Nigel Armitage's forthcoming book

[Rannoch]

1 hour ago, Klara said:

S

Sorry, lost an "e": Valerie Michael, The Leatherworking Handbook 

That book is very good.  I have read through it several times and referred to it for years.  As good as it is, however, I think Nigel's book is better organized, more detailed, better illustrated, more useful to the beginner, and better written.  Of course, YMMV.  Valerie Michael's book covers some things Nigel's book doesn't, like wet molding, lining and rolled edges, so they compliment each other very nicely.  Both, I think, are essential.  

BTW, Al Stohlman's book THE ART OF HAND SEWING LEATHER is probably the best description I've found for hand stitching.

https://tandyleather.com/products/the-art-of-hand-sewing-leather-book

[Klara]

That's the one I started with and I love it! Probably I'm showing my age now, but I often learn more easily from a drawing than from a photo. Or a video, because everything happens so fast in them. Stohlman really has a knack for pointing out what is important.

And I've found that I really like the saddle stitch. No, it's not easy, but each perfect stitch, where the left needle follows effortlessly the retreating awl, is a success. I'm also pretty sure that most problems will be solved over the first kilometer of stitching. Besides, I'm making dog collars, where the inside is rarely seen. Not to mention that I don't really see the stitching when the collar is on the dog...

I watched Nigel's video on making a box, and I completely understood his reasoning for pre-punching all the holes in this case. But a whole book without awl use seems somewhat lacking to me. If I've understood Nigel's above post correctly, he wanted to write a book about leather craftsmanship for enthusiasts whereas Schiffer wanted to publish a book about making pretty things from leather which would appeal to as  any people as possible. 

@Rannoch You clinched it, I'll have to order both books. And from the sound of it, keep them, too...

 

 

 

 

[Tugadude]

32 minutes ago, Klara said:

That's the one I started with and I love it! Probably I'm showing my age now, but I often learn more easily from a drawing than from a photo. Or a video, because everything happens so fast in them. Stohlman really has a knack for pointing out what is important.

And I've found that I really like the saddle stitch. No, it's not easy, but each perfect stitch, where the left needle follows effortlessly the retreating awl, is a success. I'm also pretty sure that most problems will be solved over the first kilometer of stitching. Besides, I'm making dog collars, where the inside is rarely seen. Not to mention that I don't really see the stitching when the collar is on the dog...

I watched Nigel's video on making a box, and I completely understood his reasoning for pre-punching all the holes in this case. But a whole book without awl use seems somewhat lacking to me. If I've understood Nigel's above post correctly, he wanted to write a book about leather craftsmanship for enthusiasts whereas Schiffer wanted to publish a book about making pretty things from leather which would appeal to as  any people as possible. 

@Rannoch You clinched it, I'll have to order both books. And from the sound of it, keep them, too...

 

 

 

 

I don't know what the actual numbers are as far as people involved in leatherworking, but I am led to believe that it is a shrinking business.  I'm referring to quality, handmade products.  Beginners are going to have almost immediate success with their stitching if they follow Nigel's instruction.  He teaches how far from the edge to make your stitch line, how to scribe it and how to use the stitching chisels properly and finally how to stitch it.  If someone is careful to follow his guidance, they can come away with an attractive project the first time around.  If he taught them to rely solely on pricking iron or stitching groover and awl, probably not.  So yes, the book is designed to offer the most approachable method for beginners to have success.  And hopefully that success translates in them remaining in the craft.  At a later date they can and should learn to use an awl properly.  Then it is up to them to choose which way to go or to use the right tool for each respective job.  Sometimes that might be a stitching chisel.

I have completed projects with an awl, so I'm not speaking as one that only uses stitching irons, but I do find myself using the irons for most of my work.  I am a hobbyist, not a professional but I'm proud of the level of stitching I've acquired and am happy with my results.  And I owe it all to watching Nigel's videos.  

[Klara]

I have nothing against stitching irons - except their price And that I might end up working over a round form... The way I understand it, as long as I know how to use the awl, it doesn't matter how I mark my stitches. Or even whether - I just re-read The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin and he just mentions awl and needles (and a master saddler with decades of experience to oversee the work) for sewing the leather boat he then sailed from Ireland to America (great book, btw.) 

Slight change of topic: Leatherwork might be a shrinking business compared to video games, but it's a hell of a lot better off than handspinning, dyeing and weaving. Quite possibly because handspinning has a steep learning curve and there is no way around learning to do it properly. No shortcuts, no workaround (but you can still easily spend a fortune on tools and fibres - leatherworking isn't all that expensive by comparison).

 

[fredk]

35 minutes ago, Klara said:

Slight change of topic: Leatherwork might be a shrinking business compared to video games, but it's a hell of a lot better off than handspinning, dyeing and weaving. Quite possibly because handspinning has a steep learning curve and there is no way around learning to do it properly. No shortcuts, no workaround (but you can still easily spend a fortune on tools and fibres - leatherworking isn't all that expensive by comparison).

