@Philip You got me there... LOL. Sometimes I have problems with human contact, I have been looking at this post, writing and rewriting for the past 5 minutes... I even had a picture of mine published in a book but I didn't share it anywhere and nobody knows. I may have something in a few days but in the tools section.

I saw the post like minutes after asking, thnx. 8mm sounds great and when we look that you can also do the reveres with them it would punch 1.6cm which is insane. I do have to admit they are looking better and better with each picture :-)

@olena.wills @dirtmcgirt44 Have you tested them on thicker leather, how far do you think they can punch through without leaving a large hole?

Wuta 1st generation were all in 2+8 sets but then they switched design and production 2nd generation has 2.7mm and 3mm in 2+5 and 3.38mm and 3.85mm in 2+8. I remember reading their explanation how smaller sizes are more delicate and intended for smaller items so 2+5 are enough

I have Wuta and they are closer to true pricking irons. True they can punch through leather with ease but anything more then 3mm and the hole start to get too wide, maybe 4mm maximum. If you work with an awl or thin leather then you are all good. They can be also found a lot cheaper but they are not reversible and prongs are not replaceable. Also note Wuta 2.7mm and 3mm are 2+5prong set, not the usual 2+8.

I live in Serbia and sadly the saddlery as a craft is completely gone, even if we used horses for transport until not so long ago. But with the general shift to industrialization and urbanization after WW2, in no small part as a planed communist economy generally craft of any kind was discouraged and state has forced industrial manufacturing. Only in the last 15 years there is a slow return to some of the crafts as country tries to get into capitalist economy. Not a great success but that is another story... Interesting enough there is a leather tannery in my town and yet it is impossible to buy any leather from it. They were purchased by Italians and everything they make goes to Italy, allegedly for Gucci. I admit I need to investigate a bit to see if they would sell some off pieces under the counter. I found an old video showing the entire production process Dafar Zrenjanin

I am no great expert but I think the progress from your earlier photos is noticeable. Stitching in the line looks neat and good but corners need some work, especially noticeable on the inside of the wallet. Since you are using contrasting colors it makes it even more visible. One more tip I can give at this moment is to look into burnishing your edges. I do not know if the leather is vegetable tanned or chrome tanned and how easy that would be for the leather you used.

One thing I noticed on 4Z is they have the same 45 degrees angle on all irons, at least from what I can see in their online shop. I think Armitage was talking in one of his YT videos how the smaller the iron the sharper the angle is on Vergez Blanchard irons and vice versa, saying it is a good thing as thinner threads need sharper angle to have that angled look in the stitch.

Whenever someone comes up with pricking irons I always remember I paid my Wuta 2+8 set just 75 USD and that included free shipping. Question for those more experienced, how often do the teeth break, is that really an issue in a good quality irons of just marketing invention?

And to think I was considering to cancel and buy the book, haha... I was lucky to be following your online courses early. But I think my question still remains - if there is no more month by month - I guess the only left is year by year. I do not mean to pry into your business but we had a similar development in the company where I work now. We had online courses paid by the course individually but we have reached the point we have so many courses we decided to switch to yearly subscription to all courses (sort of a VIP deal). We still offer individual courses but that remains to be seen for how long. Depending on how our yearly plan holds up we may introduce monthly subscription but it will be much more expensive per month then yearly.

Depending on the part of the world you live in it may not be that difficult to replace the pinion with something better. There are machine shops that can build one to measure, it's just a slab of steel with cut outs that form the teeth.

It has been some time now and I can report I have been very happy with Wuta stuff. I may do a small review on the Japanese style knives and make a video. It is guaranteed to be sloppy :-)

I believe there is a point when more expensive tools start to be less important, after all craftsmen in the past did not have the fancy tools we have today and still they made some absolutely beautiful things. Case in point, electrical creaser is just the same ordinary creaser with a bit of resistor wire used to heat it up, awl handle made of mahogany or simpler wood doesn't affect how the awl tip works on leather, etc. There is a certain sweet spot where the tools is not bad in quality but not too fancy nor expensive. The suggestions that Philip provides in Course Supplies are an excellent example. This could be something maybe not for the course but certainly a nice series on YouTube.

I recently made a large order (well, it was large for me) from Wuta on TaoBao. They have shops at eBay and Aliexpress but on TaoBao they have stuff they did not have elsewhere at the moment, like new threads, mallet with adjustable extra weights, Japanese knives, etc. Since I have purchased from them before I knew they would ship to me without problems, I also asked via Instagram. The process was not easy, struggling with translating Chinese via Google, but at the end it all went fine, my order arrived yesterday. Be very careful with weight and shape of the items you order. As long as the items can fit in an envelope it will be treated as letter up to 2 kg and the shipping will be much, much cheaper. I ordered a set of Wuta chisels separately, arrived in a plain yellow bubble envelope. Paid 77 USD with free shipping and 0 customs. For my main order I had over 3 kg including A3 cutting mat, my order was about 150 USD, shipping was around 60 USD and I paid 45 USD for customs (I live in Europe).