If you don't own stones you could use sandpaper* on plate glass/flat granite. This is often called "scary sharp" - (although on a long enough timeline, you may spend up more on sandpaper than you would water stones, it's definitely cheaper if you're just starting out). It's definitely worth noting though: Grits on Japanese water stones are not 1:1 with sandpaper. King's 1000 grit stone is about 800 grit CAMI (USA), F500 / P1500 (EU). A 6000 grit water stone is about 1500 grit sandpaper. "Grits" are industry standards, so vary between countries and applications; however, you can do a decent job converting them because ultimately they're referring to the particle size of the abrasive, which can be expressed in microns. *generally "abrasive films" are higher quality than sandpaper. If you're more experienced/daring and are willing to go down to lower grits for initial grinding/flattening, the blue sanding belts are made of a longer-lasting abrasive.
Thank you VERY much for creating this video, as well as all your other videos. They are VERY helpful, well done, and informative. I am just starting in leather craft, and have learned a great deal from you. I like to buy Japanese tools, and it is wonderful to find someone who makes such detailed videos on Japanese tools and how to use them. I will now watch part two! Thank you!
Hello Ted, Thanks for the sincere comment. I appreciate your words. I talk a lot and some people don't like it. I just do what I love. Thanks for watching my videos! :)
After polishing both pricking irons and lacing irons dip the teeth into a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil goes into the leather and pulls out a lot easer , Also saves a lot of distortion as well .Well done on the polishing
Great tutorial man! Just getting started in leathercraft and I keep getting my pricking irons stuck in thicker leather... I believe this will help a lot!
In my experience, with lesser irons, you have to polish the interior sides of the tines as well. I use 500 wet dry sandpaper, then 1000 wet dry sandpaper wrapped around something thin and flat. I've used popsicle sticks, and am able to get between both tines and sand both surfaces at once. Have also used a very thing piece of stainless steel. Really, it is a real pain in the butt. My pocket knife has a titanium coating that is SUPER low friction, I wish stitching irons were thusly coated. NEWAY, THANKS!
You already know a good way! that is very good way of sharpening and polish the inside of the teeth. I used that method and get quite a good result. However, if beginner tries to do it, they are more likely to ruin the irons. What pocket knives with titanium coating are you using? and what steel? I love pocket knives too.
I use a Kershaw Volt II, it is a $20 knife! We have no discretionary income, so we have no luxuries like quality steel! But the upside of the softer Chinese steel is that a few strokes on the strop and it is laser sharp again. The benefit of being a leather shop is that we have plenty of sharpening technology at hand! Also of note, I lOVE the speedsafe flipper of the Kershaws. This may be illegal where you live though (where do you live, I've always wondered?). But it is SO easy to deploy the knife. Previously I used a knife with a thumb stud which was okay to deploy. But the Speed Safe flipper is just so fast and convenient. I would like to use a knife with higher quality steel. Maybe a Kizer on some type of discount would be reasonable for me, but I don't think I can go back to a normal deployment knife. I recommend trying out a cheap Kershaw with Speed Safe, if it is not illegal where you live. You may curse the steel, but you will love flipping out that blade!
Very good, thanks Is it necessary to do sharping with all these three devices ? and may I ask you whats the name of yellow stone and the green device that you used after that?
The green device is a leather strop. Very simply, it's a piece of veg tan leather glued to a piece of wood. What makes it green is the honing compound you rub on the leather before the final step in sharpening, which is stropping. The green is a general purpose compound (and is absolutely fine to use). But, if you can find it, there is also the white sharpening compound that is used by jewelers. The sharpening stones he's using are Japanese water stones. They work differently from the western version of sharpening stones but the principle of going from rough stone to smoother and smoother stones is the same. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I left it rough for reason. Most people will ruin the teeth grind attempting to smooth it out. There is a way to do it with different tools. The effect is little better
More of a stitching chisel than a pricking iron, isnt it…? Seriously not trying to be a duck, or to be that guy… but I was taught there’s a difference. Stitching chisels, like these (I have a set of these btw) are meant to punch thru the work allowing needles to pass thru with min effort, easily stitching the work. Where as a pricking iron is just meant to pierce, or prick, the surface. Mostly just to mark the location for each stitch, similar to am over stitcher, meant to be a guide for someone using an awl to punch each hole for your needles as you go…you should never see daylight after picking up a pricking iron. Just marked for traditional awl stitching. Forgive me if I’ve been lead astray and failed in my effort to inform, instead only serving to bring confusion. Btw, when running your tools on a whet stone by pulling them in the direction they’ll be pulled to remove the tools in use, I generally would strop by pushing in the opposite direction. I would maybe even look at swapping the two motions and using a push in the direction of the tools intended use, then stropping by pulling , or an “out stroke”. Generally try to use an opposite motion to strop so as to remove the resulting bur you worked so hard to roll up on the stone. As mentioned, cleaning out between each prong is very important. Leaving extra trash in there will mean sure hang ups in your work. I even use small strips of sand paper folded over a thin flat piece of wood or scrapers or tooling implements, something. Just make sure it’s flat so you aren’t rounding anything over. Get that coating off there and slick those sides up. It’ll make a world of difference. F working with particularly thick or troublesome materials, or glue is grabbing your tools, I keep some bees wax in a little jar lid and poke the prongs into it now n then to help keep them moving. And I took a small piece of med gauge mild steel about 3x4 ish or so and cut a channel long ways like 1/8” wider than the thickness of the chisels so if they ever really get stuck i; there hood, you don’t have to risk bending or screwing anything up, just lay that plate down slide it over so it’s wrapped around the tool stuck in the leather, push down on the metal so everything gets even pressure and you’re not tearing your work apart but you can hold down the leather around the stuck tool and more easily pull it out clean. Just a thought. Sorry for rambling on.
