Hand crank splitter blade

[Doug61]

Hey guys,

Looking for some info on a blade for an Esto 8ins hand crank splitter. The machine looks the same as an American model A. I've been told that these were made in Australia after WW2 by an Estonian migrant, but other than this I can't find any more info. I'm a knife maker so making the blade is no problem, I am just trying to find the dimensions. The blade will be 8 ins long and 3ins wide (the same width as the American unit), but I'm not sure of the thickness of the blade or the height of the bevel. Also, for those of you have experience with these type of machines, would the blade be better flat or hollow ground? Main use will be thinner leathers.

Does anyone know of a manual for the American model A?

Cheers, Doug

Edited January 20, 2021 by Doug61

[Rogueshoemaking]

I’ve just purchased one of these, 

I was wondering if you found out any information on it. Or may have found a manual. Thanks

1 minute ago, Rogueshoemaking said:

I’ve just purchased one of these, 

I was wondering if you found out any information on it. Or may have found a manual. Thanks

 

[Tastech]

Ok ,Here's the lowdown . Better late than never .

 I have an American ST Louis model A . My blade is 152mm wide 6" . 75mm deep 3" . 6.35 mm thick 1/4 inch.

My blade is straight cut at an angle  of 17deg off 180deg . From tip to where the angle starts is 20mm.

I notice your machine has 2 screws on the blade mount plate which would correspond to 2 slots in your blade . My machine has only 1 slot .  When i look a bit harder i see the ESTO has a slight outward curve to the handle while the American has a straight one .Apart from that all parts look interchangeable between the 2 

 Last week i got the urge to strip my machine down to bare bones and give it some love . Inspired by a youtube video i watched . ( video link below ) As of today it is down to bare metal and all the fittings mirror polished . My dilemma is what color should i paint it  . Original color was black .When i got it 30 years ago it was painted ESTO green . Which frankly speaking has always been an eyesore  . I am thinking powder coating it hammer-tone black with silver dimples  or perhaps the bronze version .

BTW  Doug61 . Who chose your color scheme ? Did you channel your inner liberace ? lol . It looks very "festive " for lack of a more appropriate word 

Photo of work in progress below 

Restoration video link    

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Tastech

[Tastech]

Once again , Better late than never . I forgot i posted this original photo and i owe you guys an update 

I finished the splitter not long after i posted the previous post 

 Here is the finished job along with its little brother . The both are very sharp and work smoothly and effortlessly and quite pleasant on the eye if i say so myself .

[chuck123wapati]

Those are fantastic looking! 

[TomE]

Very pretty machines.  They look like museum pieces.   What is the blue finish? 

[Tastech]

Thanks , when i restore i like them to look like a museum piece so it was intentional. The color is an engine enamel in spray can form . In Australia its called ford blue . Pre 1980's ford Australia pained their motors blue . I sometimes also refer to it as royal blue  but that is incorrect . I like the engine enamels because they look good but they are also very tough and impervious to oils . I have quite a few restored machines from skivers to sewing machines . In another post i have some photos of restored singer 31K48 machines . search 31K48 and you will find them . My real love is restoring singer 29K patchers . If i find a thread on here i will post some photos or i might even start a new thread .

Cheers TomE

[Tastech]

Eh while i am here . a couple of photos of a Viln pederson skiver and trimmer .circa 1950

 The round blade on the top was done and also no longer available. A Landis blade was the right diameter but had a different thread so would not work . The easiest solution was to machine a new shaft with the Landis thread. The thread is a left hand thread . The skiving blade is a stanley hand plane blade that i ground and sharpened to suit  . It works like new and i use it everyday for shoe repairs 

[Tastech]

Here is another one which needed more work as the base was cracked , so i made a new base and did the same trick with the shaft machining. Lucky i made a spare when i did the previous one . 

I pull everything down to the bare bones the clean and paint strip the parts . I soak every thig in an acid bath to remove the rust . I use a 20-1 water and phosphoric acid solution which only reacts with the rust . I leave it in the solution for 12-24 hours . Next is a wash and a wire wheel on the grinder to stop oxidization. I mechanically polish all the gears ,shafts and scews  while i am waiting for the paint to dry . Whole process can take about 20 hours but i have got my system down to about 12 . I love doing them and gives me great satisfaction seeing what i started with and what i finished with . The aim is to get a write off and resurrect it so if works for another 70 or so years.   

