Whacha Been Up To......

duramax said:
Lorien Lorien

I gotta say I love the design work on the DEK !!!!!! You and CPK did an amazing job !!!!
It’s a knife I love making leather for :)
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Thanks very much! yeah, it's a keeper for sure. DEK2 is shaping up to be pretty sweet as well
 
Lorien said:
Thanks very much- yeah, it's a keeper for sure. DEK2 is shaping up to be pretty sweet as well
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Keeper / collector :) I’ve got few cause one just wasn’t enough lol. It’s one knife that I just have to carry , it’s just that good in hand.
For fellow leather crafters here. Should you wanna see more of Loriens work. Check out his current joint projects with Carothers knives ( CPK ) here on BF. He’s been kind in sharing work in progress knife design builds :)

Also, I really like the texturing and color you added to this sheath.
 
Some more recents:

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Putting the strings on the next batch:

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I got my Cobra 4 a few weeks ago, I've been trying to learn to use it. I've watched several videos on it from Al Bane and the like. One thing I'm struggling with is getting clean backstitches. I usually start with the needle a stitch lengths past where I want the stitching to start and stitch backwards for three stitches, then switch the machine to forward and go the end of my stitch and then reverse for three stitches. Sometimes the backstitched area comes out clean and i can see the forward and backward stitches and they're clean and parallel. About half the time I end up with weird knots and seemingly extra threads tied in there somewhere. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Is this a common mistake? Here are some pictures to show what I'm talking about it. I'm currently using size 207 thread and a size 24 needle, though I felt like I was experiencing the same problem using the 277 thread and size 25 needle that came on the machine.

EDIT: This is just two layers of ~6oz veg tan I got from Tandy a few years back, it isn't the best leather, a simple pocket knife slip. I'll probably be mostly doing 3 layers of 6-7oz+ for fixed blade sheaths. I've since bought some Hermann Oak to try out, but I'm currently just practicing on the less expensive stuff I got from Tandy. Maybe this is a thread tension issue? I haven't made any adjustments on the machine, is this an issue of the knot not being centered in the layers of material that are much thinner than the 1" thick samples that came with the machine? Should I expect to change the tension between something like a two-layer pocket knife slip and a three-layer sheath (including the welt)?

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Not bad...
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I don't have many hours on my Cobra 4 but I've had that identical issue and I found that by pulling more on the starter threads for the first couple of stitches the problem went away. I have a hard time getting that right because for me it seems like the bobbin thread wants to pull out further than the top thread. It's a tricky hand manipulation to feed them out at different rates. That could have been a coincidence, or the solution, but I havent had the issue again.

You mentioned changing the tension going from 2 to 3 pieces of 6 oz leather, here is what I'd suggest. Set the tension with 2 pieces so you're knots are hidden and then it should run fine when you add a 3rd piece. If you set it for three pieces first and then go down to two, you might get knots jumping out when you bump down. I don't think incorrect tension is causing your backstitich issue though.

Theres gotta be a better way but one thing I do to start with a backstitch and have my first hole exactly where I want it is to remove the top thread, punch my first hole by rotating the hand wheel and stitching forward 3 stitches without any top thread, then insert the top thread, reverse backstitch to the initial hole, and then stitch forward from there. That let's me choose the exact spot for that first hole at the edge of the leather instead of guessing, which I'm terrible at because that last stitch is always too close or to far away when I guess.

That sounds like some madness right there don't it?
 
Lee Hester said:
I got my Cobra 4 a few weeks ago, I've been trying to learn to use it. I've watched several videos on it from Al Bane and the like. One thing I'm struggling with is getting clean backstitches. I usually start with the needle a stitch lengths past where I want the stitching to start and stitch backwards for three stitches, then switch the machine to forward and go the end of my stitch and then reverse for three stitches. Sometimes the backstitched area comes out clean and i can see the forward and backward stitches and they're clean and parallel. About half the time I end up with weird knots and seemingly extra threads tied in there somewhere. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Is this a common mistake? Here are some pictures to show what I'm talking about it. I'm currently using size 207 thread and a size 24 needle, though I felt like I was experiencing the same problem using the 277 thread and size 25 needle that came on the machine.

EDIT: This is just two layers of ~6oz veg tan I got from Tandy a few years back, it isn't the best leather, a simple pocket knife slip. I'll probably be mostly doing 3 layers of 6-7oz+ for fixed blade sheaths. I've since bought some Hermann Oak to try out, but I'm currently just practicing on the less expensive stuff I got from Tandy. Maybe this is a thread tension issue? I haven't made any adjustments on the machine, is this an issue of the knot not being centered in the layers of material that are much thinner than the 1" thick samples that came with the machine? Should I expect to change the tension between something like a two-layer pocket knife slip and a three-layer sheath (including the welt)?

BAD
Y88aY8O.jpg


BAD
Z7Mcb9X.jpg


Not bad...
yfA1ap3.jpg
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Seems to me that the size of needle and thread are too heavy for what you are sewing there. I realize its just a practice piece. I run my Cobra 4 with 207 top and bottom and just won't change thread size anymore but I use too. There was just too much adjusting back and forth and ya think ya have it and weird stuff would happen and ya'd have to adjust more and it was just a pain in the butt. Mostly I was trying to sew something in a colored thread that we had in 136 but not 207. Now a days I just order that colored thread in 207 if I have too. I've got my machine set for what I do and I can't tell ya how long its been since I've adjusted tension. I just don't. I start at the end of my stitching groove, that way I'm not guessing about the stitch length. I go forward two , reverse two and then forward again till done, then back two to lock it down.

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Horsewright said:
Seems to me that the size of needle and thread are too heavy for what you are sewing there. I realize its just a practice piece. I run my Cobra 4 with 207 top and bottom and just won't change thread size anymore but I use too. There was just too much adjusting back and forth and ya think ya have it and weird stuff would happen and ya'd have to adjust more and it was just a pain in the butt. Mostly I was trying to sew something in a colored thread that we had in 136 but not 207. Now a days I just order that colored thread in 207 if I have too. I've got my machine set for what I do and I can't tell ya how long its been since I've adjusted tension. I just don't. I start at the end of my stitching groove, that way I'm not guessing about the stitch length. I go forward two , reverse two and then forward again till done, then back two to lock it down.

vQpFBef.jpg


hiMFVl5.jpg
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Thanks Dave, that make sense. Can I ask what size needle you use on your 4 when you're using 207 thread? I read in an old thread that you use 7/8oz most of the time for sheaths. Are your pancake sheaths two layers of 7/8oz?
 
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