You could try that combination first and see if it works for you. From memory, Crimson Hides produces irons that are closer to 'stitching chisels', which gives more of a square-like diamond shape hole. These are easier to stitch for most, though you will likely not get the traditional looking high angles from a true 'pricking iron'. For an improved look, irons from Wuta, Kevin Lee or similar will probably work better for what you are looking for.

Apologies for taking two weeks to get back to you Henry, I didn't see the notification of your reply. It's difficult to see, but I believe you may be using a reverse pricking iron, or you are stitching from the wrong side. The side you pricked should be on your right when you stitch. Another thing working against you is the use of braided thread. It doesn't quite give the look of cabled thread (either linen or polyester). I hope this makes a difference to your work!

Hi Steven, welcome to the forum! Same story with me too, I started leatherwork in Canada, which is very much influenced by the US with the western style. Great to have you on board. Philip

Because it was AI spam. I'm currently working on increasing security on the forum to prevent this, but they do get through sometimes. I delete them as I see them. Below is the comment I removed from this specific post:

I use a Dream Factory clamp. They kindly sent it for free. I wish they didn't. I have modified it to be somewhat usable, but I would definitely recommend saddlers clams at some point.

Hi Henry. Without seeing what you're doing and knowing what you're using, it's impossible to say for sure what's going wrong. Making a short video and uploading it here, or to YouTube and sharing the link will have us diagnosing the straight stitch disease pretty quickly I reckon. The most common reasons: 1) Your technique is not correct 2) Thread is too thick 3) Leather is too soft 4) Leather is too thin If this is happening on a thick piece of veg-tan, the problem is technique.

Hello Aetolus, welcome to the forum! Thank you for the very kind words, it's great to hear you are gaining value from the courses.

To have a design made, you could find someone on Fiverr to make something to your specs. Then you'll just need to send the finished file to a business that produces custom brass dies. If you haven't already, we really encourage new members to introduce themselves in the Say Hello Before Posting section. That way we can get to know a little more about you and your leatherworking journey so far 👍

Thanks Jacob, I'm glad you are getting value from the courses! If you want the Beginner Class added to your Masterclass video Plan (for free), just shoot me an email.

Hello Selene and welcome to the forum! It's a great idea adding bags to your collection as you already have many of the skills for it. Enjoy the videos!

Hey. It may be the way the prongs have been cut. If they aren't smooth, this can make it difficult to both hammer in and remove. If there is enough room, you can place a piece of fine grit sandpaper onto a thin piece of steel like a smaller ruler, this should allow you to get between and remove some of the roughness. Feel free to upload an image so I can advise a little better. 5mm is pretty huge though, so the prongs may just be really thick making it hard to use.

Hi Gavin, I hope you're doing better. Agreed, leather tooling isn't really a thing here, even in other parts of europe. Tooling seems to be very much a US thing, mostly stemming from American saddlery. Beautiful work though, keep it up!

Hi Widian. The early courses are technique based, covering hand stitching, cutting, skiving, sharpening, edge finishing, gluing, etc. They show you each technique which is broken down step by step. The project courses are also a step by step process, starting at the beginning with tools and materials, then going through the process to the finished product. If you have any follow up questions, please let me know. Philip

That's interesting. When I tried solvent-free contact adhesive it just sat on the surface and didn't stick well. Nothing absorbed into the surface, let alone went through to the other side

Hey Colin, nice work indeed! Those cigar cases are particularly good. It's amazing how some of us stumble upon this craft isn't it? Welcome to the forum, I hope you gain some real value from it. Philip

Sorry for such a late reply, I guess I didn't get the notification. I haven't seen Viledon so porous that any glue would go through to the other side. So I looked for it online and I found Viledon for sale that looks NOTHING like the Viledon I purchased in the past: https://www.schmedt.com/viledon-nonwoven-made-of-100-polyester/27741000.B I don't know what's going on here, RM Leather Supply are obviously selling the real deal, but this is not the product I know. For this reason I would no longer recommend it. This is the stuff I know, it is not porous and has an almost plastic sheet feel to it: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/793033460/20inch-sheets-velodon-reinforcement-non Strangely, there are two spellings, Viledon and Velodon, this may be where the confusion is coming from?

I have experimented with using acrylic paints and flexible adhesives. PVA glue and solvent free contact adhesive being two additives that worked well. In all cases I found the edge paint to go lighter coloured when scratched, unlike commercial edge paints. It seems the powder pigment in acrylic paints is a bit too chalky, I'm guessing from the mattifiers added to prevent it from being shiny on paper, and perhaps fillers to prevent shrinkage. If a gloss acrylic paint exists, this may solve the issue. In my tests I used acrylic artist paint, *your adhesive here*, and distilled water to obtain the viscosity I wanted.

I like it! It shows great potential. I agree with @ffzanchetta. Here are some other ideas too: * The leather wrap around the handle could be stitched tighter to avoid creasing * The chapes would do better with reinforcement on the inside. If I can see it's not reinforced, they too would look neater stitched a little tighter around the brass loop. * That brass loops could do with being smaller to match the width of the handle and the bag attachments. * The lining would benefit from being sewn to the leather around the hinge point to prevent seeing the bag flesh side at that point. Still, great job!

I don't currently have Fenice so I can't really do a comparison. I believe it is a little thinner than Uniters as standard. If you have access to Fenice at a good price, there's probably no reason to use Uniters. I would happily use both. Fenice was fine from what I remember when I used it some years back.

Beautiful work Dave! I love that little shoulder pad, nice and slim. The alternating stitches look cool too.