Hello everyone! I have started to sell Lin Cable Fil Au Chinois to collegues that I know. Someone thinks about to repair a Birkin Bag. Does someone from you know the exact stitching and thread size that is used at the flap? I guess 3mm and #532 or #632. Thank you very much! Kilian

Hello everyone! Who already worked with water buffalo? I heard that the fibre structure is different and stronger than from a cow. Is it true? Does it mean I could use this buffalo calf for small leather goods and have it thin like I would use goat? I have a sample from Remy Carriat. The product is called Sherpa. For me its a bit strage, it seems that the surface is thin and strong and the rest quite 'fluffy'. Is Remy Carriat a tannery that is producing high quality leather? Unfortunately I cant really judge the sample I have as I dont know that its the buffalo or the tanning that I dont quite like. I am happy about every idea or comment and I know that I havent asked a precise question... Thank you, Kilian

Hello everyone! I have two spools of yellow 532 and 632 Lin Cable Fil Au Chinois thread and they are exacty of the same thickness!! I think I have the same problem with 432 and 532 Ecru but have to test again. Do you once have the same problem? I am wondering if its an inconcistancy or if it was just labled wrong. Also I have the impression that the yellow thread is not as tight and firm as darker colors. Do you have the impression too? Thank you very much! Kilian

Hello everyone. I would like to know what your thoughts are with MMColombo from Italy. I feel a bit bad and would like to find out if you have mainly made positive experiences with this company. I have ordered handle holders in the beginning of June. I had to make a minimum order. It took longer as expected but this is OK. After I received them, 3 of the gold plated were badly made. They said they will send me a replacement. I also ordered handle holders in pure brass as well as briefcase locks in pure brass. They were finished badly, meaning they were not polished everywhere - sure I dont meant the back of the locks but the inside of the handle holder rings and all sides of the locks. They said that the process wouldnt allow to polish it everywhere. So I had to do it myself - so I can do it why not them? When I said that the gold plated ones are polished everywhere, they said that it just looks like it and the plating just make it look like its polished everywhere. But as the plating is so thin, this cant be true. I waited a long time for the replacement and wrote an email that I waited another month. They said that there was vacation etc and it will now be prepared. Now waiting another 2 month I got nothing from them. Today I wrote again.... I am the only one who has problems with them? If they are not reliable I have to buy a lot of stuff from them and store it and use it when I need it. But I would like to buy from project to project from them. Please share your experiences, the good ones too! Thank you!

Hello everyone! Maybe someone can help me! I found that gold plated hardware is too thin plated (MMColombo) and so I decided for myself that I will most of the time use solid brass or nickel. I heared that some people remove the laquer that some brass hardware has. What is the downside using laquered solid brass? Will it be scratched and you will see parts getting significantly darker? I heared that the laquer is quite durable, any experiences? If someone can help, I will be happy:-)!

Hello everyone! After my fail buying an Osborne splitter I am ready for the next adventure! I am not sure if I should get the mini or the bigger one. But I guess you cant help me in this decision - but if you have any pros and cons besides its space saving, let me know!! But a much harder decision is if I should increase the 'impression thicknes' that is normally 15mm - meaning the distance or space between letters and base plate. It can be increased up to 35mm. My thought is: why not just make it as high as possible , you never know if you need it some day. Or will there be a downside doing that? I think 3.5cm is not very high, but I think that one could print a card box or some kind of packaging with it... If you have any thought, please let me know:-)

I would like to share this great shop. it sells a huge amount of very nice tools. I like especially the measurement tools. https://www.feinewerkzeuge.de/ English: https://www.fine-tools.com/index.html

Not really leather related, but I think this is just amazing. I saw this a long time ago but now that i am looking for effective tool chests and so on I remembered this one. If anybody else has a link or pictures of nice toolboxes, toolcases please post:-) https://bentleyslondon.com/shop/archive/engineer-s-tool-box/

Hi everyone. I have sold my irons and wanted to buy a few sets of Wuta Irons. Now its like over 140€ for one simple set. I have no problem for good irons to pay that but I remember that it was under 100€ per set before 'corona'. Am I wrong? If its true I will opt for Kevin Lee. Thank you very much!

