You can't afford starting with leathercraft?

[Danne]

First, I don't consider myself a professional leathercrafter, maybe intermediate.

But when I started this craft, I blamed my tools, stitching wasn't good because of my stitching irons, I needed a better skiving knife. 

I took some old tools and skived a piece of leather, and I cut glued, stitched, creased and burnished the edge. (The stitching is far from perfect, but it's not because of the tools, I haven't stitched in a while, so usually when I start a new project I do some practice runs on some scrap pieces)

How did I prepare the tools? 

I used 400/1000/2500 grit wet and dry sandpaper and a file and a small drill bit. 

A file to reshape the "creaser" so I got a sharper edge, and some sand paper to smooth it out.

A small drill bit under sand paper to sharpen the edge beveler, and stropped it on the edge of some thicker leather.

Sharpened the knife with wet and dry on a granite plate (A small piece of glass or anything else that is flat would work fine.

 

What would you need more? some cheap pva glue (you already have some maybe?) a small cutting mat, two needles and some thread, a lighter to heat the creaser, a piece of cloth to burnish the edge with water. A hammer/mallet. 

Are there benefits with some of the really expensive tools? Yes but not much as a beginner. I would say as a beginner don't buy the most expensive tools. Why? Do you know if you would prefer Japanese or European style stitching irons? Which side of a skiving knife do you prefer to skive with, bevel up or down? Would I recommend buying these super cheap tools I show here if you can afford to spend a little bit more? No, I would buy tools from leathercrafttools.com and you will get edge beveler, skiving knife with better edge retention, and tbh I still use both my skiving knives and edge beveler of the same brand as leathercrafttools sell, and i'm happy with them and see no reason to upgrade them, even though I have upgraded all the other tools I use. 

The approximate cost of the tools in this photo is around 

Skiving Knife: 2usd

Adjustable creaser: 2-3usd

Edge beveler: 2-3usd (With groover creaser edge beveler, different tips you can replace)

wing divider: 4usd

Stitching irons: 2-3usd

Hammer: (From local hardware store) 10euro.

But leather is expensive? Yes, but you can often buy good quality leather as off cuts or belly leather, and you don't have to start with making large bags. You can make key rings, watch straps, card holders, just small practice pieces to learn to stitch and finish edges and skive and such.

[tsunkasapa]

39 minutes ago, Danne said:

a lighter to heat the creaser,

I'm curious why you would heat the creaser. I just damp the leather and run the creaser. I get fantastic results with no heat at all.

[Danne]

5 minutes ago, tsunkasapa said:

I'm curious why you would heat the creaser. I just damp the leather and run the creaser. I get fantastic results with no heat at all.

I never use manual creasers, and are used to heat with my electric creaser. But for veg tan I can see how it can be a good solution.

[Klara]

I've read that you need to heat the creaser for chrome tanned leather, and JH Leather works with bridle leather and a hot creaser as well. I don't know because mine has only just arrived  - I didn't feel the need for one at the beginning. 

Sadly, the above prices are based on fond memory and no longer true. The cheapest skiving knife I find on leathercrafttools.com is $ 5, plastic handle with replaceable blade (looks like it might last about two cuts).  The one shown in the picture is available from Aliexpress, but at more than $ 2. The pictured wing divider costs $ 20 in Japan...

Of course, you don't absolutely need a wing divider if you have a 5 in one groover/edge beveller tool. And one might not even need edge bevelers if one rolls the edges... 

Awls are missing as well in the above list - I need 4: small, medium, large, curved. And round, but I had that already...

The tools one needs depend on the work one wants to do - I'm making dog collars, so I need hole punches and hardware. I also prefer knives with a curved blade, means € 20 for the cheapest head knife. And so on...

It would be nice, though, if there was a beginner-friendly list of which tools and supplies are needed for which type of work. I may have spent a bit too much on (cheap) tools, but I'm using all of it, I believe. However, I've also bought quite big amounts of leather, thread, edge paint, etc. which I find less useful than I thought...

Edited September 23, 2021 by Klara
added info

[Squid61]

I have learned through many years of getting into one hobby or another that the most expensive route is through cheap tools.  I can't even count the cheap tools I've had to replace, tossing the cheap stuff into the trash.  I also have spent far too much money buying those beginner/starter tool sets for various hobbies and crafts  only to discover over half either are never needed or don't work.  My advice to beginners of leather or any other craft is to talk to an expert or at least experienced practitioner and buy a decent quality selection of individual tools based on sound advice.  Yes the cost may be higher at first but much lower in the end.

