UK suppliers

[CutThumb]

Trying to see if there’s anywhere in the UK with prices close to Germany’s Rickert Werkzeuge, for tools and dyes. Been looking at Tandy an thinking about the value of a gold membership... Any ideas, or favourites gladly received.

[chrisash]

If you are a member of HM Forces or ex then you automatically get elite membership free, Not sure if it also applies to other government departmenst like police and fire service so worth a try

These may be of use

http://www.leprevo.co.uk/knives.htm

https://www.artisanleather.co.uk/leathercraft-starter-kits.html

https://www.identityleathercraft.com/index.php/fastening-buckles.html

http://abbeyengland.com/Store/List/0/CategoryID/-80/Level/a

[bermudahwin]

As Chris says, ex forces qualify.... I was in Financial Services Regulation as a Government Employee here and overseas which qualified me for Costco Membership, but not sure about Tandy Elite (maybe I should ask)

I have written to a German Leather goods producer, with whom I went to college, to ask for his view on the Geman company, as I don't know if I am comparing apples and apples.

Best

H

 

[arz]

We live in Romania. The only place I have ordered tools from in the UK is Abbey England. We really like their brass hardware!

We buy tools, hardware, glue etc. from leathercrafttools.com (Japan). Even with import tax (19%), the prices are good. We have been very happy with the quality. 

We have also bought from, Mando in France, http://www.cuirtextilecrea.com, https://www.decocuir.com, Wuta tools, and from the US (Rocky Mountain leather etc.).

Lot's of great places to get leather related items now compared to a few years ago!

 

[fredk]

4 hours ago, CutThumb said:

Trying to see if there’s anywhere in the UK with prices close to Germany’s Rickert Werkzeuge, for tools and dyes. Been looking at Tandy an thinking about the value of a gold membership... Any ideas, or favourites gladly received.

I took out the Tandy 'Elite' membership last year. Then I used a load of my savings to buy tools and fittings, mainly to replace a lot of 'will do' tools

Note that on your order in which you take out the 'wholesale club' membership you get an extra 10% off, so I made that order as big as I could

My membership ran up in April. I've no need to renew it yet. I bought enough conchos etcetera for several year's work

[Matt S]

@CutThumb What particular tools and dyes are you after? For online orders I prefer Le Prevo (website circa 1995) and Abbey England (better website but you need to sign up for an account before seeing prices -- they primarily sell to trade but I initially got my account by describing myself as a student). For comparable items both these companies' prices are better than Tandy, even with the Elite membership which I get for free as a business customer. LP have a sometimes excellent clearance/bargain section and Abbey has a really wide range of hard-to-get items -- as ARZ says above their brass hardware is excellent (it should be, they own their own foundry in Walsall...)

[Northmount]

If you have a business name and registration, Tandy will give you a wholesale account which gives elite pricing, and sometimes some better pricing than elite.  They have a preferred customer flyer that has sales at much lower than elite from time to time.  At least that is the way it is here.

Tom

[CutThumb]

Wow, thanks for all the great replies. I’m just starting out, and money is a bit tight so I’m getting a couple of bits each month. I’m already selling a few pieces so that’s going back into tools, leather and dyes. I’ll check out all of those sites, thanks. I completely forgot about Leprovo, having bought a couple of things from them a few months ago. 

[chrisash]

Artisan are good for sellin small pieces of leather and can cut to whatever size you want but normally A4, A3, A2 etx with a good selection

[CutThumb]

23 hours ago, chrisash said:

Artisan are good for sellin small pieces of leather and can cut to whatever size you want but normally A4, A3, A2 etx with a good selection

I bought a side recently, which is mainly going into notebooks. Already paid for itself. Next few things I have pencilled in are a strap cutter, a pony and a riveting set. 

[Matt S]

3 hours ago, CutThumb said:

I bought a side recently, which is mainly going into notebooks. Already paid for itself. Next few things I have pencilled in are a strap cutter, a pony and a riveting set. 

