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Although I haven't used either of those two makes, I'd go for the Osborne, as they have a better reputation. www.metropolitanleather.com sell Osborne tools at reduced prices George Barnsley and Sons is a traditional Sheffield maker of leather tools, but they are not as well known, so I wonder if you've heard of them?. They sell a round knife for about £28 and a head knife, which has a single point, for about £16. They keep the cost down by only giving you a basic cutting edge, and you are expected to do the final sharpening & polishing yourself, but once you get there you only need to strop, and very occasionally use a fine stone. I have one of their head knives, and it's excellent. Find them via Google Search YouTube for 'JH Leather'; she uses a head knife, though hers is a Dixons, which is no longer made. Also Search YT for 'sharpening a round knife'. The Tandy and the Osborne will also need some sharpening before you can get the best out of them

I can think of a few types of thread that would meet your requirements, and fortunately they are all available from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply - https://www.rmleathersupply.com Whatever you get, it should be about 0,5mm diameter, though it doesn't need to be exact Ritza 25, aka Tiger thread. 0,6mm dia is sold in 25m lengths, or longer. It's very popular, synthetic Fil au Chinois is a long established, first class linen thread. In the French measuring system, the higher the number, the thinner the thread. Try 532 The Chinese Yue Fung Company make excellent linen and synthetic thread. It is sold by RMLS under their own brand, 'Twist' Twist linen This is very good, I'd say as good as FauC Twist polyester. This is also very good. I prefer it to Tiger thread as it has more of a round cross section; Tiger is flatter, more like very narrow tape I think all these are pre - waxed, but feel free to give them an extra rub if you wish. And there is a wide range of colours in all of them Linen or synthetic? Synthetic/polyester is less liable to fray, and you can finish the stitching by melting the ends of the thread. But some people prefer the appearance and feel of linen A lot of this comes down to personal preference, and I'm afraid the only way for you to find out is to try them. Ask nicely and they might send you some samples; they also have sample cards Oh all right then! If I was pushed, my choice would be for Twist poly. Incidentally, I no longer us a stitching groover for any of my leatherwork. I simply mark the line of the stitching with dividers Edited, an hour or so later - Search YouTube for 'making leather wallets'; there are lots of videos. They probably won't list the thread used, but if you look carefully you can get an idea of the thickness of thread used, and the resulting stitching

The grade of sandpaper will depend on the type of leather you are using. Knife sheaths are typically 3 X 3mm veg tan which is quite a hefty chunk. But something from thinner and softer leather, like a wallet or notebook cover will need something a bit gentler. Try starting with 100 grit for anything and take it from there YouTube is your friend! Search for 'leather edge finishing'; there are loads of videos. Also Search for making any items you're interested in. Then you'll see how other people do it, and if you watch carefully you'll get an idea of the grit size they use Something you will notice is that there are many variations on getting to the end result I can't remember much about paying for Goods Japan. I think they did the calculation and i paid it as one bill, but i can't be sure now Here are some more suppliers - H Webber & Son sell Osborne tools Metropolitan Leather sell Osborne tools, besides leather George Barnsley and Sons is a traditional Sheffield tool maker. They have a wide range of tools for leatherwork, and are reasonably priced for the quality you get

Would it be possible to pre - prick some of the layers of leather? If you've done them all you would need to line up the holes carefully. Or if it was just the top layer you could use that as a guide for the awl blade to pass through the hole then through the next layers I make sheaths from 3 X 3mm veg tan leather. I usually glue the welt to the front part; use a stitching chisel to make the holes in that; make up/glue on the back part; push my awl from the front through the holes and into & through the back part I've seen previous threads where people have mounted an awl blade in a stationary pillar drill or drill press to apply more force than just by hand As for thread, I would assume it should be fairly thick. Synthetic is stronger and less likely to fray, but you might like the look of linen. Think about 0,8mm or 1,0mm synthetic - braided polyester; or 4/18 linen, or 332 if it's measured in the French system

TAN DAN The grit depends to some extent on the thickness and type of leather. For thick veg tan try starting with 80 to 100 grit. for thinner leather try 100 to 120. Then go finer, say about 180 or 220 grit. Besides abrasive fabric or paper you can also use those foam sanding blocks with different grades on each surface. Don't use wet&dry paper as intended for car bodywork as they can leave dark marks behind Goods Japan - I acquired most of the tools I needed before I knew about Goods Japan, but got some Seiwa European stitching chisels from them which were an improvement on Tandy Craftool . See YouTube, Nigel Armitage has several reviews of pricking irons/stitching chisels I use a Japanese style leather knife for straight cuts and skiving; see YT for what it looks like and how it's used. They are easy to sharpen and you soon get used to the offset blade; but only you can decide if you want one. I made my own, but there are several on the Goods Japan website Their prices include shipping, but you will be charged for VAT/import duty at 20% I know this is a bit tedious, but why don't you have a look through the Tools and Getting Started sections, or anywhere else for that matter to see what you want, then browse through Goods Japan's website and get a shopping list together; then post the list on this forum and see what comments and opinions turn up?

