A Guide to Leatherworking Tools and supplies.

Awls

Clicker's Awl
Straight, tapered and round in cross-section, this is a general purpose tool used for marking out or stabbing holes in leather.
The Clicker was the skilled worker in shoe manufacturing who cut the leather from patterns.

Scratch Awl
As above but thicker in the shaft.

Harness or Bridle Awl
A diamond-shaped blade and handle used to make holes in leather prior to stitching. The diamond shaped slot allows the stitches to lay neatly and give a decorative appearance. Blades are available in various sizes from 32 to 90 mm and are selected so that the leather will tightly grip threads once work has finished.

Stabbing Awl
A straight blade of round cross-section with a very fine taper and sharp point. Useful when stitching soft leather.

View Awls at our online store.

Beeswax - Used to waterproof thread and help it to stay in place during stitching, it also binds together any loose fibres. View Beeswax at our online store.

Bone Folder - This flat, polished tool is used to flatten stitches, turn edges and to make decorative lines and creases on dampened leather where metal creasers would leave a stain.
View Bone folders at our online store.

Burnishers - These smooth, shaped pieces of wood or bone are used to rub down the surfaces of natural leathers to produce a shine and seal the grain. They will also remove creases or wrinkles from leather.

Chisel punches - These come with oval or pointed profiled cutting faces and are used on strap ends to give a rounded or pointed symmetrical end. Used with a mallet and cutting block to prevent damage to sharpened edges. View Chisels at our online store.

Cork Block - For use when butt stitching. It prevents the awl from becoming blunted when making stitching slots, as the blade must be used against a firm surface to ensure regularity and neat stitches.

Creasing tools - Used to make a thin line along the edge of leather, which is both decorative and helps to seal the fibres. Often used on harness. Often heated over a clean flame first and requires some practice to obtain consistent results.

Single Crease
This has a shield-shaped, flat head with a fairly blunt edge.

Double Crease
Has two crease blades shaped like an axe head to produce parallel lines or even cross-hatching.

Screw Crease
This looks like a single crease that has been split into a double crease. A screw adjusts the distance between the two heads to give a line a chosen distance from the edge of a piece of work or as an adjustable double crease.

Wooden Creasing Tool - Similar to a bone folder. View Creasers at our online store.

Crew Punches

These are used to punch neat elongated slots in straps for the attachment of buckles. The tongue of the buckle passes through the slot and is thus free to pivot in use. A range of sizes is available.

View Crew punches at our online store.

Dividers or Compass - Useful for marking stitching lines or spacing out holes for belt buckles etc. Can also help with marking long strips of leather for cutting off a hide when you do not have a Strap Cutter. The most useful compasses have locking thumbscrews to ensure a setting is maintained.

Edge Burnishing Solution - Used to seal and polish finished edges so as to improve appearance and increase durability. Can also be used in conjunction with Edge Dyes of various colours. View Gum Tragacanth at our online store.

Edge Stain - Used to colour edges prior to finishing if using coloured leather. Usually applied after the edge has been rubbed smooth and painted on with a scrap of un-woven wool or felt held in the jaws of a clothes peg. View Edge Stains at our online store.

Edge Tools or Edge Bevellers - These are used to chamfer the edges of finished work prior to rubbing and burnishing. Various sizes are available.

Edge Shave
The long slim blade has a groove on the upper side to act as a guide when in use along the edge of a piece of leather.
Hollow Edge Shave
Acts in the same way as a normal edge shave but is concave so as to leave a rounded edge for a smoother finish on harness etc. Removes more leather than a flat edge shave.

View Edge Shaves at our online store.

Glues - Special leatherworking PVA adhesive or rubber glues are most versatile. They are usually used to assemble work prior to sewing.

Hammers

Saddler's hammer
This has a long head with a flat end for general tack or staple driving and a wedge-shaped end for access to difficult corners.

Harness hammer
This has a mushroom shaped head with a convex face that is kept clean and polished for use in hammering wet leather into shape, typically when forming loops around loop irons. It will not damage the surface of the leather. It can also be used to flatten stitches although this is properly done with a rubbing stick.

Mallets
These come in various shapes and sizes and have heads of various materials. They are used on pricking irons and punches to avoid damage to the striking shanks. Split head mallets allow faces to be of different materials at each end. View Hammers at our online store.