 

umm, you've not being doing this lark very long have you ?   (thats a joke btw)

A bit off topic; when my local library was open, over a year ago now, the librarian used to order in any new leatherwork books which came up on the system. Then she kept said books aside for me. In just one occasion she had 10 new books. I / we went through them. All the books followed the same format - lots of pages on tools and explanations of leather. Then, basically, all the books had the same projects in them, the only variations were in construction or style, and only one book was really different. The author did all the projects on an industrial sewing machine and he insisted that you needed an industrial leather sewing machine to do his projects (umm, no, they were standard projects which could be sewn by hand). Who, just starting out, is going to spend over £2500 on his type of sewing machine for a few 'home' projects ?.  Other than this book, not one, not a single one, explained how to use a sewing awl, choice of needles and why, or even how to sew. None of the books explained how to fit a 'snap' - it was just eg 'Stage 5, fit the snap'

imo, Someone needs to take the best of Al Stohlman's instructions, up date them and add them to some thought provoking interesting projects. Skip the 34 pages of showing tools and variations of leather and get right to the casing of veg tan for tooling.

enuf waffle

[Tugadude]

3 hours ago, Klara said:

I have nothing against stitching irons - except their price And that I might end up working over a round form... The way I understand it, as long as I know how to use the awl, it doesn't matter how I mark my stitches. Or even whether - I just re-read The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin and he just mentions awl and needles (and a master saddler with decades of experience to oversee the work) for sewing the leather boat he then sailed from Ireland to America (great book, btw.) 

Slight change of topic: Leatherwork might be a shrinking business compared to video games, but it's a hell of a lot better off than handspinning, dyeing and weaving. Quite possibly because handspinning has a steep learning curve and there is no way around learning to do it properly. No shortcuts, no workaround (but you can still easily spend a fortune on tools and fibres - leatherworking isn't all that expensive by comparison).

 

I'll grant you that some irons are quite spendy, but many aren't.  I bought some very nice ones recently, a 2-tooth and an 8 tooth for around $20.00 U.S..

The other thing is that while there is no arguing that using an awl to make your holes makes for a stronger seam, most of us aren't manufacturing saddles and tack.  We're doing wallets and bags where the irons are just fine.

I don't think we are that far apart in opinion.  I see the value of traditional stitching with an awl and anyone that is invested in becoming a leatherworker should learn to use the awl.  But for a lot of projects, stitching irons make sense and therefore, people should know how to use them properly.  There are still things to learn such as which irons are conducive to the style of stitching you desire, size of thread, etc.

[Sheilajeanne]

Fred, that's a great idea! 

The main problem with Stohlman is a lot of the stamps he used are no longer available. However, most of us who have been doing this awhile know how to find substitutes, and could update his patterns.

[Klara]

11 hours ago, fredk said:

umm, you've not being doing this lark very long have you ?   (thats a joke btw)

A bit off topic; when my local library was open, over a year ago now, the librarian used to order in any new leatherwork books which came up on the system. ...

Our library offered to buy a book on leatherworking, but there doesn't seem to be a single decent French book in print!

I know that most people here think that leatherworking is expensive, and I got a shock when I first saw the prices for tools. But then I remembered how much money I've spent on spinning tools over the past 15 years. Not going into details, much of it was not necessary (not to mention how depressing adding it all up would get). But decent starting equipment for halfway serious handspinning (wheel, spindle, drum carder) would set you back between 500 and 1000 dollars. That's just the tools, not the material you transform. And there's probably no shop nearby where you could get advice and try out things to see what you like. 

My closest leather shop is one car hour away, I feel I got some decent advice, and I could try which knife fit my hand better (saved me 10 Euros).  Not all that many tools are really necessary, it's just so difficult to find out which are and with my three weeks of experience I strongly disagree with some of the advice out there (I hate craft knives and box cutters with a passion. I'll literally rather use a kitchen knife for leather (but then I have good ones). But I only found that out after buying the craft knife.)

 

 

[Klara]

@Tugadude The best value sets I can find on this continent seem to be Deco-Cuir's own "brand": 40 Euros, currently discounted to 32, for 3 pricking irons with 2, 5 and 10 teeth. But that's pricking irons, for marking stitches, not for making holes. Where have you found true stitching irons (not diamond  chisels) for 20 Dollars? Might be worth paying shipping and customs...

@Sheilajeanne The Stohlman books I find most interesting are those on handsewing, tools and case making. I've not even started with tooling and stamping yet (and I figure with my non-existent drawing skills there's not much point) 

[zuludog]

You could try Etsy. Search Google for 'Etsy - leather edge bevelers'; Etsy - skiving knives' 'Etsy - stitching chisels' and so on

I have bought edge bevelers & knives that way, and it works well enough. There is usually a wide range of items and prices; the prices are clearly shown in £ ; also a delivery time. I expect similar thing would happen if you were in other countries

It helps if you have a bit of experience and knowledge of what you want, but the original supplier is shown so you can go to their Website or look for reviews