Stiching holes

[rottik9]

I use stitching chisel to make holes, that said I find it very hard to pass the needle through.  I use Tandy needles and find they break a lot, or is it I am too rough passing them  in small holes? Any feedback is welcome.

ty.

[CaptQuirk]

I have/have had the same problem. I'm guessing that like me, you use the large eye needle for blind old folk? What seems to work ok for me is, after using the chisel, if the hole is still too small, use a stitching awl to loosen it up a bit more. If it still sticks, use a sturdy pair of hemostats to pull the needle through. I still break a lot of needles, but buy them in larger quantities

[alpha2]

I've only broken one needle, a Tandy. I bought some James needles right after that and haven't broken one since. 

As to the difficulty in pulling the needles through, I do what Capt. Q does, press the awl through a few holes, stitch, do a few more, repeat. 

[Tugadude]

When posting about technique and tools it is helpful to detail what you are using.  Saying you use chisels is not very helpful as there are all sorts of tooth sizes, spacing, etc.. Tandy sells several types of needles, so again, not too informative.  Lastly, what thread are you using?  That can have a huge impact too, along with how you are locking the thread on the needle.  You might be creating a "bump" that is difficult to pass through.

Just trying to help, but the details help to assess what is going on.

[motocouture]

When I punch my stitching holes, I use a little braiding soap on the stitching iron (David Morgans leather website has a great recipe). It makes it easier to pull out the chisel and for the needles to go through. That said, I also use James harness needles, size 004 with a 0.6mm thread 

[zuludog]

This topic crops up regularly on this forum; browse through some old threads & posts

there are 3 reasons for stuck needles

The hole is too small; the needle is too big; the thread is too thick, creating a larger bump where it folds over at the eye. Or any combination of these 3

I use the standard Tandy needles to when sewing knife sheaths, the eyes are a bit big, but not impossible. But in future I'm going to use John James #2. Beware! Britain & USA use two different systems for sizing needles, make sure you know which is which. Nigel Armitage shows this well in his video 'Saddle Stitch in Detail' at about 3min 40sec to 4min 30sec

This supplier has a chart of needle & thread sizes on their website www.rmleathersupply.com

You should be able to pull needles by hand about 95% of the time, the exception is when backstitching

If you need to use pliers to pull needles through wrap the jaws in tape to prevent scratching the needle. Whether by hand or pliers, use a straight pull; resist the temptation to waggle the needle about or it will break at the eye

As mentioned, it would have helped if you'd given us more information about stitch spacing; type of leather used; type of thread used, and so on

[paulw]

I have only been doing leather work for a year, started with tandy, same problem, needles broke,found Nigel's video, got some John James needles, 002,003,004 never had a problem since.

[CaptQuirk]

I use the Tandy's, because they have large eyes... my eyes have a hard time threading those, let alone a regular needle. Do these John James come in easy thread versions?

[zuludog]

JJ needles are preferred over Tandy needles because they have smaller eyes which are less likely to jam when pulling through the holes, and help to produce neater work. This does mean, though, that they will be more difficult to thread

A needle threader might work but there's only one way to find out. Problem is, the needles are usually only available in packs of 25. Both the needles and a threader are cheap enough, but if this doesn't work you could then be left with some stuff you can't use

You could ask around suppliers and see if they will sell you just one or two #2 needles as a sample or trial, no harm in asking. Alternatively, could some kind leatherworker in USA arrange to send you a couple? That's what forums are for

Beware! the sizing system for needles in Britain and USA are different; make sure you get John James # 2 needles, under the British system. See my earlier post in this thread

If you decide to stay with Tandy needles, a threader could help with those, too

Go to www.jjneedles.com and use the search box to find 'saddlers harness needles' and you'll see what they look like. You could also contact them and ask their advice, I have always found their sales enquiries dept pleasant & helpful. They would also be able to tell you their American distributor. I notice they do supply easy thread needles, but I don't know if they would be suitable for leather; again, ask them

Edited September 13, 2017 by zuludog

[TheCyberwolfe]

Egyptian Leather on Etsy sells 5-packs of JJ needles, and Ritza thread in both full spools and sample lengths. They're in Washington State USA and their page doesn't mention international shipping, but Canada shouldn't be a big deal.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/EgyptianLeather

[D2G]

Hi! That's helpful. 

But I am somewhat lost with sizes and measures like oz, sq, yd, pounds etc, not easy for me. If I want to use a 0.8mm thread, what size needle eye should I buy? because the length in principle is not problem but if the section or thickness. Someone can help me with amazon for correct size and shipping to Spain. I'm looking for 20minutes and I'm lost with a lot of offer.
Thank you