Comparing Leather Craft Tool Quality

[ewayne53]

I've been shopping for leather craft tools and there appears to be as many tool manufactures as car manufactures. And a wide range of prices as well. So my question is whether there is that much difference in the quality of the tools whether it be stamps, knives, sewing, punch or any other tools. Or are you paying for name with the more expensive brands. I don't have deep pockets but I don't want to buy junk that I will be disappointed with or need to replace.

Edited August 28, 2017 by ewayne53

[bikermutt07]

What are you wanting to do, leatherwise?

Most people start with a small assortment of cheaper tools and build from there.

Tandy's tools are for the most part no better than the less expensive choices on Amazon or eBay. Just pricier.

If you want to buy quality tools up front, you have to know what you need, and who to get it from.

Barry King is well known and makes quality tooling and stamping tools. He has 2 different sets of stamping kits that are ready to go, but you are gonna spend 500.00 at once for a set of them. Are they worth it? I bet they are to someone who loves to tool and wants to become great at it.

Knipschield knives makes wonderful things of cutting beauty. He is very reasonable in his pricing, but you have to be willing to wait. He is a one man precision show. I have 2 of his knives and have been waiting 3 months so far for my 3rd. He is worth the wait.

There are several others out there I would also be happy to buy from. Wuta leather has some cheap and some expensive tools.

If you are just starting, get a cheap set off of Amazon. They have a decent looking set for about 25 bucks that has a good assortment of tools. Then learn how to sharpen them. Only custom makers will send you stuff that is sharp enough to use out of the box. And even then, you may have to strip them some before using.

Figure out what you like, dislike, use, and don't use, then buy the better stuff.

Another tip, pick a small yield project like a bracelet. And make 20-40 of them all at once. You will learn all the steps, have lots of fun, and only use a small amount of leather.

If you booger 8 or 10 of them along the way, no worries.

Have fun.

[ewayne53]

I did some leather work (belts etc) with a friend years ago. I've recently watched hours of tutorials on cutting, stamping and stitching so I feel like I'm ready to try my hand. I guess my biggest concern is the quality of the stamps.  For example I can always sharpen my knives but I don't want say a butterfly that looks like and ink blot or a basket weave that isn't detailed. I would probably start out with bracelets with concho's or beads, work my way up to arm bracers then formed knife sheaths and holster. 

23 hours ago, ewayne53 said:

I've been shopping for leather craft tools and there appears to be as many tool manufactures as car manufactures. And a wide range of prices as well. So my question is whether there is that much difference in the quality of the tools whether it be stamps, knives, sewing, punch or any other tools. Or are you paying for name with the more expensive brands. I don't have deep pockets but I don't want to buy junk that I will be disappointed with or need to replace.

Life is hard, it's even harder when your stupid - John Wayne

[bikermutt07]

Well for fine detailed stamps you could do way worse than Barry King.

If you are only needing a few to get going (basketweave and such) it wouldn't be too expensive to go to BK.

An inexpensive strap cutter will serve you well for bracelets. The Tandy one would be fine. I always strop my disposable blades. Even those tiny strap cutter blades will reap huge rewards when slicked up on a strop.

For your hardware there is a setting tool that is like a crimper that some people swear by, but I have not used it.

As far as poking holes (if I had it to do over again) I would cry once and buy the crimson hide pricking irons. There are some good reviews of them by Nigel at Armitage leather on YT.