I have ordered a set of Abbey England Saddlers Clam and wanted to get some feedback about customizing. I would like to add leather to the ends of the clams. What is the best way to do it.
1. What type & weight leather?
2. Is is OK to dye the leather or leave natural?
3. How much of the clam should I cover?
4. Anything else that I have missed?
Thanks and hope you all are doing well.
Hello,
1- I personally wrap mine with goat skin with the flesh side out because it gives an excellent grip to the leather i am stitching.
Weight between 1 and 1.6mm, and a mid to soft temper. I had a problem once with a firm leather actually marking my stitched leather on the edges
2- For me, either natural or a leather that was dyed at the factory. Never a leather you died yourself, because if there is a 0.1% chance that you did not seal the surface to perfection, then at some point you are going to have some rub off on the project you are stitching.
3- There is not rule, as long as the part that grips the leather is covered, the rest is pure aesthetic. Whatever looks good for you is what you should go for :)
4- Phil has an excellent tutorial on how to level up these bad boys :)