One strong preference that i have developed however is the use of the 4 in 1 punch. When trying to sew through seven layers of leather at once, the nice round evenly spaced holes made by the 4 in one punch are pretty much the only way to go. Trying to feed a needle through seven tight slits in leather is no fun at all.

Bob

Those multi-tip holders suck, IMO. The Osborne is easy to twirl in your fingers when you grab the threads and pull ‘em tight. I’m not the best stitcher but do it like Al Stohlman teaches is his book. You should try the Osborne, the blade pierces the leather so much nicer than that multi-tip holder, IMO, which has a rounder awl tip. The Osborne is more chisel shaped.

Cheers,
Alan

I followed your link to Tandy, it looks like I’m going to be in trouble again… Yes, I had been thinking specifically about strops and chisel washers – how did you guess that? Anyway, once I was on the Tandy site; I went to the native American items and it just kept suggesting more and more stuff I need/want… mercy! I mean rabbit skins… who would ever have thought of buying rabbit skins??? Never did look at the leatherworking tools. I did save the link tho, so I will be going back.

I need to think about leather grips on my bonsai tools now, I guess…

Thanks again Bob!

Skip

ps: I go any further down this road – I will be back here looking for help….

Portable containers call for wood and leather. The best classic designs use wood where stiffness is desired and leather where flexibility is needed. Chairs, saddles, couches, even tables of the finest quality often merge wood and leather. Combining the structure of wood and the ergonomics of leather has been a part of craftsmanship since the dawn of man. The slight stretch, flexibility and resilience of leather makes it great for grips, chisel butts, sheaths for point tools, and of course strops.

I do hand stitching, and I cheat. As far as neat stitching goes the 4 in one punch gives me easy perfection. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/searchresults/3052-00.aspx?feature=Product_10&kw=punch

First I put a rule down and scribe the leather where I want a line of stitches. Then I punch the first four holes using the 4 in 1 punch. Then I put two of the punch tools punches in two of the holes made and punch two more in a straight line using the previous holes as a guide.

Since leather stretches a bit, a slow even arc can be made this way as well. If I want a tighter curve, I will remove one of the four punches from the tool, and then the arc can be punched with one new hole at a time much faster. For the most intricate detail, I reduce to two punches in the tool and make one new hole at a time. The stitching almost takes care of itself.

The biggest problem to avoid is creating areas that need stitching where your hand can’t reach. It happens in almost all projects and needs serious planning to avoid.

Bob

Interesting post I must say. I have been thinking about doing a small amount of leatherwork, and have found a used beginners book to start. Haven’t read it tho.

What do you find different and interesting about leatherwork instead of doing woodworking????

In particular, are there some useful handtool items that need to be made out of leather other than holsters???

Do you have a machine to do the sewing, or do you stitch it by hand with your stitcher???? If so, the rows look so even they look machinemade….

Skip