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I’m fairly new to the leather game. Im a fireman in Utah and enjoy making mask covers for fire fighter SCBA masks and fire helmet shields. The shields are up 5/8” thick when using two pieces, one to make the front and on for the back. I just did my first one by hand. I would like to find a machine that could do it a little cleaner and faster then I did by hand. I went to a leather shop and they recommended the Cobra class 20/26 or the Sailrite Leatherwork but, that’s outside my price range. I’ve looked for used but can’t find any of those in that range too. I’ve seen some other threads here but they don’t talk about sewing thicker pieces like this. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Nate

Hello all...... Brand new to the forum, just signed up. I'm desperately trying to find the thickest leather available. I need at least 20 oz leather for a project I've been working on for aaaaaaaaaages. The vast majority of retailers out there sell up to about 16 ounce but that's it. Also, can you tell me which species I should be looking for? I've read the good old bovine has some of the thickest in the neck area but also heard (rumor mostly) that water buffalo and also wild boar have super thick hides. Can anyone help point me in a legit direction with some contacts for super thick pieces of leather I can experiment with? Thanks so much all and Happy Holidays.

Good morning! My daughter and I are starting a sewing business and wanted one machine that can handle thick leather. That said, I’d love for it to be a beautiful vintage piece, like the singer 29 (but I read they don’t handle thick layers) as folks would be coming in to the store to sew along with us and take pictures when they are done. I think an old beauty that is also a workhorse would be phenomenal. We figure if someone wants leather straps or other features, we can prepare those parts ahead of time for them so they can finish the rest on their regular machine. is there something that fits into this category? If not, what would you say is an affordable machine we could use instead?

Hi, I am a carpenter living in Toronto. At first I got interested in sewing to repair my own bags and work clothes, then my interest moved forward to making my own leather tool bags, pouches and belts, which carpenters use everyday. That was about 2 months ago and I am still researching and googling to buy right sewing machine. I hardly have any actual experience in sewing except youtube videos and articles I saw recently. Thanks to people here, now I know a few things like, I can't just buy 'industrial' sewing machine. walking foot is used for heavy garments or thick leathers. I saw Brother DB2-B756 was on Kijiji and was gonna just grab it and start from there. Then another searching found that DB2-790 is not fit for heavy leather sewing, so B756 is not likely to handle it either. It is hard to choose right machine for me since I have no knowledge and also full time work doesn't allow me to spend more time into study. Can I get some advice in buying right machine that can handle to sew thick leather to make leather tool belt and pouch? I am thinking to buy old machine and restore it myself, buy extra parts if needed, and start from there.

hi, beginner here and I recently started saddle stitching w vergez blanchard tools and I use cheaper remnant leathers to practice and they never come in thin quality sizes, although I use a skiving knife to thin the thick edges, usually I deal w leather where my pricking tool wont help to leave/ marks on the back side, is using REVERSE / INVERSE PRICKING IRON which i recently found on vergez tools website, is it for this purpose? /also do you know which pricking size hermes uses usually? no. 10 or 9 please? / thank you!

I've been interested in shoe making for a good while now and I finally found the spare time to make my first pair during my New Years vacation. I had a great time doing it and I really look foreword to developing the skill. One thing I noticed however was, despite the fact that I enjoy the labor and the process, my little leather patcher sewing machine was a life saver. I used it to sew the parts together on the upper portion of the shoe (relatively light leather, 5 iron I believe) and it only took me about a minute to make a seam that would have taken hours to do by hand. Unfortunately, I did not have a machine capable of sewing the thick leather used for the sole so I ended up doing all of that by hand and it took a good 2 or 3 hours. I'll include a few pictures so that you have a better idea of what I'm talking about but I'm looking for a machine that can both sew through the thick leather used for a sole and one that can sew into a corner, so to speak. The seam for the sole sits right up against the side of the shoe and the presser foot on most sewing machines is too wide to allow me to make such a close seam. I'm hoping to find something small and hand-powered (like this ) that won't cost an arm and a leg, but I'm open to other suggestions.I should mention that my ultimate goal, and the reason why I'm looking to save some time, is to do this as a business. A side project at first, of course, but I'm very interested in getting out of my office environment and making a living with my hands. I've got more pictures here, as well as a brief catalog of the process. Thanks!

How do I achieve a light oil finish on my tack? I love the way it looks but have never been able to find a dye light enough to achieve the look I want. Any step by step pointers would be fantastic! I am also trying to find a place to buy thick leather to make 1 ply headstalls, breastcollars, etc. I have some light saddle skirting but it is just too thin and I have to make them two ply. Any suggestions on where to find good leather for this would be great. Of course as I am just starting out making tack, the smaller pieces I can find that still work are usually the cheapest so the better Thanks in advance! CW