Beginner tools recommendations

[ipcmlr]

Hi All,

I want to start leatherworking as a hobby. 

I was hoping to keep the total around $500 (not including leather). I'm in the US.

I'd like to make small leather goods like wallets, notebooks.

I'd like tools that will last me a few years and just pay once.

Here is a list of tools I think I need. With an estimate of the cost. It totals $682.

Can anyone suggest alternatives to the more expensive items which I won't have to upgrade in a year? The more expensive items are the stitching irons, stitching pony, beveler, and maul.  I don't know if I need a dedicated pattern knife of the xacto will be good, I know a lot of people seem to use the xacto.

 

Thanks.

exacto knife $6
ruler $10
Straight edge - already have one 
needles $9
thread  $7 - just to start
stitching irons $215 - I just put the most expensive one for computation. KS Blade Punch 2+10 3mm
pulling block - free
scratch awl $5
square $10
dividers / leather groover $10 - a tandy stitching groover
washers for rounding corners  $10
stitching pony $120 - dream factory. I'm sure there's a cheaper option.
scissors/snip - already have these
beveller 80 - I put the palosanto #2 here. I'm sure there's cheaper options 
slicker $10
beeswax $6
tokonole $11
cutting board/mat $25
card for templates  $15
sanding block/sandpaper $8
maul/hammer $75 - barry king maul.
skiving knife 50 - a friend is selling me a palosanto japanese knife which might be a good option.

Edited July 18, 2021 by ipcmlr
added tokonole

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, ipcmlr said:

Hi All,

I want to start leatherworking as a hobby. 

I was hoping to keep the total around $500 (not including leather). I'm in the US.

I'd like to make small leather goods like wallets, notebooks.

I'd like tools that will last me a few years and just pay once.

Here is a list of tools I think I need. With an estimate of the cost. It totals $682.

Can anyone suggest alternatives to the more expensive items which I won't have to upgrade in a year? The more expensive items are the stitching irons, stitching pony, beveler, and maul.  I don't know if I need a dedicated pattern knife of the xacto will be good, I know a lot of people seem to use the xacto.

 

Thanks.

exacto knife $6
ruler $10
Straight edge - already have one 
needles $9
thread  $7 - just to start
stitching irons $215 - I just put the most expensive one for computation. KS Blade Punch 2+10 3mm
pulling block - free
scratch awl $5
square $10
dividers / leather groover $10 - a tandy stitching groover
washers for rounding corners  $10
stitching pony $120 - dream factory. I'm sure there's a cheaper option.
scissors/snip - already have these
beveller 80 - I put the palosanto #2 here. I'm sure there's cheaper options 
slicker $10
beeswax $6
tokonole $11
cutting board/mat $25
card for templates  $15
sanding block/sandpaper $8
maul/hammer $75 - barry king maul.
skiving knife 50 - a friend is selling me a palosanto japanese knife which might be a good option.

Instead of buying washers use coins they are much cheaper.

 Barry king maul you can get a deadblow hammer for a few bucks or even a cheaper maul for much less. 

the exacto is good for real light leather but the blades flex to much for thicker stuff, get a box cutter or similar with a bit thicker blades.

If you are handy building a stitching pony is pretty easy, i made mine from an old pallet all i have in it is the cost of two carriage bolts, nuts and washers.

you can also make a scratch awl, i use an old ice pick

card for templates can be any heavy paper from cereal boxes to present boxes you shouldn't ever have to buy this stuff, recycle.

the tandy pro line of stitching chisels are pretty good,also you dont need all of them. what i do with tools such as these, stamps and such are buy them when i need them that way i dont have stuff i will never use like a four stitch per inch chisel. on the chisels i would buy a two prong and a four or six prong in the stitch per inch you want.

[Rahere]

Japanese waterstone to keep your blades sharp, 2000 grit, $40

[SheilaOrikawaAtelier]

If I can give you an advice as you are a beginner, as Pricking Irons, I would use these 2 (you can choose between the 2 brands from Japan):

- Craft Sha Leather Pricking Iron Tool Leathercraft Diamond Stitching Chisel 2x3mm | Goods Japan Shop

- Seiwa Diamond Leather Stitching Chisel Leathercraft Pricking Iron Tool 6x3mm | Goods Japan Shop

These 2 to marking holes and this awl to make the holes (of course if you want the diamond shape): Kyoshin Elle Leathercraft Stitching Awl for Sewing Leather Diamond Point Small | Goods Japan Shop

Are really good tools to me, and not expensive, at the beginning could help. 

