Cutting board surface...what to use??

[Reg Marek]

When you're cutting leather with a round knife you shouldn't be cutting into anything but your leather. When cutting out saddle parts (or anything else) I hang the leather over the side of my bench and absolutely never let my round knife touch the bench. I was taught this many years ago by a good saddlemaker and now I can't imagine taking a good sharp knife and cutting into any surface other than the leather itself. It does take a little practice whenever you change from one method to another but I promise you that once you start doing this you will cringe at the thought of cutting into any type of surface with your knives again.

[Go2Tex]

When cutting out saddle parts (or anything else) I hang the leather over the side of my bench and absolutely never let my round knife touch the bench.

Now that I would like to see. I bet it would take some practice.