Відео

All tools I bought from Tandy Leather are very useful and still in use😮

Tandy is way overpriced.

I just had a problem with some beginners tools I bought from Tandy. I picked up 5 sets of punches and scissors etc. several of them broke immediately when my students began to use them. I emailed pictures to my local Tandy store (I had opened a ticket with the national Tandy service center who routed me) and the store manager just stuck a $60 gift card in the mail for me. I didn’t even have to show them my receipt. Just the pictures of my broken items. They may fail in places, but so far in my experience they stood behind their products.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING NICK, IM NEW TO LEATHER CRAFTING SOOO I SUPPORT YOU AND STAND BEHIND YOU AND I WILL NOT BUY ANTHING FROM TANDY LEATHER !!

Yes Tandy are definitely a ripoff, saying that many of by tools are Tandy. Tandy no longer have a branch in my country so longer support Tandy and look for much better options when available.

Buy from china, most of them are made there, unless you buy from small US boutique brands.

I do have a nice knife like that but after all knives made in Japan are much better than those made in USA.

I just received a Tandy skiving knife, and it is crap! It is not sharp and The handle does not fit well at all! when pushing on the handle, you can see it move towards the metal. I can actually get a fingernail between the handle and the blade, I will never buy from Tandy again! Corporate greed sucks

I think the metal in the replacement has temper markings to make it less brittle. It’s done with steel stamps. I would want mine to have those markings

Tandy is the Starbucks of leather. I will not spend money on their website. Tandy is full of it. Some local folks in the stores are nice and knowledgeable but that's the end of anything resembling customer service.

I invested in a saddle sewing machine, so most of my leather working now goes that way. But for years I had been looking for those English style irons with the slant chisel tips that create such a beautiful stitching lines. Maybe 10 years ago, I was in Tandy, and while I no longer wanted them, they had a whole set of those chisels, different spacings and chisel counts. They were bagged up and sold off the remainder table. I bought one of the sets, but I have yet to upack them from their bags. I guess maybe there were problems...

It is the nature of the failure. I don't care if he pounded it into mild steel, there is no world where it should shear off a massive hunk of steel like that. Not sure where we are with China margins at this point. One of the reasons why they originally took over the world was that say there was a company that sold $200 Bowie knives from China. Knives that were pretty good, and even got singled out as an edge geometry example by ABS smiths. People would complain, and say stuff like "I can make a knife they could sell, thinking they were up against a normal 20-50% margin. But in reality, the margin could be as high as 95%. So those agile first movers who when to Taiwan, or China could get these incredible deals, and good quality, and they could advertise the hell out of stuff, and replace knives that were used as crowbars, or whatever, because the margins were so ridiculous. And overall, they could move a whole new group of buyers into custom like knives. I mean, who actually needs a Bowie knife? But with these kinds of deal you could sell bowie knives to people who don't need them, and aren't wiling to pay what they actually cost to make. I don't know what China margins typically are today, but Tandy probably should be getting a good enough deal that they can eat the cost of replacing product at the expected failure rates, and still make a stack of dough. Good customer service isn't just replacing crap, it is getting stuff that doesn't need replacement in the first place. And if you can do it at slave labour margins, you have a business model that works.

Alibaba and AliExpress are exactly where most of these us companies get their products. Just like anything else, there are good manufacturers in China, and bad. I just purchased brass rivets and they are exactly like the ones I purchased from a us company, down to the packaging, but the us was over four times more expensive. YMMV

Ive found that etsy is a really good source for tools. I bought a really nice swivel knife on there.

Смотрю ты стреляешь с левой руки , я тоже только не нашëл карабин леворукий, купил обычный чизет 557 , вот хочу оптику.

Привет его можно использовать как загонный прицел?

I can only afford the Workshop system right now, but hope to upgrade someday. BTW…your knives are stunning! Beautiful craftsmanship.

What a great gathering of hunting friends and enjoying time together and the fruits of their labor! We are not so different….any hunter from Texas would fit into this group very well, and vice-versa.