[Danne]

7 hours ago, Klara said:

I've read that you need to heat the creaser for chrome tanned leather, and JH Leather works with bridle leather and a hot creaser as well. I don't know because mine has only just arrived  - I didn't feel the need for one at the beginning. 

Sadly, the above prices are based on fond memory and no longer true. The cheapest skiving knife I find on leathercrafttools.com is $ 5, plastic handle with replaceable blade (looks like it might last about two cuts).  The one shown in the picture is available from Aliexpress, but at more than $ 2. The pictured wing divider costs $ 20 in Japan...

Of course, you don't absolutely need a wing divider if you have a 5 in one groover/edge beveller tool. And one might not even need edge bevelers if one rolls the edges... 

Awls are missing as well in the above list - I need 4: small, medium, large, curved. And round, but I had that already...

The tools one needs depend on the work one wants to do - I'm making dog collars, so I need hole punches and hardware. I also prefer knives with a curved blade, means € 20 for the cheapest head knife. And so on...

It would be nice, though, if there was a beginner-friendly list of which tools and supplies are needed for which type of work. I may have spent a bit too much on (cheap) tools, but I'm using all of it, I believe. However, I've also bought quite big amounts of leather, thread, edge paint, etc. which I find less useful than I thought...

The prices of these tools are from Aliexpress. And I might have missed a usd on the skiving knife. Yes maybe I bought that wing divider somewhere else, it was a long time ago.

I don't see it as the best option to buy these tools, I also don't see it as a good option to start with the most expensive tools. As an example if I would have bought Ksblade when I started this craft I would maybe have bought the Japanese style in 8spi, and the largest spi I use now is 9spi and European style, so it would have been a waste of money.

The reason I did this post was because some people can't afford to buy medium quality tools from for example leathercrafttools.com and then they think they can't start crafting leather. 

[Danne]

1 hour ago, Squid61 said:

I have learned through many years of getting into one hobby or another that the most expensive route is through cheap tools.  I can't even count the cheap tools I've had to replace, tossing the cheap stuff into the trash.  I also have spent far too much money buying those beginner/starter tool sets for various hobbies and crafts  only to discover over half either are never needed or don't work.  My advice to beginners of leather or any other craft is to talk to an expert or at least experienced practitioner and buy a decent quality selection of individual tools based on sound advice.  Yes the cost may be higher at first but much lower in the end.

But not everyone have the money to spend on decent quality tools, but still want to try this hobby. It's certainly possible to learn and make nice things with super cheap tools, and then maybe sell a few items and slowly upgrade tools. But buying kits is usually not a good idea, usually a lot of tools you might not need. Better to buy the tools you need for what you are making. 

When I started this craft I could have made a huge mistake buying expensive tools and material. But I agree with buying decent quality, if you can afford it, it's a better choice. I still use a lot of the tools I bought from Japanese brands like Seiwa, Kyoshin Elle and such. The main reason I might update my skiving knives to Okada,  Palosanto awls, is mainly because of nice wood and the feeling of the tools. It's not that I need that Palosanto awl, I buy Japanese budget awls and reshape them and they do they work perfectly.

Another example when it comes to material. In the beginning I used Ritza25 thread, I was thinking about buying all colors in full spools, it would have been a mistake because I don't like that thread at all anymore. I prefer Meisi linen and Meisi Xiange twist, and in thinner versions than Ritza.

 

 

[Klara]

2 hours ago, Squid61 said:

I have learned through many years of getting into one hobby or another that the most expensive route is through cheap tools.  I can't even count the cheap tools I've had to replace, tossing the cheap stuff into the trash.  ...

Not my experience. Because it's rarely the tool, which is a lesson taught by a farrier some 20 years ago. When we admired his work, complained our nails always bent wrong, joked that his pro hammer must make the difference he took each of our hammers and continued to work like before. More recently I've earned my money spinning wool, and while there are unuseable handspindles and wheels around, I still have and use and cherish (it's no longer being produced) the very first spinning wheel I bought, which was the cheapest on the market (though still from a reputable company).

Getting back to leather work: I am still using most of the € 20 kit off Amazon: Diamond stitching chisels - do the job (and they alone are worth the money). The groover works after honing, the bevelers are so so, no doubt because I haven't put enough work in. Nothing wrong with the burnisher either, I mostly use it with nylon cloth around it, so who cares about wood quality or finish.