Of course if you want start with the best by KS Blade, not a problem. I wanted only to tell how I started and I still use them. 

[SheilaOrikawaAtelier]

As beginner too, I found that for skiving the easier way it's with french edger. I have this one: Craft Sha FLINT Leathercraft Tool French Edger 6mm or 15/64" Leather Skiver Beveler | Goods Japan Shop

Personally I'm saving money for the Palosanto ones. You have my same taste by the way. Except maybe, for the clamp for sewing... I want one from Korea, but in wood. 

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Rahere said:

Japanese waterstone to keep your blades sharp, 2000 grit, $40

2000 grit sandpaper 5 bucks. i use 2500 

 

[fredk]

Your W&D paper is expensive. 8 x 12 inch sheet £0.50 to £0.60 per, or about 70c per

another vote for a box cutter knife

don't buy card for pattern - scrounge cereal boxes or boxes from shops

[LatigoAmigo]

8 hours ago, ipcmlr said:

exacto knife $6
ruler $10
scratch awl $5
washers for rounding corners  $10
stitching pony $120 
slicker $10
maul/hammer $75 - barry king maul.

I couldn't help but smile when you posted this. I bought most of my tools over 50 years ago and they are still working fine.

• I have never used an exacto knife on leather. They are not heavy enough. I use a "break-point" utility knife. -- no savings
• Instead of a ruler, pick up a piece of aluminum stock 1/2" x 48" from Home Depot. -- savings $5
• A scratch awl is nice but you can file down a nail and get most of the same results. -- savings $4
• A quarter instead of washers. -- savings $9.75
• I have a stitching pony, but it has such limited use that I have never used it. So I'd say save your money. -- savings $120
• I have a slicker, but as above, it has limited use. To smooth an edge us a piece of old Levis jeans or a scrap of canvas. -- savings $10
• You should be able to pick up a nylon headed hammer on Amazon for around $15. -- savings $60

Total savings = $203.75

Edited July 19, 2021 by LatigoAmigo

[ipcmlr]

3 hours ago, LatigoAmigo said:

I couldn't help but smile when you posted this. I bought most of my tools over 50 years ago and they are still working fine.

• I have never used an exacto knife on leather. They are not heavy enough. I use a "break-point" utility knife. -- no savings
• Instead of a ruler, pick up a piece of aluminum stock 1/2" x 48" from Home Depot. -- savings $5
• A scratch awl is nice but you can file down a nail and get most of the same results. -- savings $4
• A quarter instead of washers. -- savings $9.75
• I have a stitching pony, but it has such limited use that I have never used it. So I'd say save your money. -- savings $120
• I have a slicker, but as above, it has limited use. To smooth an edge us a piece of old Levis jeans or a scrap of canvas. -- savings $10
• You should be able to pick up a nylon headed hammer on Amazon for around $15. -- savings $60

Total savings = $203.75

Woohoo! Thanks!

Edited July 19, 2021 by ipcmlr

[ipcmlr]

4 hours ago, SheilaOrikawaAtelier said:

If I can give you an advice as you are a beginner, as Pricking Irons, I would use these 2 (you can choose between the 2 brands from Japan):

- Craft Sha Leather Pricking Iron Tool Leathercraft Diamond Stitching Chisel 2x3mm | Goods Japan Shop

- Seiwa Diamond Leather Stitching Chisel Leathercraft Pricking Iron Tool 6x3mm | Goods Japan Shop

These 2 to marking holes and this awl to make the holes (of course if you want the diamond shape): Kyoshin Elle Leathercraft Stitching Awl for Sewing Leather Diamond Point Small | Goods Japan Shop

Are really good tools to me, and not expensive, at the beginning could help. 

Of course if you want start with the best by KS Blade, not a problem. I wanted only to tell how I started and I still use them. 

Yeah. I just put the most expensive there. I knew people would recommend more affordable pricking irons. Its where i can save the most money. Thanks!

Edited July 19, 2021 by ipcmlr
Added

[ipcmlr]

3 hours ago, fredk said:

Your W&D paper is expensive. 8 x 12 inch sheet £0.50 to £0.60 per, or about 70c per

another vote for a box cutter knife

don't buy card for pattern - scrounge cereal boxes or boxes from shops

Thanks. Yes, the sandpaper i put is for a pack. Actually i think i have some 180,220, and 400 grit left in the garage. Just put it there so i dont forget ill also spend on small stuff like that..

7 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Instead of buying washers use coins they are much cheaper.

