Tiger ver Far East threads

[LetterT]

To add the Chinese part to above:

Galaces waxed thread 0.55mm/113meters waxed polyester of ebay $4 + free shipping                 $0.035/m

Galaces waxed thread 0.6mm/95meters waxed polyester of ebay $5 + free shipping                 $0.05/m

Galaces waxed thread 0.8mm/78meters waxed polyester of ebay $2 + free shipping                 $0.025/m*

*Galaces as it seems to be the only reference to a brand on the spool

**Wuta should be a Chinese brand with solid quality for a few bucks more per roll, although I am having trouble finding any review

Edited September 7, 2018 by LetterT

[NVLeatherWorx]

21 hours ago, wrz0170 said:

Interesting breakdown on cost of threads.   FWIW.

Tiger Thread .6mm  RMLeatherSupply  $6.75/25m + Free Shipping  = $6.75                                                           $.27/m

Fil au Chinois “Lin Cable” waxed linen .63mm RMLeatherSupply  $21.99/200m + Free Shipping = $21.99        $.10995/m

Vinymo MBT Bonded Thread  Size 1/ .6mm  District Leather Supply $6.75/60m +SH $3.29= $10.04                  $.1673/m

Japanese Polyester Thread .6mm  Crimsonhides  $5.82/45m +SH $7.27=$13.09                                                  $.29/m

Supersew MBT Poly Size 5/.6mm Fineleatherworks $9.97/100m +SH $7.00=$16.97                                             $.1697/m

*Kept at or around 6mm thread

** $USD / converted as necessary 

***don’t know if you can find smaller quantities.  I went with what was easily available without having to go into the dark web  

****obviously there are a $hit ton more out there.  

*****there may be a math mistake   I blame the bourbon

 

Tiger thread is available at a cost but I buy mine from a supplier and my cost per yard is $.06.  I am also doing some testing for another gentleman who is looking to start up a thread company (he has in fact already committed to it at this point) and he is based in Texas.  His thread is manufactured in Germany, just like Tiger, and it is quite comparable at this point during my testing.  Yes, there are many other suppliers out there and I have used many of these threads over the years that I have worked with leather yet I still stick with Tiger because it has all of the things that I look for in a thread: durability, UV resistance, ease of use, and I can get it at a price that is less than what most of those Far East threads and other lesser threads cost.  

And welcome to the group, it is nice to see another person in here that is close to me (I am literally 36 miles away).

[wrz0170]

37 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

Tiger thread is available at a cost but I buy mine from a supplier and my cost per yard is $.06.  I am also doing some testing for another gentleman who is looking to start up a thread company (he has in fact already committed to it at this point) and he is based in Texas.  His thread is manufactured in Germany, just like Tiger, and it is quite comparable at this point during my testing.  Yes, there are many other suppliers out there and I have used many of these threads over the years that I have worked with leather yet I still stick with Tiger because it has all of the things that I look for in a thread: durability, UV resistance, ease of use, and I can get it at a price that is less than what most of those Far East threads and other lesser threads cost.  

And welcome to the group, it is nice to see another person in here that is close to me (I am literally 36 miles away).

Thank you kindly for the welcome!  Dipping my toe as it were for the first time in leather, I purchased a couple 25m spools of Tiger from RMLeather.  I guess you can say it will be my base line as I’m sure I will venture off to try others. 

Ar you down the CC way?

[chrisash]

I am new to Leatherwork, and have a number of different makes of hand sew threads, mostly in 0.6 and quite honestly,I cannot tell the difference in any of them, I generally buy Tiger as it was used by a expert on a video, and the price difference is so little its irrelevant to me with the small amounts I use.

 

What are you folk seeing that i am missing

[battlemunky]

The way it sews mainly @chrisash. Some stuff is a dream, some stuff you have to pay a bit more attention to things like how easy it pulls through leather, the finish it holds, strength. 

For instance, I like the Chinese knock-off Tiger thread. It behaves well for me and the strength is fine. But Tiger is a bit more waxed, or waxed with a different recipe or something, and it is a bit stiff and make it a wee bit easier for me to use. Given the availability and cost of Tiger though, I opt to sacrifice a little bit of ease of use on my part for the cost. They are very similar in my estimation. Also, I have noticed the Tiger thread seems to "scar" a bit compared to the knock-off. When you are sewing and you stab through the thread while coming through the whole, I can see it more when using Tiger than with knock-off Tiger.

Maybe its just me but those are a few things I've noticed.

[NVLeatherWorx]

15 hours ago, wrz0170 said:

Thank you kindly for the welcome!  Dipping my toe as it were for the first time in leather, I purchased a couple 25m spools of Tiger from RMLeather.  I guess you can say it will be my base line as I’m sure I will venture off to try others. 

Ar you down the CC way?

I am actually in Fernley, or as we call it - Ferntucky, just this side of Fallabama.

[NVLeatherWorx]

If you are performing the steps of the saddle stitch properly then there is no chance of stabbing through the thread as some have mentioned here in this thread.  The stabbing of the thread is only a risk if you pull one stitch all the way through then push your opposite needle through from the other side.  This also results in your stitching looking inconsistent, especially on the reverse side of your project.  Both needles need to be pushed into the stitching hole from each side and you need to ensure that you maintain the orientation of the needles from start to finish, even when doing your back stitch to end the line.

The only other suggestion I can offer is to make sure that when you are pulling your needles through the hole that you make sure that the trailing end remains below the needle on both sides of the leather to ensure that it lays in straight and consistently.  As easy as saddle stitching may seem it can create issues if not done properly and consistently and the outcome is not always pretty to look at.

[battlemunky]

42 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

If you are performing the steps of the saddle stitch properly then there is no chance of stabbing through the thread as some have mentioned here in this thread.  The stabbing of the thread is only a risk if you pull one stitch all the way through then push your opposite needle through from the other side.  This also results in your stitching looking inconsistent, especially on the reverse side of your project.  Both needles need to be pushed into the stitching hole from each side and you need to ensure that you maintain the orientation of the needles from start to finish, even when doing your back stitch to end the line.

The only other suggestion I can offer is to make sure that when you are pulling your needles through the hole that you make sure that the trailing end remains below the needle on both sides of the leather to ensure that it lays in straight and consistently.  As easy as saddle stitching may seem it can create issues if not done properly and consistently and the outcome is not always pretty to look at.

I still occasionally poke the other thread but I pull back on it every time to unpoke it before pulling both lines through to tighten, its part of my method. I've gotten a lot better at it but it still happens no matter how careful I am.

When backstitching though, you need to switch the order. Correct?

[NVLeatherWorx]

37 minutes ago, battlemunky said:

I still occasionally poke the other thread but I pull back on it every time to unpoke it before pulling both lines through to tighten, its part of my method. I've gotten a lot better at it but it still happens no matter how careful I am.

When backstitching though, you need to switch the order. Correct?

When I backstitch I keep my needles in the same position so that the second stitch will lay right on top of the first stitch.

[battlemunky]

6 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

When I backstitch I keep my needles in the same position so that the second stitch will lay right on top of the first stitch.

Right but don't you have to switch from left first right second to right first left second in order of lead needle? If that question even makes sense...  For instance if you start left needle first, when you do your backstitch you need to go right needle first. I read that somewhere and have always done it. I don't think I've tested it without doing it before...