Punching holes

[bulldog7]

I am brand new to leather working and have a question about holes. I sewed my first little project and I did not do a good job of punching holes. I have the tool to scribe the line on the leather and a pronged chisel and then used an awl but the holes were inconsistent not nearly neat and clean enough. What methods and tools do you recommend for crisp clean hole punching?

[fredk]

I like to use a multi-pronged chisel which will punch many holes at a time. They can be bought with 1 prong, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. I only use an awl now to open up the punched holes if I need to. Another tool I use more frequently is a pliers type with four teeth which punches 4 holes at a time, from both sides. Whichever you use, with a multi-pronged/toothed punch, put the first 1 or 2 teeth into the last 1 or 2 punched, this will help keep the line straight.

Pliers type;

Stitching punches

[chuck123wapati]

the multi pronged chisels work very well and are probably the easiest to get good results with. there are other ways also I would also suggest as you are new to leather working to get on the Tandy website they have a ton of free ebooks on leather working that literally covers everything you will need to get started.  https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/account/signin?ReturnUrl=%2Fcategory%2F79%2Febooks%3Fpagenum%3D1

[zuludog]

Search YouTube for 'saddle stitching'; there are several videos; watch a few of them and you'll see how it's done This one is good -

'How to Hand Stitch Leather - Saddle Stitch Tutorial' by JH Leather

Saddle stitching - sometimes called two - hand or double - hand stitching is so common in leatherwork that if you watch almost any item being made, the video will show saddle stitching to some extent

As you are new to leatherwork does that mean you have a new awl?

A lot of the time & effort, and therefore the cost involved in making leatherwork knives and awls is taken up with the final sharpening and polishing. So it is very common for the makers to give these tools only a basic finish, and you are expected to do the final sharpening & polishing yourself. That keeps the price down; it is only the top end makes, say $50 or more for an awl that you can use straight out of the box. Search YT for 'sharpening an awl', there are several videos.

A well sharpened awl blade should slide through the leather like butter, with very little effort; watch the videos by experienced leather workers and you can see that. A blunt awl will require more effort; distort and bend  the leather because the tip of the blade pushes against the leather but does not penetrate it easily, resulting in ragged, uneven holes

If you have bought the 4-in-1 awl sold by Tandy and others, well that isn't very good. Use the round/scratch awl blade, but you'll be better off in the long run if you buy another, better, diamond awl 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by zuludog

[wizard of tragacanth]

A picture of your results may help us diagnose your problem.

nick

Edited January 20, 2020 by wizard of tragacanth

[Tugadude]

4 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

the multi pronged chisels work very well and are probably the easiest to get good results with. there are other ways also I would also suggest as you are new to leather working to get on the Tandy website they have a ton of free ebooks on leather working that literally covers everything you will need to get started.  https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/account/signin?ReturnUrl=%2Fcategory%2F79%2Febooks%3Fpagenum%3D1

Glad you shared that as a lot of folks don't know about the free stuff.

[Tugadude]

5 hours ago, bulldog7 said:

I am brand new to leather working and have a question about holes. I sewed my first little project and I did not do a good job of punching holes. I have the tool to scribe the line on the leather and a pronged chisel and then used an awl but the holes were inconsistent not nearly neat and clean enough. What methods and tools do you recommend for crisp clean hole punching?

You indicate you have a pronged chisel.  What type?  It might be the type that is designed to punch through the leather.  If not, invest in some.  Since you are "brand new" as you say, I wouldn't buy an expensive set just yet.  You can purchase entire chisel sets on fleabay very cheaply.  Or there is Tandy, Rocky Mountain Leather, Springfield Leather, etc.  They all sell chisels similar to the ones that Fredk showed.

Personally, that is what I would recommend beginners start with.  I do sometimes use an awl, but honestly, I can do anything from fine work like a watch strap all the way up to a briefcase with chisels and get great results.

Even experts such as Nigel Armitage says chisels can help beginner and intermediate leather workers to get very good results.

All chisels or irons aren't created equal.  Mr. Armitage reviews many of them, like around 20 or so, on his youtube channel as well as in print on his company website, Armitageleather.com

 

[Hardrada]

 

Like Jo from JH Leather, Terrick stitches using an awl: that's the traditional method, because back then the stitch holes used to be marked (pricked) with a pricking iron but actually pierced with a diamond awl. You don't need an awl if you punch your leather with stitching punches, like many of us do: this latter method is easier. Note that you might still need to use an awl if you're stitching thick leather or several layers that amount to a total weight greater than ~8 oz. When you have several layers, it's not difficult to punch the holes slanted no matter how perfectly straight your marked line is. If you're using a light mallet like the yellow poly mallet from Tandy, you will require several whacks to pierce thick leather or several layers and the chances of having this problem will increase. I strongly recommend that you get a 24- or 32-ounce poly mallet from Brarry King: less whacks and less bounce.

 

RE: chisels: you can get top quality brand new chisels from goodsjapan.com. I'd recommend the Seiwa diamond chisels: two sets: one 2-prong and one 5-prong of each 3 mm and 4 mm distance between tips. Whilst you're at it, grab a Kyoshin Elle or Craftsha diamond awl that comes sharper than Tandy's.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Hardrada
Addenda

[Hardrada]

Here: Goods Japan stitching chisels and nippers

They sell the kind of nippers fredk mentioned: these are very useful when you need to punch holes on the edge of leather that's been folded 90°, such as when you're doing three-piece cut edged gussets.

[fredk]

Those nippers are kinda expensive. I bought mine for under £10. They've gone up in price but can still be bought for under £15 ($18 or so?)

[juli]

Does anyone sell Seiwa diamond chisels in the US?

[Frodo]

I recently bought a 4 prong diamond chisel from osborne

It has changed the look of my stitching 100% for the better