Cutting leather wet vs dry

[Tophee]

I was looking at some videos on patterns I am planning on trying to make. I noticed that some cut the pattern out of their leather while wet and some did not is there any benefit to cutting wet? I am not talking tooling or stamping or anything, just cutting the shapes you need out of your piece of peather for a pattern. I have been cutting my beginner projects out from dry leather but was curious on if I should be wetting the leather for an easier or cleaner cut?

Also sorry if this was already a thread, I either am blind or not searching it correctly if it is.

[Dwight]

In many cases . . . yes . . . it is easier to cut that way.

It is also easier to stick your pattern with a thumbnail . . . scratch it with the knife . . . or smudge the devil out of a complicated cut.

The above are the reasons I cut mine dry.

May God bless,

Dwight

[fredk]

I've never considered it. I've always cut dry. I might damp/wet cutting

[TomE]

Covering my bench with HDPE was a big help for cutting out projects.  Menards has 4x8 x 1/4" sheets in a white color that brightens up my shop.  @Northmount taught me that a Google search of this site using the syntax below is more efficient than using the internal search engine.  

Type in the Google search bar:  site leatherworker.net <your search terms here>

Edited July 19, 2024 by TomE

[Tophee]

I see, thank you all for your inputs. Ill give that search method a try next time I wanna check something.

[Cattleman]

Wet leathet does indeed cut easier... However it is also easier to stretch and deform the leather while cutting it wet.