Diamond Chisel Recommendation Needed

[ZATARA]

A fork on my diamond chisel bent on a recent project and it caused some havoc with my stitching lines, before I figured out what was going on. As such, I am looking for a recommendation on a more quality set that I can purchase. I was also hoping on a recommendation for how many TPI I should be looking for. I am a hobbyist who does small projects like wallets, journal covers, and tool pouches. I believe the chisel set that I have now is 6 TPI, but I am not 100% sure as my wife gave me the set when I first started the hobby and I did not even know what to look for. I do not want to break the bank on this purchase, but I believe in investing in quality tools. 

Thanks for reading, and any advice is appreciated.

 

[mickthedig]

Have a look Nigel Armitage's youtube channel. He has reviewed most of the pricking irons out there.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Nordicbadger

[AdamGadut]

tip 1.) pick the ones that you can punch clean consistent wholes on both sides, I dont recommend the ones with tapered prongs. - just my preference. Also - the longer prongs the better so you can use it for thick leather

tip 2.) Use the most TPI's... the ones i use has a spacing of about 2.6mm - prong to prong - this is already very fine and is good for just about any small project such as wallets. It'll look neat for sure. - so two pieces of this, one with the most number of prongs you can get, and another one with only 2 prongs - for curved stitches.

 

If you're good with DIY's and you have a dremel like tool - heck you hardly have to purchase anything, go pick a fork with some decent thickness, cut the handle and shape the teeth into slants - they all have to be evenly spaced, evenly shaped and polished - Best thing about this is that its adjustable!  --- thats what i used up until now and never had to buy crazy expensive tools for making stitching holes.

[480volt]

I second watching Nigel Armitage's tutorials. If you want to get really refined looking stitches on any thickness of leather, than learn how to use a pricking iron and awl. It does take a heck of a lot of repetition to get good at it.

[strathmoredesigns]

Both Nigel and Ian Atkinson recommend the Seiwa chisels for people just starting out. I have the 3 mm and 4 mm (2 prong and 6 prong) versions and I like them so far. You can get them from Goods Japan, but you'll have a bit of a wait. First you have to get on the waiting list (by submitting your email and asking them to tell you when they're in stock) and then once you do order it takes about 3 weeks for them to arrive (though the shipping is free). Nigel also recommended the Crafttool 3.5 mm set which I bought from Tandy while I was waiting for my Seiwas to arrive. That set's pretty good (I have a 2 and an 8) for someone just starting out too and they're on sale this month at Tandy (https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-fine-diamond-chisel-3-5-mm).  

[480volt]

In my opinion, if you want the best, buy Vergez Blanchard. About as expensive as it gets, but RML generally has them in stock and ships in a day or so. These are beautifully made, but they are pricking irons, not chisels, and are not meant to be driven all the way through the work. I like the look of 7 tpi for a lot of what I do.

[johnv474]

For size, you could use 6 (4mm), 7 (3.5mm), or 8 (3mm) stitches per inch.  Those metric conversions are not exact but close.  For wallets, 7-8 works well but 6 can work.  For journal covers, 6-7 works well, and for tool pouches, 6-7 works well.  So, I'd pick either 6 or 7 spi, which you can use on many projects, even larger projects.

[ZATARA]

Thank you all for the advice

[Windrider30]

Me personally I use a 7 spi for most of my projects (unless I am lazy) though thinking of getting a smaller set but as for using a pricking iron and awl I do not believe that is really needed, not to mention ever stuff an awl under your thumb nail..right past the nail? I have twice...wont use an awl ever again!!!