Glue Advice For Newbie Leatherworkers....

[Angst]

Hi....what with Christmas looming, the fairs, both my boys birthdays last month etc etc I hadnt noticed I was nearly out of glue....first time ever.....I usually pick up a tube now and then from Wilkos.....the tubes are good because they have a pointed nozzle allowing for precise application....but nope, I seem to be out of those too.

I buy evostik multipurpose impact in the 250ml pots because the larger 500ml ones start to dry out before I get to the bottom and I dont like waste....so 250ml tins it is. But about a year ago I bought some Fiebings Leather Cement, being a fan of Fiebings I thought I'd give it a go and considering I was just now halfway through glueing a batch of axe masks and found myself evostik-less, now seemed like a good time.

Horrible. Useless. Horrific. Its like water.....and its not an impact glue. If it actually sticks I'll be amazed. Leather is very porous and I would say that so much of it soaked in to the actual leather that after I clamped the mask, therefore squeezing even more out (all over everything, the edge, the inside, my hands, the clamps, the leather pads I use to protect the leatherwork) there must be barely any left actually in there where I want it to be. Added to that the clamping was a pain....everything is sliding around, you cant get your edges lined up properly cos theres glue in the way everywhere....

seriously....I'm completely struggling to even invent a bizarre hypothetical fairy tale reason why anyone would want to use this stuff. I'm now going to give it to my son to use on his arts and crafts because trust me I would imagine spit and flour or egg white to be better than this carp. I reckon if i sneezed onto the leatherwork my natural bodily glue would do better.

Anyway....rant over, and sorry if I've made anyone feel sick lol....interesting to hear if anyone else has glue advice....

Moral of the story....buy evostik impact. DO NOT BUY FIEBINGS LEATHER CEMENT.

E-Z!

s

PS...quick update....it does at least seem to be drying clear....which is a blessing as my entire workshop is covered in a layer of it...and its drying 'crumbly' too....sorta like the rubber stuff you use for bathrooms, mastic?.....or polyfilla....which is worrying to me.....i dont want my glue going crumbly.....when its dry I'll give it a yank to see what happens....looks like a £35 axe mask may well be going in the bin...

 

[John Fenna]

I use Evostick or Bison Impact - they really work ... non Impact stuff just does not do it for me!
But - BEWARE! - doing to much glue-ing in a small, ill-ventilated room can seriously spoil your concentration ... the fumes are quite powerful!

 

[Robbi]

FIEBINGS LEATHER CEMENT.

Never had a problem with it, great stuff that does exactly what it says.

Easy and accurate application with the nozzle, a bit of care results in zero overspill or wastage. Odour free and lasts for ages.

To get the mess and results you are talking about your methods must be very wrong indeed.


Maybe you should read this.......

http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html


Ps....I have saved a screenshot of this thread if anyone is interested or needs a copy of the original at a later date.

 

[dewi]

Interesting. I've been using some Gorilla glue, some leather glue I picked up at HobbyCraft and I've been using the double sided tape.

I was under the impression that the Fiebings was just PVA, but from your description, it doesn't sound anything like PVA.

I've got a tub of evostik timebond that I want to try out as well... used it in the past for other materials and it has been excellent.

 

[Angst]

thats very nice of you robbi....didnt realise you felt that way about me. interesting. clearly you feel even more for fiebings than i do for evostik....youre obviously very close. nice to know you stick together.

and coming from the guy who started the thread about le prevo? a thread about which i've since had talks with the owner.

simply reviewing the glue dude and from my professional experience everything i've said is factual. its nowhere near as good or usable as evostik. happy to prove it in court mate. i'll even do you a special video for youtube my darling if you so require.

my methods.....?......dont you just put it on? maybe you could enlighten me? after all, i was foolishly reading the instructions on the bottle. phew....nice to know i've got a real leathersmith watching over me. of course bear in mind this is the first time i've used it and i'm not an expert like yourself.

dewi....yup youre right....its white, runny, dries clear....it seems exactly like pva which is why i'm disappointed....pva has absolutely no place in how i do things and i cannot see any reason to use this stuff over an impact glue. i'll leave it overnight and start pulling on it once dry. one side of the welt has been done with evostik, the other with fiebings....i'll update later. i guess this might be more usable if you were say simply glueing a couple of thin layers of leather together but with 4mm thick shoulder, trying to get sharp bends fighting against the leather and getting clamps on its not a lot of fun.

the thought of trying to assemble one of my signature sheaths with it makes me laugh.

