The Great Purse Frame Crimper Debate...

I'm often asked about purse frame crimpers, so I thought I'd share my experience of them.

Years ago I heard that there was such a tool so I sent Mr Google to work to find me some. I ended up Paying $70AUD (including currency conversion and postage) for a tool to be sent from the USA..

Yup - it's a c-clamp vice grip with a block of wood stuck on it. I could have bought the clamp from Bunnings for $30 and organised the wood bit for myself.

The metal end originally had a piece of felt glued to it, but it fell off ..as did the subsequent five or six pieces I glued to it.

The clamp had a rounded end on it (??!) so I asked a metal-worker friend to grind it flat for me. The felt still fell off. Even hat felt and the strongest glues I could find couldn't stop the felt from breaking away after a few too many squeezes on frames.

And it did this to frames...

So I ditched the purse frame crimpers and went back to my tried and true super-secret-unless-you-buy-a-kit-from-me method***, which gives me results like this... much better.

I've stuck with that since. I only use the crimpers occasionally - for really small, fiddly bits - with a chunk of cork coaster protecting the frame from the sharp, ground down (and felt-repellent) metal bit. Even then I find them awkward and annoying.

Anicipating small and fiddly bits on my new frame purse, I started to get nervous.... But today I found this set for $15 in my local hardware shop. I liked the look of the tool in the middle, with its flat smooth ends and compact size.

With a bit of cork coaster and cardboard cushioning, I tried each tool on a frame. Surprisingly, the tool on the far right worked the best. I half expected it to damage the outside edge of the frame - as normal pliers often do - but it crimped at just the right angle and the outside of the frame was safely in that open area in the middle of the pincer bits. As you can see, I'm right up on my technical tool-talk.

The only down side was the rough adjuster thingamy on the end pressing into my palm. (Hours later, it still feels somewhere between a mild burn and a bruise).

So I devised this high-tech method of hand protection....

Of course, you could use fabric other than Amy Butler's for the crimper... but the koala cork coasters definitely work the best! ;)

For more details on working with purse frames.... you can buy a kit here! And if you know of a good purse frame crimping tool... pray tell us all where to get it!

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***And please remember, kids.... if you still want me around to make patterns and kits and tutorials, please respect copyright and don't share my secret method!!!

:)