Hand Stitching, venting!

[amin ledbetter]

Well I started stitching up my Wild Bunch Holster tonight. Are you supposed to bleed?

Yes I poked myself with a threading awl.    But I did get it stitched up. Fellas, that is a lot harder than one might think. I guess the hardest part for me was getting the holes through the leather. I caught the edge of my thumb while pushing one through. The awl gave me a work out. Is it possible to drill the holes?    I thought I read somewhere on here that someone did theirs that way. Man it was a rough trying to push them through. I might try and drill em next time if it's possible. 

[Gun Butcher]

Amin, I always use a drill on anything over 5-6 oz leather. The tough part is matching up your holes and keeping them straight when you are drilling.

[Dalton Masterson]

Amin, is your awl polished and sharp? I build holsters out of 9-10 oz, and easily push thru the 2 layers using a slight twist back and forth motion.
I also nicked my thumb the other day, but no blood. It happens. You learn for a week or two, then do it again......

DM

[amin ledbetter]

Amin, is your awl polished and sharp? I build holsters out of 9-10 oz, and easily push thru the 2 layers using a slight twist back and forth motion.
I also nicked my thumb the other day, but no blood. It happens. You learn for a week or two, then do it again......

DM

It sure seemed sharp when it nicked my thumb!   

I purchased a C.S Osborne and Company awe for $16.00 at the local leather shop. It appeared to be the nicest one in the lot that matched up close to the needle size I had in my stitching awl. While pushing it through the leather I actually bent it. I straightened it back out and did finish up with it though. I am using about a 8-9oz piece of leather. Leather must be from a pretty tough cow!!!    What's the best way to sharpen this awl DM?

[Dalton Masterson]

Is it a diamond shaped one?
Mine is an old vintage one that has a blade about 1" long or so. That makes it very stiff, and easy to control. If you can take the blade out of yours, you might be able to cut the back off some to shorten it.

It was kind of rusty when I got it, so I used a set of diamond hones, and polished all 4 sides of it to get rid of the pits. Glad I sit in an office all day.... Once I had it fairly polished, I used a piece of canvas coated with red rouge, and just rubbed the dickens out of it, to get it mirror brite.
Then I stropped it like mad, and strop it after I use it to keep it shiny and sharp. I also poke it in a block of beeswax as I use it to help go thru the leather easy.

Be careful when you polish them tho, to keep the angles and not make an oval shaped awl. Mine was pretty bad when I got it, so it needed some extreme work.
DM

[Dave Cole]

I use a drill press, but I punch the holes rather drilling.I sharpen the shank end of a drill bit, chuck it upside down and with the press running I punch the holes.It doesn't tear the leather up this way and burnishes the hole.The holes seal up somewhat as well.This is especially important with Mexican Basketweave lacing as it should use round holes which might go as big as 5/32".I made small table with UHMW plastic on it to fit in my vise.I then use some 1" x 4" either flat or notched for the beltloop to use as a backer and to keep the seam flat.Your holes come out much straighter this way as well.Dave 

[Dave Cole]

Forgot to add that Oxalic acid is great for removing blood stains  .Don't ask me how I know  hahahahaha   Dave

[Dalton Masterson]

Thats a good idea, Dave.
A press could even be used not running to push a regular awl blade thru too, if that was your choice. Might look into that.
DM

[GunClick Rick]

SKIN THAT"N PILGRIM AND I"LL BRING YA ANOTHER!!

[amin ledbetter]

That is a good set up DC!  I gotta drill press, I might as well us it. LEt me make sure I understand how you use the wood you have pictured in your post. Are you using the wood to hold the leather down ( on top of the leather ) sandwiching it between the UHMW and wood, then drilling through the wood then through the leather?

[Dave Cole]

No, the wood is under the leather to act as a backin. The plastic is to help slide the wood around on, quite a bit slicker than the steel table,so you don't drill it.Just lay the seam to be punched on the edge of the wood and leave the curved part of the holster or sheath hanging off the edge.The will keep your stitchs going straight and not on an angle.That's why I have a bunch of pieces of wood cut with different size notches, for various size beltloops.Dave  

Dalton, yes I know several makers that use an awl in the chuck and just punch it, works well and speeds up things.
If you still have trouble,go to my website and you can give me a call.

[Kid Terico]

I use a very small straight sided . not tapered punch and pre mark each hole. Takes a very long time but gives you a better finished hole than drilling. Its makes a 5/64 hole. I had it custom made fore me.

[GunClick Rick]

Dang good pro tip right there..

[ChuckBurrows]

read this - it should help: http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_leatherstitch.html

in addition:
1) Mirror POLISH the awl blade - if you want the best awl blade made buy one from Bob Douglas - tain't cheap but you get what you pay for...
2) Keep a chunk of beeswax handy, it it get hard to punch through stick the blade in the wax
3) Make a backer for pushing against the back side of the leather when using the awl - I glue three layers of 8/10 oz together - size about two to three inches square. Grind the edges smooth and press the edge not the smooth face of the square against the back side as you punch your holes through - keeps the blood flow down. By making it square you've got four edges to use, when it gets too sloppy from all the holes punched in it grind the edges down - repeat until it gets too small to use then make another one........

[Slowhand Bob]

Chuck also does a great job of illustrating heavy duty stitching in his videos.  In particular his method for punching through the main seam of a holster in two steps rather than one is gold.  I believe I have the source right, he pre punched the top heavy layer before gluing and then completed the through punch, with mallet, after the glue set.  Am I right about this one Chuck??

[Antipaladin]

What Chuck said.    

I use either the leather square backing (freehand) or a dowel of wood, hollowed out with
leather inside topped with wax. (using the pony)  Keeping the tip waxed with every punch sure helps
it slide through heavy leather. Not to mention a drastic reduction in random profanity from jamming
a razor sharp awl into my left thumb. If you're going to do any significant amount of hand sewing, take
his advice and get one of Bob's awl blades. I did about 4 hours of hand stitching last night using two
layers of heavy stirrup leather. A sharpened, polished Douglass blade slides through easily. Grooving
the flesh side slightly gives you a good guide for the blade. His awl itself is great too...not the
cheapest but worth every penny.

[GunClick Rick]

Amazing

[Judge Lead]

Why not use a cork from the wine bottle. This will work as per the leather squares and you can push the awl into it to protect you AND the blade when not in use. When it gets a little rough around the edges, or in the middle, drink another bottle. Ample supplies abound.

Regards

[amin ledbetter]

Why not use a cork from the wine bottle. This will work as per the leather squares and you can push the awl into it to protect you AND the blade when not in use. When it gets a little rough around the edges, or in the middle, drink another bottle. Ample supplies abound.

Regards

Cork!! That is an awesome idea! I can buy Cork squares at Micheal's Crafts Store. A wine bottle would be a great source for it as well. Wine is always good to have around. You always need wine, to ease the pain after stabbin yourself. 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I picked up a 2 1/2" rubber ball from the pet store. After cutting a flat on one side, it works great to back up the awl.