In my local leather shop the sales lady let me try a Barry King awl to compare with a Seiwa. Yes, the difference is huge, the Barry King glides through the leather much more easily. But the price difference is huge as well, easily a few hours work worth, so I can spend some time honing a "cheap" awl blade. (If you want to call Osborne and Vergez Blanchard cheap... They are far under € 10, in any case.)

@Danne If your post is meant as a counter argument to the tool chapter in Nigel Armitage's book, then I agree completely. It's ridiculous to expect a beginner to spend several hundred dollars/pounds/euros on tools before he's discovered whether he even likes leatherwork. But it's not as easy/cheap as you make it out to be. Firstly, you can only buy from Aliexpress if you know exactly what you need as the descriptions are mostly useless. Secondly you need to be prepared to wait - the very cheap stuff doesn't have 10-day delivery. Most beginners are keen to start NOW.

Finally, Armitage does have a point: With cheap tools you are never quite sure whether the problem is you (in most cases) or the tool (which does happen).

In any case, I don't regret at all that after doing a first project with the kit from Amazon (and a very old awl I had lying around from my grandmother, and some sewing needles I had ground the point off) I made a trip to the nearest leather shop to buy decent tools there. Still bottom of the line in most cases, but I trust the shop not to sell any crap.

 

[Squid61]

Klara, I never blame my tools for shoddy workmanship.  I do blame my tools when cutting instruments will not take or hold an edge (yes I know how to sharpen, been doing it for over 60 years) or gauging instruments will not hold a setting or the tool metal is so cheap it bends.  No matter, opinions are what these forums are for.

[Danne]

9 minutes ago, Klara said:

Not my experience. Because it's rarely the tool, which is a lesson taught by a farrier some 20 years ago. When we admired his work, complained our nails always bent wrong, joked that his pro hammer must make the difference he took each of our hammers and continued to work like before. More recently I've earned my money spinning wool, and while there are unuseable handspindles and wheels around, I still have and use and cherish (it's no longer being produced) the very first spinning wheel I bought, which was the cheapest on the market (though still from a reputable company).

Getting back to leather work: I am still using most of the € 20 kit off Amazon: Diamond stitching chisels - do the job (and they alone are worth the money). The groover works after honing, the bevelers are so so, no doubt because I haven't put enough work in. Nothing wrong with the burnisher either, I mostly use it with nylon cloth around it, so who cares about wood quality or finish.

In my local leather shop the sales lady let me try a Barry King awl to compare with a Seiwa. Yes, the difference is huge, the Barry King glides through the leather much more easily. But the price difference is huge as well, easily a few hours work worth, so I can spend some time honing a "cheap" awl blade. (If you want to call Osborne and Vergez Blanchard cheap... They are far under € 10, in any case.)

@Danne If your post is meant as a counter argument to the tool chapter in Nigel Armitage's book, then I agree completely. It's ridiculous to expect a beginner to spend several hundred dollars/pounds/euros on tools before he's discovered whether he even likes leatherwork. But it's not as easy/cheap as you make it out to be. Firstly, you can only buy from Aliexpress if you know exactly what you need as the descriptions are mostly useless. Secondly you need to be prepared to wait - the very cheap stuff doesn't have 10-day delivery. Most beginners are keen to start NOW.

Finally, Armitage does have a point: With cheap tools you are never quite sure whether the problem is you (in most cases) or the tool (which does happen).

In any case, I don't regret at all that after doing a first project with the kit from Amazon (and a very old awl I had lying around from my grandmother, and some sewing needles I had ground the point off) I made a trip to the nearest leather shop to buy decent tools there. Still bottom of the line in most cases, but I trust the shop not to sell any crap.

 

I see it like this, if someone can't make a decent quality leather product with cheap tools, then the problem isn't the tool it's the crafter. When someone can make a decent product with cheap tools that person can certainly benefit from more expensive tools. (Higher quality steel and better shaped tools and such)

Regarding awls, I prefer Seiwa and Kyoshin Elle over Blanchard, and the reason is the blade is so wide on the smallest Blanchard so it takes so much time to reshape it. Sure it might be better steeel in Blanchard I have no idea, but I rarely sharpen my cheaper Japanese awls.

The main reason for this post wasn't to recommend people to buy the absolute cheapest tools they can find. When someone have asked me for recommendations for tools for making watch straps as an example. And they can spend a little bit more, I often recommend tools from leathercrafttools. But we have to keep in mind, 100euro can be a small amount of money for someone, it can be a lot of money for someone else. And for someone who have very limited amounts of money to spend but still want to try this craft, and are willing to wait a little bit for shipping, it's still possible to try this hobby and make nice things on a low budget.

