First Stitching Irons Advice

[wrz0170]

10 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I will chime in on this....

The cheap sets on Amazon are great for dialing in what you want size wise.

I have a set of Wuta 3.85 that I like well enough. They are nice and we'll thought out. 

But, if I had it to do over again I would go the crimson route.

Also, keep in mind just because they are chisels doesn't mean you can't use them as irons.

Thank you for chiming in as well as the others who weighed in.  Much appreciated and many good points made.  I am zeroing in on the 3mm/4mm as my first project tutorial uses them and mentions that those sizes are just a good starting point.  Since said project calls for around 1mm, punch through should not be an issue  

I figure the awl work will come soon enough.   I just want to get the basics down. Cut, mark stitching line, punch and learn the stitch   I’ve learned in most of my hobbies; elimate the variables that you can at first.  Less frustration.  As proficiency and skills come about, then reintroduce variables one by one to learn them.  

If I may ask.  You said if you were starting out again, you would’ve gone the Crimson route.  What was it about them that you saw made them stand out to what you currently own?

Thanks again for the chime in. 

William

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by wrz0170

[bikermutt07]

@wrz0170 I do that same thing...

Like years ago when I first started shooting pool. I went and got my own cue. One less variable.

The reason I would do the crimson hides are the things Nigel pointed out in his review. It's a hybrid between an awl and irons. Makes perfect sense.

On thin flimsy stuff just punch right thru. On thicker stuff use them as irons in conjunction with the awl.

And I gotta tell ya., I don't hold the awl with the needles. I just can't do it. I mark with my irons then load the pony. Then I take my awl and wine cork backer and slice as many holes across my jaws as I can stitch. Stitch those, then move the piece forward and repeat.

It is slower for sure, but then again, I'm not leaking sissy juice all over my leather.

Here are some stitches from today. And I haven't done any bench time in several months.

 

I had to use really light pulls on this leather to avoid bunching.

 

[chrisash]

4 hours ago, wrz0170 said:

Interesting!   I’ve read the data sheets and watched the videos from Nigel A.  Even watched several other vids from others.  Seems like the Chinese and Korean competitors are coming on very strong in the iron and leather tool markets in general.  Doing a decent enough job at at it as the demand seems high for their products. 

William

Lets face it, with cad drawings and cad machines making pricking irons should be a simple enough exercise, where as a few years ago it would be quite a skilled job to do. They still don't spend enough time on finishing; as the big names but quite honestly, i cannot see much future for the small companies producing the high value items like these, in the next 5-10 years as mass production forces constant improvement as well as low prices

Interesting video by Harry Rogers on a Cheap Japanese style knife sold on Etsy as a few quid and how the steel is quite good seems to prove the point why mass produce using crap steel when you can spend a tiny bit more and get quite good steel, not the best certainly but maybe  a big improvement

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by chrisash

[csosborne]

On 9/3/2018 at 3:26 PM, 480volt said:

I own a set of the Osborne irons and find that the teeth are a bit too wide and the angle not accute enough (not parallel enough to the stitch line). The geometry of the teeth on Blanchard irons is much better. I can’t speak to Wuta, Crimson, or KS Blade, as I try to keep my purchasing to old line companies that I hope will stay in business. I imagine VB will eventually succumb to the downwards pressure from the Korean and Chinese competitors much like Dixon did.

Good afternoon,

This is Daniel With C.S. OSBORNE. We have never heard of this with our chisels. Some leather worker use a chalk line or markings before punching the chisel on their leather to receive that aligned stitch they want. Any questions please feel free to contact me at: cso@csosborne.com

Thank you
C.S. OSBORNE & CO
Daniel

[koreric75]

3 hours ago, csosborne said:

Good afternoon,

This is Daniel With C.S. OSBORNE. We have never heard of this with our chisels. Some leather worker use a chalk line or markings before punching the chisel on their leather to receive that aligned stitch they want. Any questions please feel free to contact me at: cso@csosborne.com

Thank you
C.S. OSBORNE & CO
Daniel

Just exactly how does that work? I did try contacting you after reading this same verbiage on another post where someone was not happy with their round knife...I had a problem with a stitching awl that I ordered thru amazon, but was c.s. osbourne & co ( ultimately what i wanted to ensure as not everyone is totally honest and there are many knock offs out there )....instead of a daniel i got an automated response and another follow up email from "lisa" that suggested i contact someone at www.osborneleathertools.com for my purchase...I thought that's who I was contacting?  I relented since it wasn't terribly expensive and threw it in the "never again" drawer until a later date that i could grind it down and actually make it sharp.  So i'm not surprised you've never heard these problems, unless you're on a forum, since unless i'm withing driving distance it would get lost in the cloud of the interwebs.

[bikermutt07]

@koreric75i would be willing to take a stab at that round knife, if you want. I have been sharpening things on my Kalamazoo for over a year now. I haven't tried a roundknife yet.

[koreric75]

24 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

@koreric75i would be willing to take a stab at that round knife, if you want. I have been sharpening things on my Kalamazoo for over a year now. I haven't tried a roundknife yet.

sure thing, just got in some new stones since i used my other set for the awl...lol, if you get it close to where the knip is I'll be ecstatic 

[bikermutt07]

28 minutes ago, koreric75 said:

sure thing, just got in some new stones since i used my other set for the awl...lol, if you get it close to where the knip is I'll be ecstatic 

I’ve only ever stropped that knife.

But I’m confident i can make it sharp.

[csosborne]

11 hours ago, koreric75 said:

Just exactly how does that work? I did try contacting you after reading this same verbiage on another post where someone was not happy with their round knife...I had a problem with a stitching awl that I ordered thru amazon, but was c.s. osbourne & co ( ultimately what i wanted to ensure as not everyone is totally honest and there are many knock offs out there )....instead of a daniel i got an automated response and another follow up email from "lisa" that suggested i contact someone at www.osborneleathertools.com for my purchase...I thought that's who I was contacting?  I relented since it wasn't terribly expensive and threw it in the "never again" drawer until a later date that i could grind it down and actually make it sharp.  So i'm not surprised you've never heard these problems, unless you're on a forum, since unless i'm withing driving distance it would get lost in the cloud of the interwebs.

Good Morning,

The website Lisa provided is a direct link we give our leather workers to buy direct. Typically we only sell thru distributors who resell our products to the public or end user. This is why we can really never replace items that are sold thru Amazon or Ebay because they are not a customer of ours. Those tools can be sold by anyone who already used them and has no use for them or a tool they inherited. We stand 100% behind our tools when it comes to damaged items or replacements....if this was a tool you recently purchased thru our distributor we would without a doubt send out a new one or replace. But as you said we have no control to what people are selling on Amazon or Ebay. Any questions please feel free to contact us

Thank you
Daniel
Sales

[jcuk]

Hello

 

I think you are talking about my round knife. I have replied to Daniel at Osborne on Sunday evening. I also posted a reply on another thread on this forum concerning the round knife please see here. 

 

The knife is now working fine and cutting well. 

Hope this helps 

JCUK