Highly Recommend King combination stone 1000/6000 : amzn.to/2NcDFgy
All of my recommended lists are here: www.amazon.com/shop/leathertoolz
I know Im kind of randomly asking but does anyone know of a good site to stream newly released tv shows online ?
@Marcus Beckham Flixportal
@Marcus Jaxson thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) I really appreciate it !
@Marcus Beckham glad I could help :)
If you don't own stones you could use sandpaper* on plate glass/flat granite. This is often called "scary sharp" - (although on a long enough timeline, you may spend up more on sandpaper than you would water stones, it's definitely cheaper if you're just starting out). It's definitely worth noting though: Grits on Japanese water stones are not 1:1 with sandpaper.
King's 1000 grit stone is about 800 grit CAMI (USA), F500 / P1500 (EU). A 6000 grit water stone is about 1500 grit sandpaper. "Grits" are industry standards, so vary between countries and applications; however, you can do a decent job converting them because ultimately they're referring to the particle size of the abrasive, which can be expressed in microns.
*generally "abrasive films" are higher quality than sandpaper. If you're more experienced/daring and are willing to go down to lower grits for initial grinding/flattening, the blue sanding belts are made of a longer-lasting abrasive.
Thanks, mine came as dull as they can, will give it a go
Thank you VERY much for creating this video, as well as all your other videos. They are VERY helpful, well done, and informative. I am just starting in leather craft, and have learned a great deal from you. I like to buy Japanese tools, and it is wonderful to find someone who makes such detailed videos on Japanese tools and how to use them. I will now watch part two! Thank you!
Hello Ted, Thanks for the sincere comment. I appreciate your words. I talk a lot and some people don't like it. I just do what I love. Thanks for watching my videos! :)
Thanks you this helped me alot. I was struggling with my pricking iron. Now it's very sharp
After polishing both pricking irons and lacing irons dip the teeth into a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil goes into the leather and pulls out a lot easer , Also saves a lot of distortion as well .Well done on the polishing
Thank you for the tip sir! I will try your method of beeswax and mineral oil.
I stick my pricking irons into a piece of glycerine saddle soap to make them easier to pull out, particularly the 4+ teeth ones.
Great tutorial! Thank you from Fukuoka, Japan!
Hello! You are first commenter from Japan! I was once in Fukuoka shortly. :) Thank you for the comment!
I was in Kasuya-gun recently. Proud of japan.
Great tutorial man!
Just getting started in leathercraft and I keep getting my pricking irons stuck in thicker leather... I believe this will help a lot!
Glad I could help!
Thank you for the step by step tutorial! Super helpful to know. Out of curiosity, does this sharpening method work for round tip pricking irons?
WOW!! That finish is great!
Great video..!how are the inside of the teeth cleaned up?if they're rough won't they damage the leather?
رائع جداً طريقة للسن بمنتهى الدقة شكراً لكم
Thanks for watching! : )
I just buffed the ever loving crap out of mine, then used tiny files, then buffed again. Sinks in like the leather were butter!
In my experience, with lesser irons, you have to polish the interior sides of the tines as well. I use 500 wet dry sandpaper, then 1000 wet dry sandpaper wrapped around something thin and flat. I've used popsicle sticks, and am able to get between both tines and sand both surfaces at once. Have also used a very thing piece of stainless steel. Really, it is a real pain in the butt. My pocket knife has a titanium coating that is SUPER low friction, I wish stitching irons were thusly coated. NEWAY, THANKS!