 

You may have seen my post about my tool board and jigs I made. I could afford buying Festool machines, and a nice table saw and nice miter saw station. But I haven't worked with fine woodworking before. So I decided to buy medium quality circle saw and a plunge router. Even if I would keep making things in wood, I could still have a use for these tools if I upgrade. But buying those super expensive tools would have been a very bad move, because I don't really know what type of tools I would prefer. As an example, a plunge router wasn't the best choice, a palm router with a plunge attachment would have been better. Now it wasn't a big deal because I didn't pay for a "premium machine."

Edited September 23, 2021 by Danne

[Klara]

Completely with you on the last paragraph, I don't have top of the line power tools either (even supermarket stuff sometimes works well enough for my purposes).

Regarding the leather tools we should distinguish between cheap as in badly made and cheap as in low-cost. I'm sure there's some crap tools somewhere that are just not useable. I had my doubts about the very cheapest creasers on Aliexpress - they looked as if they'd bend if I pushed a bit hard. On the other hand, I don't consider "not holding an edge" a fault in a knife. As long as it's the sort of steel that is sharp again after a few strokes on stone and strop.

I have Vergez Blanchard and Osborne because they sell the blade on its own, so I have several blades but only one handle. The smallest Seiwa was out of stock for a long time, I agree the other two are a bit wide (and I feel VB is too soft - it's the only awl blade where the tip bent over, I believe without falling on the floor). Probably should make another trip to the shop, but they are so bad for my bank account...

However, for beginners I believe the most important thing is to know what they want to do. You could spend your life tooling belts, riveting the buckles (or putting snaps) and you wouldn't need any sewing equipment at all. Whereas I love sewing and need my rivet setter mostly for rhinestones

 

[Danne]

23 minutes ago, Klara said:

Completely with you on the last paragraph, I don't have top of the line power tools either (even supermarket stuff sometimes works well enough for my purposes).

Regarding the leather tools we should distinguish between cheap as in badly made and cheap as in low-cost. I'm sure there's some crap tools somewhere that are just not useable. I had my doubts about the very cheapest creasers on Aliexpress - they looked as if they'd bend if I pushed a bit hard. On the other hand, I don't consider "not holding an edge" a fault in a knife. As long as it's the sort of steel that is sharp again after a few strokes on stone and strop.

I have Vergez Blanchard and Osborne because they sell the blade on its own, so I have several blades but only one handle. The smallest Seiwa was out of stock for a long time, I agree the other two are a bit wide (and I feel VB is too soft - it's the only awl blade where the tip bent over, I believe without falling on the floor). Probably should make another trip to the shop, but they are so bad for my bank account...

However, for beginners I believe the most important thing is to know what they want to do. You could spend your life tooling belts, riveting the buckles (or putting snaps) and you wouldn't need any sewing equipment at all. Whereas I love sewing and need my rivet setter mostly for rhinestones

 

Yes, and regarding skiving knives, we also have to consider how it will be used. As a hobbyist or for some skiving sometimes. If someone skive a lot everyday a good edge retention can be nice. 

The awl I use the most is a Kyoshin Elle I think. And it's modified from diamond to "flat" and it doesn't bend and it stays sharp very well. Now I only use it for thinner leather on wallets and card holders. 

[Squid61]

The point about cheap quality and low cost is good, easier to spot the difference when buying in person versus on line.  In my wood carving I use a selection of Mora knives, an example of decent quality at a low price.  I also  use an Osborne skiving knife that was on the lower end of the price scale but made with quality steel, it took a couple of hours of serious sharpening and honing to get it to skive properly but now holds its edge very well.  On the other hand, I find that a basic $5 USD utility knife works very well for most leather work, the blades do require honing before use but the blades cost mere cents when they finally must be replaced.  Also something you might understand Klara; I had a Harrisville 40" floor loom that combined mediocre quality with relatively high cost, a poor investment on my part.

If a beginner buys tools just because they are low cost there is a significant probability that more time will be spent fighting the tool than learning a craft.  Sure, given a certain level of natural talent, a good product can be produced with low quality tools but I don't feel that represents the normal outcome.  More likely is the beginner quitting in disgust.

[Klara]

13 minutes ago, Squid61 said:

....Also something you might understand Klara; I had a Harrisville 40" floor loom that combined mediocre quality with relatively high cost, a poor investment on my part.

