Thread: Not exactly a hand tool.

Nice one Bob , no more having to sharpen on site

Originally Posted by djstimber

Nice one Bob , no more having to sharpen on site

Thanks Dj. Yeah I should probably make myself a box but these are a long way from being pro axes - I just want them to stay moderately sharp.

Good one Bob!

You just sparked my mind. I have a good leather chisel pouch which my chisels have successfully sliced through the stitching in each section( a downside to always having razor sharp chisels) so that the chisels can now unexpectedly poke their nasty heads out. Had no Idea on how to fix it for good until now. Ally rivets it is.

Originally Posted by martrix

Good one Bob!

You just sparked my mind. I have a good leather chisel pouch which my chisels have successfully sliced through the stitching in each section( a downside to always having razor sharp chisels) so that the chisels can now unexpectedly poke their nasty heads out. Had no Idea on how to fix it for good until now. Ally rivets it is.

If you can get them I reckon copper rivets are nicer and age a bit better, they go browny-green as opposed to grey-white. I had 4 left from when I fiddled with leatherwork back in the 70's (making mocassins and leather tassled clothing ) but the store I bought them from no longer exists. Anyone know where they can be obtained?

BTW If you are making pouches from scratch the trick is to use stiff enough leather and enough rivets with big heads in a pattern such that the blade edge will find it very difficult or almost impossible reach down and touch and of the rivets. Another trick is to glue a thinner v-shaped piece of leather inside so the rivets are not touched. If this is not clear I can provide a diagram. You can of course then use steel rivets but that's exactly when you will drop that chisel in its pouch off the bench straight down and the blade will impact on the rivets - then you will be glad you used copper or ally rivets.

Nice one Bob. Have been meaning to do the same for my small Plumb axe. Sprayed it with WD40 and left it inside on uncoated floorboards one day, just for a munute mind, forgot about it and now have WD40 patch on the floor. So a little leather cover would have been the go at the time.

Another job you have done to remind me of the ones I keep putting off.

Hope you aren't still wearing those macassins and tassled clothes mate. Not the go around the saw mill.

Cheers
Pops

Originally Posted by Pops

Hope you aren't still wearing those macassins and tassled clothes mate. Not the go around the saw mill.

Cheers Pops, The mocassins eventually fell apart and the tassled coat ended up in the bin because the dye kept rubbing off onto and ruining my shirts! I think I still have some the belts I made somewhere but embarrassingly I would need to use 2 of them joined togther to hold my daks up now!

Copper rivets - look up tanneries in the phone book, most of the East Coast ones have a small craft shop attached which sells 'findings' like buckles & rivets.

An alternative I have used instead of rivets is to stitch a short length of copper wire thru' a few holes just inside the stitch line - the blade will hit the copper wire & not cut the stitches (or fingers). Dick Smith sell (or used to) 1.2mm 'enamelled' copper wire in small reels for a few dollars.