Pricking tool help!!

[bsshog40]

So I'm wanting to upgrade my pricking tools. Right now I have 6 spi angled tools. I'm looking for a set that I can use on my sheaths, holsters, pocket knife cases, etc....I only saddle stitch by hand.  So here are my questions:

Are round hole prickers better? 

What would be a standard mm spacing? 

What would be a decent priced brand? 

I was looking at some WUTA prickers on amazon. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Bobby

[PastorBob]

4 minutes ago, bsshog40 said:

So I'm wanting to upgrade my pricking tools. Right now I have 6 spi angled tools. I'm looking for a set that I can use on my sheaths, holsters, pocket knife cases, etc....I only saddle stitch by hand.  So here are my questions:

Are round hole prickers better? 

What would be a standard mm spacing? 

What would be a decent priced brand? 

I was looking at some WUTA prickers on amazon. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Bobby

I got my first set from Tandy.  It worked okay, but didn't seem very sturdy.  Mine are all angled chisels.  I have 3 different sets from Weaver with all different spacings.  The one I use most is the 5mm.  They are a little more, but I have not had to replace them.  I also rub mine over a clump of beeswax as i am going.

[bsshog40]

26 minutes ago, PastorBob said:

I got my first set from Tandy.  It worked okay, but didn't seem very sturdy.  Mine are all angled chisels.  I have 3 different sets from Weaver with all different spacings.  The one I use most is the 5mm.  They are a little more, but I have not had to replace them.  I also rub mine over a clump of beeswax as i am going.

This is the set I basically have now. 

 

Edited June 23 by bsshog40

[BlackDragon]

It really depends on what you want your end product to look like. I like French pricking irons but I did sometime use diamond chisels. I dont like round holes because the holes tend to be bigger than the thread.

[bsshog40]

1 hour ago, BlackDragon said:

It really depends on what you want your end product to look like. I like French pricking irons but I did sometime use diamond chisels. I dont like round holes because the holes tend to be bigger than the thread.

Ya, I like my diamond tools. The sizes on them are 2.3mm, 3.1mm and 3.9mm. I have only used the 2.3mm on all my stuff. Not sure where the bigger ones would be used. I like the tighter spacing. 

[BlackDragon]

When I was hand stitching I mostly stayed with one size but depending on the item you may want to go bigger or smaller. 

If you're doing a wallet you may want a nice tight stitch but if your making a belt you may want to use a wider chisel. Stitching belts by hand can hurt your hands after awhile so using a wider chisel can lessen the amount of hole you have to stitch.

[bsshog40]

5 minutes ago, BlackDragon said:

When I was hand stitching I mostly stayed with one size but depending on the item you may want to go bigger or smaller. 

If you're doing a wallet you may want a nice tight stitch but if your making a belt you may want to use a wider chisel. Stitching belts by hand can hurt your hands after awhile so using a wider chisel can lessen the amount of hole you have to stitch.

Lol Ya, I have a couple belt blanks that I've been wanting to carve. I like the way stitching on edges of a belt look but, no way am I gonna hand stitch a belt. I would probably have to have 20' of thread laying all over to stitch it. Lol

Thanks for your replies my friend!

Bobby 

[TomE]

I use an overstitch wheel or these pricking irons to mark holes https://www.rmleathersupply.com/products/rocky-mountain-premium-pricking-irons.  I make the holes with Osborne sewing awls of various sizes.  A sharp awl works well for thick leather, irregular shapes, and sewing under fixed loops/keepers.  The awls get smaller as they are repeatedly sharpened, so I can match a range of thread sizes.     

[bsshog40]

3 hours ago, TomE said:

I use an overstitch wheel or these pricking irons to mark holes https://www.rmleathersupply.com/products/rocky-mountain-premium-pricking-irons.  I make the holes with Osborne sewing awls of various sizes.  A sharp awl works well for thick leather, irregular shapes, and sewing under fixed loops/keepers.  The awls get smaller as they are repeatedly sharpened, so I can match a range of thread sizes.     

Those are nice. I may have to save up for those. I have an awl also but I'm really not big on round holes. I also have a stitching wheel that I got a while back. I need to get that out and practice with it also. 

Thanks for the response!

[TomE]

5 hours ago, bsshog40 said:

Those are nice. I may have to save up for those. I have an awl also but I'm really not big on round holes. I also have a stitching wheel that I got a while back. I need to get that out and practice with it also. 

Thanks for the response!

A sewing awl has a diamond profile that pairs nicely with the pricking irons.  The tip of the awl is sharp and the shank is polished to stretch the hole, which closes up after the stitch is made.  Enables fine stitching with the thread filling the holes.

[bsshog40]

32 minutes ago, TomE said:

A sewing awl has a diamond profile that pairs nicely with the pricking irons.  The tip of the awl is sharp and the shank is polished to stretch the hole, which closes up after the stitch is made.  Enables fine stitching with the thread filling the holes.

🙂

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

On 6/24/2025 at 4:27 AM, TomE said:

I use an overstitch wheel or these pricking irons to mark holes https://www.rmleathersupply.com/products/rocky-mountain-premium-pricking-irons.  I make the holes with Osborne sewing awls of various sizes.  A sharp awl works well for thick leather, irregular shapes, and sewing under fixed loops/keepers.  The awls get smaller as they are repeatedly sharpened, so I can match a range of thread sizes.     

