Help Please From Fellow Leathersmiths....

[Angst]

Hi....recently i noticed the brass 15mm cap large ring spring press studs i buy from my regular supplier had changed (the inside of the cap used to be silver metal, its now brass coloured like the cap itself).....within minutes of using them i noticed that the material is softer.....when hitting/fitting them the cap stem would often squash to one side resulting in the cap not ending up where i wanted it....not good.

so after drilling them out i tried to adjust the way i applied them by using lighter force....again not good because to me they dont feel like theyre in unless i've whacked them properly.

i also noticed that once theyre ''done up'' they are often harder than usual to un-do.....they sorta get stuck. i hoped/presumed that this may well be because theyre new and would settle a bit once used.....

then last night, disaster....i had made a load of bracelets and went to put them on the display rack that i take to shows....theres usually about 100 bracelets on the rack and i try to keep them in some kind of size order so i started to arrange/re-arrange and sure enough i couldnt get one of the bracelets off....i tugged....and the entire cap pulled itself out of the female 'inner'. and it did it real easy. this is the first time this has ever happened to me and i'm including even all the cheap press studs from china that i used to buy way back when i was a beginner and didnt know any better.

now i dont want to say who the supplier is because of past issues that have since been resolved and i dont want them thinking theres some kind of 'hate thang' going on but most of you will know what i'm talking about...

i've just now phoned the supplier to tell them all this and theyve asked me to email the info with pictures but i want to know....

1...is this just me or has anyone else had similar experience?
2...please please please tell me where you all get your press studs from because i'm desperately needing a new supplier!!!

you all know how fussy i am and i'm now terrified that i've got below-par faulty leatherwork out there all over the world and my reputation is going to be damaged. i've always bought my press studs from these guys because they were head and shoulders above the rest but now i'm in a right pickle....just had a look at tandys site and theyre stupid prices.

i've now got to dig through all my ebay and show stock and try to remember/discover where i've used these studs and then spend a HUGE amount of time drilling them out....which as you'll know is a nightmare job!

regards,

sonni

ps....and if anyone has a product of mine that develops press stud problems please let me know!
pps....and if sir fenna, dready, top knot etc etc would like me to send them a few to try i'll be happy to do so....

 

[birchwood]

Are you sure that you have the standard snap socket? My suppliers also make a 'hard spring' socket.
They can be difficult to get apart in soft materials. Usually the spring inside the socket is a different colour than the standard ones.

 

[Klenchblaize]

At the risk of suggesting what you already know, if you want to get those undone without further pull through from the leather, insert a thin but wide screwdriver between the two parts and twist.

It may also be that once open you can discreetly 'ease' the snap's grip by appropriate working of the male or female part.

K

 

[Dreadhead]

I feel your pain mate, press studs drive me CRAZY! I bought a hundred of a different type i'd not used before (S springs i think they are called) to test, and they are such a pain. I use them alot for the pockets inside my wallets where the leather is 0.8-1mm so i end up having to grind each stem down with a dremel to get them the right length, and I've had the same problem as you with regular snap studs just bending or being too tight.

I'll be following this with interest, as getting a good quality press stud that isn't over tight would be gold to us

 

[Toddy]

Can I suggest, and offer samples if you'd like to try them, the press studs meant for heavy fabrics instead ?

I used mine on the layers of wax fabric and wool lining on my jacket, sometimes on heavy woollen cloaks. I know they take the strain, but the fabrics are slightly more flexible than leather so really, really tight studs are not good, they tear instead of unsnapping. These hold securely but will undo without ripping out of the cloth.

Sometimes you can end up with something so 'high quality' that it's not actually the best thing for the job. Belt and braces is fine, it doesn't need to be armour plated belt and braces, iimmc.

