niakulah Report post Posted November 22, 2018 Just got my Taobao 11.11 haul at the office. I've wanted a set of Crimson Hides irons for some time, but in Nigel Armitage's review, he mentioned the angle of the teeth could be better, so I decided against it. But I still wanted something that had the same pointed teeth, so that you could lay them inside a stitch line, either from a creaser or dividers, something I picked up from another of Nigel's (paid) videos. I took a leap of faith on these unknown irons, very similar design to Crimson Hides'. They're made from either DC53 or 440C tool steel, I'm not too sure which. After unboxing them, I'm very happy with the quality. On par or better than my Wuta and Amy Roke irons. Can't wait to get home to try them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 22, 2018 at first glance, the teeth seem very similar to Crimsons.. .. can't tell whats the first character, but it's said to be handmade ,, Are you Chinese? Taobao took me some time to navigate, until i used Chrome with auto translate .. did quite abit shopping on Wuta for small items only .. and I received 3 of 4 packages from TB already .. those were mainly ordered on 12-14/11 .. the last item was ordered on 16/11 but is already en-route to SG... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 22, 2018 4 hours ago, canonitr said: at first glance, the teeth seem very similar to Crimsons.. .. can't tell whats the first character, but it's said to be handmade ,, Are you Chinese? Taobao took me some time to navigate, until i used Chrome with auto translate .. did quite abit shopping on Wuta for small items only .. and I received 3 of 4 packages from TB already .. those were mainly ordered on 12-14/11 .. the last item was ordered on 16/11 but is already en-route to SG... No I'm not. My Chinese colleague showed me the ropes and Chrome translate did the rest. As for the rest. It went through 2x2mm readily enough. Front. Back. I think I'm in love. Lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LetterT Report post Posted November 22, 2018 I took the adventure of ordering from TaoBao a few days ago for the first time. My Chinese is absolute zero, even after watching all those HK kung-fu movies in my youth. After plenty of struggle I ordered my first set of Wuta irons. What made you look for another set and could you share a link? Does the shop you bought from ship overseas, I think I have read not all sellers are interested in shipping outside of China. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 @LetterT, well niakulah ordered it , so it can be shipped overseas.. but yes , not all shops are interested to ship outside of China.. with 1/7 the global population in the country, think they are quite satisfied.. @niakulah saya orang cina, but not able to make heads or tails of whats written .. anyway whats the damage on those? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 6 hours ago, LetterT said: I took the adventure of ordering from TaoBao a few days ago for the first time. My Chinese is absolute zero, even after watching all those HK kung-fu movies in my youth. After plenty of struggle I ordered my first set of Wuta irons. What made you look for another set and could you share a link? Does the shop you bought from ship overseas, I think I have read not all sellers are interested in shipping outside of China. Oops, I thought I did in the first post. Here you go: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.3d352e8dfa83L7&id=560093850254&_u=n2pk7i5f0e22 No they mostly don't ship globally. I use their consolidated shipping service which is built into the platform. Those services DO ship globally. 43 minutes ago, canonitr said: @LetterT, well niakulah ordered it , so it can be shipped overseas.. but yes , not all shops are interested to ship outside of China.. with 1/7 the global population in the country, think they are quite satisfied.. @niakulah saya orang cina, but not able to make heads or tails of whats written .. anyway whats the damage on those? I bought the 2+10 3.28mm so RMB 485 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 12 minutes ago, niakulah said: I bought the 2+10 3.28mm so RMB 485 about MYR300~ the holes look good ... worth it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, LetterT said: I took the adventure of ordering from TaoBao a few days ago for the first time. My Chinese is absolute zero, even after watching all those HK kung-fu movies in my youth. After plenty of struggle I ordered my first set of Wuta irons. What made you look for another set and could you share a link? Does the shop you bought from ship overseas, I think I have read not all sellers are interested in shipping outside of China. Missed the part of why I'm looking at another set. I already have 2+5 Amy Roke in 3.38mm and 2+8 Wuta in 3mm. This purchase was a 2+10 3.38mm and will replace the Amy Rokes. Firstly is because I sometimes have trouble keeping a straight stitch line. From