I'd say that if you're thinking of changing from the powder (which I've never used) I'd go straight to TOKONOLE and not bother with made up gum trag. I've used both Tandy Eco-Flo gum tragacanth and Tokonole , which is made by Seiwa, and the Tokonole is much better Surf the Net and you might find a seller on Ebay or Amazon or something, but I got mine from www.goodsjapan.com. I seem to remember that it was about £11 including shipping for a 120ml pot, and about 2 weeks delivery; but don't hold me to it. Polish & burnish the edge with sandpaper, then water and a slicker/burnisher, then apply the Tokonole and burnish again; a little goes a long way. Search YouTube for Tokonole, there are several videos. Also if you watch videos of people making leather items you sometimes see them using it One more thing about Tokonole. In the immortal words of Ian Atkinson "it looks like spunk"

I think a few people have tried to work out a formula to estimate the length of thread required, and I'm sure there must be something somewhere, but a simple answer is - PLENTY! It is extremely annoying and frustrating to find yourself short of thread for the last 2 or3 stitches; and remember you will need some for folding over; locking onto the needle; and backstitching - often at the start of sewing, and certainly at the end. Smaller stitches need more thread than larger stitches for the same length of run I'd say use a minimum of 5 X the length of the line of the stitches, and as you are learning allow more, like 6 or 7. Then as you gain experience you can reduce the length If you watch people doing leatherwork on YouTube, such as Nigel Armitage and JH Leather you notice that they have plenty of thread to play with Try not to sew with more than a full arms' width, which as FREDK mentions, is near as dammit 2m or 2 yds. Even at that length things can get rather tricky and tangled up. But I assume that as a beginner you will be doing smaller items that need less thread

JCUK, TUGADUDE, and others; thanks for your comments I've spent about a week Surfing t'Net, and must have looked at just about every pricking iron/stitching chisel on the market. The situation was similar to that when I was looking for a new tent a couple of summers ago - you can go round and round, but sooner or later you've just got to settle on something. My decision to go for the 4 prong Craftool Pro was due to the good review it got from Nigel, and that it would match the 2 prong that I have already. It was about £38 inc delivery from Identity Leathercraft I don't usually bother with Abbey England as they don't publish prices on their website, which I see as a hangover from the old secretive and restrictive practices of British Industry; perhaps I should in future, read on I went for 4 prong and not 8 as I want to use this mainly for wallets, and I thought that if it was difficult to pull out it might distort the thin leather. Also, I haven't used an 8 prong yet, I might find it fiddly to place 8 prongs on a stitching line; though admittedly, other people seem to manage (yes I know - how am I going to find out if I don't try?) Besides the links from JCUK I have found a review of Abbey England pricking irons by JH Leather, including prices, and they look fairly good If I want to go to more prongs, my choices would be to - Get the 8 prong Craftool Pro, about £40 inc delivery Get the Abbey England budget set of 2, 5, & 10 prong irons which at about £36 delivered is cheaper than the single Craftool Pro Get the Abbey England better quality set of 2 & 9 prongs, which would be about £100 Tandy had 2 shops in Britain, but these closed with Tandy's recent re-organisation. Identity Leathercraft has been an agent for Tandy for years; I've visited their shop, and they are pleasant & helpful, but they don't have any of the official Tandy sales or offers If we want to buy any Tandy products in Britain, they are shipped from USA, and by the time you've considered the exchange rate, import duty and handling charge, it's not worth it. But I never thought about a sale, that would definitely have made importing worthwhile.