Not a lot of help in the present circumstances Sonni, but if these ones will do, then Ian (Bilmop_5) is right in the heartlands of the textiles trade.

atb,
M

 

[Angst]

hi....

birchwood, with all due respect, i'm very familiar with press studs.

klench, again with respect....i cant tell my customers to carry a screwdriver around with them so they can get their axe out of one of my sheaths.

dready......dude....i'm seriously stressed about this and its lovely knowing theres someone out there who knows EXACTLY what i'm talking about. CRAZY aint the word....and now the ONLY supplier i've ever known who has good studs is now stocking inferior ones....i dunno what to do.

to anyone reading this it probably seems like we're insane and/or exaggerating.....like you i spent my first coupla years buying what turned out to be total tat until i discovered this supplier and i've used them and only them since. i've had press studs from just about everyone i dare and theyve literally disappointed %99 of the time....i've chucked bags of them in the bin more times than i care to remember.

so....i've got about a hundred left in black of the original ones meaning i wont be making any brown and brass leatherwork in the foreseeable future....i'm not putting out a product with inferior hardware on it. but customers want brown and brass.

screwed......yet again, and me not happy lol.

toddy.....thankyou....i'll drop bilmo a line to see if i can get a few samples.....i'm out of ideas.

still laughing about tandy.....

£60 for 100 press studs. or you can give them £130 to get yourself an elite account which then means you can get 100 press studs for £30.

thats still 3 times more than they should be. as dready said.....a good press stud (preferably at a price that doesnt result in you having to sell your kids into slavery) would be gold to us.

regards,

s

 

[Toddy]

There was a Czech fellow at one of the markets, and he had stuff from Koh-i-noor….they manufacture and sell Lord studs. They have been very good indeed.
http://www.kin.cz/en/products/textile-haberdashery/snap-fasteners/snap-fasteners-sewing-press-studs

Might be worth an email and ask about trade sample ?

So were ProFabrics.
http://www.profabrics.co.uk/collect...ud-refill-fabric-to-fabric?variant=5940871171
These were meant for sails and for tarpaulins.
Guaranteed rustproof

M

 

[Angst]

hi toddy....

the first ones are not the type....the second ones are....but at £4 for 10? i usually get 100 for £10......

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! this cant be happening lolol

s

There was a Czech fellow at one of the markets, and he had stuff from Koh-i-noor….they manufacture and sell Lord studs. They have been very good indeed.
http://www.kin.cz/en/products/textile-haberdashery/snap-fasteners/snap-fasteners-sewing-press-studs

Might be worth an email and ask about trade sample ?

So were ProFabrics.
http://www.profabrics.co.uk/collect...ud-refill-fabric-to-fabric?variant=5940871171
These were meant for sails and for tarpaulins.
Guaranteed rustproof

M

 

[Toddy]

Quantity reduces the price I find. I don't buy by the 100, usually by 25 or 30.

If you are buying in that quantity then you need to talk to folks like KIN who actually manufacture.

That said, Artisan have 100 for £12.50.
http://www.artisanleather.co.uk/large-press-studs---15mm-176-c.asp

Plated though, not solid brass.

M

 

[birchwood]

Pardon me for trying to help.I won't bother in the future.

 

[Angst]

thankyou once again toddy....i'll get 100 from artisan to see what theyre like and i'll drop kin a line too....knowing my luck they'll be the ones who are putting out the newer inferior stud....we'll find out...

those artisan ones do indeed look like the ones i'm used to with a silver-metal-cap-interior....

s x

Quantity reduces the price I find. I don't buy by the 100, usually by 25 or 30.

If you are buying in that quantity then you need to talk to folks like KIN who actually manufacture.

That said, Artisan have 100 for £12.50.
http://www.artisanleather.co.uk/large-press-studs---15mm-176-c.asp

Plated though, not solid brass.

M

 

[Angst]

i wasnt trying to be rude birch, as i said....

s

Pardon me for trying to help.I won't bother in the future.

 

[Toddy]

I'm finding that most of the sewing notions here nowadays are made in China. Thing with China though is that if you ask for quality, you will get superb quality, but if you're prepared to accept "it'll do" stuff and consider the savings worth the loss of the edge of quality, then that's what you'll get.

Suppliers here are buying the cheaper option all too often

I got some superb German made studs a couple of years ago, and they were solid brass. I was told that the company had sold the machinery to India and they were making the pieces there at a fraction of the cost and undercutting even the Chinese.
Might be worth pestering someone like Ali the Trader (Herts Fabrics) or Mazur at Fabric Bazaar if you have no joy with the leatherwork supply folks. They both source and buy in Indian and Pakistan, and there's a huge leather industry there.

