Abbey England Pricking Iron Review - Are They Worth Buying?

So excited for my first reviews video :-) In this episode I will be reviewing the new Abbey England pricking irons. Watch now to find out what I think and if you should buy them.
Get your pricking irons here - www.abbeyengland.com/workshop... international shipping is available.
If you would like to order a handmade leather item from us please visit our website - www.jhleather.co.uk to see the range of items and designs we have available. We also offer international postage. You can also check out our Etsy store at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JHLeather
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[@delve9875]

Hi Jo - good review. I will bow to your greater knowledge but I'm left-handed so I hold my awl in my left hand. The left-handed pricking irons are therefore brilliant for me as now I can use pricking irons to mark stitches which are oriented the correct way for me. And thank you Abbey!

[@cabacs8062]

I am enjoying your video's in general. Abbey are a great company visited them a few times as I have had brass plaques from them for our annual rallies.

[@Alchemetica]

Thanks for the review.

[@judyfountain7187]

The one tooth is going to become your best friend around corners and at tips. You can center your points and then make even spacing all of the way to the straight of way! You will grow to Love it!

[@willie_mccoy]

Really good prices. I could buy 3 sets for what I paid for one Blanchard. Gonna have to try them out. Thanks for the video! :)

[@JHLeather]

They are really good quality, like I said I purchased the larger £80 set and I haven't used my other stitch markers since.

[@ChrisMSchool]

The 1 tooth is handy for when you need to fudge your hole spacing, where 2 is too big, you use the 1. The key to a good diamond stitching iron is how smooth/polished the inside of the tongs are. Cheap ones wont be polished and will be rough, making pulling the iron out of the leather very difficult.

[@ChrisMSchool]

Also the single diamond tooth it good for square corners, so you can keep your stitch diamond shaped the entire way, as it can rotated sideways

[@JHLeather]

Thanks for the info! I've never used them before so thanks for your knowledge 🙂

[@dougdavis8367]

I would say that most leather workers I meet use irons to go right through so no need for an awl. The single is for making up slightly odd gaps ,say when going around a wallet or bag.

[@JHLeather]

Thanks Doug, I'm starting to get the idea that with my saddlery background and learning with a pricking iron and awl isn't what most people use..... Thanks for letting me know about the 1 tooth though, I usually use my stitch marker at an angle for that so I guess it didn't pass my mind that that was what it was for.

[@LavenderLori406]

So effective and efficient! Time saver!

[@kittvt]

The single tooth is also useful if you want to increase the distance between stitch holes, as when you're hand-stitching billets (girth straps) onto a saddle. I usually go 3/16" to 1/4" apart; I think it makes for a stronger attachment as you have more leather between the holes, and it holds up better to the stress of use than when the holes are closer together.

[@labrat7357]

I would make one observation about stainless steel, with all its positive attributes has one big down side and that is the work hardening that ferritic and austenitic stainless steel are prone to. The grinding during manufacture and subsequent workshop use will cause these materials to work harden and become quite brittle. It is a well know property of these stainless steels. Only martensitic stainless steel is less effected but requires hardening and tempering much like carbon steels and can be a more complex process.

[@leighjohnson4281]

Hi Jo, you mention you use the 3.38mm irons but I can't see them listed as an option? Can you suggest, which would be closest? Is 3.38 ten teeth to the inch or am I missing something? Thanks

[@madcat1007]

Thanks for video Jo. Really useful. Just one question. Can the pricking irons go through say 2mm leather? I do not use an awl (yet).

[@JHLeather]

They should do, I would use a soft surface underneath your leather to ensure that the teeth don't get damaged though. An old/scrap piece of leather would be good.

[@aaron6841]

Hi Jo I have a question does left handed mean if you use the princeling iron in your left hand then that's the right one? Kind regards.

[@JHLeather]

@A privet hedge and rickety fence Gardening channel hello, you'd need a right handed one as you will awl with your right hand. The left handed one would be used for box work were you stitch on different angles so the awl comes through at the right angle. They are also known as harness (right handed) and portmanteau.

[@stuartmarriott8056]

Far Eastern imports at inflated prices. The cheap ones are no better/different from sets you can buy on e-bay for a tenner. I've already seen 1 review where teeth chipped on the pricking irons. As to the more expensive ones, if you're paying over £100 it would be worth comparing with WUTA, Crimson Hides, Crazy Cut Leather etc (they're probably from one of those manufacturers anyway).

[@JHLeather]

Hey Stuart, I'm not sure where Abbey are getting them manufactured too, I'll see if I can find out. So far I haven't had any issues with the set I purchased so can't comment on other people's experience, I'd suggest that the person who left the review speaks to Abbey about it.

[@stegoheg]

Hi Jo, thanks for the video, great to know that there are some good UK suppliers out there. Are they planning any premium stitching irons (not diamond shaped)....that go all the way through? I bought KS last time, very good, I would prefer to buy more locally though.