...

OT I understand, but I am shocked: I really thought Harrisville was the very top of the line! Didn't they cooperate with Peter Collingwood on the rug loom? (My Glimakra Ideal isn't ideal either, but I got it for very little money from a friend. 

 

[Squid61]

Harrisville got a lot right with it but it is a kit after all and kits just lack the sense of fine quality that comes with a factory build.  There is always a sense that important details were eliminated for ease of assembly by the user. I don't have many pictures of my work but here is a Merino-Cashimir scarf I made for my wife using the Harrisville.

[kgg]

6 hours ago, Squid61 said:

If a beginner buys tools just because they are low cost there is a significant probability that more time will be spent fighting the tool than learning a craft.  Sure, given a certain level of natural talent, a good product can be produced with low quality tools but I don't feel that represents the normal outcome.  More likely is the beginner quitting in disgust.

I believe in buying good quality tools / equipment not necessarily the best or even new equipment but not the low priced cheap quality stuff unless I am going to treat it like a BIC lighter. If you don't like a particular aspect of the hobby chances are you can resell good quality equipment otherwise you maybe stuck keeping or taking a bath on resale. There is always a market for good used quality equipment. Good quality equipment always lessens the frustration associated with learning something new and helps, at least me, to concentrate on learning. I have always liked good quality equipment that was above my ability level, one less thing to wonder about. Equipment or me, most likely me. I typically try to follow the Buy Once, Cry Once method of buying equipment.

It really depends on what someone wants to do and how much money you can afford. Example you can make a leather wallet using thousands of dollars in equipment like clicker presses, electric skiver, electric burnishers, electric sewing machines, etc while at the minimalist end of the scale a box cutter, a little glue, straight edge, some tap water, carpenters hammer, rivet setter, and a few copper rivets.

kgg

 

 

[Klara]

For me electric machines are a completely different game. I think this discussion is more about box cutter vs. head knife and no-name tools vs. AbbeyofEngland vs. Barry King and Doldoki.

And the thing with (some) tools from Aliexpress is that they cost so little money (even if in my searches it's a bit more than in the first post) that you can't lose a lot on resale, or if you don't resell it's not a problem either. (Not to mention that I have a hard time letting go of things because I always think I might need them again one day. Last year showed that Marie Kondo is wrong...) If AbbeyofEngland sells an adjustable creaser for £ 35, and Aliexpress one that looks identical for € 12 - why would I buy from Abbey? Just so there is a brand symbol on it? (I'm in the EU, so logistics are the same whether I buy from England or China. )

But then that's not the cheapest creaser on Aliexpress, either. And I have some experience by now and watched some videos and seen this creaser being used by somebody I respect. If I had discovered Aliexpress a few months ago, heaven knows what I would have ended up with.

Squid61 said it:

16 hours ago, Squid61 said:

...My advice to beginners of leather or any other craft is to talk to an expert or at least experienced practitioner and buy a decent quality selection of individual tools based on sound advice.  Yes the cost may be higher at first but much lower in the end.

Problem is only finding good advice...

[tsunkasapa]

7 hours ago, Klara said:

(I'm in the EU, so logistics are the same whether I buy from England or China. )

I have reached a point where I am willing to pay more to have something that is NOT made in China. Nixon opened Pandora's Box all those years ago.

[Danne]

2 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

I have reached a point where I am willing to pay more to have something that is NOT made in China. Nixon opened Pandora's Box all those years ago.

There are a lot of high quality tools and other things made in China also. Kevinlee make and resell some really good tools as an example. One of the best leathercraft threads are made by Meisi in China. A lot of the parts in your Techsew is made in China. 
 

And there are a lot of tools made in other places that are more expensive and not suitable for a beginner. 
 

Let’s take an example, a Blanchard awl is certainly not Suitable for a beginner, unless that person have experience from other crafts and can reshape/sharpen/polish the awl. Yes the steel quality is probably really good, but a new awl from Blanchard is more or less useless unless before you have finished the tool. 
 

Let’s take another example. Without having used them, I would certainly buy SPC hole punches instead of a lot of European (Germany France) or made in US, just by looking at the photos (talking about hole punches for fine leatherworking. 

[Klara]

4 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

I have reached a point where I am willing to pay more to have something that is NOT made in China. Nixon opened Pandora's Box all those years ago.