Thanks for your comments, but I've had a change of plan I've been looking at Nigel Armitage's Pricking Iron videos #1 & #10 on Tandy Craftool Pro stitching chisels, and he thinks they're reasonable enough I have a 2 prong, 3,5mm spacing chisel that I have been using straight out of the box, but he shows that they can be improved by polishing the prongs So I will order a 3,5mm 4 prong chisel, and polish the prongs on both of them with fine abrasive paper,. The new chisel will be about £38 including delivery. I'll see how I go on with that

Welcome to the forum! Yes, Ian & Nigel are frequently recommended for instruction and advice, for both techniques and finished items. But there is a new kid on the YouTube block - J H Leather. Her video on the saddle stitch, which she sometimes calla the double hand stitch, is very good

Thanks for the link There are now a few of these up - market pricking irons/stitching chisels available - Crimson Hide; Amy Roke; Sinabroks; KS Blades, and now the one you have indicated. I'm looking for a 2-prong and a 5 or 6-prong, and I expect that I will have to pay over £100, by the time import duty & shipping is included I think that, as for any item, besides the objective factors, a large part of your decision is based on what you fancy. They are all very good, but I fancy the Crimson Hides. My choice now is whether to go for the European or Japanese style.

Huh! And I thought I was being extravagant, thinking of getting some Crimson Hide pricking irons.

At the moment I'm using Tandy Craftool, Tandy Craftool Pro, and Seiwa European stitching chisels, but I'm thinking about getting some Crimson Hide Pricking Irons Although described as pricking irons, Nigel Armitage's review shows that they will penetrate a thin layer of leather, and as I intend using them mostly for wallets, I think that would be just about right Crimson Hides website shows Japanese and French pricking irons. What's the difference, please, and which would you recommend? I'm thinking of the French type with 3,25mm spacing, 2 & 5 prong; but as I estimate that the total cost will be about £108 I'd like to be sure

Here are a few more ideas - My Dad was a carpenter, and when I was a boy he got me a small set of tools. I never took it up seriously, but I had those tools for years and looked after them. So even if, as you say, you already have some tools, get her some of her own, even if it's just a few. This will hold her interest, and help to encourage responsibility; to appreciate the value of things; safety when using them; pride in her work; and so on. It's a lot more satisfying to make something with your own tools than having to borrow Dad's You will probably come across the Japanese style leather knife. This looks a bit strange at first, but once you've got used to the offset blade, you realise how handy they are. I have one, and use it for straight cuts and skiving. You will probably come across a KIRIDASHI as well. This, too, is good and useful. She would be able to make sheaths and covers for them; it's all good practice. They are both easy to sharpen, and you can make your own strop. Search YT for all these things Search YouTube for 'simple leatherwork projects' and 'leatherwork for beginners; there are several references. I've Searched Google for 'singapore leatherwork suppliers'. There are several stores, and some of them offer courses. It would do no harm to visit them and have a chat

I agree with CHRISASH, and with similar comments made when that question has been asked before on this forum I don't know much about saddles and related leatherwork for horses. I've never made any, and I doubt if I ever will. But I do know that such work must be strong, and made to the highest standards. That's why training to become a saddler takes years of serious work Look at it this way -- if you make a wallet that's a bit odd, well that's unfortunate, but only cosmetic. If you make a belt that comes apart, the worst that can happen is that your trousers will fall down, which might be embarrassing, but the only thing that will be hurt is your dignity. However, if a piece of horse tack fails, you may fall off, perhaps at speed, and cause serious injury. So for the moment leave that to the professionals But what you can do is to start with simple basic, non - critical leatherwork and build it up from there. As you gain experience and confidence you can move on to straps and belts. So, where to start? You will need to learn both the techniques, such as the saddle stitch (how do you think it got that name!?), edge finishing, dyeing, and so on. You can combine this with making simple items, like card holders, wallets, key fobs, and belts, moving on to pouches and possibles bags, and perhaps a bag to hold the grooming kit The good news is that all the techniques and methods are pretty much the same for many items I expect the books you have listed will be OK for saddles, but a general leatherwork book is worth getting. This is often recommended -- 'The Leatherworking Handbook' by Valerie Michael. It includes some simple projects YouTube is a great help, for both techniques, and making things. Use the Search Box, and follow the links and suggestions, and away you go! Try Searching for -- Making leather reins/horse tack/belts/browband/cardholder/wallets/coin purse.......and yes, saddles as well. Also dog's collars - the methods are very similar to those for belts I've noticed that some things, reins for example, can also be made from paracord, so that's something to consider She's a girl! So you could think about braiding, in leather or paracord for bracelets; beadwork; decorative items for horse tack. These small simple items could be used for gifts or sale to friends Here are some YT channels by experienced leatherworkers, for both techniques and making particular items -- Nigel Armitage; JH Leather; Ian Atkinson. They're all British; that's not deliberate, they just happen to be the ones I know best. I'm sure other people will come along with their suggestions, but there are plenty to choose from! You mention woodwork. Paul Sellers makes high quality items using hand tools, including some for children, such as chopping boards, spatulas, decorative stars etc. Search YouTube for 'Paul Sellers Woodwork'.

