Hello from the UK

[mggrraanntt]

Hi there,

I'm a twenty something living in North Lincolnshire, England and I've been actively trying leather work for the past 6 months or so and have been bitten by the bug. I'm interested in making things like wallets, belts etc. and would love to start having ago at carving/stamping. Below is a picture of a card holder I made for a friend which is probably the best thing I have made so far (I welcome any criticism or advice). 

I have learnt what I know by basically going through YouTube and Google but I saw so many knowledgeable people on here it was a no brainer this is where I should be to learn. 

I look forward to learning loads more and being a member of this forum!

Cheers,

Michael. 

[bikermutt07]

That looks really great, Michael. I'm guessing that's a pen holder on the side? Nice touch. I haven't seen that on a simple wallet before.

[Matt S]

Welcome Michael. What thread and stitch spacing are you using there?

[mggrraanntt]

41 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

That looks really great, Michael. I'm guessing that's a pen holder on the side? Nice touch. I haven't seen that on a simple wallet before.

Thanks. Yea, it's a pen holder. To be honest, I borrowed the idea from someone I saw on Etsy.  

2 minutes ago, Matt S said:

Welcome Michael. What thread and stitch spacing are you using there?

Hey, the thread is medium brown 1mm Ritza Tigre thread and I believe the spacing was 4mm.

[Matt S]

10 minutes ago, mggrraanntt said:

The thread is medium brown 1mm Ritza Tigre thread and I believe the spacing was 4mm.

That makes for a good solid seam, I'm sure it won't come apart in a hurry. I tend to prefer a finer thread with a tighter spacing myself. The picture shows my much abused cardholder, which I think is 8SPI (3mm) and 18/3 black linen 3mm from the edge. 18/3 linen is a tiny bit smaller than 0.6mm Tiger, for reference.

[mggrraanntt]

1 hour ago, Matt S said:

That makes for a good solid seam, I'm sure it won't come apart in a hurry. I tend to prefer a finer thread with a tighter spacing myself. The picture shows my much abused cardholder, which I think is 8SPI (3mm) and 18/3 black linen 3mm from the edge. 18/3 linen is a tiny bit smaller than 0.6mm Tiger, for reference.

Cheers, I'll give it ago in the future. Is that veg tanned leather? I use veg tanned and I'm not sure if it is best to have a stitch groove or not.

[Matt S]

1 hour ago, mggrraanntt said:

Cheers, I'll give it ago in the future. Is that veg tanned leather? I use veg tanned and I'm not sure if it is best to have a stitch groove or not.

Yes it's all veg tanned, the outside is a buffalo embossed, predyed calf leather around 1mm thick. The lining is 1.5mm of unfinished veg calf which isn't ideal but it's what I had on hand.

 

It is my opinion that it is best to not make a stitching groove except in the few sitations it actually reduces thread wear, such as a leather soled shoe or certain situations in harness and saddlery work. Where thread wear is not a problem (90+percent of the time) the thread groove simply pulls all of the stitches into a straightish line. For the beginner this is an advantage as they have difficulty in keeping a consistent angle from stitch to stitch. It is handy as it gets the work to an acceptable standard quicker and sells an extra £10 tool per person who wants to try the craft. However if you want to be able to stitch with the //// style of stitching (as in my example) as opposed to the ---- style it is just a crutch that won't help you develop. Further, to cut a stitching groove weakens the leather. With heavier pieces (e.g. three pieces of 2mm leather to make a sheath or holster) it doesn't make an appreciable difference. However if using lighter leathers like the example I showed it will take out a considerable amount of the strength of the piece. It is sometimes possible to crease a groove deep enough to sink the stitches flush with the leather but that would be difficult in any leather thin enough to worry about weakening with a stitch groover.

 

TLDR: don't cut a stitch groove unless you really need to. Save the money for something useful like an Osborne 43 awl , a roll of thread or a Chinese pricking chisel.

[mggrraanntt]

58 minutes ago, Matt S said:

Yes it's all veg tanned, the outside is a buffalo embossed, predyed calf leather around 1mm thick. The lining is 1.5mm of unfinished veg calf which isn't ideal but it's what I had on hand.

 

It is my opinion that it is best to not make a stitching groove except in the few sitations it actually reduces thread wear, such as a leather soled shoe or certain situations in harness and saddlery work. Where thread wear is not a problem (90+percent of the time) the thread groove simply pulls all of the stitches into a straightish line. For the beginner this is an advantage as they have difficulty in keeping a consistent angle from stitch to stitch. It is handy as it gets the work to an acceptable standard quicker and sells an extra £10 tool per person who wants to try the craft. However if you want to be able to stitch with the //// style of stitching (as in my example) as opposed to the ---- style it is just a crutch that won't help you develop. Further, to cut a stitching groove weakens the leather. With heavier pieces (e.g. three pieces of 2mm leather to make a sheath or holster) it doesn't make an appreciable difference. However if using lighter leathers like the example I showed it will take out a considerable amount of the strength of the piece. It is sometimes possible to crease a groove deep enough to sink the stitches flush with the leather but that would be difficult in any leather thin enough to worry about weakening with a stitch groover.

 

TLDR: don't cut a stitch groove unless you really need to. Save the money for something useful like an Osborne 43 awl , a roll of thread or a Chinese pricking chisel.

Thanks for the advice. Before I made that card holder with the pen loop I was making things with a stitch groove and I always seemed to screw it up (I don't know if I was applying too much pressure when using it but the round corner always made it difficult for me) so when making that card holder I decided not to do one because I didn't want the groove to look shabby and ruin it overall.

[Matt S]

47 minutes ago, mggrraanntt said:

Thanks for the advice. Before I made that card holder with the pen loop I was making things with a stitch groove and I always seemed to screw it up (I don't know if I was applying too much pressure when using it but the round corner always made it difficult for me) so when making that card holder I decided not to do one because I didn't want the groove to look shabby and ruin it overall.

I used to use the Tandy/Ivan smaller one (grub screw to adjust). Found, as with many of their products, stropping helped but the steel to be so soft that the edge didn't hold for long. Mine also kept wandering off at awkward times and I think you and I are not alone in this.