[SteveOz]

@Tastech G'day Tastech, I couldn't help but notice your beautiful work here. Do you sell reconditioned machines at all? Cheers, Stevo

[Tastech]

4 hours ago, SteveOz said:

@Tastech G'day Tastech, I couldn't help but notice your beautiful work here. Do you sell reconditioned machines at all? Cheers, Stevo

 Hey Steve. Because i spend so much time on the restorations i could never expect to sell them at i price that covers my time and expenses. I can spend between 10 and 20 hours on restoration plus the initial cost of the machine ,I am already about 2 grand in . They would reasonably sell for 1 grand but i am reluctant to take  the hit . Send me a PM with your email and if i see one that i think is a bargain i well send you the details . There was one on EBAY from Tassie a few weeks ago that was going for $450 but i think its gone . It looked like it needed a new blade but the vilh perderson blade is no longer available . I can retro fit a Landis blade but need the machine in my possession to do it  because i have to machine a new shaft and make some mods to the housing . Look for an ESTO or Landis because blades are available still . 

What specifically do you want the machine for ?

This is the tassie one . It says ended not sold so he might still have it 

 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/204480802714

They can be hard to find in Australia but they do turn up . A lot of old cobblers have retired and died so these things are sitting in someones shed somewhere , you just have to find it . Sellers fall into 2 categories they are either asking a ridiculous price for a heap of crap or they go dirt cheap. I know of a RODI skiver ( not a cutter ) in Goulburn  going for $50 but it needs a lot of work . It had a piece of fencing wire where a spring should be .lol. I didn't buy it a few weeks ago but i think i should have just in case i ever need parts . If its still there i might grab it and see what i can do .

Regards 

Tas

[SteveOz]

@Tastech G'day Tas, Thanks for your reply Mate. I fully understand your position here. You've put a lot of work into those machines and it really shows, I'd be reluctant too. Your comment about sellers falling into 2 categories is definitely true and made me laugh. Some sellers of new equipment can be pretty sketchy also. I don't want to buy a new Asian machine, but I may have to. They go for around $1500. I need to start about fossicking a bit I think.

What I'm after, is a small splitter that will take my chrome down to the thickness that I need. I'm only talking 4.5 oz down to 3oz. I can manage to do it hair side up on my pull through splitter but it's a PITA to do so.

I make watch straps out of Chromexcel, veg tan, and roo. I've attached some pics of what I do. I'm not after a project machine at this time. I just need something that works.

Thankyou for the link too, that's kind of you to add that in.

Do you have any pics of the things that you make? I'd sure love to see them.

I'll dm you right now.

Kind regards,

Stevo

[RoToMiMo]

Hi Tastech,

I’m a total newbie to this site and the world of leatherwork, and its specialised tools and machines but I’ve been researching how to find a new home for a beautiful old machine I found. I have an appreciation for the craft , elegance and skill required to restore such machines and after wandering around the InterWeb for a few days I found leatherworker.net and your post of July 31 2023 and saw the small machine on the right side of the pic , an “American St Louis’ “little brother” :). The machine I found looks very much like that, but mine is an Esto, which I believe is an Australian made machine (back in the day when we actually made stuff).

Long story short: I was helping an old bloke clear out his shed after thirty years on a rural property here on the Mid North Coast. He’s 76 and said that his grandad had been a professional boot maker in the early 1900s. He had a lot of crap in his shed , most of which went into the skip bin, but I found this old Esto machine and a few boot lasts. He wanted to bin them (he’s not a sentimental guy, lol), but I refused as I could see it was a quality bit of manufacturing. I’d like to find it a new home, be restored and be used as it was meant to be used.

You look like someone who could do all of the above.

Most of the bits seem to move freely (crank handle, etc,) but all I’ve done is give it a good spray with WD40 and not fiddled with it as I don’t know what I’m doing! Don’t want to force or break anything.

Pics attached for your opinion. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to put phone numbers here, but my email address is rmsisyphus2@gmail.com.

Hope to hear back from you.