Angst, I forgot about Segal's
They sold solid brass ones, plated black for what I needed last time.
I'll find a link.

M

 

[Toddy]

http://www.josephsegalltd.com/site/catalog/66

Cost me a fiver last time for something like 50. It was a while ago though.

M

 

[Klenchblaize]

hi....

birchwood, with all due respect, i'm very familiar with press studs.

klench, again with respect....i cant tell my customers to carry a screwdriver around with them so they can get their axe out of one of my sheaths.

dready......dude....i'm seriously stressed about this and its lovely knowing theres someone out there who knows EXACTLY what i'm talking about. CRAZY aint the word....and now the ONLY supplier i've ever known who has good studs is now stocking inferior ones....i dunno what to do.

to anyone reading this it probably seems like we're insane and/or exaggerating.....like you i spent my first coupla years buying what turned out to be total tat until i discovered this supplier and i've used them and only them since. i've had press studs from just about everyone i dare and theyve literally disappointed %99 of the time....i've chucked bags of them in the bin more times than i care to remember.

so....i've got about a hundred left in black of the original ones meaning i wont be making any brown and brass leatherwork in the foreseeable future....i'm not putting out a product with inferior hardware on it. but customers want brown and brass.

screwed......yet again, and me not happy lol.

toddy.....thankyou....i'll drop bilmo a line to see if i can get a few samples.....i'm out of ideas.

still laughing about tandy.....

£60 for 100 press studs. or you can give them £130 to get yourself an elite account which then means you can get 100 press studs for £30.

thats still 3 times more than they should be. as dready said.....a good press stud (preferably at a price that doesnt result in you having to sell your kids into slavery) would be gold to us.

regards,

s

Take a chill popper please and read my post again. You'll find I wasn't suggesting your Clients should sit cross-legged beneath the stars with a screwdriver and their axe sheath in hand.

If, as I was careful to aknowlege might the case, your are fully conversant with how to manipulate a stubborn press fastener may I suggest you crack-on with recovering the immediate situation that is the 'easing' of those fitted to 100 defective "bracelets" needed for your next show/market stall?

You may need to adjust your pricing to reflect use of better quality fixings & fasteners.

K

 

[bilmo-p5]

I don't use press studs any more than I have to, but there are some applications where they are ideal. I currently buy mine from Green Grizzly / Hebar; 15mm ring springs, about £12/100. They seem to work ok for me and the only failures I've had have been when I've tried setting them thru' too many thicknesses of fabric. I set them with a press which I think is far superior to a hammer and punch& die.

 

[Angst]

ta toddy i'll have a look....

and ta bilmo....i've had mixed results with green grizzly to be honest.....but yep i've thought about getting a press for a while....maybe i could send you a few of these to see what you think?

lolol klench...yup yup....to be honest i'm not considering any ''easing'' dude....i'm writing them off and ripping them off then drilling them out....then i might take them outside and put them in the firepit.....

as for quality fixings....as i said i've always used what are as far as i know, the best, along with many on here i get them from the same supplier, a supplier who certainly put out good product....and i find it hard to believe that tandy ones are 6 times better......

please do not try to tell me that a standard press stud is worth the best part of £1. or that my work is reduced in quality by the press studs i've been using. if thats the case the majority of leathersmiths in the uk would be guilty of the same thing.

granted i wouldnt exactly have to put my prices up to soak up the extra cost but seriously.....?......£60 for 100 press studs?.....really?

if anyones got a tandy press stud they want to send me for review i'll be happy to....

s

 

[Hibrion]

By the sounds of your deacription we were using the same supplier. I better be very carful with my next order if so!

 

[Angst]

hey hib....happy to send you a few in the post to try....would love to know if its just me losing my mind....

s

By the sounds of your deacription we were using the same supplier. I better be very carful with my next order if so!

 

[Angst]

toddy....have bought 100 from artisan....will let you know what i think....

s