Sharpening a Skiving Knife
Sharpening a skiving knife in working order: read the bevel, flatten the back, climb the grits to a burr, strop with care, then prove it on scrap leather.
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Spirit Dye or Oil Dye
Spirit dye and oil dye sound like opposites. Read the safety sheet and both turn out to ride on alcohol. What the labels mean and where the oil comes from.
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Stitching Pony or Clamp
A stitching pony, a saddler’s clam or a stitching horse all do one job, hold the leather so both hands can sew. Which to buy, and who each one really suits.
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Rotary Punch or Drive Punch for Strap Holes
A rotary punch squeezes, a drive punch takes a mallet. Which one belongs on a thick leather strap, why sharpness matters more, and where the rotary still wins.
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Bridle Leather vs. Vegetable-Tanned: What the Difference Means in Your Hands
Bridle leather is a kind of vegetable-tanned leather, but not all veg-tan is bridle. What the extra work adds, how each feels and ages, and how to choose between them.
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Inside the Chouara Tannery: Lime, Pigeon Droppings and a Month in the Vats
Inside Fez’s Chouara tannery: a lime and pigeon-dropping soak, a month of natural dyeing, and the artisans who still run the process by hand. Two 2026 reports, and where they disagree.