my research, there are 2 ways to do it with a pricking iron + awl. Once you have your line with your divider, creaser or whatever, you either: a. Straddle the line as best you can b. Put your marks just beside the line Neither method is perfect. It requires excellent lighting and lots of practice to look perfect. One thing I learned that can help is to overlap more than 1 hole when marking. But with only a 5 prong iron, if I overlap 2 holes, I'm only making 3 new marks at a time, and that takes ages. So with this new iron, not only can I overlap 3 holes and still make 7 new holes, I can also set it inside a line (since it is pointed and not flat). Edited November 23, 2018 by niakulah incomplete post Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 58 minutes ago, canonitr said: about MYR300~ the holes look good ... worth it! Totally worth it, especially if I manage to sell my Amy Roke 2+5 set. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 14 minutes ago, niakulah said: Missed the part of why I'm looking at another set. I already have 2+5 Amy Roke in 3.38mm and 2+8 Wuta in 3mm. This purchase was a 2+10 3.38mm and will replace the Amy Rokes. Firstly is because I sometimes have trouble keeping a straight stitch line. From my research, there are 2 ways to do it with a pricking iron + awl. Once you have your line with your divider, creaser or whatever, you either: a. Straddle the line as best you can b. Put your marks just beside the line Neither method is perfect. It requires excellent lighting and lots of practice to look perfect. One thing I learned that can help is to overlap more than 1 hole when marking. But with only a 5 prong iron, if I overlap 2 holes, I'm only making 3 new marks at a time, and that takes ages. So with this new iron, not only can I overlap 3 holes and still make 7 new holes, I can also set it inside a line (since it is pointed and not flat). i had the same issue, that's why i try to get 9 or 10 tooth, in order to use more than 1 hole for over lapping .. i currently overlap 3 holes,which result in a straighter punched line for me .. i use a small light that i can position anywhere (but not above) to ensure my tooth is on the line i will be keeping my cheap 4mm diamonds though i dont use them now, so that i can let my son use then when he is learning .. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 18 minutes ago, canonitr said: i had the same issue, that's why i try to get 9 or 10 tooth, in order to use more than 1 hole for over lapping .. i currently overlap 3 holes,which result in a straighter punched line for me .. i use a small light that i can position anywhere (but not above) to ensure my tooth is on the line i will be keeping my cheap 4mm diamonds though i dont use them now, so that i can let my son use then when he is learning .. I was using my right hand to alternately hold my mallet and a small flashlight! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 9 minutes ago, niakulah said: I was using my right hand to alternately hold my mallet and a small flashlight! i use this .. https://www.banggood.com/Mini-Touch-Switch-Small-LG-LED-Light-Use-16340-CR123A-Batteries-p-929091.html?cur_warehouse=CN cause if shine from the top, you will obstruct the light with your hand holding the iron .. so i shine on the same plane as leather piece .. move it around till i get good lighting to confirm the position.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 3 hours ago, canonitr said: i use this .. https://www.banggood.com/Mini-Touch-Switch-Small-LG-LED-Light-Use-16340-CR123A-Batteries-p-929091.html?cur_warehouse=CN cause if shine from the top, you will obstruct the light with your hand holding the iron .. so i shine on the same plane as leather piece .. move it around till i get good lighting to confirm the position.. Link didn't work on my phone but I can see it now on my PC. That looks like a useful little light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 something similar will probably work .. as long you dont have to hold it in your hand .. the bad thing with this small light is that when i hammer the chisel... it bounces .. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted November 23, 2018 17 minutes ago, canonitr said: something similar will probably work .. as long you dont have to hold it in your hand .. the bad thing with this small light is that when i hammer the chisel... it bounces .. Some bluetac might help with that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canonitr Report post Posted November 23, 2018 never thought about that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LetterT Report post Posted November 23, 2018 I noticed Wuta has a set of "old" and a set of "new" irons. I have no idea what is the difference but in 3mm size they only have 2+5 and I am sure working with just 5 is trouble. I ordered "new" set of 3.38 as it is the smallest of the 2+8 sizes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites