Leather working supplys? where from?

cbr900son

cbr900son

Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
1,010
So Ive ordered a few things from tandy leather but is there anyplace else for leather and stamping supplies and whatnot that yall like to use?
 
Search Google for "leather working supplies" and you'll see quite a list.
You'll find they all carry basically the same stuff.
 
I get alot of my stuff off of ebay. Usually from a store called "stecksstore" I believe the name is. He has pretty much all that Tandy has, but cheaper.
 
Drummertist said:
I've found Tandy to have a good supply of things like that.
Click to expand...
Well I just ordered aton of crap from them so hope its good! Alot of stamps and a #4 bevek edger (tho im not sure if this is the right size) and 15 sq feet of 8-9 oz double shoulder tooling leather. Hope it is nice leather and dyes well!
 
If you'll be doing hand-stitching, buy yourself a good awl. You won't find it at Tandy...I'm not knocking Tandy, I got started there and owe a lot to them, and I still go to them regularly for certain stuff....they just don't carry a good awl blade anymore.
I didn't know what a good awl was until I bought one made by Bob Douglas.
A bit pricey but worth every penny.
 
rayban said:
If you'll be doing hand-stitching, buy yourself a good awl. You won't find it at Tandy...I'm not knocking Tandy, I got started there and owe a lot to them, and I still go to them regularly for certain stuff....they just don't carry a good awl blade anymore.
I didn't know what a good awl was until I bought one made by Bob Douglas.
A bit pricey but worth every penny.
Click to expand...
I never used a awl. Usually just a drillpress and 2 needle stitch :confused:
 
Here are the sources for supplies and tools and also some on-line tutorials that I have written and recommend...
http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/aging-leather-zurl.jpg
http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_baseball.html
http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_leatherstitch.html
http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_stitchpony.html - this is how to make a stitch pony
http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/mexloop/_mexloop.html

Below are suppliers:
Veg/Bark Tan Leather:
Wickett & Craig - www.wickett-craig.com
I order the 8/10 oz Tooling-Holster or 10/12 oz Skirting and have it split to 8/9 oz - they will split it to whatever size you like if need be...
RJF Leather - http://rjfleather.com/content/index.php
Very nice double shoulders and sides - these are old style pit tanned hides from Portugal and are VERy nice and reasonable

Dyes, all types of leather including some exotics, hardware, etc.:
Leather Unltd - http://www.leatherunltd.com/care/dye/dye.html
Siegel of Ca - www.siegelofca.com
Leather Factory/Tandy

Linen Thread - 5 cord left or right hand twist is a good all purpose thread:
Campbell- Bosworth: http://campbell-bosworth.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=linen - I have not used the less expensive Hungarian thread myself so cannot offer an opinion whereas I have used the Barbour's for close to 50 years..

Tools: Cheap but OK:
Leather Factory/Tandy - the Craftsman brand

Tools: Better - Osborne and other better quality tools:
Campbell- Bosworth: http://campbell-bosworth.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=linen

Tools: Best:
Jeremiah Watt - www.ranch2arena.com
Expensive but worth it - made by a master saddle maker and a heck of a nice guy!

Gomph-Hackbarth Leather Tools
10754 N. Martineau Road
Elfrida, AZ 85610
520-642-3891
Hackbarthtools@hotmail.com

Robert Beard: http://robertbeardtools.com/index.html


Gore Tool Route 1
Box 306-B Caddo Mills
Texas 75135-9801
800-859-8338


McMillen Leather Tool Company
864 Four Waters Drive
Sunrise Beach, MO 65079
573-374-7880

Barry King
http://www.barrykingtools.com/

I can recommend all of the above having used them for several years (some several decades) - There are many other suppliers including Hidecrafters. Montana Leather, Oregon Leather, and others including some suppliers on EBay - as always with any unfamiliar suppliers it's caveat emptor.....
 
Good Morning Sir,
First of all I would like to thank you to bring up this thread. I have to say that my experiences with Tandy, Tandy Leather or Tandy Leather Factory are bad. I make knives and leather crafts over 18 years now. And basically from time to time I have bought from Tandy. The books and manual are good and very helpful. The quality of the tools are getting worse and worse. Most of the stuff is imported from the far east. For a beginner I can recommend Hidecrafters in Texas ( they import from the far east as well but much better quality in comparison) or Montana Leather. My advice if you need leather buy it locally where you can inspect what you buy from Tandy you never get what you have ordered. If you have the intention to make knives on the long run invest in proper tools. It saves you a lot of frustration. I can recommend Osborne, Robert Beard, Danny Marlin and Barry King. Tandy tools never ever in my life came in a working sharpness shipped to me. I had to resharpen them all. But when you want to work with leather you need really really sharp tools. There is nothing wrong to drill your holes. Alot of famous artist do that as well as other arist use the awl. Brilliant resuts can be achieved with both methods.
You have to find your own way. There are a lot of good tips on the leather worker forum as well as it is on the british blade forum. I hope I have not violated the forum rules now.
Be patient and think first what you want to do and what you want to achieve. And if you have any questions don`t hesitate to contact me and send me a pm.
with kind regards
John
 
highland dirk said:
Good Morning Sir,
First of all I would like to thank you to bring up this thread. I have to say that my experiences with Tandy, Tandy Leather or Tandy Leather Factory are bad. I make knives and leather crafts over 18 years now. And basically from time to time I have bought from Tandy. The books and manual are good and very helpful. The quality of the tools are getting worse and worse. Most of the stuff is imported from the far east. For a beginner I can recommend Hidecrafters in Texas ( they import from the far east as well but much better quality in comparison) or Montana Leather. My advice if you need leather buy it locally where you can inspect what you buy from Tandy you never get what you have ordered. If you have the intention to make knives on the long run invest in proper tools. It saves you a lot of frustration. I can recommend Osborne, Robert Beard, Danny Marlin and Barry King. Tandy tools never ever in my life came in a working sharpness shipped to me. I had to resharpen them all. But when you want to work with leather you need really really sharp tools. There is nothing wrong to drill your holes. Alot of famous artist do that as well as other arist use the awl. Brilliant resuts can be achieved with both methods.
You have to find your own way. There are a lot of good tips on the leather worker forum as well as it is on the british blade forum. I hope I have not violated the forum rules now.
Be patient and think first what you want to do and what you want to achieve. And if you have any questions don`t hesitate to contact me and send me a pm.
with kind regards
John
Click to expand...

i'll agree with this. my backgrounder from Tandy(3 months old) just snapped the head off while working. and no, i wasn't beating it.

Springfield leather carries W&C leather, and you don't have a 10 hide min.

Barry Kings tools are awesome.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top