Hello everyone! I tried to find out how 'sensitive' nickel plated hardware is. I couldnt really find out as it seems to depend on many things. From Abas / MMC I once bought a gold plated key lock and it got scratches just by looking at it. Can anyone who bought nickel plated hardware from Abas share his or her experience? Thank you!

Hi! I thought that Barnsley doesnt exist anymore and old stock tools are just sold. I bought a few knifes of them on their Barnsley website. But the parcels senders name was from a wood workshop or something similar. Now I received a newsletter from them. Does onyone knows if its true or not? I have no problem to buy old stock from them but dont know if one can trust their quality now. If it is still fake i cant believe one could be so 'creative' NEWSLETTER News from Mowbray Street It’s now been over a year since we launched the George Barnsley and Sons website and what a year it’s been! When we  launched the website we were well aware of the interest in our famous George Barnsley name but it seemed that many people thought that the business had stopped making tools in Sheffield! The simple truth is that for many years the business had been “kept alive” by Mr C Barnsley (from whom we gratefully acquired the business) but he didn’t have the time to take the business forwards owing to other business interests. So, we put our toe in the water in April 19 and we’ve had a phenomenal response from around the world, customers from as far away as Australia, Japan, the US and Canada, as well as our closer European neighbours have been flocking to our door, we’ve even had orders from Chile and Greenland! We are most grateful for the response, its been a humbling experience for me personally to receive comments and feedback from customers (old and new) who really appreciate the quality of our tools and who understand the proud heritage of the George Barnsley name and YES , will still manufacture tools in Sheffield using our world famous Sheffield Steel. Over the past twelve months we’ve been sorting through the stock rooms here on site and have unearthed many items of new, unused  “old stock” items that haven’t seen the light of day for 30 years or more, still wrapped in the original waxed packing paper and as good as the day they were made. These items have been gratefully received by our customers and comments of the sharpness and workability of the tools has been most encouraging. We’ve also been busy training up new members of staff who will help us take the business into the future and continue to manufacture our beautiful knives and tools  for many long years to come. Also we’ve been redeveloping some of the older “extinct” George Barnsley designs such as the famous “Bull Dog” Pliers and the beautiful “Small French” Hammer and this is something we will continue to do.... When we launched the website we were unsure as to how the market would receive the George Barnsley name, we knew that there was a level of interest from artisan crafts people and makers, but would they buy the product?  We were asked on many occasions, can this really be made in Sheffield??? We pitched our selling prices at a very competitive level (almost factory gate prices), absorbing much of the associated marketing and distribution “overhead” costs internally to help re establish the brand. We’ve now come to point in time when, in order to maintain levels of service, we need to review prices on some products to more fairly reflect our overall cost structure. With effect from this month we will be posting new prices on some of our range, some of the current “special offers” will be withdrawn, but that’s not to say that we won’t be bringing new specials out in the future! You will always be the first to learn about our new offers and special deals so keep an eye on the site! For our overseas (non UK) customers, we understand that its been more complicated than necessary when placing an order, to this end we are in the process on upgrading our post and packing offer to include overseas destinations, at the moment each shipment has to be manually assessed to price up post and packing costs!  So please look out for this change , it will be so much simpler. In the meantime if you have any questions or require further information on any of our products, drop me a line. Best regards Tim Hinchliffe

Hello everyone. When I started leatherworking, I bought a set of Japanese stitching irons with diamant holes meant to punch through all layers. Very soon I found that the holes were too big for me and bought Crimson Hides and KS Blade Punch irons because of the thin teeth. The Crimsons are very nice but I dont punch through all the layers anymore instead using the awl. So in the moment I use KS Blad Punch irons to prick. I dont like it. The teeth are too sharp and I cant really controll if I want to prick 1.2-1.5 veg tan leathers. I would only use them to punch through all leyers. So when I am now looking what pricking irons to buy for me only using to prick, what should I buy? I see that Kevin Lee and others have very thin teeth and very high teeth. That makes me think, that they are meant to punch through all the way. The thinner the teeth, the better? I understand, that its bad when you punch through all layers and have huge holes is bad, but when you are using the awl, it will be the thinnest hole possible and the pricked mark is only on the surface so thickness is not too important? In the moment I tend to buy Wuta pricking irons because Blanchard is too expensive for me. But I am interested in the Kevin Lee ones if these are good for only pricking. Maybe someone owns Wuta Pricking Irons and Kevin Lee Irons and can point out the difference of these Irons? Every thought, every tipp is helpfull!

