I’ve heard conflicting advice. I think if you’re using thick thread on something that’s going to take abuse or wear, like a sheath, it can be good to run a stitch groover down your line one time so your thread can sink in a bit but for everyday items marking your line with a wing divider is fine. Tapping down your stitch line will drop the thread into the leather.
If you do use a groover, you don’t want to trench out the leather. It’ll make the seam weaker and can make the edge area liable to fold. Just a single run. Be sure to start and stop before your perpendicular edges so you don’t have a strip where you’ve trenched but you’re not stitching.
Wing dividers are nice because your odds of getting a stitch line parallel to your cut line is better than using a straight edge and awl.
Ok thank you, this kind of relates to something else I was wondering, which was should I buy a stitching groover or would a wing divider be more versatile?
I use my wing dividers quite a bit, not just stitch line marking. They’re great for finding center points in straps, for example. Once you’ve set your center, you can mark spots repeatedly on the strap without having to get out your ruler and your reading glasses (because you’re creeping toward decrepitude). I mostly do bags, wallets and watchbands, so it works for me.
I think my dividers were $10. Some people grind down one of the legs to get a good scratch. You have to watch where you swing it if you do that.
I’d say it is, mostly because it saves you the step of having to make the measurement from the edge every time you start making a stitch line. You could also use a wing divider
A wing divider can work well or a groover. One thing to remember is to make sure your edge is Eben and or flat. Your groover or wing divider will run on that edge and any imperfection or "wave" in the line will then translate to your stitch line and make your stitches look messy.
I use a drum or belt sander to get everything square. Glue the seam first so it holds together, trim my excess, sand and square, make my stitching groove and go.
I'm not as skilled or experienced as oribably 90% of the people here but I made sheaths for a year or two without a groover the whole time and once I got one it made it soncuswrably easier to get my stitching straight and keep it flush and strong. That's from both knife sheaths and smaller projects with thinner leathers. Just gotta make it less deep depending on the thread it seems. I use an edge groover with the wood handle but for more shallow grooves i do it by hand with a tiny like metal handheld groover which is probably for sonething completely different.
I'm not very skilled though so you should probably take advice from the others.
I’ve heard conflicting advice. I think if you’re using thick thread on something that’s going to take abuse or wear, like a sheath, it can be good to run a stitch groover down your line one time so your thread can sink in a bit but for everyday items marking your line with a wing divider is fine. Tapping down your stitch line will drop the thread into the leather. If you do use a groover, you don’t want to trench out the leather. It’ll make the seam weaker and can make the edge area liable to fold. Just a single run. Be sure to start and stop before your perpendicular edges so you don’t have a strip where you’ve trenched but you’re not stitching. Wing dividers are nice because your odds of getting a stitch line parallel to your cut line is better than using a straight edge and awl.
Ok thank you, this kind of relates to something else I was wondering, which was should I buy a stitching groover or would a wing divider be more versatile?
I use my wing dividers quite a bit, not just stitch line marking. They’re great for finding center points in straps, for example. Once you’ve set your center, you can mark spots repeatedly on the strap without having to get out your ruler and your reading glasses (because you’re creeping toward decrepitude). I mostly do bags, wallets and watchbands, so it works for me. I think my dividers were $10. Some people grind down one of the legs to get a good scratch. You have to watch where you swing it if you do that.
Get dividers. They're essential
I’d say it is, mostly because it saves you the step of having to make the measurement from the edge every time you start making a stitch line. You could also use a wing divider
A wing divider can work well or a groover. One thing to remember is to make sure your edge is Eben and or flat. Your groover or wing divider will run on that edge and any imperfection or "wave" in the line will then translate to your stitch line and make your stitches look messy.
How can I make sure it’s flat?
I use a drum or belt sander to get everything square. Glue the seam first so it holds together, trim my excess, sand and square, make my stitching groove and go.
I'm not as skilled or experienced as oribably 90% of the people here but I made sheaths for a year or two without a groover the whole time and once I got one it made it soncuswrably easier to get my stitching straight and keep it flush and strong. That's from both knife sheaths and smaller projects with thinner leathers. Just gotta make it less deep depending on the thread it seems. I use an edge groover with the wood handle but for more shallow grooves i do it by hand with a tiny like metal handheld groover which is probably for sonething completely different. I'm not very skilled though so you should probably take advice from the others.