I am wondering what is a good source for good leatherworking tools. I need at least and edger, groover, and a punch.

Thanks,

John Frankl

www.leatherfactory.com

John-
Some of the best quality leather tools are made and sold by Jeremiah Watt (http://www.ranch2arena.com). Siegel (http://www.siegelofca.com) carries the Jos Dixon line of tools which are made in England. Weaver Leather's Master series is top of the line also, but you now have to have a resale ####### to buy from them. All of these lines are pricey, but if you can handle the tariff it is worth it.

Both Tandy (http://www.tandyleather.com)and Leather Factory carry Osbornes tools which are good and at about 1/2 the price. The cutting edges on the punches need to be sharpened and polished.

Depending on what and how much you are going to use the tools check out Tandy's Craftsman line. I have some of these that are 30+ years old and going strong. For an edger try their #1 and #2. The groover they sell (not the big one it's for saddle work mainly) is OK also. BTW their Handstitching Kit is on sale all of December for only $19.99 a good buy.

I personally don't like Leather Factory's economy Midas line. Most of the things I have tried were not worth it and I have heard lots of other experienced leather smith's say the same.

Hope this helps-
Chuck

PS There are other makers of fine tools, but these are ones I have had personal experience with.

John,as a beginner. I would resist the temptation to purchase the higher quality of stamps as they are extemely pricey and have a resale value of practically nothing. (This is thrown in just in case you should loose the enchantment of leather crafting!) Working with leather is sort of like the game of golf. Your skill level will not improve by purchasing new clubs or new tooling stamps. It just gives you more incentitive to try harder in order to justify the expense. I would be willing to bet that if I handed Chuck Burrows a handful of twenty penny nails, a couple of parrallel line files (Checkering), a chain saw file and some needle files and sandpaper that in less than three hours he would have a creditable amount of stamps. What he could do with this rudimentary start would blow your mind. There is absolutely nothing that can supplant experience coupled with the desire to excell. I believe that I make over 90% of my stamps as I know the impressions I am looking for. I make them out of hex head stainless steel bolts in 5/16" shaft with 4 to 4 1/2" shaft free of threads. Cut off the threads and you have your basic stamp. The shaping of the head comes next along with the necessary file work to achieve the impression you desire. I do not expect you or anyone else to jump into this in the beginning but it is something to look forward to as your skills increase. I find it to be a very satisfying alternative to tooling the leather and is a personal source of pride. But I digress from the original posting of where to buy tools--- Go to E-bay and bring up the crafts sections and enter search for leather working tools. On any given day there is probably in excess of 80 entries and the prices seem to be quite reasonable. As a rule, there is a short description of what is being sold. Beware---! leather craft is addictive!!!!

Listen up John that is the voice of experience speaking.

In so far as making my own stamps I'm sure I haven't made as many as Sandy. In fact a lot of mine are old Craft Tool stamps (Tandy Leather amongst others still sells them) that I have been using since the 1960's. Also I don't have a lot of stamps like some. I know some folks that have thousands! I'd spend all day just trying to decide which ones to use. For my own stamp work, which is heavily influenced by early Spanish/Moroccan styles, I think in terms of a painter who uses a limited palette of colors and just use what I have in various combinations to get the effect I want.
As for knives and awls and such I do recommend the best you can afford, but just like most beginners I started out with the el cheapos and graduated up as I went along.
To demonstrate that fine tooling can be done with very little check out the pouch in the following picture.
http://wrtcleather.com/1_forums/dirk_grip.jpg
The entire thing was made with eight tools. I used a craft knife for cutting everything out, a hammer, an awl, and a pair of needles to construct it with. The tooling was all done with four tools: This is not incised carving, but rather it's embossed by using only two differnt shaped $5.00 modeling spoons from Tandy. The back ground was done using a couple of 16 penny sinkers. These are the kind of spikes that have the dimpled head. I just cut off the sharp tip of the nail and then smacked the head against an anvil a couple of times to dull the dimples which were too sharp. I then took a file and shaped one into a small oval to fit the tights places.
This isn't to toot my own horn, it's just to demonstrate that you can do a LOT with very little.
BTW I still have those 16penny backgrounders and use them now and again. They give an effect like no commercial tool I'ver ever seen.

Chuck

PS Sandy IF you ever decide to retire I'd like to be first in line for your handmade stamps, if you haven't already promised them. I know they would be a great joy to work with,

I figure I've got enough back orders (and future) to keep me so busy I would not dare quit, retire or die. However, as time drifts by, you can keep reminding me of this simple and reasonable request. You might get lucky, my friend---