Cutting Woes

[Guy W]

what are you guys using to cut our your leather? i marked in the pattern on the leather with a scratch awl, which worked great. then i got to cutting it out... it was a pain in the a$$

I tried a utility knife with new razors and scissors. both worked but my edges on the front and back of the pancake holster were miles apart. i was able to clean them up ok with a dremel sander after i got it glued together but i wasn't pleased with the process.

should i try something else for cutting? my hands are sore, it took almost an hour, and because it took so much effort and the results were sub par i'm not sure what to do.

[dirtclod]

I use round and head knives for all my cutting. But they have to be sharp on you will be in the same boat.

Something to look into is a better quality of leather. Over the years i have got some leather that you needed a chainsaw to cut.

Edited September 9, 2011 by dirtclod

[Steven Kelley]

I tried utility knives, round knives, all types of scissors, and was in the same boat as you with hurting hands, until I found some serrated utility knife blades at Lowes. That's all I use now. They come in a container of 50 blades for about $15. I've been using them for about 4 months and I'm on the 4th blade. They stay sharp a long time, and I can cut through 8/9 oz leather with one pass pretty easily.

[Shooter McGavin]

I used an Xacto for the longest, then bought a round knife. Round knife is nice, but I spend as much time stropping as I do cutting. Last week I ordered a hammer die for my most popular model, and a leather specific backer board.

What kind of surface are you cutting on?

When you dremel sanded the edges, did you make sure that the leather was damp? That helps.

[Dwight]

I personally do not trust myself with a round knife, . . . have to count my fingers too often.

Therefore, . . . I use my Stanley drywall razor knife (I have about 5 of them) with cheapo blades I bought at Big Lots, . . . but long before they touch the leather, . . . they go to my strop, . . . and get stropped REAL good.

For me, . . . there is nothing that works as well, . . . as in the holsters I do, . . . there are always short radius cuts, . . . quick corners, . . . short straights, . . . all which are not condusive to round blades, whether they are the round knife or the rolling type quilters use.

One of these days, . . . I'm going to invest in a band saw, . . . there is a company in Florida that will make a band saw blade that is just one long sharp blade, . . . I plan to try that some day, . . . just don't have the band saw machine to do it with yet.

But please remember, . . . if you are trying to cut out the pattern, . . . put it together, . . . and have the edges looking good without some sanding or dressing, . . . you are chasing a rainbow, . . . that only happens once in a while, . . . on a very good day.

May God bless,

Dwight

[katsass]

what are you guys using to cut our your leather? i marked in the pattern on the leather with a scratch awl, which worked great. then i got to cutting it out... it was a pain in the a$

I tried a utility knife with new razors and scissors. both worked but my edges on the front and back of the pancake holster were miles apart. i was able to clean them up ok with a dremel sander after i got it glued together but i wasn't pleased with the process.

should i try something else for cutting? my hands are sore, it took almost an hour, and because it took so much effort and the results were sub par i'm not sure what to do.

OK Guy, again from the grumpy old guy: This is how I learned many years ago, I suspect that not many do it, but it works for me. I rough-cut the shape with a pair of leather shears. I then moisten the leather and transfer my pattern. I then use a swivel knife to carefully cut along the transferred pattern. It makes a nice shallow cut, right on the pattern line, and is easy to follow with my dedicated leather cutter.Then, out comes a 75 yr. old Murphy knife which is SHARP. If necessary, I re-moisten the leather, then follow the swivel knife cut and I'm done, ending with a smooth, clean cut. A pic of my old Murphy knife, You can use a good razor knife instead, also moisten the leather, it will help. Mike

Edited September 9, 2011 by katsass

[DuaneS]

I use round and head knives for all my cutting. But they have to be sharp on you will be in the same boat.

Something to look into is a better quality of leather. Over the years i have got some leather that you needed a chainsaw to cut.

and I'll agree and emphasize the term SHARP, whatever type of knife you choose to use - it must be SHARP!

