Oh please leave my money alone ! 😬

Tool geek alert !!! X-) They look smart and sharp ! Price seems good considering you get both obverse and reverse. I could give them a try.

To avoid multiplication of post on shoe making, this one is pretty cool to : https://youtu.be/KE8fhKoRNbU LV shoe. Almost seems easy !

@Philip thanks Philip, let’s now make it look the same on the field 😬

All right here is what I'm getting with a little fine tuning (on approx two layers of goat - total thickness around 0-8-1mm) - that should do for the next projects : Cast, minimal tension, orange is poly, white is linen, both at 0,35mm.

The way that master is cutting around that intricate patterns.... Insane.

Was not even following him..... thank you for sharing !! That guy is great !

Hi ! currently using Option 2 or 3. Two if the leather is strong enough (thick / hard) to be able to « press » both edges together during glueing. I found with option 2 that it is also important to glue where the two slots touch and take care to press them together so that the leather will not gap later. Works well on vegtan (can be done with buttero all the way up to 0,6mm). I use option 3 on softer / thinner leather like 0,5mm goat or soft chromed tan leather. You need to do some intricate skiving. Usually I averlap 5mm (which might be too much) and skive both part to a feather edge (tricky in the visible side !). here is a pic of a crappy prototype : I always end up with a very little bump. It’s not a worry for me... it is like a proof of great care taken to durability :-) and it is not a big deal if you’re painting the edge. If burnishing I prefer Option 2.

That zipper template is truely a good idea ! Not and easy project ! Good lucK !

Thank you very much for helping ! Ahah exactly what I did this afternoon ! Run like 15 lines of stitch changing one parameter at a time like casting / no casting, thread, spi, tension, how I tension etc. Turns up I get the best result by casting and reduce the tension to the strict minimum. I get decent results at 8spi with my ks punches. My 10 spi are more diamond shaped from kevinlee - they are truely amazing on thicker leather (on which they behave like perfect european kind) but you need to punch harder to get a proper exit hole (not a dot) and that seems not to really work with goat. So right now I’m here : - stick to European pricking irons (even if I only have 8 spi which still looks fine on bifolds i’m working on) - 0,35mm poly thread or even 632 linen works just fine - cast and ease a lot on thread tension - keep practice a lot because it really seems that I’m just out of my confort zone (which was actually what I was looking for lol) I have never use salpa.... I need to give a closer look into reinforcements options.

Very very interesting, thank you for sharing. Where are you going to use the Texon ?

I buy most of my leather online actually where I can have access to large inventories and splitting services... it worth shipping and even tax to me... But I decided to find more local sources for 2019 and to play more with thinner leathers, widely available and very close the french craft culture (goat, lamb, kid...). I will share whenever I got good information here. I’m currently in contact with a Channel supplier and will soon test their leathers. In Paris you can go to Relma for a large choice of more or less expensive vegan goatskins (high end bookbinding shop supply) or Chadefaux for bovins hides.

Not double but more expensiveyes (you get much more length) - 15€ is very good even without tax. A 632 usually runs around 29€

In France a 832 cable is approx 35€ for 50g / 375m. Seems expensive but it’s a lot of good thread ! I buy French and Italian leather from the us on my side ! A bit odd as you say...

Hi Philip ! thank you ! My plan is actually to enjoy some time off at the beginning of the year to find out more about leather shops in Paris. I think that moving onto goat leather might be a good idea in the long term (love it and might be more available). Will let you know for sure !! Regarding tools, I think I will end up with a ton of VB probably sold as the very best made in France tools money can get... Eprose is another high end / crazy high prices Gucci tools brand I know but to be honest I don’t think you can beat internet with all the ultra high quality and affordable tools you can get (customized to your needs) :-) I would be more than happy to know more / see a few pics of that pricking press as I have been thinking to build one but never really took time to figure out how to properly clamp that iron on it !

The English style Blanchard is fine as long as like Philip said you know how to sharpen it first. The steel used is not harder than soda can metal but is very easy to sharpen, strop and get really sharp. So it’s ok if like me you are not in high volume skiving and can strop every two or three skives. You can get the exact same one in HSS steel from china toolmakers (very nice ones) at a lower price. Will be sharper and stay like that longer....