It works!! you may have to fiddle with it a little but for $2 it beats the heck out of $2-300 tool that gets dull and then you don't know how to resharpen it, this works. I have made two, one with big 3/8 inch bolts for modern gloves as the lace is usually thicker on one end than the other. The shoulder leather is thicker than the wither leather as cows push their heads through barbwire etc.. and it thickens. Never seen a cow back into a fence butt first. This makes the top of the web lace on an HOH or A2 look more uniform. The other splitter has 1/4 bolts that has finer threads and thinner washers for thinner laces. Used in the early gloves on the heel etc. You all know how hard it is to get laces to big through those little tiny grommets on 1920's gloves. Yep, I have pulled many grommets out with to big of laces and have had a time on doubling the lace through a grommet at the end of the heel lace. Not any more, just punch a hole, wire a paper clip to the lace and sew it up. wha-la.I used a leather "Skiver" to thin the lace about 2-3 inches at an end to get the lace started. yeah it looks like the carpet knife razor blade (CKRB) will fall out and you are using it backward but you are not!! Just tighten it up good and tight. On the other splitter I made, I just used PVC pipe and did away with the block of wood. The space between the PVC pipe and CKRB determines the thickness. The CKRB goes between two washers and is locked between the threads of each bolt. Single edge razor blades don't work as they are to flimsly. I use a pair of needlenose pliars to get the leather started and not cut my fingers. OOPS!! I fasten the splitter in my vice so it frees up both hands. The lace follows along the curvature of the pipe and you should pull downward on both the back and front of the splitter. If you pull upwards you will cut the lace into. It seems that if I soften the leather it works easier than just grabbing a dry lace and having at it, and you can use any piece of pipe or anything that gives you a radius to pull the leather against. I haven't tried different radius pipe, a smaller or larger pipe may work better, Don't know, but what I got works for me..
In the Dimaggio Rolled web I have pictured on the forum, the laces are brand spankin new just used my staining tricks, I know you guys have tricks, so do I, Baby oil is my usual solvent and I use any thing that is miscible in a covalent solvent. Meltonian shoe polish dissolves, coffee, A pug of chewing tobacco also works, (Red Coon, Bull of the Woods, Bloodhound if you want really dark stain) and any natural pigments {walnut hulls (jugulan) , oak leaves(tannin) etc. all work, to extract the oils just put them in a mason jar not used for moonshine and let it steep in the sun like you are making sun tea. the oil will absorb the oils and stains in the tobacco, leaves etc and there you go. If you want to extract the stain (Pigment) quicker use rubbing alcohol as the solvent, let some of the alcohol evaporate to concentrate the dye, and then pour it into the baby oil. You can also use the dirty rags you cleaned a glove with as you wipe the excess oil off to add some glove grime you extracted with elbow grease. Hey never thought of it, but you could add some of the stains to a small jar of vasoline and stir it up in a hot water bath.. Hey I may try that, and have different shades for what I want.. Neat Idea. take care and hope this helps when you guys have to tuck a lace through the same grommet twice. Yours in gloves
P.S. Now since I have saved all you guys on here about $200 each on a splitter and made relacing an early glove a bunch easier. Please feel free to mail any spare Crescent gloves, white sewn webs, a Pepper Martin PM, Dizzy Dean DD or KB Goldsmith to the Glovester in good old Piney Flats, oh, any Wright Ditson with patch on the inside of heel, sweet, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE FOR OUR YANKEE FOR THE ALL STAR GAME!! He looks like he could go bear hunting with a switch, AND WIN!
) I usually have to stop at the Home Depot next door and look at power tools to recover from the experience, BUT I spied some leather supplies there and they had ROUND glove laces. serious, I think there is a use for them in maybe the Ken Wel Dazzy vance models or an early laced finger glove of the 20's-30's? Neat! check it out if you ever need a round rawhide lace in an early type glove. Take care. glad to help
