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.
Finding the best Leathercraft work surface is a quest that I find myself still on today. I began my leather work career cutting leather out on my bed in my apartment and doing all my work on a 2×4 bench that I made to fit by my desk. My roommate wasn’t particularly excited about my late night basket stamping sessions. Fast forward to today, and some of my benches are much more nuanced when it comes to the Leathercraft work surface that I work on. Some of them are still hodge-podge assortments of materials that simply work… nothing more.
You can get lost in trying to find the absolute best material to work on. Different leather craft techniques and processes requiring different types of material to work on. The important thing here is to find something that works for you and go with it. When you are a famous leather craftsman someday you can worry about how pretty your work tables and benches are. For now, the only thing that matters is you being able to accomplish your work effectively.
In this video, I go through all of the different Leathercraft work surfaces that I use in my shop. Why I use them and for what purposes. These are the best materials that I have found for completing the different tasks in my work.
I did some research to find the company in San Antonio that made the plastic cutting board material on my cut bench. I did find a company, but since I have never done business with them I didn’t feel comfortable recommending them here. I will continue to research a good source for this material and when I find a reliable source I will update this video. I do suggest doing a google search in your area and I bet you can find someone near you that has this material in any size you may need.
For more videos and blog post about the wild world of LeatherCraft, visit our website: https://dgsaddlery.com
All the paints on my paint table are from Angelus Paint and here is their website: https://angelusdirect.com
You can also find these paints and anything else you need for your Leathercraft projects at Maker’s Leather Supply: https://makersleathersupply.com
Everyone has their own way of organizing their leatherwork tools in their shops. In my shop, I have always worn a tool belt. My tool belt is where I keep my most used tools so that they are always close at hand.
When I am working on a saddle or helping Freddy with a repair job at his bench, I don’t want to have to hunt for my tape measure or knife if I need it. The tool belt allows me to always be prepared and helps me to be more efficient during the day.
Some of the tools in my tool belt are included in a blog article that we wrote called “Top 5 Essential Tools for the beginner Craftsman”
In this video, I show you all the tools that I keep in my tool belt. These are the tools that I need daily to do my job as efficiently as possible. Keeping them in a tool belt that I wear in the shop keeps them close at hand. Check out this video and let me know if you wear a tool belt currently in your shop or if you prefer to keep them on your workbench.
Leathercraft can be intimidating to the uninitiated. The tools for the beginner can be hard to decide upon and even more difficult to find. Since leatherwork is not a common trade skill, many of these tools can not be purchased from local hardware stores.
In this article I hope to give you some assistance in this area. If you are new to leathercraft and are searching for the most essential tools to add to your workbench, then my hopes are that this blog post is for you.
Here are the Top 5 tools that, I believe, are essential for anyone beginning their leathercraft journey. No, these are not the tools you will need to accomplish all aspects of leatherwork. The size and scope of tools for different areas of the craft are vast and almost never ending. The majority of tools used in leatherwork are subject greatly to personal choice and preferences. Instead, this is a list of 5 tools that I think are foundational in every aspect of your work.
These tools are simply the tools that a craftsman, at any level, will need on a daily basis to work in this medium. Some of these tools will seem arbitrary and may already be in your collection. But this does not lessen their importance. If you have never worked with leather, then you may not be aware of the attributes of the material, and you will find that these will be the tools most helpful in all of your projects. Or in the very least, the most used tools on your bench. Continue reading
Sewing leather is by far the most common task that we have in our leather shops. Whether you are hand sewing everything, or using a leather sewing machine, you will have to sew leather on just about every project. In this post, I share the first of a three part video series on leather sewing machine best practices with the hopes of helping you become more efficient and safe while using an electric sewing machine.
When I started doing leather work, I didn’t have a leather sewing machine and spent many hours hand sewing my projects. Though this is not the most efficient way to complete projects, I do believe that it is very important to become proficient at this skill. So if you are still in the hand stitching stage of your leatherworking journey, don’t fret! You are at a very important stage and learning this skill will serve you well for the rest of your leather career. But when the time comes when you can upgrade to an electric sewing machine, I would highly recommend adding this piece of equipment to your shop. Continue reading