 Barry king maul you can get a deadblow hammer for a few bucks or even a cheaper maul for much less. 

the exacto is good for real light leather but the blades flex to much for thicker stuff, get a box cutter or similar with a bit thicker blades.

If you are handy building a stitching pony is pretty easy, i made mine from an old pallet all i have in it is the cost of two carriage bolts, nuts and washers.

you can also make a scratch awl, i use an old ice pick

card for templates can be any heavy paper from cereal boxes to present boxes you shouldn't ever have to buy this stuff, recycle.

the tandy pro line of stitching chisels are pretty good,also you dont need all of them. what i do with tools such as these, stamps and such are buy them when i need them that way i dont have stuff i will never use like a four stitch per inch chisel. on the chisels i would buy a two prong and a four or six prong in the stitch per inch you want.

Thanks.

[zuludog]

Your list is fairly comprehensive, but some of the items are expensive - top quality, yes, but still expensive. If you are willing to pay that, fair enough, but you can save some money by shopping around for tools that are a bit cheaper, but still good quality, without going down to the absolutely poorest & cheapest

I only know of Tandy, Weaver, and Rocky Mountain Leather Supplies in the USA, but I would have thought that between them you would find a reasonable choice

An Exacto is too light for all but the thinnest leather. Get a Stanley/utility/box cutter knife. You can resharpen the blades, and they seem better, probably because you've reduced the shoulder of the bevel, and polished them; in fact even new blades work better if they've been stropped. Have a look at YT videos by Ian Atkinson, he does most of his work with a utility knife

You can use the ruler or the straight edge for cutting, but you will, of course, need a ruler for measuring

Needles & thread - John James Saddlers Harness needles item code L3912 size 002 are some of the best; beware, make sure you get size 002 and not 2/0, which are too big. If you're making wallets you might want to go smaller, size 004.

0,6mm dia thread is a common size for general leatherwork, but for wallets you might want to go down to 0,45mm dia. Most leatherworkers try a few types at first then settle on something they like. Ritza 25 is popular but usually it is sold in large rolls which makes it expensive to buy into; however RMLS have rewound it into shorter lengths. There is a picture of a tiger on the label of Ritza 25, so it is sometimes called tiger thread. I like the Chinese Yue Fung thread, both linen & synthetic; this is sold by RMLS as their own label 'Twist' brand

The stitching chisels are expensive; shop around & consider the other suggestions. Prongs with sharp points are slightly easier to place than those with flat points

A scratch awl is used to mark out shapes; open up stitching holes, and all sorts of other poking & prodding jobs, and they're cheap enough

Dividers or stitching groover? I've used both, but I prefer dividers. You might find that a groover removes too much from thin leather 

You can probably find a cheaper stitching pony or make your own, on the other hand Dream Factory is good, and you'll have it done.

Palosanto bevelers are good, but expensive so shop around; I've heard good reports of Barry King & Weaver

An edge slicker/burnisher is cheap enough. I notice that RMLS are selling off the flat or slipper type for $7-99

Don't bother buying card, use things like the packets from breakfast cereals. I also use them to make mock ups of new items and things I'm not too sure about. This gives me an idea of what the finished article will look like; the sequence of construction; possible problems; the amount of leather I'll need - old cardboard is a lot cheaper than leather !

The Barry King maul is expensive; consider a cheaper hide or nylon mallet, not necessarily from a leather craft supplier - try your local hardware or auto parts store

Yes, get the Palosanto Japanese knife, it will be good quality. You can use it for skiving and cutting, especially as you will be making wallets which are mostly straight lines - again, there are videos

A couple of things you haven't mentioned --

An awl, meaning a saddlers/diamond awl with a diamond shaped cross section. Yes, you will use the stitching chisels most of the time, but there are sometimes places where you can't use them. Also they will only penetrate up to about 7 or 8mm of leather. For anything thicker, start with chisels then complete the hole with the awl. Get one ready mounted on a haft, with about 30 mm of exposed blade, medium quality. To keep the costs down they usually only come with a basic finish; you are expected to do the final sharpening & polishing yourself. This applies to other leatherworking tools as well, and you buy them on that understanding. It is only when you buy the most expensive & exotic makes that you can use them straight out of the box. 

Sharpening - you will need to sharpen your tools, so you'll need a sharpening stone - oil, Japanese water, ceramic, or diamond, or very fine grades of wet & dry paper. And a strop; you can buy one or make your own, but get a proper stropping compound, green chromium dioxide is as good as any. There are loads of videos about sharpening & making a strop

Use a second utility knife or a cheap snap - blade knife for pattern cutting and things like opening parcels, cutting string, and sharpening pencils. Its purpose in life is to make sure that you use your leather working knives exclusively for cutting leather.

