Scissors for leather?

[DaveP]

Which brand of scissors are best for cutting veg tan leather?  Since such a wide range of options. Looking for a good pair.

Thanks 

David 

[Bigpaws]

KAI 7000 Professional Series Shear 8 or 10”.   Surgically sharp all the way to the tip, and great edge retention.  Until recently, my “go to’s” were Tandy’s Craftool Pro shears…they’ve held up well for a number of years…the KAI’s are far superior.

[DaveP]

9 hours ago, Bigpaws said:

KAI 7000 Professional Series Shear 8 or 10”.   Surgically sharp all the way to the tip, and great edge retention.  Until recently, my “go to’s” were Tandy’s Craftool Pro shears…they’ve held up well for a number of years…the KAI’s are far superior.

Thank you Bigpaws. I have looked at these as well. 

[Gump]

Wiss Inlaid 8BLT belting scissors easily cut 10 oz veg tan. Not cheap [$80+] cdn. Bought mine at an industrial tool shop off of a discount table of old stock for $30, bonus.

[DaveP]

16 hours ago, Gump said:

Wiss Inlaid 8BLT belting scissors easily cut 10 oz veg tan. Not cheap [$80+] cdn. Bought mine at an industrial tool shop off of a discount table of old stock for $30, bonus.

I just looked at these. Does the serrated edge of lower leave a rough cut? They look strong. 

[TomE]

I have old pair of Tandy Pro scissors (blue handles) with shallow serrations on the blades that I assume are there to grip the material.  They produce smooth, straight cuts.  I use them on 4-6 oz chrome tanned leather, and knives for most other leathers.  Covering my plywood bench with HDPE was a big improvement for cutting with knives. 

[Gump]

The serrations are on the outer edge of the blade, not the cutting edge. They are to grip the leather so it doesn't push out of the blades.

[DaveP]

Just ordered yesterday and arrived today!  New Wiss and Olfa. Very nice! Thanks for the help finding a good pair of scissors.  Wawak has really good prices. 

 

[AussieTanker]

On 7/21/2023 at 3:25 AM, Gump said:

Wiss Inlaid 8BLT belting scissors easily cut 10 oz veg tan.

How do these compare to the Vergez Blanchard brand is scissors? And any suggestions as to the best size / sizes of scissors to buy for general leather work?

Just discovered that the Olfa rotatory cutter also comes in several sizes.  Any suggestions as to which sized Olfa is best for a beginner

Edited October 4, 2023 by AussieTanker

[fredk]

All the rotary knives are good. I use a 60mm blade one. But the 40mm is just as good plus the replacement blades are easier to get and a lot cheaper than the 60mm. The 20mm size is handy but watch out for the blade guard. On some, when it retracts it only clears the blade by about 1mm. Fine for cutting cloth free-hand but it won't cut through 1mm or more of leather, and the guard will run on top of your guide as well so the blade doesn't even reach the leather. Cut away a whack of the blade guard and it works better, but then you don't have a blade guard