetable tanned though

[LumpenDoodle2]

I would say it's probibly chrome tanned (looking at it with my inexperienced eye), but that doesn't mean it's any less usable than veg tanned leather.  

The chrome tan is perfect for bags, covers, and general projects.   You can't stamp it or wet form it, but  you can certainly keep yourself busy with it.

As to tools, I have been waiting for a year for a round/head knife to pop up at a decent price.   An old Dixon knife in poor condition finally hoved into view.   It has taken a month of on/off work sharpening it, and it isn't quite right yet (I'm new at this sharpening thing, and still learning), but I am now happy to use it for every day work.

If I had bought it a year ago when I started looking, it might have put me off for life.   It was certainly a learning curve for me.

All my tools started as cheap and chearfull, and as I have worked out what I'm doing, I am slowly upgrading.   I think I appreciate them more now too because of that.

Edited August 10, 2016 by LumpenDoodle2

[zuludog]

Hello Britlet, I'm relieved that you weren't too offended by my comments

Like many people I started with a Tandy Starter Kit, hence my recommendation that you do not! I have added to it and made some homemade tools, mostly knives, but years later the pricking wheel has never been out of its plastic bag, I prefer stitching chisels

The waterstone looks about right, but if you want to tidy up old or improvised tools you'll need something a bit coarser. Screwfix sell a cheap coarse diamond stone, about 250 grit, for about £3. Once you've got the blade right with that you shouldn't need to use it again. 1,000 grit, 6,000 grit, then onto a strop

The leather would be OK for making a strop. Which shop in Manchester did you go to, please?

Here are a couple of books I can recommend

The Leatherworking Handbook by Valerie Michael

Leatherwork: A Practical Guide by Chris Taylor

Or ask your library, they must have some sort of leather craft book in stock

[JLSleather]

Certainly chrome tannage ("upholstery leather").  2mm might be about right judging by teh pics... what us US boys would call 5/6 0Z leather. 

[britlet]

Zuludog the leather was from http://www.thechesterfieldcompany.com/  I visited their showroom and apparently they do often have leathers hanging up that they sell cheap.

JLS yes you're right. Measured it and it is a 2mm one. Quite soft (in my inexprienced opinon) and flexible.

Can I ask, is a stitching pony something I need to buy right at the start? It appears to be one of the more expensive tools.

[TeriYool]

I am nearly as green as you are but have done a considerable bit of hand stitching and my arthritic hands do NOT enjoy it. I only just learned about the stitching pony and have watched a few YouTube videos. Looks like it will make the stitching considerably easier on my hands. I am anxious to get one. I found a used bundle for $90 US on a Craigslist type site. I have many of the tools in the bundle but feel like I can probably sell the ones I already have and make some of my money back. There are pictures of home made ones here if you put the term in the search field you will find them. They look simple enough to make if you have the tools and are thusly inclined. 

Keep at it, leather is a great hobby!

TY

[zuludog]

A stitching pony or sewing pony is a wooden clamp to hold the leather while you sew it. The usual method is to place it on a chair then sit on it so that the workpiece is in front of you. Those with a built in seat are called sewing/stitching horses. For larger pieces of work you use taller freestanding clamps called saddler's clamps

It's not too difficult to make your own, and to build it onto an old wooden chair if you wish, and make a sewing horse. There are threads on this forum, and videos on YT. If you're going to buy one, consider the work you might do; saddler's clamps are expensive, but what will do a lot will do a little. I only make small items so far, like sheaths & wallets, so I use a home - made pony. It's not exactly an outstanding example of the cabinet maker's art, but it does the job

I often think that a stitching pony is a bit pricey for what you get, but it's one of those things where nothing much else will do. You can manage small items without one, but a pony makes it so much easier

As you can get to Manchester I suggest that before you do much else you visit Tandy's shop in Openshaw. The staff are pleasant & helpful, and on Wednesday afternoons they have an open session where you can try out different tools & materials. You can read & watch all you want, but there's nothing quite like seeing things in the flesh as it were, and talking to people face to face.

I f you do go, would you like to meet up there? I can bring some of my home - made tools. PM me.

If you decide to buy a stitching pony, and no doubt in the near future there will be other things as well, consider joining Tandy's discount scheme. And/or get on their contact list, then you will get early notice of sales & offers

 

Edited August 11, 2016 by zuludog

[OnePivot]

I use a broad flat faced vice for stitching. Its drastically more ergonomic. It was $10 at harbor freight and wood blocks can easily be attached. 

Edit: more ergonomic than using nothing. I'm sure a real horse is better, but I had the vice already. Its nice to have something. The initial investment is pretty large, so it can be helpful to repurpose what you can!

Edited August 11, 2016 by OnePivot