I have a friend who thinks the same way. She went to buy an electric kettle and came home without one, because they were all made in China. Even European companies produce where labour is cheap...

That said, at least some times (possibly most times, but I only have one example) there is a difference between cheap things off Aliexpress and almost the same once bought from a reputable shop: Today my new pricking irons arrived which cost about a third of what I paid here. They look the same, down to the marking of the distance between the tines (of course it's a different number). But the tines are not polished. Which I saw on the photos, but as I use pricking irons only for marking the stitches, not for punching through the leather I figure it won't matter.

[Danne]

18 minutes ago, Klara said:

I have a friend who thinks the same way. She went to buy an electric kettle and came home without one, because they were all made in China. Even European companies produce where labour is cheap...

That said, at least some times (possibly most times, but I only have one example) there is a difference between cheap things off Aliexpress and almost the same once bought from a reputable shop: Today my new pricking irons arrived which cost about a third of what I paid here. They look the same, down to the marking of the distance between the tines (of course it's a different number). But the tines are not polished. Which I saw on the photos, but as I use pricking irons only for marking the stitches, not for punching through the leather I figure it won't matter.

When I make wallets I pre-punch the exterior before assemble and then use an awl to open up the holes when assembled. And which pricking iron I use wouldn't really matter. Sure I like the ergonomy or Ksblade, they feel good in my hand, and they are easy to align. But the only real time where slim pricking/punching irons where I can punch all the way through, and with polished teeth really shine is when I make thin watch straps and punch all the way through. When I use an awl I personally don't see any difference in the result.

[jcuk]

1 hour ago, Klara said:

have a friend who thinks the same way. She went to buy an electric kettle and came home without one, because they were all made in China. Even European companies produce where labour is cheap.

Yes how many countries are in the EU and they cant produce something such as a simple Kettle at an affordable price,  you would think the size of the EU that would be possible. I started to notice even some really basic things were being shipped in from the Far East had to ask myself want was the point of the EU, in a pact that size we were having to have a lot if not most of there goods shipped in from the Far East. Maybe the EU has to take a cold hard look at itself.

 

JCUK

Edited September 24, 2021 by jcuk

[tsunkasapa]

5 hours ago, Danne said:

There are a lot of high quality tools and other things made in China also. Kevinlee make and resell some really good tools as an example. One of the best leathercraft threads are made by Meisi in China. A lot of the parts in your Techsew is made in China. 
 

And there are a lot of tools made in other places that are more expensive and not suitable for a beginner. 
 

Let’s take an example, a Blanchard awl is certainly not Suitable for a beginner, unless that person have experience from other crafts and can reshape/sharpen/polish the awl. Yes the steel quality is probably really good, but a new awl from Blanchard is more or less useless unless before you have finished the tool. 
 

Let’s take another example. Without having used them, I would certainly buy SPC hole punches instead of a lot of European (Germany France) or made in US, just by looking at the photos (talking about hole punches for fine leatherworking. 

100% immaterial, I WILL NOT support the Chinese economy, OR those companies trying to get rich off of cheap labor. I will NOT knowingly buy ANY "Made In China" products. Even if I have to pay twice the price. "F" them very much!

[Cumberland Highpower]

When I started working leather 25 years ago I spent most of my BORROWED budget on a side of Herman Oak leather. Actually most all of my budget....

Besides that, an Osborne stitching chisel from Weaver, an awl, round knife and speedy stitcher from an estate auction ($5 total).  Now, I need a creaser, so I made my own from a timing belt tensioner from a 1986 jetta, a piece of metal from a door, a spring, large washers and a piece of pvc pipe connector....Creased all the 1-1/4 straps I needed.

Not long after I was able to afford it,  a plow gauge from Ebay....I was a big shot with that tool.

 

Klara, I tried every awl I could find on the market, but I never really liked any of them...They just don't feel right to me.  Never tried the Barry King (might have to?)   The only awl that ever felt right to me is the century old one I've used for the past 25 years and I have no idea who made it. I still do some fair amount of hand sewing w/linen on a few items.  

Edited September 25, 2021 by Cumberland Highpower

[Klara]

12 hours ago, Danne said:

... But the only real time where slim pricking/punching irons where I can punch all the way through, and with polished teeth really shine is when I make thin watch straps and punch all the way through. When I use an awl I personally don't see any difference in the result.

Exactly what I thought. I figured I'd rather spend time on learning how to use an awl than lots of money on the search for the perfect pricking iron.

@tsunkasapa Your house must be really empty. And how did you get your post online?