questions-thread, cement

[paul harm]

i've looked at old threads-no help. on thread- is all thread always waxed? in tandys catalog there is " waxed nyltex thread"- is this good for sheaths and do you still have to wax it? i use an awl and blunt needles to sew- correct or not? is their waxed linen thread good[ doesn't have a thread count] ? next- on swivel knives- they list 5- is one better than another [ adjustable ?] ? on cements-i've always used tandy leather weld [ good or not?]. should i be using rubber cement or contact cement [ and when would either of the two be used ]? and last- what is the pros and cons on using their: fiebing blam atom wax, saddle lac spray, acryylic resolene finish, or tandys super shene? on page 63 of their #141 catalog they have enough finishes to give me a headache. hope i didn't ask too many questions, but was going to make an order and was hoping for some help so as i don't end up with a bunch of stuff i wouldn't use . thanks for any help. paul

[Chuck Burrows]

Thread - hmmm strange that nothing showed up as I've discussed it a few timer here and also in my stitching tutorial.
Anyway all thread is not the same. Yes I am prejudiced but that prejudice is based on 40+ years of handsewing and yes I have used nylon thread.

Personally I use only unwaxed linen thread and wax it myself - better control that way and it makes it easier to dye the thread before waxing. My preferred brand of thread is Barbour's Red Hand Linen - available from Mid-Continent Leather supply (800) 926-2061 - they are in Coweta, OK. My preference for general sewing is the 5 cord left hand twist. Now it runs about $35.00 for 1079 yards but that will last most folks a LOOOONG time. I have a skein I've been working on now for at least three years and I sew huge amounts by most standards - lined belts, holsters, etc. all which use large amounts of thread and I am not stingy with thread. I still have about 1/3 of that skein. I also use 3 cord for finer sewing such as around inlays. I have never used Tandy's waxed linen (it's 5 cord BTW) so I can't offer an opinion as to quality - but most prewaxed thread is over waxed in my experience and it is hard to dye as well. Now I use linen for two reasons - one most of my stuff is historically based and synthetics area no no. Secondly I like it better than anything else.

Glue - again I've never used the leather weld so I don't have an opinion. For general use Contact Cement is used - there is a place for rubber cement in leather craft but not much for sheaths and holsters and such. I've tried just about every brand of contact cement on the market and ANY OF THE QUALITY BRANDS work just fine. I have been suing the Tandy?LF Tanners BOnd brand for a couple of years now and like it even better than Barge - the most commonly suggested brand for leather (Barge was originally formulated for the show industry by the way). I've found that Tanner's Bond doesn't dissipate as fast as Barge and it is much cheaper. (that Scot's blood ya know!) In a recent conversation with the Sultan of Cow - Sandy M - we actually discussed this and he said that he uses Weldwood Contact Cement which is available at any hardware store. One thing - no matter what brand you use get the matching thinner - when your glue starts getting sort of thick and stringy thin it! My favorite trick is to use two glue cans - one can is half filled with thinner and you store your brush in it. This keeps your brush clean and unloaded with extra glue. Remove the brush from the thinner - wipe it off on an old cloth - and then dip in the can of glue just enough to load the hairs of the brush. Nice thing is that it not only helps prevent drips but about the time the glue needs to be thinned the thinner has built up a load of extra glue. Dump the thinner into your glue to thin it and refresh the thinner can with clean thinner.

For finishes I use mostly either Leather Balm w/Atom Wax or even more so recently Bag Kote which gives the best satin finish of all the commercial finishes available. Tan Kote is another good satin finish. Atom wax is a great edge finish and also its good for smoothing the flesh side. It's not particularly water resistant though so finish with a top coat of one of the others.
Of the others Saddle Lac/Neat Lac I have used for sealing the INSIDE but do not like them as a top coat - being a lacquer essentially they scratch and mar fairly easily/quickly and the finish looks like crap in no time and it is hard to refinish without completely stripping the piece of old finish.

Resolene and Super Shene are basically the same finish - proprietary names - and give a high shine finish. This is the type of finish Sandy uses so hopefully he will pipe up and give his advice on it.

Hoepfully this helps - bottomline is to really decide what you like best - try them all - get a four ounce bottle when possible and give it a try.

[paul harm]

thanks for the reply- you're problably right on other threads, sorry there [ was going a little loony looking at old threads and was on the computer so long that day the wife was bugging me]. that answered my questions. paul

[Fox Creek]

The cement thinners sold under the same brand names as the contact cements are way over priced, as are the rubber cement thinners. You can buy a gallon of XYLOL at Lowe's for way less and it works dandy. Xylol is intermediate between Acetone and Mineral spirits in evaporation rate. (I used to work in an art supply store, and we sold the quarts of Bestine brand rubber cement and the Bestine Cement thinner. Way over priced. no, make that astronomically overpriced. The sign supply shops sell a pure white latex in solvent base as a block out filler for silk screens. It thins with mineral spirits. I always wondered if it would make a good adhesive.

[Chuck Burrows]

Richard - it depends on which glue - when using Barge I tried several other types of thinners and all of them made a HUGE mess. With the Tanners bond the thinner is pretty reasonable at wholesale prices anyway. I'll try the Xylol though and see how it works.

Actually I have used the latex base contact cements for cementing in liners in such things as saddle bags - two advantages a longer tack time and MUCH less odor. Tried the latex based for glueing sheaths together and it didn't work as well or as quickly as the "reg'lar" stuff.