Watch videos of making the things you're interested in, as many as you have the stamina for; then you'll see how other people do things, and the tools they use.

If you are cutting straight lines on thin leather you could consider a rotary blade knife, such as Fiskars or Olfa

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by zuludog

[Danne]

@ipcmlr I will give some tips on cheaper alternatives on some of the tools and motivate why, and also some tools/brands I prefer. This is of course my opinions, and we all prefer different tools.

 

exacto knife $6 I have two snap-off knives. One 18mm (cheap one) I use this one to cut thicker things, and to cut out leather pieces from the leather hide. I also have a Olfa SAC-1 which is cheap and I like it because it's very little wiggle in the blade. I use Olfa Black Max blades for both knives, they get dull quicker, but they are super sharp and cheap.

ruler $10 Don't buy a really cheap thin ruler, I did that at first and it was very annoying. I would recommend a thickness around 1mm (I use Linex)

needles $9 I would recommend John James 004 (Up to around 0.6mm thread) depending on the type on the style of products, if you would use for example Ritza25 0.8mm or other thread around the same thickness John James 002 is more suitable. If you use very thin thread like 0.3-0.35mm you can benefit from System S+U 953-7 But John James 004 work fine for this thread.

thread  $7 - For small leathergoods (depending on style of course) Meisi is a very good choice, and I would recommend you to pick up their free sample pack (You have to pay shipping costs though, but you get a couple of full spools, and a lot of samples of different thread types. + a color catalogue. I prefer Meisi linen M40 (0.45mm) for 9spi (European style irons) and Meisi linen M35 (0.35mm) for 10-11SPI (Which I usually use for watch straps) I also use their Xiange twist in the same weights. It's a polyester thread with a linen feel, I like it for wallets and card holders, because it's so much more durable compared to linen. 

http://www.meisi108.com/product-17210-23781-85397.html

Contact them on instagram to order: https://www.instagram.com/meisi108/

stitching irons $215 - I just put the most expensive one for computation. KS Blade Punch 2+10 3mm I really like my Ksblade, they are so easy to align to a scribed line.

dividers / leather groover $10 - a tandy stitching groover Do you need a stitching groover? I have one, I have never used it, and never seen a reason to use it. Maybe if I someday would make a gun holster or something where I want quite thick thread, maybe I would use it.

stitching pony $120 - dream factory. I'm sure there's a cheaper option. Make your own? I have no woodworking experience, and used a plastic miter saw box and a cordless drill. I did add a looking mechanism with a metric thread insert and a "eye screw", I placed it quite low to avoid thread getting stuck. https://imgur.com/a/5hWQk

beveller 80 - I put the palosanto #2 here. I'm sure there's cheaper options I have Kyoshin Elle the ones with green handles, and have never felt like I would need anything else. Palosanto is probably a lot better, but the ones I have make a clean beveled edge, and I don't have to sharpen them that often (A steel rod and fine grit sandpaper is included to sharpen them. And you can strop them.

card for templates  $15 I use card paper from pizza boxes, a good reason to eat some pizza lol. https://i.imgur.com/WFKw6Ql.jpg

sanding block/sandpaper $8 I use paper from Mirka (And really like that brand) 180 grit (dry paper, the yellow one)  and wet/dry 400 grit, 800 grit (for final sanding of edge paint before polishing) When I dye and burnish edges I go a little higher as finish) For sharpening my skiving knives I use 1000 grit and finish with 2500 grit. To hold the paper I just cut apart a sanding block into a smaller piece so I can wrap my paper around the edge and hold it.

maul/hammer $75 - barry king maul. You plan on doing tooling? if not a regular cheap hammer. Something equivalient to this with plastic heads cost like 10-15usd.  https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61AH4em4rHL._SL1500_.jpg

skiving knife 50 - a friend is selling me a palosanto japanese knife which might be a good option. Palosanto have  a good reputation so it will be a good knife. I use the cheaper ones from Kyoshin Elle and i'm very happy with them, and it's around the same price, so I would choose the one from Palosanto.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Danne

[Handstitched]

You don't necessarily have to buy new everything, I didn't  .  I  also  utilised whatever I had lying around.  I looked in $2 buck shops, discount shops etc.  Anything that I could use and to save money. 

