Further down the rabbit hole

[knoefz]

Yes it was the same with the original scales.
I'll look for a new snap, might bevthe best option.

Custom sheath is something to dream about for now... The Azwelke on my 7 is superb. Maybe someday on my 9.

I have some leather laying around. Maybe I find the courage to try and make a sheath out of that

 

[daizee]

Yes it was the same with the original scales.
I'll look for a new snap, might bevthe best option.

Custom sheath is something to dream about for now... The Azwelke on my 7 is superb. Maybe someday on my 9.

I have some leather laying around. Maybe I find the courage to try and make a sheath out of that

Just take off one scale and it will be perfect.

I cannot in good conscience recommend doing leatherwork by hand, having done a fair bit before discovering making knives was "easier".

 

[NWFRS]

Just take off one scale and it will be perfect.

I cannot in good conscience recommend doing leatherwork by hand, having done a fair bit before discovering making knives was "easier".

Lol. One scale.

I’ve been gathering a few hand tools and leather for about a month now, but haven’t done anything beyond cutting, burnishing, and poking a few holes. I’ve held off buying a holding fixture/pony because they all look a bit cheesy, and was thinking about just making one with Baltic birch plywood scrap. What would you say were the most challenging things about getting started?

 

[1066vik]

the hardest part about getting started is getting over the fear of having an uneven stitch line on your first project.

 

[daizee]

Lol. One scale.

I’ve been gathering a few hand tools and leather for about a month now, but haven’t done anything beyond cutting, burnishing, and poking a few holes. I’ve held off buying a holding fixture/pony because they all look a bit cheesy, and was thinking about just making one with Baltic birch plywood scrap. What would you say were the most challenging things about getting started?

Stitching pony is a good idea. Shd be easy to make.
The hardest thing about getting started is crappy Tandy tools.
The second-hardest thing is all the pain and abuse to your fingertips from hand-stitching.

I spent a summer stitching holsters in front of NCIS re-runs back in the decade when we still had cable TV. I could do a lot of the work on a board on my lap, which was nice.

Hey, do you need a vintage treadle-powered Davis leather-sewing machine? Because I need it out of my basement. Can you pick it up this afternoon? 'cause else it's probably going to the dump *today*.

 

[NWFRS]

Hmmm. I really was looking at Tandy products. Are they inferior? I was looking to order some of their thread next. Their TandyPro thread is some rebranded stuff out of Germany, and not knowing what I’m doing, I thought I’d try that first. Right now I’m a complete newb that can’t even tie knots, but I figured if I was making progress I might grab one of their Cobra machines, and a powered skiver later in the year. Tandy and AmericanLeatherworks seem to carry the same Cobra products as one another.

Yeah I’ve heard it can be hard on the fingers. One of the first things I’ll make will be some little leather knuckle protectors so I can put a hurt on the thread.

I looked up Davis and it’s a gorgeous machine. Surely it’s too collectible to go to a dump! Unfortunately, I’m on the west coast. I really appreciate it though!

 

[NWFRS]

the hardest part about getting started is getting over the fear of having an uneven stitch line on your first project.

Lol. I figured I’d just make junk for a while, then cut it up to make smaller junk!

 

[daizee]

Dumped!
Well, an appliance recycling container. But same same. Yeah, I haven't gotten rid of it because beautiful old things. But it's useless and nobody wants it - including me. Too much crap.

Anyway, Tandy:
Their thread is fine. Get the thread. I've snapped a number of their needles by hand - buy batches. That doesn't mean they're bad. I've had fine leather from them too, but I wasn't after high-end and wasn't disappointed.

The punches are made with very cheap, soft material, and that's really bad. Go looking for the boutique stuff and get that instead. More expensive, but not made in China. You can't make a quality hardened hand tool for $10 unless demand is huge. Probably not even then.

The rotating squeeze-punch thing is terrible.

The little hand-groover is fine to start. No idea how to sharpen it. Maybe a tiny dremel stone from the inside? Or just buy replacement cutting ends.

Tandy snaps and grommet-sets are pretty low-end BUT you can totally make them work. Fine place to start.

The Fiebings leather dye and related finishing solutions (eco-sheen?) that they carry are fine, and industry standards. Same for the contact cement (stanky).

 

[NWFRS]

Dumped!
Well, an appliance recycling container. But same same. Yeah, I haven't gotten rid of it because beautiful old things. But it's useless and nobody wants it - including me. Too much crap.

Anyway, Tandy:
Their thread is fine. Get the thread. I've snapped a number of their needles by hand - buy batches. That doesn't mean they're bad. I've had fine leather from them too, but I wasn't after high-end and wasn't disappointed.

The punches are made with very cheap, soft material, and that's really bad. Go looking for the boutique stuff and get that instead. More expensive, but not made in China. You can't make a quality hardened hand tool for $10 unless demand is huge. Probably not even then.

The rotating squeeze-punch thing is terrible.

The little hand-groover is fine to start. No idea how to sharpen it. Maybe a tiny dremel stone from the inside? Or just buy replacement cutting ends.

Tandy snaps and grommet-sets are pretty low-end BUT you can totally make them work. Fine place to start.

The Fiebings leather dye and related finishing solutions (eco-sheen?) that they carry are fine, and industry standards. Same for the contact cement (stanky).

Awesome. Good to hear.

Yeah I grabbed some Fiebings edge dye and contact cement. It was recommended in a beginners book that a buddy sent me. I’ve held off on all the edged punches because they really do all look pretty cheesy, same with setting hammers. Like you said, I’ll probably need to go off the beaten path to find good ones. It’s a shame that Amazon just shills a bunch of junk these days, because they’re so easy to deal with.

Too bad about that Davis machine but I hear you. Gotta get rid of stuff when it starts impacting your current space in a negative way. I really appreciated the offer though.

 

[knoefz]

Now that I have used the 9 a bit, my 7 seems to be shinking