Stitches per inch?

[Slowhand Bob]

Guys, I am sure this will vary greatly between the hand sewers and the machine users but what are your most used stitch lengths in various thickness's of leather.  I can say that my stitch lengths have really shrunk since moving to a machine, gee I wonder why!  When I look at some of my old hand sewn projects, I actually like their appearance more, as it relates to the stitching.  Machine stitches are very neat but they lack that little something extra, should I say soul, that I used to get when using heavier threads spaced longer.  The black holsters with the white thread, I posted recently, is what drove this home for me.  That contrast was just plain more attractive with hand stitching, though it was much harder to keep the thread clean looking while hand stitching.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

I agree Bob, Cowboy WC, taught me the same thing when I first started, and I like the hand stitched look much better, even though some of the stitching with some of the better machines looks great, the boldness of the hand stitch just stands out.

          tEN wOLVES 

[onegunred]

Okay, how many per inch.

[TexasToby]

I usually put 6 or sometimes 7 per inch.

[Bugscuffle]

I usually put 6 or sometimes 7 per inch.

Yes, 6 or 7 is probably a good average, but it really depends on the weight of the thread and the leather that you are sewing. I use a lot lighter thread and closer stitching to sew a light backing to a leather belt and very heavy thread spaced out out to 4/inch for the welt of a hiolster.

[ChuckBurrows]

Okay, how many per inch.

Todays standard is 5-6 SPI with 5 cord linen thread or the equivalent in polyester/nylon

Period holsters and other gun gear on the other hand were often 8-12 SPI using 3 cord linen (18/3 for 8-9 SPI and 25/3 for 10-12 SPI) or the equivalent in hemp or silk - this takes a fine awl and finer needles along with the finer thread, but if you're interested in making actual replicas of originals it's the "right" way to go...

[Camano Ridge]

Where do you find the fine awl blade? The smallest awl I have still looks to big to me. I have a customer now that wnats a authenticaly correct holster and wants the stitching to look like it does on a holster in Packing iron.

[Cliff Fendley]

You don't need to stick them in all the way but I'd like to find some smaller ones myself. I've taken the smallest Osborne ones I can get and grind them down smaller.

I generally do 7 thread per inch on holsters I want to look period. Sometimes widen to 6 on the toe plug area since the inside of the toe plug will have them much closer.

[ChuckBurrows]

1) take a good CS Osborne blade and file/grind it down - that's how I do mine or I make them from scratch - Allen wrenches are good source of material and can be re-hardened
2) Buy one of Bob Douglas's fine blades from Sheridan Leather - not cheap but excellent
3) You'll need a stitch wheel or pricking iron for the finer stitches as well - Sheridan sometimes has them in there vintage tool section or you can check with Bruce Johnson, Proleptic, on EBay, or one of the other vintage tool sources. McMillen Leather Tools in Sunrise Beach, MO makes and sell new ones for a good price as well.

[Camano Ridge]

Thanks for the help. I know I don't have to push them allthe way through but with the ones Ive got even pushing them just until the tip starts to poke out the other side leaves a bigger hole then I want on the side I began the hole on. I have an 8 and a 10 overstitch wheel. Bruce Johnson does currently have 8 through 12 on his site I think they are around $45.00 brucejohnsonleather.com/content/index.php/leather_tools_for_sale/

I do have a couple of extra awl blades I will probably take one of those and narrow it down a bit.

[Trailrider]

Consider this: Most original holsters, especially military holsters of the 19th Century, use tarred linen thread that wasn't much thicker than coat & button thread, at 10 stitches per inch. And if you have looked at most of these originals, when the leather and the thread dry out, the thread breaks and if the leather has dried out, the seam unzips like a roll of postage stamps! 
Almost all of my customers would like their holsters and accoutrement to last more than a couple of years. I utilize synthetic (nylon or polyester) #207 thread (3-cord) to sew linings to the outer layer of the holster body, and #277 (4 cord) for the main seams. I sew them 6-1/2 to 7 stitches per inch. From five feet away most folks can't tell the difference. I pre-punch main seam holes in the welt using my TSC-441 or, in some instances, pre-drill the holes using a #56 drill. I hand stitch using a Landis machine hook (open eye needle) in a hand haft.

BTW, I state the use of the synthetic thread, and number of stitches per inch, so that anyone who is an absolute stickler for duplication of the old stuff will not cry foul.  But I have had no complaints from my customers in the last 37 years of professional custom leather work.