Hi from the UK

[hughlle]

Just saying hello. I'm Hugh from the UK (North Somerset).

No prior experience with leather, but love it as a material. I don't own any hide, and at yet don't own any tools. I was recently looking at a nice pouch for a couple of kaweco sport pens, and realised why not just buy up some bits and pieces and have a crack at it myself. Due to finances, I won't be able to pick up any kit for a few months (minimum wage + law school..) but I've already downloaded a good few books by the likes of Stohlman to peruse when I've a bit of spare time over the winter.

Current aims are simply a nice pouch to fit my two pens, and then given I collect watches, learn how to make my own straps rather than spend £40-100 per strap. Later down the line I'd like to think about knife sheaths and a satchel.

Thanks for having me.

[chrisash]

Hi and welcome

You have joined a brotherhood spread all around the world, 

Youtube will be your best way to learn the skills you will need and Tandy has a good selection of free information books etc available to celibrate their 100th Birthday see https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/category/79/ebooks

[HaloJones]

Welcome to the addition

and hello from Essex 

 

[zuludog]

Hello Hugh, and welcome to the fun!

You've made a good start by downloading the books, but before you spend any money there are a couple of other bits of homework you could do -

There is a lot of information & advice available on this forum, especially the Getting Started' and 'Tools ' sections. Have a browse through, and you'll see that the sort of questions you might have, have been asked before

There is also a lot of info on YouTube. There are videos on general subjects such as choosing tools; techniques such as stitching & edge finishing; and showing how others have made the sort of things you're interested in, like watch straps

Remember that the same techniques are used on various items, like wallets, pouches, and bags. Even if you can't find exactly what you want, there's bound to be something similar

[hughlle]

Thanks guys. There is certainly a lot of material and resources available. I should have no excuse for cocking up! 

From the sounds of it one of my closest friends out in Nevada will be starting off at the same time as me, so it'll be nice to be able to bounce experiences back and forth and hopefully help guide each other. Only difference is he is able to drop into tandy and k ow exactly what type of leather he is buying given the task at hand, whil my location means I'm at the mercy of the internet and buying unseen

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by hughlle

[Professor]

Also a vintage watch collector in a small way. mainly medium quality watches from the 20's through the 60's with a few later mechanicals.

been meaning to start making my own bands as well.

[chrisash]

12 hours ago, hughlle said:

Thanks guys. There is certainly a lot of material and resources available. I should have no excuse for cocking up! 

From the sounds of it one of my closest friends out in Nevada will be starting off at the same time as me, so it'll be nice to be able to bounce experiences back and forth and hopefully help guide each other. Only difference is he is able to drop into tandy and k ow exactly what type of leather he is buying given the task at hand, whil my location means I'm at the mercy of the internet and buying unseen

There is a guy from Devon who apparently travels around the UK selling a wide selection of leather, you should be able to find him on "Leather Workers UK" on facebook, unfortunately never used him so dont know his name, There are also plenty of leather sellers in the UK

I think there is also a large list of UK suppliers in the suppliers part of this forum

 

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by chrisash

[stormdevil]

Hi

I'm also in the UK. I started a couple of years back. For tools there are some you really need good quality E.g. swivel knife), and some you can get away with the cheap and cheerful from China that you'll find on ebay. I'm still using my cheap Chinese maul, burnishers and slickers and some of my stamps (the ones I don't use a lot). For leather I started out with some small pieces from ebay, before I got to the stage of buying a whole shoulder or side. Qualities vary and it really depends on what you want to make. 

For videos I'd recommend Ian Atkinson https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkCG-505-1t0rYlgBTSnpQ 

I've followed along with one of his knife sheath videos and the end result was pretty good.

[hughlle]

Cheers. There will certainly be more local sources, however knowing nothing, I won't know if I'm buying junk. With Tandy, it might not be the best but its a known entity, I feel that I can buy with confidence. I've now added leather memo pad folio to the list. 

All just dreams for now though. Life is getting rather complicated. 