Search YouTube for 'saddle stitching'; there are several videos; watch a few of them and you'll see how it's done This one is good - 'How to Hand Stitch Leather - Saddle Stitch Tutorial' by JH Leather Saddle stitching - sometimes called two - hand or double - hand stitching is so common in leatherwork that if you watch almost any item being made, the video will show saddle stitching to some extent As you are new to leatherwork does that mean you have a new awl? A lot of the time & effort, and therefore the cost involved in making leatherwork knives and awls is taken up with the final sharpening and polishing. So it is very common for the makers to give these tools only a basic finish, and you are expected to do the final sharpening & polishing yourself. That keeps the price down; it is only the top end makes, say $50 or more for an awl that you can use straight out of the box. Search YT for 'sharpening an awl', there are several videos. A well sharpened awl blade should slide through the leather like butter, with very little effort; watch the videos by experienced leather workers and you can see that. A blunt awl will require more effort; distort and bend the leather because the tip of the blade pushes against the leather but does not penetrate it easily, resulting in ragged, uneven holes If you have bought the 4-in-1 awl sold by Tandy and others, well that isn't very good. Use the round/scratch awl blade, but you'll be better off in the long run if you buy another, better, diamond awl

Search YouTube for 'leather workshop tour' and 'leather workshop ideas' - there are several videos, which will dive you plenty of ideas & suggestions

Hello ONIDORI, and welcome to the fun!. I think you're now at the stage where you will just have to settle on something, and learn as you go along. Here is my suggested shopping list which would be a good start for most leatherwork items, though of course other people, including yourself, may have different ideas. All 3 suppliers are quite good enough for the beginner, and beyond From ROCKY MOUNTAIN LEATHER SUPPLY Economy wing divider Economy bone folder Economy leather burnisher Vergez Blanchard medium awl - but see later Thread - 0,6mm Ritza/Tiger, 25m; Twist Masterfil linen; Twist 0,45mm polybraid polyester. There are lots of makes of thread on the market, trying a few will enable you to decide which you like John James L3912 needles size 002 WEAVER LEATHER Diamond stitching chisel set, 4mm spacing TANDY Scratch awl 3217 Craftool edge beveler size 2. This is cheap, simple, easy to use and easy to sharpen. Once you've gained experience with his you could make your own decision on anything better/more expensive Stitching awl 31218. Even if you use stitching chisels you will need a diamond awl sooner or later. This and the V -G are two styles, you decide which you might like Safety beveler 3001. Cheap and easy to start with. You might eventually want to upgrade to a dedicated skiving knife, or a Japanese leather knife, or an English style leather paring knife - Search Google and YouTube Wool daubers 3445 Ruler 3606 Fiebings Edge Kote and Pro Dye Any of these suppliers, plus your local craft & hardware store - Wood/hide/plastic mallet Cutting mat, the usual green thing; get the biggest you can manage A block of beeswax Utility/box cutter type knife. There are lots of different knives for leather, but this is cheap, simple, and easy to use The key to good leatherwork is to have razor sharp tools; Search YouTube and the section on this forum. You can buy a strop, but they're very easy to make from oddments of wood & leather. Treat yourself to some proper stropping compound; it's not expensive and a small block will last for ages Leather! Bellies and splits are the cheapest to learn on, and OK for small, simple projects But more than anything, watch YT videos on the items toy would like to make, to see how other people do the work, and the tools they use

Probably only relevant to British members, but I've noticed that https://www.artisanleather.co.uk have some starter kits that look like they're better quality then usual Artisan Leather have also recently started selling their own brand 0,6mm braided polyester thread which they say is similar to tiger, but as it's on 300m reels the initial price is cheaper; though I haven't tried any yet EDIT in fact Artisan's thread is cheaper anyway - £5-95 for 300m is approx £20 for 1,000m. Abbey charge approx £60 for 1,000m of Ritza/Tiger thread

