Leathercraft - basic kit list?

[Nomad]

Making things from leather keeps nagging at the back of my mind, but when I go a-browsin', it gets a bit hard to work out what I do and don't need.

Things I'd like to make...

Sheath for a woody copy, no firesteel holder or dangler.
Axe sheath.
Hatchet sheath-thingy that fits to a belt.
A belt.
Journal cover to fit the larger A5-ish Moleskine notebook.
Maybe some sort of stiff leather box that can hold a bottle of ink (glass, Parker Quink size).

I am more inclined towards sewing than rivets. Not really interested in tooling or other prettification. Everything finished in darkish brown is fine by me. I have a leaning towards brass for fittings.

Tools that I have (off the top of my head): one of those corrugated safety rulers, a sailmaker's palm, A3 cutting mat, a bunch of scalpels with plenty of blades (light cutting and tidying up only, I assume), various hammers and probably a mallet or two.

My noob questions...

Am I right in thinking that the blonde veg tanned leather is the right thing for the sheaths and belt, and probably the ink bottle box? And that this is the stuff that can be wet moulded before being dyed and finished?

What, if any, are the differences between shoulder and back?

Waxed thread - seen linen and polyester ('Ritza'). Is either better?

What do I need for sewing? Seen some spikey wheel things for setting out stitches, and punch things that make spaced holes all the way through. I'm aware that I need proper leatherwork needles. Two needles, or an awl and a needle? An awl with a little bobbin or just a plain one?

Am I missing a trick if I eschew rivets?

What sort of cutting tools? I guess I need something for cutting out the pieces, and punches for making holes, but what to get? Will the cutting mat start falling apart when I use punches?

Finishes. Dye, some sort of wax? What about the edge finishing stuff?


Thanks.

 

[crosslandkelly]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93450&highlight=Leatherwork+tools This should help.

 

[Nomad]

Thanks. Not the most uncommon questions, I guess. Found the download link for The Art Of Hand Sewing Leather, so I'll have a look through that as well.

 

[crosslandkelly]

A fork will do for a stitch wheel until you can get one, and a small drill till you get an awl.

 

[Dougster]

I use a cork board or off cut of pine for the back when punching holes.

 

[Oldwoodyrock]

A very basic kit, and for what you intend making is about all you really need. Awl for making stitch holes, something to space those holes, harness needles (the ends and blunt), unwaxed thread natural is better such as flax, or hemp. code (mixture of bees wax, and pitch) easy to make your self. Starting out, a Stanley knife with replaceable blades will will work fine. For dye, if you what black, the old vinegar/iron nail dye works great, and is not messy since it only dyes material containing tannin. It will not stain fingers unless you have been working with wet oak. (experience) When cutting holes with an awl, you can set your leather against the edge of a board, and drive the awl through the leather just above the wood. Not a good idea to push the awl into the wood. You can stitch leather without a clam, but clams are easy to make, and do make sewing much easier. I have not been in the UK for a few years, but last time I was the secondhand shops had plenty of old leather working tools at very good prices, as did boot sales........and even though you might spend some time cleaning up old tools, you will be hard pressed to find better steel than old Sheffield tool steel.
Woody

 

[Nomad]

Thanks folks.

Don't really have the time to trawl second hand shops, much as I'd like to. I've been looking at Tandy Leather (seems a bit pricey), various sellers on eBay (also a bit pricey, apart from the offerings from China, which I'm reticent to wait for only to find that they aren't that good), and Le Prevo. Le Prevo seem by far to have the best prices, and seem to be well regarded, so I'm inclined to get some proper kit from them, although perhaps not the professional stuff (some of the punches ain't cheap). The way I see it, I'll save some cash making the stuff myself, having good tools will give me a better chance of doing a decent job at the start, and I'll still have them if I fancy trying something else.

The main bits I have in mind are...

Overstitch wheel, size 5 (matches the pitch of the stiches on my current knife sheath).
Lacing & stitching pony (for 12 quid - hard to argue).
Saddler's awl handle (prefer the shape of this to the cheaper one).
Stitch groover, heavy duty adjustable.

I'm not sure about the awl blade or needle sizes - any suggestions? I put a 2 1/4" awl blade into my shopping list for no reason other than it was a middling size (because I'm clueless). Thread - is 18/3 (presumably unwaxed) suitable?

For colour, I'm into darkish brown - not reddish, and not approaching black. I was thinking of the "Oil dye (professional), show brown" and some daubers (dirt cheap).

