Leather Tools

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine is getting married, and he has decided to gift a pair of trouser suspenders (or braces, for my friends in the UK) to each of his groomsmen. The're made mainly of fabric, but have a small leather patch. (Picture attached.)

He has already purchased them, and he has asked me if I could emboss a set of initials onto each of them. (To personalize them for each of his groomsmen.)

I have a stamping machine - from Dream Factory - that I often use, and which I've found to be reliable. Here's the problem: The surface that needs to be stamped is quite uneven. I thought about padding the uneven sections, so as to create a relatively flat and even surface, but it's quite risky and I don't want to destroy too many pairs with failed attempts.

Has anyone encountered this (or something similar)…

Hey Guys, how do you keep your workshops clean from all the leather chips? I currently use a standard house vacuum cleaner but its cumbersome to move around the shop. I'm thinking about maybe a handheld battery operated vacuum cleaner. Do you guys use anything in particular? A small random tip from the bench: to make your leather stick to the surface during skiving or cutting use 0.5mm silicone VMQ sheets inbetween the leather and the surface. The grip is not as tacky as Phil's method with PVA glue, but it is a reasonable option.

In planning for some storage solutions, I'm interested in utilizing wall mounted magnetic strips in the typical wood veneered style. In consideration (read over-thinking) I've become curious if this storage method will introduce any negative challenges when it comes to the magnetization of the tool, specifically blades, as it relates to sharpening. I typically dress with a strop during regular use, and will hone on water stones as needed. Conventional logic would suggest that the slurry produced including fine metal particles would have a natural tendency to remain magnetically attracted to the tool being sharpened. I would expect that this may introduce some challenges or undesirable outcomes as it relates to the sharpening process. Has anybody had any any experience with this either in leather tools or storing kitchen knives in a similar fashion and care to share their thoughts?

Hello there,

Does anyone have experience with bell skivers equipped with two motors, one to control the roller and another for the blade? Is it possible to do fine skivings with just a single motor or does a second one make a lot of difference?

Also, I've heard not having a suction system may cause the skived leather (the discarded one) to grip onto the roller and come back up, ruining the skiving process, specially on long runs like straps.

Does anyone agree or disagree with that?

Thank you.