These are the pieces of leather I bought from them for wallets, all 1,2 to 1,8mm thick Pale tan belly - - good even colour, no noticeable marks or blemishes Mid brown half skin; dyeing is intentionally a muted dappled effect; no noticeable marks or blemishes Red, and mustard yellow, bellies. Uneven dyeing which is fair enough as they were sold as Grade 2. but that variation is attractive in itself. Some creasing and minor blemishes, but I can easily work round those to find good areas for wallets Burgundy/dull red calfskin. Nice even colour, no noticeable blemishes or marks All these pieces were £29 to £36 each; shipment was about £13 extra in total Buy Leather Online sell all kinds of leather and skins, from cheap sheepskin at about £7 to good quality butts, shoulders, and whole skins at £120 to £190.So you can see that the prices I paid were average, and I accept that the quality will reflect that. If you want better quality you would naturally have to pay more I think they provide a good range. and service to the hobby user, and good value for money. But if you want to be sure of getting absolutely the best quality every time you must go to a recognised top quality supplier, such as Horween, AA Crack, or Metropolitan Leather, but be prepared to pay well over £100 for a shoulder or side At the moment £1 = 1,17 euro

ONIDORI The problem with buying a starter kit is that it will almost certainly contain some things you will not use, and there will be some things you do want that it does not have. The solution to that issue is to have a kit that covers every eventuality, and thus it simply becomes ludicrously big and expensive. It would end up being like a whole workshop full of kit that most people take years to acquire. And that is true of most hobbies, activities, and pastimes, such as the model making that I do, or as a friend who does stone carving & small scale sculpture has found out. Besides, choosing and shopping for tools is all part of the interest and fun! For example, I started with a Tandy beginners kit that contained an overstitch wheel that I've never used........the 4-in-1 awl which I quickly realised wasn't very good, and I had to replace it.......... a stitching groover which I used for a while, but no longer as I mark my stitching lines with dividers. However it did not have an edge beveler, which is more or less essential, and I had to buy separately. You will probably need to but stitching chisels as well. Oh yes, I've also replaced the Tandy needles with John James 002 All I can suggest is that you follow the advice already given, and that is to look at relevant videos on YT and Threads on this forum, and buy items as you need them. Though this need not mean just buying one at a time; strike a balance between buying a few tools that you know you need and a whole load of tools that you might not Besides Tandy and Weaver, have a look at Rocky Mountains Leather Supply, they have an interesting selection of tools and thread, and also sell John James needles, which are considered the best It would help if you could give us some idea of the sort of things that you would like to make. Certainly, if you are thinking of spending $600, I would definitely give it some serious thought, and perhaps make up your own list then compare it to the kit

Since I no longer had a lead block I used an old magazine as a temporary measure, and it worked very well. That was years ago, and I'm still doing it. I just replace them when they get worn

Well, let's try to be helpful and not too critical I'm guessing that you haven't done much leatherwork, in which case as well as this forum, YouTube is your friend!. Search for things like 'beginners leatherwork'; 'saddle stitching'; and away you go!. Also anything else that takes your fancy - belts? wallets? pouches? possibles bags? There are loads of videos, and you'll see how other people work. The thing about leatherwork is that most of the techniques are used on everything you make, so learning how to sew or burnish edges on a belt is near as dammit the same as for a bag, a wallet, or anything else This might be useful - 'Shotgun Cartridge Slider' by Nigel Armitage Otherwise just search for 'Making a shotgun cartridge belt' and 'cartridge belt' I'm puzzled over why you need/want such thick thread. The usual diameter for leatherwork is 0,6 or 0,8mm Sometimes you can go up to 1,0mm, and I've seen 1,2mm thread intended for hand stitching leather, but that's about the limit. After that you're really looking at twine/cord/string, so if you really want that, then hardware stores would be a likely source A couple of years ago I bought a roll of Fil de Lin linen thread by mistake, instead of Fil au Chinois, which is an excellent linen thread. The Fil de Lin is fairly thick, about 1,5mm, and I tried it on making an axe cover. Yes, it looked thicker and chunkier than my usual thread, but also it didn't look very neat. Though admittedly it is only intended for general use like tying parcels and in the kitchen, and not for sewing. Also, it wasn't that easy to use compared to regular thread, and I had to use Tandy 'big eye' needles instead of JJ 002 Dyeing? Why? Search for Ritza25 or Tiger thread and there is a range of colours, or go to Fil au Chinois or Twist in linen or poly. All available in a variety of colours and from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. There are other thread suppliers of course, but that's the best one I know of in USA. My current favourite thread is Amy Roke, but you'll have to do your own Search Have you ever done any dyeing? It's messy! A few years when my daughter was teenage we tie - dyed a couple of T shirts. That was bad enough, and that was done in a washing machine Out of curiosity I tried dyeing my Fil de Lin and it wasn't very successful, though admittedly that was with black leather dye It didn't take, and the result was just dirty grey Here in northern England is the centre for textile manufacture, both wool and cotton (though it has declined in recent years) I worked in a cotton mill for a while, and i can tell you that dyeing is a tricky process to get right You won't be able to dye synthetic thread, so you're looking a natural and that is usually medium to pale brown and wouldn't show the dye well; so you'd want bleached or white, or do it yourself

