Can anybody tell me what this is and if I should buy it?

[bryan4christ]

Should I buy this machine???? if so how much??  Any replies would be greatly appreciated.  God Bless and thank You For Your Time.

[Wizcrafts]

It's an ancient Landis 1 harness stitcher. It was made to sew heavy harness, saddlery, or thick work, gun and weight lifting belts. If it comes with stock System 1000 needles (now obsolete), it can sew almost one inch. If the needle bar was lowered to use modern System 794 needles, it can sew a little over 3/4 inch.

[Handstitched]

" O'h what a beauty... I've never seen one as big as that before.." ( a silly  old song) 

Check this out, not sure if its of any interest:

https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/72483-getting-a-landis-1-going/

http://www.hurherald.com/cgi-bin/db_scripts/articles?Action=user_view&db=hurheral_articles&id=1213

It does reference the machine.

May well be worth looking into further  

HS

Edited April 19, 2020 by Handstitched

[dikman]

Might be a bit of overkill for making bags, but what a lovely piece of old machinery. Presumably what Noah used on the Ark.

[Handstitched]

Its is lovely piece of ( working) history, I'd buy it , even for the historical value .  It may even inspire ' bryan4christ' to get into harness making or some other form of heavy leather sewing.  Love to see it in operation , but would hate to get my fingers in the way though  

Hope he buys it 

HS

[CowboyBob]

These old Landis #1 are great for heavy & thick material because the only needle made anymore is a size #26 for #346 thread.The needlebar is not adjustable so the only other needle that would work would have to be a longer one you could shorten.If I remember correctly it's around 3" long.Parts for it will be hard to find too.If you do buy it I know where you can order needles from.

[DonInReno]

There aren’t many of those that come up for sale - if it’s in good working condition it would probably sell for $1000 eventually...if this was a normal year.   I’ve been surprised in the past when older harness stitchers priced to sell have sat for months on the west coast - they really are more historic collectibles than a machine for making money.
 

At $500 they sell quickly.  At $1500-$2000 it might take a year to find a buyer who just had to have one for their collection and didn’t want to wait.

If you decide not to make an offer on it I’d be interested in it if it was on the lower end of the price range - I’m just over the hill from you and haven’t seen that one pop up on Craigslist or marketplace.

[bryan4christ]

On 4/19/2020 at 1:51 AM, CowboyBob said:

These old Landis #1 are great for heavy & thick material because the only needle made anymore is a size #26 for #346 thread.The needlebar is not adjustable so the only other needle that would work would have to be a longer one you could shorten.If I remember correctly it's around 3" long.Parts for it will be hard to find too.If you do buy it I know where you can order needles from.

 

On 4/19/2020 at 11:58 AM, DonInReno said:

There aren’t many of those that come up for sale - if it’s in good working condition it would probably sell for $1000 eventually...if this was a normal year.   I’ve been surprised in the past when older harness stitchers priced to sell have sat for months on the west coast - they really are more historic collectibles than a machine for making money.
 

At $500 they sell quickly.  At $1500-$2000 it might take a year to find a buyer who just had to have one for their collection and didn’t want to wait.

If you decide not to make an offer on it I’d be interested in it if it was on the lower end of the price range - I’m just over the hill from you and haven’t seen that one pop up on Craigslist or marketplace.

May I ask where about you live and how much you would want for it ???

[oltoot]

As an only machine, probably not, as part of a collection, definitely, Value question already addressed

[DonInReno]

On 4/23/2020 at 10:41 AM, bryan4christ said:

 

May I ask where about you live and how much you would want for it ???

I live over the hill in Reno.   I’m never in a hurry to buy and am able to wait for good deals, so I wouldn’t be the best buyer....I’d pay $600 for it as long as it’s all there and doesn’t have any significant damage.

[BigSiouxSaddlery]

This machine has had a number of modifications done.  Whether they are good or bad modifications is impossible to tell from a picture.  However, the Landis #1, although crude by today's standards, is a good machine if not worn out, and if set up correctly.  They are very simple and very forgiving.  I've paid as little as $50 and as much as $1000 for them.  If the machine sews, it's worth $500 all day long.  If there is a bobbin winder with it, consider it a $100-150 value.