[@JHLeather]

Hiya, yeah have a look on the Abbey website the larger 2 set of irons is the premium one. They are also available in stitches per inch and right and left handed options 👍

[@aaron6841]

What does left and right handed mean please? I'm right handed use mallet in right hand so ordered the left hand is that right? I'm so confused lol! Kind regards PS love your channel!:)

[@JHLeather]

@@aaron6841 hello, you'd need a right handed one as you will awl with your right hand. The left handed one would be used for box work were you stitch on different angles so the awl comes through at the right angle. They are also known as harness (right handed) and portmanteau.

[@DD-bs9fo]

Thanks for the review Jo. I am most certainly going for Abbey pricking irons. Just one question: on their website, they sell 'right hand' and 'left hand' irons. Do you know what the difference is?

[@JHLeather]

Hiya, so on the left handed ones the marks face the other way for of you stitch left handed or are doing box work. Hopefully that makes sense, Jo

[@DD-bs9fo]

@@JHLeather It does, thank you!

[@LavenderLori406]

I'm new to your channel. What mallet do you use, is it wood? And do you make any leather garments?

[@orlandopetley7863]

Which set of irons are the most similar to the Dixon’s? I am finding the website a bit confusing :(

[@JHLeather]

The ones traditional pricking irons would be the closest, they are in stitches per inch and comprise of a 1" marker and a 2 tooth. Hope that helps. Jo

[@shoaibasghar949]

Vvvvv good

[@littlebee9325]

Would these work on biothane?

[@seanditch4419]

Hi Jo, Can pricking irons like the slanted pricking irons you have be used to fully penetrate the leather like a stitching chisel would? I have looked everywhere for that slanted look in a stitching chisel but my search only ever returns pricking irons, which i then would have to wait a million weeks for it to arrive from the international space station, rather pay £3k for pricking irons in the U.K. If you were to go on the Abbey website now and choose a set of pricking irons and a set of diamond chisels which ones would you choose because when you say your sizes they never seem to be an option. Thx

[@JHLeather]

It depends on what thickness of leather you are using really, they abbey ones have long teeth even teeth so you can use them all the way though - I do this on wallets ect. The abbey one I have is 3.38mm and is one of their original releases a few years ago before they acquired the patterns for the Joseph Dixon irons. The 3.38 is between a 7 and 8 spi iron. I would lean towards the 8spi iron as it is a good all around iron and can be used for both small projects like wallets as well as dog collars.

[@seanditch4419]

​@@JHLeather The 3.38mm must have been discontinued as they seem to only sell 3mm then 4mm for an Abbey Diamond pricking iron set right hand, And 7spi 3.63mm for the Abbey traditional oblique pricking iron set right hand, the 8spi is 3.175mm. Its probably me not looking at the right things.....😜🤣 could you offer any advice please?

[@JHLeather]

So I've done some looking and some have 3.38 listed as 8spi. These have some listings for irons www.proatelierplus.com/product-page/frenchstyle-prickinghollow

[@seanditch4419]

@@JHLeather Thank you so much for taking the time to help me, cant thank you enough. Those are a tad pricey for me as a beginner so i think my choice will have to be with either:- Abbey's Diamond pricking iron set right hand, 3mm or 4mm (Not sure which) Or Abbey's :- 7spi 3.63mm or 8spi 3.175mm. for the Abbey traditional oblique pricking iron set right hand. These sets are more in my experience price range, but the question is which one should i go for? Any help would be totally appreciated. thank you Jo

[@JHLeather]

Both sets are good i have both the 3 and 4 mm diamond irons from abbey and use them for various projects. What are you focusing on making? For complete beginners I'd say the 4mm is a good option as I can be used on larger projects more easily than the 3mm. The oblique set is more focused on if you are planning on using an awl for stitching in the future. Hope that makes sense.

[@msrvfx]

When would you choose the Diamond over Pricking?

[@JHLeather]

I personally would always use a pricking iron as I prefer them but it's down to what you like to do. You need to use an awl with the pricking iron and you don't with the chisels. I only really use the chisels when I am Stitch something that's not going to be seen, like on the inside of a tote bag

[@msrvfx]

@@JHLeather I’m a bit confused as to the right, left traditional oblique choices. Looking to use on a med- heavier leather (8 oz) for making a quiver. No angled box edge. Would the traditional oblique rt hand be the better choice? I’m right handed.

[@JHLeather]

If your right handed to for that option as that's that's the side you will be awling from. The left handed/inverse irons are for when you are stitch marking both sides of the leather or if you are left handed and awl from that side.

[@msrvfx]

@@JHLeather thank you for that information.

[@user-ms6lk4gn5y]

Где это можно купить?

[@1288liam]

Cant say for all but those Abbey diamond chisels are all made in China priced really high for what they are... I've actually found more of their tools which are priced very high but identical to Chinese ones In pretty much every aspect, only without the Abbey logo but priced at less than half of Abbeys price. These tools aren't made the UK Personally I wouldn't buy their tools anymore. I would stick to the advertised generic Chinese ones at a fair price or go premium with Kevin lee, Amy roke, crimson hides etc...

[@importantname]

Buy LOCAL for many good reasons = but if you buy the cheap irons from china you will not be happy with results.