SO IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO PROVE IN COURT, I'D SAY BUY EVOSTIK IMPACT. THAT OK ROBBI LUV?

and for the record....EVERY other leather product I use is fiebings, always has been.....and I cant say a bad word about any of it. is that ok too robbi?....

s

ps....careful john...robbi wont be happy....by saying this:

''I use Evostick or Bison Impact - they really work ... non Impact stuff just does not do it for me!''

youre actually being libellous by omission.....the fiebings, which is non-impact, therefore ''doesnt really work''.

 

[dewi]

Ps....I have saved a screenshot of this thread if anyone is interested or needs a copy of the original at a later date.

Puzzled to why you would do that?? Is there some sort of personal grudge in this or do you own shares in Fiebings?

What Sonni has said is fair comment from his experience, and in his opinion he wouldn't recommend it, he would recommend a product he's had good experience with. If Fiebings want to damage their reputation with a slander case over Sonni's opinion, that is up to them.


Now to even things up, I've not used Fiebings Leather Cement (although I have used some of their other products)... but I will say that the leather cement is completely unsuitable for use other than putting up wallpaper and nobody should ever buy it again without first having a trained psychiatrist on standby - That's slander as I have no basis for fair comment I'll save you the trouble of taking a screenshot as I'm more than happy to do so myself, and I'll email it the manufacturer directly with my name and address attached if you think they'll make a fuss about it?

 

[dewi]

dewi....yup youre right....its white, runny, dries clear....it seems exactly like pva which is why i'm disappointed....pva has absolutely no place in how i do things and i cannot see any reason to use this stuff over an impact glue. i'll leave it overnight and start pulling on it once dry. one side of the welt has been done with evostik, the other with fiebings....i'll update later. i guess this might be more usable if you were say simply glueing a couple of thin layers of leather together but with 4mm thick shoulder, trying to get sharp bends fighting against the leather and getting clamps on its not a lot of fun.

the thought of trying to assemble one of my signature sheaths with it makes me laugh.

s

Are you sure you haven't got a bad batch of it? It shouldn't be runny runny... it should be like the consistency of whipped cream if it is similar to PVA?

Might be worth doing a short video of it in use, then get other leather workers who use it to compare with what they have... if its a bad batch, it is something Fiebings need to know about because it will effect hundreds of bottles.

If its not a bad batch, still worth comparing with others.

 

[Countryman]

FIEBINGS LEATHER CEMENT.

Never had a problem with it, great stuff that does exactly what it says.

Easy and accurate application with the nozzle, a bit of care results in zero overspill or wastage. Odour free and lasts for ages.

To get the mess and results you are talking about your methods must be very wrong indeed.


Maybe you should read this.......

http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html


Ps....I have saved a screenshot of this thread if anyone is interested or needs a copy of the original at a later date.

A last minute bid for craziest post of the year?

Robbi buddy, listen to Mr Fenna, OPEN THE WINDOWS!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Angst]

lol frank, dewi....

yup i havnt thought of anything else since robbi did that....wracking my brain to figure out whats going on and why hes being like this.....theres obviously something i'm unaware of but i'll find out i daresay....hopefully he'll be man enough to say whats on his mind because i'm clueless....

and i've always had his back since the le prevo thing.....weird huh? gossips, word of mouth, jealousy, plonker? not the first, wont be the last. whatever....but i'm clearly not alone in my opinion so come on robbi....cheer us all up and get it off ya chest mate.....

well dewi...i've got a bottle of, wait for it, EVO STIK wood adhesive here and its much thicker....but not an actual pva....i'll try find my sons but i'm sure its like the wood adhesive....the fiebings is actually runny.....given it a good shake....but runny....nasty....and NOWHERE NEAR AS USABLE AS EVOSTIK IMPACT!!!! ESPECIALLY FOR GLUEING AXE MASKS!!!! AT LEAST AXE MASKS THAT ARE MADE OF THICK LEATHER AND NOT THE FLIMSY STUFF ROBBI MAKES HIS FISHING FLY CASES OR WHATEVER OUT OF!!!!!! THAT OK ROBBI!!!!???

 

[Macaroon]

Wowzer!!! I can't believe I just read some of the above Is it April 1st or Juletide?

