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PostPosted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:54 am 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 6:56 am
Posts: 822
Location: Tallahassee, FL
For those of you without a sail loft, a leather or canvas repair facility, or who just prefer to DIY, the Speedy Stitcher Sewing Awl makes a great, inexpensive gift or tool to add to your arsenal.

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http://www.speedystitcher.com/main.html

Works great for repairing kayak seat straps, strap hardware, tool pouches, baseball gloves, shoes, backpacks, tents, any kind of heavy canvas or leather goods, as well as Nylon webbing. It has been made by Stewart Manufacturing for nearly 100 years now, and is still available from such suppliers as REI, Cabelas, Eastern Mountain Sports, and Campmor for as little as $6.99. This price from Campmor includes the Speedy Stitcher, a straight needle, a curved needle, and a spool of coarse waxed thread. I have found the fine waxed nylon thread to also be useful, and purchased a spare spool of that, plus some additional needles separately. When I got my kit many years ago from L.L. Bean, it also included a zippered leather carrying pouch (seen below). The carpenter's awl (seen at far right) comes in handy for enlarging the hole the needle is to pass through. I have been known to break a needle or two when trying to force the issue!

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My latest project was to repair the carry pouch for my Victorinox Swiss Army lockback. I believe it is called the Adventure model—I like it because it has just the essentials, but no extra junk that I don’t use, and that makes it pretty light weight. I tried to find a new pouch when the original thread deteriorated, but I could not find the correct size, so I decided to just re-sew this one with the fine waxed nylon thread using a lock stitch.

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As you can see here, the Speedy Stitcher does a pretty clean job. It does take some practice to get a nice tight knot, but no big ting.

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Finally, its nice to be able to support a long-time American manufacturer of a unique, quality product for a reasonable price!

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 8:48 pm 
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Hobie Approved Guru

Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
Posts: 3017
Location: Escondido
That looks like an excellent tool. I do awl and needle work from time to time and find it pretty time consuming. I've seen these advertised and wondered how well they work.

It looks like this tool would make quick work out of simple repair jobs. Thanks for the great review -- think I'll look around for one! 8)


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 Post subject: Speedy Stitcher
PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:43 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:17 am
Posts: 11
Location: San Juan Island, WA
Thanks for the suggestion on the Speedy Stitcher, Apalach! I just popped over and bought one on eBay for $9.99 (lots of used/vintage ones on auction, but look down in store items). I have a great Sailrite walking-foot sewing machine for heavy work, but have often wanted something for the tool bag; this looks like a very useful gadget.

Cheers!
Steve

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