 

[zuludog]

Here are some British suppliers of leathercraft tools, in no particular order -

Abbey England Ltd

Identity Leathercraft

H Webber and Sons Ltd

George Barnsley and Sons

Artisan Leather

Metropolitan Leather

Have a browse through their websites; Search YouTube for items that you fancy, to see how they're made, and you'll soon get the hang of things

Come back to us when you've got a shopping list, and we'll give you our opinions

[AwlShucks]

Welcome to the forum.

[hughlle]

On 12/10/2019 at 10:33 PM, zuludog said:

Here are some British suppliers of leathercraft tools, in no particular order -

 

Come back to us when you've got a shopping list, and we'll give you our opinions

Hey Zuludog. Thanks for the suggestions. Abbey looked good, but seemed like you needed to be a member of the trade to shop from them. Or do you just make it all up on the regustration form? :D 

Having watched a bunch of youtube videos and looked at what I could squeexe out of my budget, I've put a few shopping lists together at different sites, and placed a few orders. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive. I'd rather not buy cheap and buy twice. So currently ordered and awaiting delivery are

Diamond chisel set

Wing divider

eco weld contact adhesive

Poundo

cheap craft knife and spare blades

No 4 and 2 John James needles

0.8mm Rizta 25 tiger in amber glow

Ansio A1 self-healing cutting board

 

 

So beyond this I've got to chose/pay for:

Stitching pony of some kind

Tokonole

scratch awl

no 1 round edge tool

edge burnisher

mallet

hole punch for watch straps etc

edge dye

Chose between stanle knife or a disc cutter

leather. I'm thinking about skipping dying for now, and just getting something pre-dyed like This. I'm thinking 1.5mm is about right for my current needs, with 2.5-3 should I try making some shuolder bags etc. 

Enough kit that it's a tad daunting!

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by hughlle

[zuludog]

No, Abbey don't publish prices on their website unless you've registered with them, though they will give you a couple of prices over the phone if you ask. That's because they are mainly a wholesaler. I also see it as a hangover from the old, secretive & restrictive practices of British industry

If you want Osborne tools, H Webber and Metropolitan Leather publish prices, and could well be cheaper

If you're just doing watch straps you could probably manage without a stitching pony, at least to start with

Yes, Tokonole is good; try www.goodsjapan.com or Surf Ebay, Amazon, etc

A scratch awl is cheap enough, and they're all much the same

The #1 edge beveler is easy enough to use and sharpen; search YouTube for how to do that

You can find edge burnishers easily enough, but for watch straps you might want something smaller. I've heard of people making small edge burnishers from plastic screwdriver handles or pieces of deer antler - anyone like to comment?

Mallet, punch, dye, just Search & Surf

Stanley knife or Rotary cutter? I've tried a rotary cutter but didn't take to it. On the other hand, lots of people do, notably Ian Atkinson. It is especially good for straight cuts on thin leather - like watch straps! A Stanley knife is simple to use, and you can do good work with one. Why not try both; a basic fixed (but replaceable) blade Stanley knife is cheap enough

Metropolitan is a good supplier, but I've just bought some leather from www.buyleatheronline. The prices are very reasonable and delivery was about 7 days. You could phone Identity; Artisan; Leather4craft; explain what you want and they might have smaller pieces which would be OK for watch straps, and work out cheaper

Don't forget a lump of beeswax. It's used for all sorts of jobs in leatherwork as well as waxing thread - even ready waxed. And a steel ruler or similar straight edge

[hughlle]

Funnily, for whatever technical reason, Google searches give me Abbeys prices, but upon going to their website it is then all nudge nudge wink wink. 

I've got most of the tools lined up, just a case of hitting buy. The majority of this is being funded through sale if a NV scope, just waiting on ebay to release the funds. Gah! 

I'll certainly phone around regarding leather. There is a wholesaler a mile or two down the road in cheddar that I plan to visit, even if just to get an idea as to what I can do with the various thicknesses. I like the idea of 1.5mm from metropolitan, but given that 3mm is the same price, I'd expect to be provided the splits as well; something to practice on. 

Most of the stuff is a case of just clicking buy and seeing if it works for me. 

 

And yes, I've dozens of bars of beeswax in a draw already for various projects. I considered saving some money and just buying some NFO, but seems like at the end of the day, tokonole is just a better product.