Leather jamming in groove tool???

WinDancer

WinDancer

Joined
May 15, 1999
Messages
720
Hi
Been a while :)
I am just starting to make the sheaths for my custom knives.
I have two groove tools, and both keep clogging up and won't groove until the tool is cleared.
It isn't possible to clear them with a needle- matches are the only answer i have.
1. Why is this happening?
2. How do you clear the clog when it does happen?
Thanks in advance
Dave
 
It is probably the leather more than the groover. Sometime a groover will clog and/or fail to cut a groove in leather from a specific area of a side and then perform normally on leather from a different area on that same side. The groover also may need to be sharpened or stropped. A match is the most effective way to clear a clog that I have found.

Paul
 
What you can do to help prevent clogging is to take some heavy thread, or even yarn ( you want something close to the size of the opening) and treat it with some paste wax (carnuba or johnson's floor wax will work) then run this string through the opening a couple times to apply the wax. Give it a few minutes to haze up and take a clean string and buff it out. This should put a fine layer of wax inside the opening and keep it from jamming up.

Also, take a look inside the opening to make sure it's a nice smooth hole. If it has jagged spots inside, you can take a fine diamond engraving point on a dremel and lightly run it inside the hole. Surprisingly enough, there are bits that small that will fit :). I think, though, that the wax trick above will help you out immensely.
 
Grizzly bear, you are awesome! I was having the same problem. I googled it and found your post. Now I cut a wonderful cute little curl every time! Thank you, thank you!
 
Is it sharp? Could also (as Paul mentioned), be the leather. Some of my leather creates a nice long string, but I have a slightly soft black leather that creates little pieces and tool stutters and needs to be cleaned out.

I use my watch spring bar tool as it's smaller than the hole to push out pieces

DON
 
Even though these are some old posts, the info contained was spot on. I just bought some leather tools and was on the verge of sending them back when the hole clogged on the grooving tool. Used a lighter and the small dremel tip and it cleaned it right out. Than took some V92 thread, waxed it up and ran it through the hole several times. Cuts like a champ now.
Thanks All
 
Thanks Grizzleybear! I’m so great full these nuggets of wisdom still live on this forum.

I didn’t have carnival wax, so I used pin and rubbed it on a wax candle and then flossed the eye of the cutter and it worked great afterward!
 
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