I use razor/box cutter type, eXacto type, head knife, and one of those round/roller types that is used for cutting fabric - all depending on what kind of cut I am trying to do and/or how thick the leather is.

I also have several stainless steel straight edges or rulers which are Very Handy for cutting straight lines...

You might also try casing the leather before you do any cutting, you'd be amazed how much difference that will make!

Found this on casing leather

Edited September 9, 2011 by DuaneS

[PHIPPS CRAFTED LEATHER]

For my two cents and because I'm still learning I use my swiss army knife, an officers model. Great thin blades very strong, either the small or large blade and easy to sharpen. Have used it to cut 8/9 oz and heavy harness leather, it makes a great clean cut.

Edited September 9, 2011 by PHIPPS CRAFTED LEATHER

[dirtclod]

( One of these days, . . . I'm going to invest in a band saw, . . . there is a company in Florida that will make a band saw blade that is just one long sharp blade, . . . I plan to try that some day, . . . just don't have the band saw machine to do it with yet )

Dwight you may want to invest in one the chain gloves if you buy the band saw and knife blade to go with it. That would be real similar to the knife / saw thing they use to cut material in sewing factories and several of the cutters have missing fingers. Before they started using the chain gloves.

Any knife round, head or razor knife is going to cut your fingers if you put em in the way.

Edited September 10, 2011 by dirtclod

[JS22]

Here's what I use. http://www.xacto.com/Product/X3206

I use a #24 blade to cut patterns and the long slender #2 blade to trim my linings and also to cut my thread flush to the leather.

The exacto fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and I push it in a compact sawing motion to folow my pattern lines. You can cut perfectly on the lines and around very tough corners with a little practice.

Good Luck

[katsass]

FWIW from grumpy again: The keys are: Cased leather, a SHARP - SHARP knife ... AND.... don't get in the way of the blade. (wouldn't get rid of the band-aids either, just because you think you won't get cut.) Mike

Edited September 10, 2011 by katsass

[Big O]

I use mostly a heavy-duty pair of scissors or a utility knife.

I use waxed nylon thread, and snip it with scissors and then melt it flush with a lighter.

[wizard of tragacanth]

It might just be that piece of leather. The first piece that I had took about five strokes or mort to cut through, even with a brand new blade in my utility knife. The next hide I got, cut like butter, in comparison.

[mlapaglia]

I use a 45mm rotary blade knife like the quilters use for all my straight lines and rough cuts. I lay a straight edge on the leather and use it as a guide to cut. With cased leather it takes one cut. For tight curves I use a utility knife with a stropped blade. One thing nice about the rotary knife is I can use it to trim down the edge of one piece of leather using the other edge as a guide. Even for gentle curves.

Mine is a Fiskars 9521 You can get them at hobby lobby and other craft stores. They go for about $15.00 and a pack of 5 replacement blades is about $10.00. TLF has one for 19.99 that is not as good as the Fiskars model. Give it a try. It wont do everything but for most cuts it does a great job.

[Lobo]

For cutting holster patterns I use the Kobalt 9-1/2" heavy duty scissor from Lowes, about $20. These will cut veg-tanned from 5 oz. to 10 oz. weight pretty easily. Touch up the edges ocassionally with a diamond steel sharpener. Mindy, my 25-year old assistant, cuts out about 15 holster patterns per hour using these (so about 4 minutes per holster), wearing a glove to avoid blisters and callouses. We have two of these in the shop, one is about 4 years old and the other is about 1-1/2 years old, both still going strong.

Leathers under about 5 oz. weight (linings, etc) can be cut easily with household scissors.

For long straight cuts, like the first cut necessary to begin cutting belt straps with a strap cutter, I use an electric sheet metal shear. The draw gauge strap cutter can then cut nice straight belt straps in about one minute each. Harbor Freight, about $40.00. Keep the blades adjusted very closely together and these will make a very clean cut on veg-tanned up to about 12 oz. weight, or down to about 5 oz. weight.

