cutting leather

The Best Xacto Knife and a New Awesome Purse Zipper

Are you looking for the best Xacto Knife to use on your leather craft projects?  I have used a large barreled Xacto knife handle for years.  I get a ton of questions and emails about where I get them and what blades I use in them.  I found a new place to get them and while I was there, I also found some really great purse zippers to use in our shop.  These zippers are really classy looking and in my opinion they look much better than just the normal YKK zippers that we all use.

 

 

Continue reading

The Best Way to Cut Lace Leather from Scrap Latigo

Using up all that scrap latigo leather isn’t the easiest thing to do.  I usually find that I have a lot of this left over the course of a 6 month period or so.  So in order to stay ahead of my scrap piles of latigo leather, I try to cut up some lace occasionally.  This works to consume some of the scrap leather as well as saving me time when I do need lace leather for a project.

You can use the same process for chap leather and other softer type of leathers that might make good lace leather in your shop.

How to Cut Parts from a Leather Hide

In this video, I show you how to cut parts from a leather hide for many types of different projects.

Choosing the right leather and the right spot to cut the parts on the hide, is crucial to creating the most functional and beautiful piece that you can.

If you are new to leatherwork, then cutting into a brand new full side of leather can be daunting.  But in this video I help to clarify some of the mystery and hopefully help you to feel confident that you are utilizing the resource to the best of your ability. Continue reading