I used one of the standard Ivan strap cutters from Le Prevo for several years, which was fine for stiffer leathers I was using almost exclusively at the time. Some point this year it broke (short grain under stress where the blade attaches) so I ordered a replacement, which kept cutting crooked or wobbly. Schick razor blades helped a little (sharper, thinner and more use per blade than the 'correct' blades). However it was still ruining more leather than it should, especially on softer leathers. After some research I noticed that the slot where the blade sits wasn't cut dead square so bought one of the original brand strap cutters for double the price. I've never had a problem caused by the tool since.

In a low-quality photo on a website there appears little difference but in person the quality of the US-made once is vastly better. The proper one is, for instance, made from decent rock maple, whereas the Far Eastern one is made from something a bit like lime/bass wood, which I have seen called chu wood before. In addition the size markings on the American one are far more accurate. The only UK source I've found is Abbey.

[CutThumb]

7 hours ago, Matt S said:

I used one of the standard Ivan strap cutters from Le Prevo for several years, which was fine for stiffer leathers I was using almost exclusively at the time. Some point this year it broke (short grain under stress where the blade attaches) so I ordered a replacement, which kept cutting crooked or wobbly. Schick razor blades helped a little (sharper, thinner and more use per blade than the 'correct' blades). However it was still ruining more leather than it should, especially on softer leathers. After some research I noticed that the slot where the blade sits wasn't cut dead square so bought one of the original brand strap cutters for double the price. I've never had a problem caused by the tool since.

In a low-quality photo on a website there appears little difference but in person the quality of the US-made once is vastly better. The proper one is, for instance, made from decent rock maple, whereas the Far Eastern one is made from something a bit like lime/bass wood, which I have seen called chu wood before. In addition the size markings on the American one are far more accurate. The only UK source I've found is Abbey.

Cool, I’ll check out Abbey. I just registered with them.

[zuludog]

Have a look here, they have a lot of old stock leatherwork and other craft tools, mostly George Barnsley

https://gandmtools.co.uk

[chrisash]

That link gomes up with a warning

 

[zuludog]

37 minutes ago, chrisash said:

That link gomes up with a warning

 

Oh. It works if you enter it directly

The company is reliable though, I have bought a couple of things from them

[bermudahwin]

36 minutes ago, chrisash said:

That link gomes up with a warning

I am not saying to go there...

The Link fails with Kaspersky, but the WHOIS data and Certificate appear in order, so its hard to see why Kaspersky is negging it, particularly as I went there yesterday on this computer...

I do daily security checks on our systems, and nothing came up for G and M in the report.

Just searched "g and m tools" in DuckDuckGo clicked on the link, and went straight there....

odd, but thats a nice pillar drill

Harry

[arz]

21 minutes ago, zuludog said:

Oh. It works if you enter it directly

The company is reliable though, I have bought a couple of things from them

I agree. I bought a very nice used leather thickness gauge from them. Arrived quick and in good order! I would order from them again....

[AndyNext]

I use Abbey England for most supplies. They are really friendly and helpful, and happy to deal with 'hobbyists' as well as trade customers. If it is convenient to you (20 mins drive for me), they have a trade counter and welcome visitors - but beware you will undoubtedly buy more than you intended!! Le Prevo are also good value although it helps if you know what you are looking for as their website/catalogue is a bit terse!

Leather - I've bought finished veg tan shoulder from both AA Crack and Metropolitan. Again both are friendly & helpful if you pick up the phone, plus you need to contact AA Crack for pricing as it is not on their site, even if you register with them.

And currently Abbey England have a special offer on Sedgwick Russet shoulders. Varying sizes (est. 8-10sq ft) and thicknesses (1.5mm to 3.5mm+) - £40+vat each. I've just bought some and they are nicely finished with few flaws. Abbey don't usually stock them and not sure whether they'll have more at this price after this lot have been sold.

And Tandy? - I initially bought membership when starting out on this hobby but find now I can buy better/cheaper elsewhere if I shop around. Membership will not be renewed.

[Stevejm1980]

Apologies, post edited

Edited May 29, 2019 by Stevejm1980

[mikesc]

^^^^@Stevejm1980..See my post in other thread here
https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/84649-tool-supplier/?tab=comments#comment-583851

my 2cts

Edited May 29, 2019 by mikesc