Tandy gets you on shipping too.

I’m by no means an experienced leather worker. I have been to Tandy a few times and each time they were helpful, their tools have performed well and their leather deals were good to great.

Pricking irons and stitching chisels are different. Lesson learned.

Go and buy old chisels and make your own stuff, heat the steal and quench re heat then temper heat again to go one step further , Going from the handle allow the heat to creep toward the other end but don`t allow the heat to creep to far up the sharp ends, only about 3 to 4 mm up, allow to cool, over night, You will have so far up the spikes like brittle but not brittle to where they break easy and further up will be slightly softer, taking the shock, These will work out so cheep but great steel , no more name brand costly priced crap, I never buy modern tools always vintage and resharpen and clean up, replace handles if no good, Never complain always great steel especially from the makers who used to be good quality,nothing like to days stuff,

I agree with tardy it's unfortunate that you can make a vidio like this

Made in China, enough said.

Thanks for the info. Based on the poor customer experience Tandy Leather gave you, I will never buy a product from them. Never. Companies like that can only understand one thing: money. If enough people boycott their product, you'll see an amazing improvement in their customer service.

Hi. Do you drive a Lada niva? That's cool.

Weaver is very good.

Tread cautiously with this vendor. My advise. Shop Japanese craftsmanship.

I'm no expert on leather tools, but these type of irons are not worth much as punching irons regardless how good the punching surface is prepared. V shaped between points, they are always going to try to wedge open.

I have read through alot of comments here and I guess many people don't know or understand what a pricking iron is suppose to be use for. Simply look up the definition of pricking. Trust me I have had my dealings with tandy. Tandy has the same business as Sears Craftman. Tandy does not make anything. they simply contact a manufacture that gives them the cheapest price to manufacture a tool, then they slap their name on it. Right after world war 2 there were a lot of out of work machinists, tandy hired them to make leather tools. for the most part they were hand made on machine. even the knurling. So the last of the U.S.A. craftools that were made were stamped craftool U.S.A. After that is what I explained above. 95% of my craftools are pre 1960. the other 5% are Barry King tools out of Montana. I have a few from a guy from the Czech Republic who makes kick @ss leather stamps. In parting I will point out if you search google you will find many overseas companies make tandy tools.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this company. I've always felt they sold & overpriced their cheap tools. I just wish MORE leather workers/hobbyist watched this video!

Where IS the best place to buy REAL QUALITY leather tools? Is there such a place where you can buy quality without going bankrupt?

Tandy is for children not serious people

Pricking irons are to make marks not punch through. The old “pricking irons” you show are called stitching chisels which ARE made for punching holes. So technically you did misuse them 😅

I will agree that Tandy sells some cheap stuff for beginners. A bunch of other leather supply stores have plenty of stuff that is not awesome either for beginners. I am not affiliated with Tandy in any way. They also have lots of awesome stuff. I use it every day. I think leather craft would be a lost art if it was not for Tandy. Where I am located at, it is the only leather goods store for hundreds of miles. I can actually put my hands on something before I buy it. Anyone that is promoting this craft is awesome in my opinion. There Tandy Pro edgers are super awesome as well as lots of other stuff. Tanners bond clear cement is awesome. I have a Craftool stamp set that was made before 1963. A lot of those tools are sought after and reproduced today. I dont want anyone mad but I just cant see how everyone keeps looking down on Tandy. Dont expect the cashier to be a professional world renowned leather worker. I think Tandy is still great.

Why in the hell would you. Buy 2 tools to do the work of one tool Is there a need for a pricking iron? When you can clearly. Use a chisel to do the job . What is the benefit of using a pricking motion. And. It a. Chisel

I am sorry to hear that. You may have done so by now, but please look into Buckle Guy Leather Supplies and their Corter Leather line of tools. Excellent.