Well firstly, it is easy enough to find a conversion chart for ounces/millimetres of leather thickness, just Search t'Net 1,5 mm thick is just about right, either veg tan or chrome When you make a wallet you usually make the outer piece of leather slightly longer than the inner to allow for the folding and the thickness of all your wads of cash. Then you assemble the pieces, which gives the wallet a permanent slight fold. This is a compromise which allows the wallet to be filled with cash, and folded over, but it won't open out completely flat - see YT videos Do you want to make a simple single layer wallet as shown in the pictures above by HADRADA, or do you want to have a longer outer pocket as well, in which case the wallet is often called a billfold wallet. Whatever style you choose, you usually leave the central part as thin as possible to allow for folding, and the design you've shown does not do that You say "I've never used leather before" so I suggest you Search You Tube for videos on 'how to make a leather wallet/billfold/card holder. There are loads of them, and you'll start to see how it's done. You also say "having now cut out all the panels" Well here's my suggestion - For the moment don't do any more work on your design. Instead start with something as simple as possible, like a single card holder; then a fold over card holder; then a wallet. Then you can come back and modify your design or incorporate it into others Get a plan, usually downloaded from t'Net; that way you will have a proven, workable design. Once you've got some experience you can go on to making your own. Wallets look easy - 's all straight lines innit? - but as you've found out, they can be tricky I've made mostly belts and sheaths, but now that I want to make wallets I got a plan. Nigel Armitage has a video called 'How to make a simple handstitched wallet', or some similar title. It's worth watching, and it also comes with a plan pack, which is excellent. Besides the actual plans it has a lot of information & advice, starting with a card holder, and building up to more complicated designs. Worth getting, and it's only £10 J H LEATHER has made several videos on leatherwork, they are simple, clear, and she explains things as she goes along. Have a look at; Make Your Own; Minimalist Card Wallet, and Make Your Own; Bi - fold Wallet. There are plan packs for them Also, when I started I made mock - ups from card - old cereal packets taped/glued/stapled together. These showed me what the finished item might look like; the kinds of pockets I wanted; and the sequence of construction. It's free, and easy to do - old cardboard is a damn sight cheaper than leather!

Cleaners 1 & 2 would be OK, but 3 are strong solvents and if you use too much you might damage the leather beyond recovery, so go carefully. For 1, 2, & 3 just wipe over without soaking. Remember that leather is a natural product - the skin of a cow, and your upholstery leather is probably very thin <1mm - would you really like to wash your own skin with xylene or toluene? I only know of Tandy and Rocky Mountain Leather Supply in the USA, but I'm sure other members will advise. Don't be afraid of suppliers; they know their products, and it is in their interest to help you. A phone call is better than email, and a visit is better still Don't try to modify your round awl as it would be difficult to do neatly, and you might damage the blade too much. Besides, you need a round awl, it is also called a scratch awl, which gives you the clue for its use - to mark out shapes and patterns for cutting; also to temporarily stretch stitch holes, and generally poking around. You would want an awl with a diamond section narrow blade, like the chisels, around 2mm wide. RMLS have Vergez Blanchard and Kyoshin Elle awls in small sizes, ready mounted. Or get an Osborne #42 or #43 blade. You could mount it in a plain haft yourself, which is fiddly, or use a haft with a chuck, which is more expensive. Unless you get the very expensive makes, awls will need some sharpening & polishing before use; again, Search YouTube Search YouTube for ' how to make leather handbags' there are loads of videos. Also pouches, and 'possibles bags', which are similar; 'wallets' will show careful and accurate measuring & cutting That's the thing about leatherwork, many of the tools & techniques are common to various items Wives.........My wife asked me if I really wanted to do leatherwork, or was it just an excuse to buy more knives & tools.....Huh! she can see right through me!