Is that the price point to expect for stepping up from entry-level? Clearly they can go much higher, but just to know what to expect…

AZR

[TomE]

It's been a few years since I priced pricking irons.   These particular irons are well made and should last a lifetime for marking, not punching, holes.  An overstitch wheel will do the job as well.  

[DJole]

Quote

...sheaths, holsters, pocket knife cases...

Okay, that certainly helps narrow down what you need! You don't have watch straps on there, for example, which use much smaller irons and thread.

So, it looks like maybe 4 to 5 mm would match the leather thicknesses required for those items, for strength and visual proportions. 
It's unclear if you're going for a set of pricking irons (which merely mark the holes with a slit, which are completed by a stitching awl), or a set of Japanese style diamond chisels (which go through both layers, making a narrow diamond hole that usually doesn't require an awl).

You also need to make sure to match your needles and thread to the hole size and spacing. 
Here's a quick chart that I cribbed from somewhere else, which helps me match them up:

John James Needles				Threads
Size	Size	Length (mm)	diameter (mm)	Tiger/Ritza (mm)	Lin Cable
4	004	48	0.4	0.6	532/632/832
2	002	54	1	0.8	432/332
0	1/0	57	1.1	1
00	2/0	57	1.3	1.2
000	3/0	62	1.6

Most of what I do falls in the middle range -- for my 3mm diamond irons, I use the 1/0 needles, with either .8 or 1 mm thread. 
For thicker projects, the 5 mm irons are what I pull out, with correspondingly larger needles and thread.

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

On 6/30/2025 at 5:43 PM, DJole said:

Okay, that certainly helps narrow down what you need! You don't have watch straps on there, for example, which use much smaller irons and thread.

So, it looks like maybe 4 to 5 mm would match the leather thicknesses required for those items, for strength and visual proportions. 
It's unclear if you're going for a set of pricking irons (which merely mark the holes with a slit, which are completed by a stitching awl), or a set of Japanese style diamond chisels (which go through both layers, making a narrow diamond hole that usually doesn't require an awl).

You also need to make sure to match your needles and thread to the hole size and spacing. 
Here's a quick chart that I cribbed from somewhere else, which helps me match them up:

John James Needles				Threads
Size	Size	Length (mm)	diameter (mm)	Tiger/Ritza (mm)	Lin Cable
4	004	48	0.4	0.6	532/632/832
2	002	54	1	0.8	432/332
0	1/0	57	1.1	1
00	2/0	57	1.3	1.2
000	3/0	62	1.6

Most of what I do falls in the middle range -- for my 3mm diamond irons, I use the 1/0 needles, with either .8 or 1 mm thread. 
For thicker projects, the 5 mm irons are what I pull out, with correspondingly larger needles and thread.

Thank you for the table, great reference. I use almost strictly 1.2mm Ritza myself, but still use basic blunt harness needles. My hand stitching is improving though, so it may be time to start practicing with more delicate techniques. 
As far as the range of irons, I’ve seen a few different descriptors, and per Nigel Armitage, there are a handful more that I haven’t come across yet, primarily of various European styles. 
Any insight into this? I haven’t bitten the bullet yet to experiment myself , as $60-$100+ per iron is a rather pricey let’s-see-what-happens, and I don’t know any other leather workers enough to ask to borrow their tools… Primarily, I guess between stitching chisels vs stitching irons, and stitching vs pricking (though that’s a little more obvious). Or to step up my overthinking skills, Jap vs French vs Brit vs etc. Nigel does have a detailed text comparison of irons here https://armitageleather.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Pricking-Iron-Review-Jan-2020.pdf, though he doesn’t define here the styles, or identify which irons are what.

AZR

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

On 6/30/2025 at 4:29 AM, TomE said:

It's been a few years since I priced pricking irons.   These particular irons are well made and should last a lifetime for marking, not punching, holes.  An overstitch wheel will do the job as well.  

Have you found a quality wheel? I’ll admit that mine are bottom-of-the-barrel price and most likely quality to match, but the few I’ve found don’t necessarily match the spacing of my irons, and tend to wobble on the axle. 
 

AZR

[TomE]

8 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Have you found a quality wheel? I’ll admit that mine are bottom-of-the-barrel price and most likely quality to match, but the few I’ve found don’t necessarily match the spacing of my irons, and tend to wobble on the axle. 
 

AZR

@bruce johnson has overstitch wheels in various sizes.  

[DJole]

16 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Any insight into this? I haven’t bitten the bullet yet to experiment myself , as $60-$100+ per iron is a rather pricey let’s-see-what-happens, and I don’t know any other leather workers enough to ask to borrow their tools…

You might want to look at Kevin Lee's stitching irons. Among the sets which are comparable in price to what you note above, he also has inexpensive sets which will help you decide what you like (diamond vs pricking, and so on): https://www.kevinleetools.com/products/basic-diamond-chisel
For example, he offers a 1+2+4+6 prong set for 30 dollars. I bought his reverse iron set in 3 mm, to work with my 3mm Japan Goods diamond set.
I have used them enough to recommend them as a good starter set for somebody who doesn't want to invest a lot before figuring out if diamond chisels are what they want.  They are well-polished right out of the box, which is very helpful. They are light and small, which works for my hands, but big handed folk might find them uncomfortable.