Anyone buy leather supplies from Sheffield Supply?

M

Maelstrom78

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Sep 21, 2013
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I recently downloaded their inventory (no online store ) and they seem to have good prices on their leatherworking tools (Tandy seems high) and they also have shoulders at various weights.

Anyone have any experience with them?

I was also going to try out some of their G10 and micarta as well as some NS and 410 for learning how to do bolsters.

Thanks!
 
I've delt with Sheffield in the past. No complaints from me.

Quick story; Called Sheffield to place an order [several years ago,now]. They're in Fla., I'm in northern NY, about as far apart as you can get, north to south anyhow. As I start to spell the town I live in, the girl starts laughing and says 'I know how to spell it, I went to collage in Potsdam', a town about 30 miles from here. Go figure.....
 
I've never ordered any leather from them but I have ordered $$$$$$$ of knife supplies from them. Always been very pleased with prices and service. Over the years there has been a mistake here or there on an order same as any place if ya order enough. They have always taken care of any snafu immediately. I order at least monthly and will continue to do so.
 
Their prices are kinda high on the leather. If you do go with them, I'd spring for the premium quality because there's no telling what their lower quality might be. One thing I've come to realize is that I don't want to buy leather unless I know where it was tanned. I've bought B grade import (won't buy it again), US tannery from Hermann Oak and Wickett & Craig and a Premium Mexican tannage. The Premium Mexican is by far the best price I've found and on par or better than the US tanneries quality. The tools at Sheffield look to be the same as sold by Tandy. If you are going to buy those, I'd suggest Springfield Leather Company. While they sell a lot of Tandy tools, they are a great company to deal with. They will also offer Tandy's "Elite" pricing if you have a Tax ID (as will Tandy).

Hard to argue with a purchase of leather if you're already buying knife supplies, but for $10.50/ft you better be getting top shelf quality.
 
I used several of their 12" x 24" pieces in the beginning. They were very clean & uniform, good consistant grain and tooled and worked well. I think about the first 20 sheaths I made were from their leather. Easy to oder a piece or two while ordering other stuff.
 
Thanks all. Sheffield looked good for their general knifemaking supplies from a $ standpoint. I'm even more of a newbie for leatherworking than knifemaking and Sheffield's pricing on their leather tools was better than Tandy.

Long story short, where should i buy my leather sheathmaking stuff? I know I need a groover, some needles, some waxed thread, a safety something(for thinning the leather - an edger?), a burnishing thing. What glue should I get? Thread drift I know.
 
Also forgot to add, get Chuck's DVD at Wild Rose and also the ones from Paul Long. Best investment in your leather work you can buy and a great way to get all the answers you seek.
 
Maelstrom78 said:
Thanks all. Sheffield looked good for their general knifemaking supplies from a $ standpoint. I'm even more of a newbie for leatherworking than knifemaking and Sheffield's pricing on their leather tools was better than Tandy.

Long story short, where should i buy my leather sheathmaking stuff? I know I need a groover, some needles, some waxed thread, a safety something(for thinning the leather - an edger?), a burnishing thing. What glue should I get? Thread drift I know.
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First, Patrice gave some good advice.

As for the tools.

I bought three groovers and wasn't happy until I got one from goodsjapan. You can use the one I got as a regular groover, or freehand. It came very sharp and has stayed sharp.

John James harness needles are the best, period. I had three samples and I have not broken any of them over the course of around 30 sheaths. I broke a few Tandy needles on my first few.

Waxed thread, hands down my favorite is Tiger/Ritza. Light wax so no excess removal necessary like other threads. Flat and braided, it's awesome, just slightly hard to find, try Etsy.

Contact cement, buy Weldwood. Gel formula is great. Get it anywhere.

Safety Skiver. Any of them are fine. Tandy (and the resellers) have them, as does Osborne. The blade is replaceable.

Nylon Bone Folder from Tandy is a great little tool. I don't use the half round thing on the end very much, but the folder itself is great for burnishing.

A #2 Keen Edge beveler is a good tool. You'll need to sharpen it with a small rod and high grit paper. I hear the ones from goodsjapan (which come with a sharpening kit) are great.

Those are some suggestions for relatively inexpensive tools. There are many options for high end kit. The good stuff is probably worth the investment if you are going to be doing a lot of leather work.

I get my leather from Hide House here in California (thanks to Horsewright for that) and I cannot recommend them enough.

As Patrice pointed out, there are some good things to be found in the Sheaths forum. Any specific questions are probably best asked there. I'll help you where I can, but there are far more experienced guys that will help as well.
 
Thanks! I've been lurking over in the sheath section in the last month. I read the thread about the different glues etc. I've learned a lot from your threads over there as well Strigamort.
 
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