You already know a good way! that is very good way of sharpening and polish the inside of the teeth. I used that method and get quite a good result. However, if beginner tries to do it, they are more likely to ruin the irons. What pocket knives with titanium coating are you using? and what steel? I love pocket knives too.
I use a Kershaw Volt II, it is a $20 knife! We have no discretionary income, so we have no luxuries like quality steel! But the upside of the softer Chinese steel is that a few strokes on the strop and it is laser sharp again. The benefit of being a leather shop is that we have plenty of sharpening technology at hand!
Also of note, I lOVE the speedsafe flipper of the Kershaws. This may be illegal where you live though (where do you live, I've always wondered?). But it is SO easy to deploy the knife. Previously I used a knife with a thumb stud which was okay to deploy. But the Speed Safe flipper is just so fast and convenient. I would like to use a knife with higher quality steel. Maybe a Kizer on some type of discount would be reasonable for me, but I don't think I can go back to a normal deployment knife. I recommend trying out a cheap Kershaw with Speed Safe, if it is not illegal where you live. You may curse the steel, but you will love flipping out that blade!
A credit card works amazing to wrap the paper around.
Very good, thanks
Is it necessary to do sharping with all these three devices ?
and may I ask you whats the name of yellow stone and the green device that you used after that?
The green device is a leather strop. Very simply, it's a piece of veg tan leather glued to a piece of wood. What makes it green is the honing compound you rub on the leather before the final step in sharpening, which is stropping.
The green is a general purpose compound (and is absolutely fine to use). But, if you can find it, there is also the white sharpening compound that is used by jewelers.
The sharpening stones he's using are Japanese water stones. They work differently from the western version of sharpening stones but the principle of going from rough stone to smoother and smoother stones is the same.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
Very nice informative video. One thing, you said start with a flat sharpening stone, how do you flatten your sharpening stone?
czcams.com/video/ABRs2HkXkUE/video.html ; )
Where can i buy the book? I am from Malaysia
Sorry, I am not sure where you can purchase the book.
Bro I'm Malaysia. You can get in touch with Malayan Leather Craft in Cheras area to see if they can help you.
Wow. Tak sangka ada yang minat juga
Bro..im from malaysia..and in fb we are also unite under malaysian leather crafts
OK for half of the prong surfaces but how about the other half, the inside faces????
I left it rough for reason. Most people will ruin the teeth grind attempting to smooth it out. There is a way to do it with different tools. The effect is little better
What catalog is that?
How come you don't polish the tips, just too easy for a beginner to mess it up?
More of a stitching chisel than a pricking iron, isnt it…? Seriously not trying to be a duck, or to be that guy… but I was taught there’s a difference. Stitching chisels, like these (I have a set of these btw) are meant to punch thru the work allowing needles to pass thru with min effort, easily stitching the work. Where as a pricking iron is just meant to pierce, or prick, the surface. Mostly just to mark the location for each stitch, similar to am over stitcher, meant to be a guide for someone using an awl to punch each hole for your needles as you go…you should never see daylight after picking up a pricking iron. Just marked for traditional awl stitching. Forgive me if I’ve been lead astray and failed in my effort to inform, instead only serving to bring confusion.
Btw, when running your tools on a whet stone by pulling them in the direction they’ll be pulled to remove the tools in use, I generally would strop by pushing in the opposite direction. I would maybe even look at swapping the two motions and using a push in the direction of the tools intended use, then stropping by pulling , or an “out stroke”. Generally try to use an opposite motion to strop so as to remove the resulting bur you worked so hard to roll up on the stone. As mentioned, cleaning out between each prong is very important. Leaving extra trash in there will mean sure hang ups in your work. I even use small strips of sand paper folded over a thin flat piece of wood or scrapers or tooling implements, something. Just make sure it’s flat so you aren’t rounding anything over. Get that coating off there and slick those sides up. It’ll make a world of difference. F working with particularly thick or troublesome materials, or glue is grabbing your tools, I keep some bees wax in a little jar lid and poke the prongs into it now n then to help keep them moving. And I took a small piece of med gauge mild steel about 3x4 ish or so and cut a channel long ways like 1/8” wider than the thickness of the chisels so if they ever really get stuck i; there hood, you don’t have to risk bending or screwing anything up, just lay that plate down slide it over so it’s wrapped around the tool stuck in the leather, push down on the metal so everything gets even pressure and you’re not tearing your work apart but you can hold down the leather around the stuck tool and more easily pull it out clean. Just a thought. Sorry for rambling on.
No. Those are not pricking irons. Those are stitching irons. There is a difference. If you don't know what you're talking about, don't make a video.
Pricking irons? They look like stitching chisels to me! Don't you know the difference? Wow...