Cutting Properly

[tylerbrinks]

I'm brand new to leather working - so far I've been playing around with tools to get the hang of things. One thing that's puzzling to me is the right way to cut leather. I picked up a 5/6 oz veg tan shoulder from Tandy as a place to start. Videos I'm watching online show people cutting through leather like butter. I have an extremely sharp utility knife with a brand new blade. Even with that, it's taking numerous passes to cut through the shoulder (on a good cutting surface). It's also leaving somewhat rough edges.

What's the right process to prep leather for cutting? Does leather need to be cased first before cutting is smooth?

Many thanks for the input.

[Chief31794]

Tylerbrinks,

First, welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of Leather Craft. You'll find this is a great site and there is lots of friendly folks here with lots of knowledge. To answer your question (and you will probably get some more and alternative ways to do this) but the way I cut leather is:

Dampen the leather on the grain (upside) side. The leather doesn't have to be Cased, but by dampening it, the cuts will be a lot easier and a lot smoother. I wouldn't try to cut through the entire piece in one pass, a couple of light passes are much easier and will result in less "Stretching" of the leather on lighter leathers. Dampness will do wonders for the ease of cutting.

Try it on a piece of scrap and I think you'll see a big difference.

Chief

[Dwight]

Not meaning to sound gruff, . . . but if you are using a utility knife with a brand new blade and are taking multiple passes to cut 5/6 oz veggie tan shoulder, . . . well you just aren't putting enough effort into it.

I regularly cut dry 8 oz and more with one swipe, . . . razor clean, . . . no ragged edges.

I also very often strop my utility knife blades, . . . take a 3 inch by 12 inch strap of 7+ oz leather, . . . rub it down with jeweler's rouge, . . . on the hair side, . . . NOT the flesh side, . . .it makes a good strop if you have a flat table to lay it on. Do 25 passes on the blade each way, . . . ewwwwwwww, . . . that's sharp !

You also need to start out standing up cutting leather. Most people who sit down do so because they are lazy, . . . they're even too lazy to hold the knife straight up and down, . . . and the cuts they make in their leather show it. That sounds gruff, too, . . . but I teach leather crafting, . . . and I watch my students. Yeppers, . . . they do it.

You will also learn by experience that you really do not want to cut your pattern very, very close, . . . because you need a little sanding, edging, burnishing room, . . . and if you go too far in on your cut AT ALL, . . . there isn't any real way to fix that in many cases. Cut it a bit big, . . . then trim it to where it really needs to be.

May God bless,

Dwight

[JLSleather]

Not sure what kind of leather you bought, but a utility knife should go right through 5/6 ounce. I'd try swappin out the blade, cuz that shouldn't happen.