Needle is puncturing not cutting my hard leather

[Husky3]

I am using a very hard type of leather.  I have attempted hand sewing and using diamond chisel. Granted they were craft tool, but seemed sharp.  I am only cutting through 4-5 oz of leather when all layers are combined. I am not running into a similar problem with my new sewing machine, a sailrite fabricator with the standard needle------Its like a gunshot there is a nice lean hole on the top and the bottom is blasted out and when the chisel/needle retracts it leaves the bottom layer stretched out and messy looking. right now I think I am using a 110/17 needle and 92 nylon.

So a few questions-

1.  Is it crazy to not stitch a wallet and rely on glue and edge paint?  I am not burnishing rather using 4 or 5 layers of edge paint.

2.  What needle type do I want to use that will truly cut through hard leather as opposed to puncturing

3.  Is a larger thread a better idea as this will cover some of the stretched out hole?

 

Thank you

Edited March 17, 2019 by Husky3

[LatigoAmigo]

1 hour ago, Husky3 said:

1.  Is it crazy to not stitch a wallet and rely on glue and edge paint?  I am not burnishing rather using 4 or 5 layers of edge paint.

Glue and edge paint will not hold up to the rigors of your wallet. You might have to use a punch rather than a chisel to get through this leather.

[chrisash]

You can buy needles especially for leather that cut there way through

[Husky3]

I have some groz beckert needles just for leather coming my way.  Maybe I thought the needle that came with it was ok as it is an industrial machine and they show it being used on leather in the instructional videos.

 

Will going with the smallest needle for a given thread size help?  and will going to a certain size thread help with this?

 

[kgg]

The needles according to the Sailrite site for the Fabricator comes with System 135 X 17 needles up to size #24 which would be for v207. Those needles are made for material (cloth / canvas), for leather and vinyl you need to use System 135 X 16 and for a thread size of V92 you could use a # 18 on the low end or a #20 on the upper end. I would use the #20 needles with V92, as it would provide a slightly larger hole for the thread to slip through.

kgg

[Northmount]

@Husky3  Moved your post to Leather Sewing Machines.  You will get more input here.  There are lots of posts on these forums about using leatherpoint needles and about blowout when using conical point needles.  There are several suggestions to help improve the appearance.

Tom