Sheath Thread for my Machine

[JTknives]

This is my first post on this side of the forum, I'm always over in the makers section. but i though this was a topic for over here, and if not then i will post over there. but i though i would give you guys a chance first . I have recently picked up an old champion leather sewing machine and after much cleaning its running like a champ. but my question is what thread should i run through it, I am really only sewing knife sheaths. I like a nice bold stitch and don't want a small thread size. but having never bought a machine thread i am not sure what i need. It is a wax machine but i really don't want to run wax through it as that is what most of the cleaning was about. getting all the 50-75 year old wax off was a pain in the butt. The machine has a #3 needle and awl in it right now. but the manual says that a #3 needle wants to use like a #7 or #8 Cord thread. I am not sure how big that is but is has to be very large. i have looked on www.campbell-bosworth.com and found lots of thread but there are lots of choices. i have been reading that my machine likes linen thread better then the synthetic threads. if thats true then there are 2 brands that thy sell of linen one being of the brand Barbours and the other is Hungarian. I'm guessing that the Barbours is the better thread as its twice as much. now since i don't want to use the wax melting pot on the machine i was told to use a liquid wax like what thy sell called Campbells Thread Lubricant. is this what i want. o and last question, I use a left twisted thread in a machine right? man sorry for all the question but i would hate to order the wrong stuff as its not cheap.

 

[sheathmaker]

J T call Connie (he's a man) at Campbell/Bosworth and visit with him about this. You get a world of useful information.

Now, the Barbour's and Hungary linen thread you mentioned are primarily for hand stitching. Barbour's was the standard for years but they got a little too pricey and up comes the Hungarian thread. I think Chuck Burrows has tried the Hungarian and says it's good to go...but for HAND STITCHING. (I don't hand stitch at all if I can keep from it).

I use an Artisan Toro 4000 for the type stitching you are talking about with your machine. I use bonded poly thread in 207 both top and bottom, but if you are looking for a heavier looking stitch then you have 277, 346 and even 415, each one heavier in order. I would not use anything heavier than the 346 if I were you. My machine would use 250/27 or size 27 needle for that weight thread. That weight thread is heavy enough to stitch saddle skirts.

I'm not sure about your machine, but mine does not care whether it's right or left hand twist in the poly, (ask Connie) and wax is not a consideration at all because poly doesn't need it.

Like I said in the beginning, call Connie and ask him about thread weight, Needle System for your machine, and size needle for the thread weight you choose. Nylon thread is also available, but the bonded Poly offers more choices in weights and colors.

Good Luck!

Paul

 

[JTknives]

J T call Connie (he's a man) at Campbell/Bosworth and visit with him about this. You get a world of useful information.

Now, the Barbour's and Hungary linen thread you mentioned are primarily for hand stitching. Barbour's was the standard for years but they got a little too pricey and up comes the Hungarian thread. I think Chuck Burrows has tried the Hungarian and says it's good to go...but for HAND STITCHING. (I don't hand stitch at all if I can keep from it).

I use an Artisan Toro 4000 for the type stitching you are talking about with your machine. I use bonded poly thread in 207 both top and bottom, but if you are looking for a heavier looking stitch then you have 277, 346 and even 415, each one heavier in order. I would not use anything heavier than the 346 if I were you. My machine would use 250/27 or size 27 needle for that weight thread. That weight thread is heavy enough to stitch saddle skirts.

I'm not sure about your machine, but mine does not care whether it's right or left hand twist in the poly, (ask Connie) and wax is not a consideration at all because poly doesn't need it.

Like I said in the beginning, call Connie and ask him about thread weight, Needle System for your machine, and size needle for the thread weight you choose. Nylon thread is also available, but the bonded Poly offers more choices in weights and colors.

Good Luck!

Paul

It would be nice to not have to use wax and the bonded poly is quite a bit cheaper so i can get a few different colors.

 

[Wild Rose]

Like Paul said call Connie at C-B and get his advice. IMO if it was mine I would use Barbour's Linen in left hand twist which your machine was designed for - ask Connie about the Hungarian though, but some of the feed back I've now gotten is not so good - a fair amount of breakage, something I seldom have occur with Barbour's and then only with light weight 3 cord.
You should realize your Champion is not the same type of machine as Paul is using which is technically a Sewing Machine while your Champion is a Needle and Awl Stitcher and that the Toros, Ferdcos, and other modern machines were designed for use with synthetics where as yours wasn't. I have a fair amount of experience with stitchers such as yours and using a wax pot is usually not that big a deal.
Also keep in mind the use of linen thread can be a selling point to many customers and even at the current price point, 1,000 + yards of either 4 cord or 5 cord should last you several years. I buy a roll about every 5 years and the amount of sewing when considering that I sew belts, holsters, sheaths, and much more on a full time basis is much more than most knifemakers will use in even two or three times that amount of time. FYI - The average belt I do - either a money belt or full lined when sewn at 6 SPI has between 300 and 600 stitches, while a 6-7" bladed knife has 40-60 stitches total.. Amortize that cost of $60-70.00 over time and it's negligible even at the rate I sew.
Still my best advice is call Connie at C-B they are the experts on the type of machine you have.

FWIW - I'd have given my eye teeth for a machine like yours at the price you got that machine - due to the historic type of work I specialize in a machine that sews linen is the only machine I could/would use, although even then I'd still have to do a bunch of hand sewing.........

BTW - 7 to 8 Cord is for sewing saddles - I would recommend 5 Cord at 6 SPI - bold enough but not overly so and pretty much the standard for most uses such as sheaths.......

 

[JTknives]

Thanks. I will give him a call. Ya i had thought that my stitcher was made to only use linen thread as that was the best at the time. And ya at forty or so bucks its not bad when you consider it will last me almost forever. I guess it would be cool to have it up and running at one hundred percent like back in the day. I have heard that the linen thread when waxed lasts almost forever. Its cool because there was old dryied out wax in the pot that i could not get out so i was like hum lets wire her up and see if she gets hot. Well she did so i guess i could use the wax pot.

 

[JTknives]

well i called up Campbell/Bosworth and talked to Dan which is Connie's son i believe. well both of them where there and i could here Connie talking in the background giving advice. so any way thy are supper nice and will have my business for life. thy got me all set up with everything i need just for that machine.I will be running a #6 on the top with a #5 on the bottom (bobbin) and i will be running a liquid wax. so all in all i got 2 one pound spools of linen thread, some needles and awls for that size thread, some liquid wax, some wax strippers, and a threading wire. I should be all set up and I'm excited to get the package in the mail. if you never saw pictures of it after i restored it, here are some. it was a real mess before i cleaned here up. everything was froze up and would not move. now i can spin the wheel by hand and when i let go it keeps spinning till it comes to the up stroke where it pusses against the leaf spring. so it runs great. enough talk. o the thread in the pictures is like a number 7 i think, just something i found at a surplus store. its a cotton ploy blend with a right hand twist so it does not work very well and is just a bit to big for what i need.