Thimbles and Palm Guards for Hand Stitching
Thimbles, sewing palms, finger cots, tape and pliers for hand stitching leather: which part of the hand each one protects, and what it costs you in feel.
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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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Fixing a Cracked Flap Fold
The fold where a briefcase flap turns over is where leather cracks first. What goes wrong at each step of the repair, and when the flap needs remaking.
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Cutting a Clean Circle in Leather
A circle is the shape leather shows up worst. Choosing punch, knife or circle cutter, marking a centre with no hole, light passes, and finishing the edge.
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Keeping Hand Oil and Glue Off Light Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Natural veg-tan keeps every fingerprint and every drop of glue that misses. Where the marks happen during a project, how to stop them, and what not to try.
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Edge Paint or Burnished Edges
A burnish closes the leather and paint covers it. The case for burnishing thick bridle edges, what paint costs in time, and the edges where paint wins.
