Help New Leather Worker

[Mattsbagger]

8/9 is a pretty heavy leather for note covers and stuff. I use 4/5 for wallet body and 2/3 for pockets. I use 7/8 for holsters. 6 spi for holsters and 8 spi on wallets is my rule of thumb. I threw my light brown non pro Fiebings dye away because never could get a decent color. I've made messenger bags out of 3/4 flexible but sturdy enough to hold its shape. The bend is generally the "best" most uniform cut. It's rare to get good leather at Tandy. NEVER buy there craftsman grade. It might look ok but will never dye uniform and all kinds of scars and "fixes" will show up when you try to dye it. This is what I've learned in 5 months of doing leather. Save the Tandy leather for practice pieces. I know there are plenty of people on here with way more experience than me who can chime in with better advise.Good luck in your journey. 

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by Mattsbagger

[rameyleathercraft]

3 minutes ago, Mattsbagger said:

8/9 is a pretty heavy leather for note covers and stuff. I use 4/5 for wallet body and 2/3 for pockets. I use 7/8 for holsters. 6 spi for holsters and 8 spi on wallets is my rule of thumb. I threw my light brown non pro Fiebings dye away because never could get a decent color. I've made messenger bags out of 3/4 flexible but sturdy enough to hold its shape. The bend is generally the "best" most uniform cut. It's rare to get good leather at Tandy. NEVER buy there craftsman grade. It might look ok but will never dye uniform and all kinds of scars and "fixes" will show up when you try to dye it. This is what I've learned in 5 months of doing leather. Save the Tandy leather for practice pieces. I know there are plenty of people on here with way more experience than me who can chime in with better advise.Good luck in your journey. 

That's great information, thank you. SPI; is that "stitches per inch"?

 

[Mattsbagger]

Yes 8 spi is 3mm ish 6 spi is 5mm ish. Basically do what looks best to you. Also thread size has a lot to do with your stitching. I use Tiger thread. More stitches=smaller thread. I use .8mm and 1mm.

[Mattsbagger]

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by Mattsbagger
Wrong post sorry.lol

[rameyleathercraft]

Thank you. Good information. Very helpful.

 

[Bigfoote]

I use a 4mm with .8 or 1.0 tiger thread. This is a good do anything middle of the road size. If your just starting out, don't buy cheap tools, they are a waste of money and you will not get good results. Some leather suppliers will sell smaller square pieces of leather, which will allow you to try some out before buying a whole side.

12 hours ago, rameyleathercraft said:

8/9 is a pretty heavy leather for note covers and stuff. I use 4/5 for wallet body and 2/3 for pockets. I use 7/8 for holsters.

Mattsbagger gave you some good advice on thickness, pretty much what everyone uses. If your looking for stitching chisels I might recommend these : https://leathercrafttools.com/item?id=6540  They go against the " don't buy cheap tools" rule, and are awesome IMHO. I bought a six tooth and a two tooth, pretty much all you need. I have three other brands of chisels, none compare. They will only barely stitch through about double 8oz leather, so if your doing a lot of holsters you will have to use your awl with them. I do mostly wallets so they are great. I use Tandy leather to make patterns and prototypes because it is cheap. It doesn't tool well, and is generally poor quality, but does have a use when you are fooling around trying new stuff.

[rameyleathercraft]

Thanks for the responses. I have a Japanese set of diamond chisels (prinking irons) 4mm. They are very good and I use them the most. I didn't know until recently that im really not supposed to use them to punch all the way through the leather, just mostly then finish with my awl. So that's a change.

Concerning the dye. I started pre-dampening the leather with a coat of neatsfoot oil. It has made a huge difference! The leather remains much more supple after dying. I then buff and apply my new Aussie Leather Conditioner; which really helps as well! Definitely a much improved finish. Thanks all.

I'll need to order some thread sizes and maybe a different chisel set. right now all I have is the 4mm, and awl, and a stitching wheel with three different "wheels".

 

 

[Brianm77]

I have had decent luck with fiebings reducer instead of alcohol.  I did not like how dark the light brown was either.  I used between 2:1 and  5:1 can't remember now and it worked good. Neetsfoot oil first like stated before. 

As far as the pricking irons, if they are the same ones i use then why not pound all the way through, sure is a lot faster. Maybe a more seasoned leather worker can chime in with advice on that, but that is what I do. 

[Mattsbagger]

Pricking irons are meant to just mark for an awl. Stitching chisel is meant to punch all the way through Japanese style. Not trying to be a knob. It's not a terminology thing they are used different. It can cause confusion.

[bikermutt07]

Stitching is like fishing you can go as simple or extreme as you want. You can get some really good looking stitches with chisels. It's what I have for now. But you can refine it farther. This is where picking irons and matching thread with awl size will come into play. Even the depth you pierce the awl and how much tension you apply affect the final product.

The experts around here have all of that figured out and their stitches look flawless.

Mine not so much.