Coins & basically anything that has a round shape, do make good templates. I've used the  wood curved part of a beveller handle as a slicker ( still do sometimes ) .I used an off cut of timber as a sanding block.  Scratch awl, a sharpened long nail,or an off cut of  thin metal sharpened to a point?  Cardboard cereal boxes , or beer boxes, make good card for templates. My maul is a rubber mallet ( approx. 7oz)  from a kids toy tool kit. Still use it today, its perfect for me   Just a few suggestions. 

HS

[austinious]

I feel vindicated that so many use utility knives.  I also buy boxes of razor blades from Harbor Freight or online.  Great for making small cuts and doing delicate work. I use the Tandy CraftPro pricking irons, excellent quality and the price is cheaper than what OP quoted.

I made a maul from old cutting boards and a big bolt from home depot.  Cost $1.50.  The original was aluminum waaaay too heavy.  Basically looked around at junk I had as @Handstitched mentioned.

 

[Rahere]

The reason not to go for a hammer when tooling is because the butt end of punches aren't hardened - it starts to mushroom them, making control harder. Nylon-headed mauls are the next softer, but given we're leather-workers, make our own! 4" rawhide, soaked and rolled tight, with the end skived, glued and nailed in place. One dry, an appropriate auger drill to bore out the centre to take a wooden handle.

Proops on Etsy do no end of stuff, including Dremel slickers, at excellent prices. I remember them in the pre-internet days when they had an Aladdin's Cave on London's Tottenham Court Road - the occasionally still surface at engineerong exhibitions.

I've just spent the morning with my groover - the downside is that you need one of the smallest drills known to man to clear the clogs. But it does leave a nice-looking channel on surface-died veg tan.

[zuludog]

10 hours ago, ipcmlr said:

Yeah. I just put the most expensive there. I knew people would recommend more affordable pricking irons. Its where i can save the most money. Thanks!

I've been thinking about stitching chisels, and have a suggestion

Chisels with wider spacing, about 4mm and more are used on thicker leather like belts & knife sheaths. Chisels with smaller spacing, say 3mm or less, are used on thinner leather, like your proposed wallets & notebook covers. However, the narrower spacing is more difficult to sew neatly

So here is my suggestion, which is to some extent a compromise; I'm guessing that you haven't actually used a stitching chisel, so before you spend a fair amount of money, start off simply and build up from there

I would just get just one chisel, a Tandy Craftool Fine Diamond Chisel, item code 88057. I think this is the Pro line chisel recommended by chuck123wapiti with a new name; certainly it looks the same as the #88057 chisels that I have, and they are stamped Craftool Pro

The spacing is 3,5mm  which will be OK for notebook covers, yet not too big for wallets, at least to start with, and fairly easy to use & sew. It is decent quality, but not so expensive at $27-99 that if you change you'll feel you've wasted your money. Get the 4 prong chisel; it is not too clumsy, will cover a reasonable length of sewing, and if you only want to do a couple of stitches, like at the end of a line, you can just move it back into some of the previous holes

See how you go on with that, then you can add chisels with different numbers of prongs & spacing as you wish

On these chisels the spacing is measured by the distance between the points, but Tandy Craftool with the black finish are measured between the sides of the prongs, which means, for example that the 4mm are actually just over 5mm between the points

There are, of course, lots of other types and no doubt there will be other suggestions -- welcome to the fun!

Edited July 19, 2021 by zuludog

[mike02130]

A Palosanto #2 beveller is quite large for "small goods".  The numbered sizes differ from one maker to the next.  A Palosanto #2 is equal to a Ron's Montana #3 and a Barry King #1.  I'd recommend a Palosanto #0, Ron's Montana #1 or a Barry King #00.  These are all the same size.  I have all three and each one has their pros and cons over the other.  If I were to have just one, it would be Ron's.

It may behoove you to have a better and more concise plan on what exactly you want to make other than just wallets and notebooks.  There are many styles of wallets that use different weights of leather and different methods of construction.  Do you want rustic chunky or high-end thin?  Will you be using thick leather or layering thin leathers and lining all parts of the wallet? 

Do you know how to sharpen and use a strop properly?  Palosanto knives are made with high speed steel.  Diamond or ceramic stones will work much better than Japanese water stones or sandpaper.  I say this from experience.

You didn't mention glue.  There are a half a dozen to choose from.

Punches?  I use corner punches for my goods.

Edge creaser?

I have five different size sets of KS Blades' irons.  I've tried other brands but I prefer the KS. For me, working with cool tools is a large part of why I do leather work.  I say spend and spend some more.  The better tools also have a higher resale value.