You are not using a proper punching pad that is a cutting mat not meant to punch on

Tandy used to try & sell me stuff that was moving slow. When i first started working with leather, i had watched so many videos about making bags, wallets, card holders… this does not make you anywhere near a person that works with leather… like… AT ALL! Long way from calling yourself that! … but as far as tools? Equipment? I had that stuff down. I also realized that certain things are better to start off with before you start getting expensice tools. … but every time i went up there, I'd have to learn where stuff was located, so… for example I'd need thread. I knew what i needed… but they'd always try to get me the stuff nobody was buying. Wide bevelers, weird shaped french skivers, and ALWAYS… some thick ass thread! Like… 1.5 of THE SAME SPOOL THAT WAS THERE FOR A YEAR! (little exaggeration… but i bet they threw the thing away?) I learned that they weren't a REAL friendly place… but options weren't a-plenty… so I'd go back with caution. They sure are the way you described!

I am actually a knife maker. And as a knifemaker you quickly get into leather crafts when you want to make sheaths. Meanwhile I also make small leather goods for myself, freinds and family. My collection of leather tools is growing as well. My first pricking / stitching irons where cheap ones as well. None broke but the overall quality is soso. Then I stumbled over Nigel Armitages channel and his tool reviews. Since then I use Crimson Hides (CH) pricking irons. When I had to go to a businees trip to Singapore I picked up orderes tools myself to avoid shipping costs (and import duty). There I met the owners, a nice young couple and their baby daughter. The owner did leather work, first as a hobby then when he lost his main job as a business and then as a tools supplier. Yes the Crimosn Hides tools are also made in China but to the CH spces, has CH quality control and sold under the CH name. A lot of tools I make myslef, all cutting tools, skivers, awls etc. I buy at Tandy leather (Europe) but no tools so far.

I have the same Pro tools. I am also in a forum for leather tools history. Looking back on a comment teaching some of my students about making their own tools, I would agree with you about some of the typical manufacturing processes in the tools. I would like to say though that as I have learned about the pricking irons over the years, the different types, and history, I got wise. I started purchasing tools from Masters in leatherworking as second hand sales for pricking Irons. The vintage ones are excellent quality tools. They are reasonably priced as well. I use my 2.5mm Irons from Tandy for detail and watch straps. But I have new ones as well. Learning about them I learned about the types and ways the companies teach how to use them. But as I really got down to the nitty gritty and learned the differences between the WHY'S of the changes in tools and techniques used for over the 200 years. As a 30 year leatherworker it made a huge difference as to why certain pricking irons were used for horse and tack work and safety concerns because of the thread ripping through the leather with heavy use. And what tools I had to watch out for with integrity when it came down to purchasing. I still like the pro tools.

The stitch groover is an excellent tool which is ambidextrous and solid

I started doing leatherwork as a schoolboy in the sixties. I saw right away that Tandy tools were mostly junk. They never improved. CS Osborne tends to be a little better. You should look into Barry King and Rocky Mountain Leather Supply.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Thank you for sharing it with us. I, personally, have been using Kevin Lee ('Kevin Premium', french style) stitching irons for years, and never had problems with them. They are $200 for a 3-piece set (2 teeth, 5 teeth, and 10 teeth). They are probably the best you can get for that kind of money. And they have much cheaper options too. The $200 set are their most expensive ones. They too are made in China, but by people who care.

Steel does not "burn from overheating. It crystalizes and when they happens, it becomes VERY weak. Overheating metal for too long (turning it blue) makes a weak spot that looses it's strength and rigidity. It becomes like glass in some cases.

$8 or $80, both were made in china. It’s a cash grab.

Tandy leather is not the company it once was the tools from 45 years ago were ok not great but did the job got me into leather work on the cheap I have been buying from the real leather pro tool makers , cost 10x more but last forevermore

Pricking irons are to mark the holes and an awl is supposed to be used to make the hole itself, just before you saddle stitch it. Here's a video of it: ua-cam.com/video/9diR1wR1KaE/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared&t=677

Those are to Mark the stitching line and then you need to use a stitching awl to finish any professional leather worker would know that sorry

Wow never buying from Tandy thanks for letting me know.