Thanks, Ross

[fredk]

Good save

We need to summon Tastech this way @Tastech

[Tastech]

@fredk, Ok ok dont shout .lol

@RoToMiMo It's a beautiful machine . Mechanically it is the same as the American St Louis but has a different body shape , Dare i say more elegant . However it doesn't have the guard over the gears . I don't think they ever came with one . No OH&S back in the day . Not much is known about ESTO but i have asked a few old timers about them and they tell me this . Esto was named after and Estonian who emigrated to Australia in the early 1900's He made shoe repair machines and steel lasts for the cobbler industry . He was based in Woolongong New south wales where the was once a huge steel making plant . ( think Pittsburgh) Esto stopped production some time in the 1980's . I am not sure if it was because he died or it more than likely coincided with the demise of the Australian footwear and textile industry. I have quite a bit of Esto stuff but mainly steel repair lasts and lasting jacks . He also made a long arm trimmer and skiver  known in Australia as a rough rounder . They still exist and are still being used in cobbler shops around Australia . Esto must have had some sort of licencing agreement with Landis because the rough rounder looks identical to the landis 5in1 and blades are compatible with each other . I have often wondered who Esto was and what his background was  but can't find any solid information . Based on what he produced i have come to a couple of conclusions. He must have had a shoe making or cobbler back ground , Either him personally or his father and was exposed to the needs of cobblers . Through what ever circumstances worked in a foundry or was perhaps an engineer  and when he came to Australia realized there was a gap and a demand in the market for his redesigned and improved products  . I would assume he worked at the port Kembla steel works in Woolongong and had a side gig going . His products are not some backyard venture and would have required a blast furnace and sand molds . Therefore because of his background in both shoe making and engineering he combined the knowledge of both As would seem reasonable . His products are still around today and still widely used  . And to Mr Esto i take my hat off to you sir  ,you are a legend .

 Esto hold a place in my heart because i too am an immigrant ( from Greece ) I come from a family of shoe makers and cobblers ( 3 Generations at least ) because my family wanted a better life for me than to be another shoe maker the encouraged me to become an engineer . After 30 years of engineering i have come back to my roots as a shoe maker and cobbler . However because of my engineering career i have a love and appreciation of mechanical and and industrial machinery especially from the shoe making and cobbler trade . I feel a heart felt duty to source and restore old shoe industry machines and restore them to their former glory. 

It would be an honor to have it and restore it 

RoToMimo  I will email you later .

In the meantime some of the other members are expecting my lecture of shoe making making pliers and i can hear them yelling .lol

 

[RoToMiMo]

Hi Tastech,

I’m a total newbie to this site and the world of leatherwork, and its specialised tools and machines but I’ve been researching how to find a new home for a beautiful old machine I found. I have an appreciation for the craft , elegance and skill required to restore such machines and after wandering around the InterWeb for a few days I found leatherworker.net and your post of July 31 2023 and saw the small machine on the right side of the pic , an “American St Louis’ “little brother” :). The machine I found looks very much like that, but mine is an Esto, which I believe is an Australian made machine (back in the day when we actually made stuff).

Long story short: I was helping an old bloke clear out his shed after thirty years on a rural property here on the Mid North Coast. He’s 76 and said that his grandad had been a professional boot maker in the early 1900s. He had a lot of crap in his shed , most of which went into the skip bin, but I found this old Esto machine and a few boot lasts. He wanted to bin them (he’s not a sentimental guy, lol), but I refused as I could see it was a quality bit of manufacturing. I’d like to find it a new home, be restored and be used as it was meant to be used.

You look like someone who could do all of the above.

Pics attached for your opinion. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to put phone numbers here, but my email address is rmsisyphus2@gmail.com.

Thanks, Ross

[RoToMiMo]

Hi @Tastech,

Thanks for summoning him @fredk,

I’m a quick learner. 

I don’t do social media so I don’t know these things.

Thank you for your very comprehensive and fascinating response, Tas. I look forward to your email.

Cheers Ross

(RoToMiMo refers to the first two letters of my complete name. “Ross” had already been taken by some lucky Leatherworker.net fan)

[Northmount]

3 hours ago, RoToMiMo said:

Pics attached for your opinion.

None attached. 

If your files are too large to post here due to file size restrictions, you need to resize your files to fit.  Follow this link for some helps and suggestions.  https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/15122-how-to-post-pictures-on-lw/?do=findComment&comment=551171

There are lots of Apps, software, and online tools available on the web, or even built into your device to enable you to reduce your file sizes.  800 pixels in the longest dimension is quite adequate.  Smart phone screens and many monitors don't display high res files in high resolution.  People that live on the fringes of the internet appreciate smaller file sizes and high res photos may take from 10 minutes to hours to download.