Sup Gang,
I'm considering slot/french/european style punches in place for my current diamond japanese punches. The main reason I'm considering it is because with the diamond punches, the top stitch has a varied look depending on how thick the leather is. The best most angled stitching I get is from thicker leather, 3+mm. At or below that, the top-side for some reason just looks flat and sterile instead of nice and angled. The back side cast stitching always looks great however.
My primary money maker is weightlifting belts and accessories, but my wallets and smaller goods are getting more popular. I'm interested in the equivalent to my 4mm punch. I understand different irons are labelled differently, some measure from the end of one stitch to the beginning of the next, and others, like mine, are from the center of one stitch to the center of the next. I would love something like that so I can use my current existing templates.
My hesitation with purchasing slot punches has always been that I prefer heavier thread (MBT no. 1 w/4mm, and no. 0 w/5mm), and slots are thin and hard to shove the needle and thread through, which is just annoying. Does anyone know of slots large enough to get this thread through with relative ease?
I'm looking at WUTA and Kevin Lee as my main options but dont know if they'll handle the thread. Do I need a new awl as well?
A lot of questions I know, but thanks to anyone in advance willing to drop me their 2 cents!
Update: Kevin Lee irons are incredible and im super happy
Hi,
So I can give you my experience using 3.85 cheap Chinese Irons to make a 12mm thick power lifting belt with a lever buckle.
I knew ahead of time that there was no way to punch all the way through so I marked my as deep as possible ( maybe 3-4mm deep) and then used an awl the rest of the way. I found that 3.85mm Irons with 18/3 ( .55mm) worked quite well. I would recommend the Kevin Lee Irons with the caveat that you still will probably need an awl at some point. Another issue to take into account is that it might be worth your while to invest in a 20-30 tooth iron due to the lengths your going to be marking on a regular basis. I think the time and consistency that it will give you could be worth it.
Hope this helps
Thank you @Maru Tuchi and @Fadi for the recommendations. Thankfully I have really thin needles as well as Vinymo No.5 to try out thinner styles. I bought the Kevin Lee 4mm french style 8+2 tooth, with french awl as well. I'll update when they get here.
Hey mate.
I agree with @Maru Tuchi , if you use them europeans irons, try to go for a thinner thread.
That being said, I have what you need :)
When i first started, I was using Japanese Chisels in European style, They give you angled slits, but are big enough for up to 1mm thread.
These are it: https://www.goodsjapan.com/seiwa-european-leather-stitching-chisel-leathercraft-pricking-iron-tool-6x4mm-1901-p.asp
They have them in 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm and 2, 4 or 6 teeth.
They give you a bit of a rougher look than pricking irons, mostly because of hole dimension and thread size, but I think this is the closest you will get to what you are looking for.
These items were all made using the 4mm chisels and 8mm Tiger Thread (I know, i know Phil, sorryyyy):
@northliftbelts
I am not an expert but, in my humble opinion, if you decide to start using french style irons (that are not chisels, actually) you should use also some thread and needles according to those irons. Maybe it is a good excuse to try new things!! 🎉
European style irons, I think, will not measure exactly the same stitch size as a diamond chisel, since they don’t have points in the center of each teeth. So perhaps you may have to modify your patterns a little bit to fit the new stitching.
And you gang, can correct me if I say something wrong!!!
❤️