cutting your pattern pieces out of leather?

[Hilly]

What is the best way to go about cutting your pattern pieces out of leather? I have a utility knife, but I'm not sure this is the best or easiest way to get the job done. I want to cut 8-9 oz leather to make a holster. I'm afraid of the knife getting away from me and ruining my leather. I have experimented on small scraps of this weight, and have to make several passes with the knife to cut all the way through. Are there shears or scissors that will effectively cut leather of this weight?

[whinewine]

There are decent Olfa knives in the straight variety & you could try a head knife (takes lots of practice, & is NOT recommended for beginners). If you are going to use shears, I'd recommend Gingher shears- fantastic shears, they are. (Tandy's imitation of them just plain sucks!) Springfield leather & a few other places carry them. I haven't used the Osbornes, so I can't comment on them.

[steveb]

well welcome to leathercraft - hope you like tools..buying them, maintaining them- because this is how you will learn (learn to invest is more like it..lol)...

I will preface all of this with In My So Humble Opinion, I only know what I know- I dont know what will work for you, I dont know the right way to do things, i can simply share my opinion, based on my experieinces floundering around this craft

The best tool for cutting shapes, hands down FOR ME, is without a doubt - the headknife - the traditional and special tool of the leathercrafter - only surpassed by the swivel knife, in difficulty of mastery. Utility kinves, scalpels, trimming knives and their ilk plain old suck at doing anything but cuttting a straight line , again- for me- because you pull the blade through the leather an it is hard to control when it comes to curves, etc. you cant pull through a curve, you can only push - accurately

you push and steer a head/round knife- it is much much easier to use a headkinfe to cut comlex curves and corners - than say scissors - i find scissors very tricky to use, you need to be able to anticipate with scissors, and corners are a bitch - with a headkinfe you simply steer the blade around the shape. granted, it takes a while to learn to use the knife effectively, but it really is the right tool as far as I am concerned....their are many techniques for using and maintainig them and you need to find what works for you...through practice and informed quesitons to a group like this.

FYI - i think that older knives rock- i found both of my on ebay about 3 or so years ago and I havent tried anything as good for 2x the price. you dont have to spend alot of money - unless you want to ;-)

steveb

[Rawhide]

I agree with steveb. The head knife is absolutely the best tool for cutting out shapes. Steve mentioned head/round knife, these are actually two different knives. I think the head knife is more suitable. A head knife has a round cutting edge, but the "wings" are straight on the handle side of the blade. On a round knife, the blade is round as well, but the wings have a notch in them.

The straight wing is much easier to control in curved cuts. Also, be aware of several things when buying a head or round knife. The osborne round knife is too big for me, the blade is about 5 1/2 inches. You want something in the 4 to 4 1/2 inch range. Another thing is that some knives don't come sharpened i.e. osborne. They assume you want to define the cutting angle yourself.

Round knife and head knife pictures

[Romey]

I bit of advice and will make all the differance in the world, sharpen EVERYTHING even utility knife blades, run them down ceramic sticks or hard strop what have you. I have clicker knife and several other types of cutters but since i started a light hone on utility blades went back to them and for me it works best. A utility blade at best is looks to be a 120 or possible 220 finish on the edge, lil smoothing (honing) and they cut WAY better

[sheathmaker]

I agree with all the head/round knife advocates. I think the head knife shape and size is easier to learn and control, but either style is far superior to a utility type knife for cutting patterns out of leather. Absolute sharpness is necessary so extreme caution with the use of the knife is required and NEVER cut with your off hand anywhere in front of the knife (holding the leather).

Paul

[Hilly]

Thanks for your replies. I wish I could watch someone using one of these round knifes, just to see how they are used. Anyone got/could make video and post a link? (Wishful thinking)

[Rawhide]

I don't have any videos, but I learned how (and still learning), using Al Stohlmans book Leathercraft Tools. He has a lot of pages dedicated just to the head knife, how to choose one, how to use it, and sharpen and maintain it. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't buy a head knife. There is so much valuable info in it, you'll wonder how you managed without it.

Marlon.

[Hilly]

Thanks. I will order that book.

[Rawhide]

Hilly,

If you go to this page on the forum, there are some pages that illustrate some uses of the head knife.

Head Knife

[Srigs]

The easyest way to cut 8-9 oz holster leather is either with good shears or simple 69 cent snap off 3/8 inch blade. Easy to cut curved shapes due to the flexible nature of the blade but is strong and sharp enough to do the job. Give it a try.