What about punches? I presume I need to make some sort of slot for the pin in the belt buckle to go through, and maybe short slots for the rest of the holes in the belt. Would their "Oval hole punch 6.5mm" be suitable, or is that more oval shaped than a straight slot with round ends? And what about round punches - need something to make 4mm holes (for Sam Browne studs). Are the cheaper punches fine?

Finishing - planning to get Golden Mink Oil (for the gloves suggested by Dougster elsewhere), but is this suitable for the harder leather items I'm planning? If not, what should I look at for those?

 

[luckylee]

Your 2 1/4 should be fine mate, just tap it into the handle until your happy, for what they cost it might be worth getting the other sizes two mate.
when tapping the awl in use two 2 pence peices either side of the awl blade.
as for the stitching, size I Jude what's best for the item I'm making, and the weight of leather I will be using, for 3 to 4 ill veg tan 5 or 6 stitches per inch will work fine, say if you made a phone case or something like that, the 5 stitches per inch would look out of place in my opinion. You can get a bag end punch for the slot mate, or a crew punch, I have a few in different sizes but what you can do is punch too holes and cut out the excess, a little tip when making the belt, fold over the billet, and then punch the hole and then cut the slot out, as that way you will cut away from you, and not worrying about cutting to the holes, hope that makes sense bud.
i would always go with the oil dye if you don't want that reddish colour mate.
18/3 18/4 should be fine for your thread, you can wax you self or by pre waxed.
the lacing and stitching pony will help no end I don't no how I managed with out mine.
the cheaper round punches are fine, class and Ohlson do a great set.
i always use an oval punch for belts think it gives a more professional look, and works better with the buckle tongue.
as for your sam brown studs if you by a set of punches you will find what works best with what sam brown stud you use, as there are different sizes, just test on a piece of scrap.
hope this helps a little bud.
take care.
lee.

 

[Macaroon]

When you need to cut a slot you can tap a 4mm hole at either end of where you want the slot, then join the two by cutting with your scalpel..........slot punches are expensive items that only do one thing, and you need a seperate one for each size...........there are loads of cheap sets of hole punches in the tool shops and sh*te bay, mostly 9 pieces ranging 2.5 to 10mm............I find the swann moreton scalpel fine for cutting even the thickest stuff, you just have to go back over the cut a few times; one important thing - when cutting a curve, use a blade with a curve, straight blades are hard to turn in the cut - the other advantage of the scalpel is that there are a huge number of different blades for next to nothing on the bay, so you're always razor sharp without ever having to stop and do anything other than change a blade..............Very soon after I started, I found I had a large collection of little tools I'd knocked up, sharpened nails and all sorts, and many years later I still use most of them. One thing I've always bought is a good stitch groover, makes your work look great and hides a multitude of sins! For hole punching, go to a kitchen shop and get one of those dense off-white stippled plastic chopping boards, they last forever and don't blunt your punches

I hope some of this helps, enjoy the learning of it.................atb mac

 

[luckylee]

Lol we must have been writing this at the same time, great minds and all that.

 

[Draven]

Initially I had no special leatherwork tools to speak of. Most of the specialized tools improve tidiness/aesthetics (or make it easier to attain, at least) without really adding much utility. I made my awl from a cheap micro-screwdriver (the flat bit was actually ideal, it allowed me to follow a line much easier - but now I mostly just use it for opening holes, so I use one ground to a point) in a self-made wooden handle. I use a pillar drill for drilling holes now (exceept on my recent scandi sheaths, where I used an awl) and before that I used a dremel on a dremel drill stand, then an awl. I have a $5 set of hole punches, but it was just a hand-held power drill before that. An edge beveler is nice, but again, unnecessary - all of my older stuff I either used a sander or beveled the edges by burnishing, which worked reasonably well on sheaths. I still use a nylon cutting board for punching holes, which works great! Pick up your tools along the way - they're nice to have, but often not necessary for making your own stuff. A lot of craftsmen used to (and no doubt some still do) make works of art with only self made tools!

Funnily enough, today I went to the leather store and asked for some 5/16" grommets, punch and setter. Unfortunately, I didn't think to check what they gave me before I left. This cost me about $45 all tolled. When I got home, I found that the grommet setter was too large and it was past closing for the store! I went to lowes and bought some 3/8" and 1/2" grommets - both packs came with a setter and punch and each set was around $6.30. The punches were far from ideal for leather, but still - $45 for one size or £13 for two sizes! Hopefully the leather place will take them back for a refund, since they're unused.