Non-traditional, for sure. Simple, fast, and easy to use as well.

[lonestar tactical]

I have been using a utility knife from tandy with great joy - http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/Tools/Knives-Cutters-Splitters/3955-00.aspx

On smaller weight I use http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/Tools/Knives-Cutters-Splitters/Scissors/3050-00.aspx

I would also like to mention that I had to learn to slow down when cutting. IMHO smooth is fast.

[BBAYS]

Nothing beats a good round knife. Most are intimidated by it as I was at first. With pradtice it cuts thru even the heaviest saddle leather and tightest of corners like butter. Keeping it sharp on a buffing wheel only takes about a minute at the beginning of the day. Once mastered it is hard to go back to the utility knife.

[Guy W]

with round knives how do you guys keep them sharp? a good double sided (course/fine) stone and some leather for strouping? where do you recommend getting the stone from? also what compound do you use to stroup with and where do you get that?

Edited September 10, 2011 by Guy W

[dirtclod]

with round knives how do you guys keep them sharp? a good double sided (course/fine) stone and some leather for strouping? where do you recommend getting the stone from? also what compound do you use to stroup with and where do you get that?

I use wet dry sand paper to sharpen my round and head knives and it works great. I've been using 320 grit cause that's what i had and then i strop it. But you could start with 320 or 400 and go on up in grit say to 600 and then a 1000 if you want to.

Use it just like you would a stone work it till you get a burr and work the burr off. Make sure you have a good flat surface to work on. You can wet the paper and the surface of what ever your using and it will pretty much stay in place. Their are several videos on you showing people using the wet dry paper.

For my strop i cut out a shape i liked with a handle from a piece of scrap plywood and glued a piece of horse hide on it. I use green buffing compound, you can get it off ebay if theirs not a store close by that sells it.

[BBAYS]

I have a buffing wheel on a grinder. Dress it with a little white buffing compound, buff each side of the round knife about 30 seconds and its good to go. I have used the same knife about 6 years now with no problems. Keep your hands and fingers behind your knife while cutting because it does bite like a %(&^% if you slip.

[gregintenn]

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1297965&kw=hobby+knife&origkw=hobby+knife&searchId=58192990283

I use one of these with satisfactory results.

[particle]

I use a round knife. If you look at my website, I posted a free "Hows it Made" video a while back (couple years ago?). It's embarrassing for me to look at now, but I had the hardest time cutting that leather (Herman Oak 8-9oz). Since then, I've learned a few things...

First, I thought my round knife came sharp from Weaver. I was wrong... Sure, it was sharp (sliced my finger open as I was trying to remove it from the packing material), but the edge wasn't polished enough and had too steep of a grind on it. I spent hours on my diamond stone cutting the edge to a more shallow angle - it cuts much better now! It's probably a butter knife compared to some others here, but it seems to be working pretty well for me now.

Second - it's much more difficult to cut the leather if you rough-cut the pieces away from the hide. Now, you may not have the luxury of a large layout table (mine is 3' x 8'). For me, I find it much easier to cut my pieces directly from the hide because I have more edges to hold with my non-cutting hand.

Last, check out this video - it might give you a better idea about what "sharp" is...

[Guy W]

anyone ever try these black and decker power scissors? any chance they could "cut the mustard" so to speak?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2364577

[Steven Kelley]

anyone ever try these black and decker power scissors? any chance they could "cut the mustard" so to speak?

http://www.acehardwa...oductId=2364577

In a previous job, we started using those to cut very tough polycarbonate sheeting about 20mils thick. They replaced using stanley knives, which resulted in about 15 knife cut incidents a year. They worked very well for most things, but they won't cut leather thick enough to make holsters. They might cut 2-3 oz, but I doubt if they would cut anything thicker.

[Spinner]

Paul over at LeatherWranglers.com has a couple of great videos (as well as some great knives) of how to sharpen, strop and use a round knife. Definitely worth checking out:

http://leatherwranglers.com/tips.html