 

[dewi]

well dewi...i've got a bottle of, wait for it, EVO STIK wood adhesive here and its much thicker....but not an actual pva....i'll try find my sons but i'm sure its like the wood adhesive....the fiebings is actually runny.....given it a good shake....but runny....nasty....and NOWHERE NEAR AS USABLE AS EVOSTIK IMPACT!!!! ESPECIALLY FOR GLUEING AXE MASKS!!!! AT LEAST AXE MASKS THAT ARE MADE OF THICK LEATHER AND NOT THE FLIMSY STUFF ROBBI MAKES HIS FISHING FLY CASES OR WHATEVER OUT OF!!!!!! THAT OK ROBBI!!!!???

Fancy doing a quick video of it in use?

Reason being, I go to the leather suppliers every Wednesday now to feed my habit... so when I go this week, I'll ask whether I can try out the Fiebings glue... grab a video on my phone, and see how they compare.

Even a couple of piccies of it in use might be enough to compare, just for the sake of it.

Saves that nasty slander case I could be facing because once I've used it a bit I can write a piece for Leatherworker Weekly and change the charge from slander to libel in one article!

 

[Angst]

dewi....i might need to do one for court anyway mate...

s

 

[dewi]

dewi....i might need to do one for court anyway mate...

s

Nah, they'll have me first... mine is true slander I'll even embellish it a bit if this ever went to court just for the hell of it.

Frankly Fiebings get a good churp with leather workers of all skills... they are promoted no end, including by you Sonni, so the fact that you've raised concerns about their glue is more likely to alert their customer services than their legal department. They want you to be satisfied, and the fact you're not, they'll more likely try and fix the problem rather than sue you.

Hence the reason I want to do a comparison of materials. If you were closer, I'd be on your doorstep tomorrow with a fresh bottle of Fiebings Leather Cement for a face to face, bottle to bottle test... see if its a bad bottle etc. I've read your many posts here and I seriously doubt you'd knock a product for the sake of it.... so if you're having problems with a product, as a professional leather worker, you have a perfect right to say the product isn't working for you, say exactly why and offer an alternative based on your experience. Should it turn out Fiebings has an interest, as I say, probably more to do with fixing the issue rather than anything else.

Would like to see Robbi reply even in short... very much respect Robbi as he's always had a great attitude and humour to his posts... still very puzzled by the above and it'd add context if he commented further.

 

[Monikieman]

Just as a matter of interest, have you tried the double sided tape stuffy (can't remember the right name).

It's great stuff.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Surely you guys use some Bushcraft compliant concoction that involves manipulation of the rarest coniferous resin beneath a full moon?

Very disappointed.​

K

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Like Klenchblaize I cannot believe you are actually buying glue, I was sure you would at least be chewing up Bluebell Bulbs (being careful not to swallow any of the juice/paste) call yourselves bushcrafters?

D.B.

 

[Stew]

I've used thixofix in the past and it's great stuff. Problem was that the tin dried up before I got half way through (my bad for not sealing it properly!) so in an emergency I used plain old white pva glue to hold some bits in place before over stitching. I actually find it really quite good! I'm not relying on the glue structurally but I actually think it will hold well on it's own. I may experiment a bit!

 

[Toddy]

Okay, this thread is nuts.

I know we're an opinionated bunch, but a little restraint is to be considered a courteous thing before posting.
That includes SHOUTING as well as threats of libel and saving threads ….why ? We're most likely to close rather than remove.

Gentlemen, it's a rare thing today, and it's beautiful weather out there I'm in for a cuppa, but I don't enjoy having my five minute sit down spoiled by folks ranting over a difference of opinion on glue !

Pretty please ? chill out.

M

 

[John Fenna]

Like Klenchblaize I cannot believe you are actually buying glue, I was sure you would at least be chewing up Bluebell Bulbs (being careful not to swallow any of the juice/paste) call yourselves bushcrafters?

D.B.

Only a right nerk would chew the Bluebell bulbs!
All I do is crush the bulbs in a mortar and pestle set up (tin cup and stick at a pinch) and then spit on them.... no danger of getting sick if you clean your tools after!
Bluebell blue is not bad - a bit like flour and water glue - but not as good as soured milk glue (only tried it once it was such a faff) which is almost like rubber cement. Resin, charcoal and beeswax glue is good and I use that for spear and arrow heads and similar.
For most leather work I will stick with Contact Adhesives as they are easy to use and effective

 

[BeerHunter]

In my one and only leather-working project to date (repairing a leather jacket), I used Poundland superglue (umpteen tubes for a quid). It's done the trick and lasted.years.

I was mildly surprised to see no mention of superglue in the thread below. Is it known as something else.in leather-working circles? Or do those in the know simply not use it? And if not, why?

As per the thread I started, I'm looking to do a bit, so info is gratefully received.