Stitch holes

[JRLeather2]

I made my own punching board, just for hand stitching allows me to punch deep holes without much effort and it is also pretty stable when laying flat on my bench. It is made out of that blue foam insulation and duct tape!

[rccolt45]

Thanks for all the great replies. All very helpful. I am off to by a diamond awl today. But how do you sharpen it?

Also what is a rectangular punch?

I made my own punching board, just for hand stitching allows me to punch deep holes without much effort and it is also pretty stable when laying flat on my bench. It is made out of that blue foam insulation and duct tape!

[Rayban]

Somtimes an opening of a knife sheath can get pretty thick, like 5-6 layers of 8/10oz. leather.....I've found that drilling thru such a piece works very well for me. And the stitching looks better in the back of the work too. If I try to use the awl, I have to fight to keep the stitching even semi-even on the back

[CitizenKate]

The diamond hole punch will make holes that are much too big, but they're great for marking where the holes should go. Then use an awl to make the actual holes.

I use the awl exactly the same way as Jeffzilla. The only difference is, I just use a couple of pieces of foam core.

I tried the method in Al's book, where you're juggling two needles and the awl at the same time, and that just did not work smoothly at all for me. Punching the holes all at once while the project is laying on a flat surface works much better.

Kate

I made my own punching board, just for hand stitching allows me to punch deep holes without much effort and it is also pretty stable when laying flat on my bench. It is made out of that blue foam insulation and duct tape!

[Rawhide]

I bought an awl from Peter Main, and it's blade is much smaller than the awl blades that you get from tandy or osborne. This awl has to be sharp, really sharp, and it will glide through two layers of 7/8 oz leather easy. The diamond is the best way to go, I think it makes the stitch line look distinctive and perferct. Round holes are fine, but don't make the stitches lay correctly without some manipulation.

I'll try to remember to post some pictures of my awls tonight or tomorrow so you get an idea of the size differences.

Here's a picture of drilled holes with the tinyest drill bit and the holes are still to large, but this was multiple layers (I think 3) of 13/15 oz leather.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Rawhide

[tazzmann]

I use a VERY small drill bit to get the holes lined up (even front to back) and then an awl to open them up for stitching. It gives you the best of both worlds. Even stitching holes and the look of the awl hole that everyone likes.

[Rawhide]

oops, heres the pic.

[Rayban]

I use a VERY small drill bit to get the holes lined up (even front to back) and then an awl to open them up for stitching. It gives you the best of both worlds. Even stitching holes and the look of the awl hole that everyone likes.

That's a good idea....