Hello everyone! In a workshop without big windows I would like to filter or vacuum the fumes / solvent from the gluing table. How can I do that? I read that activated carbon filter will filter solvent. On the other hand I read that it can be easily vacuumed because its heavier than the air and 'laying' on the table. I got stuck on my research and I would appreciate every tip, picture, .... Thank you very much!!

Hello everyone! I guess I am the only one that didt know that Blanchard has an onlineshop but...I found these edge creasers (non adjustable) on their shop. Can someone compare them to the wuta ones? how far away is the guide from the edge on #1, #2, #3? And is 'G' a rounded version? Or 'G' has a guide and the others are single ones with different thicknesses? Thank you very much for your help! https://www.vergez-blanchard.fr/boutique_us/recherche_resultats.cfm?code_lg=lg_us&mot=creaser (It seems that some tools are on the wrong pages.... I think one has to buy 100€ minimum to be able to make an order. Some tools are half the price if you have an EU VAT number, comparing to the Ukraine shop I bought before)

Hi, quite often I saw the two following books. They were written in German but for one there is an English version and the other is in German and English. I havent read them but heard that they are good, so I just want to share the links/titles.... Maybe someone has one of those and can share his/her opinion!:-) It seems that they are less expensive on the german Amazon.de I heard that there might be new 2019 editions of these books. (at least I know that the german 'Faszination Leder' has a 2019 edition) Die Reptilhaut/Reptile Skin: A Key-Feature in the Identification of Lizards and Snakes (408 pages) Reptile names to terminology used by tanners and leather dealers. Provides chapters on material and research methods, the histology and microdscopic anatomy of reptile skins, skin pigments, identification tables and species accounts. Each species account provides common names, trade names, range, size, scale details, accompanied by detailed illustrations, skinning method, comments and sensory foreola . Includes a chapter on the description of the species and subspecies important to the leather industry. 64 color and 200 b/w photographs, line illustrations and tables. https://www.amazon.de/Reptilhaut-reptile-skin-Merkmalstr%C3%A4ger-Identifizierung/dp/3930612364/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1574757628&refinements=p_27%3ADietrich+Jelden&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Dietrich+Jelden Fascination Leather, Common and Exotic Skins Under the Magnifying Glass (264 pages) A wealth of information on the history, identification, types of leather, processing, and much more. Covers mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes relevant to the leather industry. 202 full-color photographs. (google translation of German official book info:) A breviary for leather lovers, for manufacturers and dealers of leather goods, leather clothing and shoes, for all those who appreciate the natural product and want to know more about it. The reader is introduced to the secrets of leather production and processing in an expert, generally comprehensible and entertaining way, peppered with poems by Eugen Roth. From the highest quality exotic leather (crocodile, lizard, snake, toad, shark, stingray, ostrich, peccary, pangolin) to sheep and goat skins, cow and pig skins. Scarred pictures of the most important animal species simplify the determination, numerous examples illustrate which high-quality products leather is processed into (women's handbags, boots, watch straps and much more). https://www.amazon.de/Fascination-Leather-Karlheinz-Fuchs/dp/3899731743/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=fascination+leather&qid=1574759995&s=books&sr=1-1

Hello everyone! I have seen this paring knife in the link and as I really like their products think this could be a good buy. And its very inexpensive. I like that its just flat and of a good material. What do you think? Does someone bought this knife and has an opinion to share? Thank you very much! https://crimsonhides.com/products/curved-handle-paring-knife

Hello everyone! When I start a single project that will be done just once, there is always the hardware problem. Its hard to find everything from the same maker, so I mixed brass from different makers and even with gold hardware. I always felt like this is not the way to go. What are your opinions? Thank you very much, Kilian

Hello, my name is Kilian and living in Berlin, Germany. I started leather working during my study of electrical engineering. I was working on the distortions/overtones of guitar tube amplifiers. This time I wanted to make guitar amps like a shoemaker: making amps that fully suits the musicians needs as most amps are just copies of older ones and distortion and impact of parts like power supply is not fully understood. During my studies I built a fender bassman and a box. I wrapped the wooden box with a robust 'plastic' leather. From there I was interested in Boxmaking and suitcases, that lead into the interest of leather. I am now in the situation that I start a business in leather. Wish me luck! :-) Kilian Moser