Knives

Round Knife
Of ancient design, the blade is semi-circular, 100, 125 or 150mm in diameter with a handle perpendicular to the back. Useful for long cuts as it has a long sharp edge that can be turned into play as the knife is pushed forwards. Also handy for skiving and paring. Makes a very clean cut if rocked across a piece of work on the cutting board. VERY dangerous if misused and requires care and skill in sharpening.

Single Head Knife
Has a quarter circle blade, sometimes with a hook. Similar in use to a round knife but capable of smaller work and somewhat safer in use. Useful for sliding between folded leather to cut old stitching when making repairs.

Double Head knife
Basically a small Round Knife.

Paring Knife - French
Has a broad, chisel ended blade, usually ground at an angle. The flat handle allows the knife to be used almost parallel to the work and it is thus ideal for taking thin shavings off when pushed across the surface. Most often used for paring down edges prior to gluing and stitching. Should be used with a litho or marble block to prevent damage to the edge.

Paring Knife - Bevel point
Useful for paring and chopping strap ends. Should be used with a litho or marble block to prevent damage to the edge.

Shoe maker's knife
A basic flat blade set into a wooden handle. For general-purpose use or edge trimming of hard leathers.

Clicking knife
Clicking means 'cutting out'. This blade has a sharp point for cutting into corners and can be straight - bevel - or curved with a hollow edge. The hollow edge allows thin leathers to be cut without dragging or rucking up. The knife is usually used to cut leather around patterns. Knives with separate handles usually have a twist-to-lock action.

View Knives at our online store.

Linen Thread - Only the best quality threads are suitable. Never use cotton, which is weak and prone to rot, or manmade fibres, which stretch, are difficult to sew with and cut into the leather. White, brown, black or yellow threads are commonly available. Sizes refer to weight/No of strands. 18oz is suitable for most work; select 3,4 or 5 strands depending upon strength required. Thread can be doubled over if required. 18/3 thread is suitable for most jobs. View Threads at our online store.

Litho or Marble Stone - This slab of stone is used under leather when paring it to prevent blunting of the paring knife and to give a flat working surface. Can also be used as a weight when gluing.

Loop Clamp

This is useful for holding small belt loops in the stitching clamps when sewing them closed. The jaws are small enough to enter the loop and the clamp can generally be held in the jaws of a pair of stitching clamps. Compasses can be used for this job at a pinch.

View Loop Clamps at our online store.

Loop Irons - These are a set of shaped irons of varying sizes. They are used to shape and form dampened belt loops once they have been stitched closed, typically using a harness hammer or smasher to give correct profile and aperture size. View Loop Irons at our online store.

Needles

Harness needles - Blunted ends help prevent accidental penetration of the first thread when passing the second thread through a hole during the saddle stitch. Usually used in pairs and in conjunction with an awl.
Size 1 = 55mm, small eye
Size 2 = 55mm, medium eye
Size 3 = 55mm, large eye
Size 4 = 47mm, small eye, fine gauge
Size 1/0 = 57mm, fine gauge
Size 2/0 = 60mm, medium gauge
Size 3/0 = 62mm, heavy gauge
NOTE; Size 1 to 1/0 needles are suited to most work.

Glovers needles Triangular in cross-section, they are used without an awl to pierce and sew soft leathers such as sheepskin and doeskin.
Sizes 1 (largest) to 5 (smallest ). View Needles at our online store.

Oval and Round Punches

These punch holes for belts and straps, oval holes allow the buckle tongues to lie flat and are less prone to tearing from strain. Used with a mallet and cutting block to prevent blunting of face.

View Oval punches at our online store. View Round punches at our online store.

Paring Knife (See KNIVES above) This has an angled cutting edge on one side and is flat on the other. It is used to pare the leather at the ends so that it is thinner and can be stitched flush with another piece. A typical example is where a belt folds over a buckle hasp and is sewn back on itself.

Races - Used on leather to cut a U or V-shaped groove. This eases the bending of the work when making boxes or acts as a channel for hidden or protected stitching.

Single race
A steel bar with a cutter formed at one end. This is dragged along the work to gouge out a groove, the depth of which is 'felt' by the user and increased by repeated use.

Double race
As above but with a cutter of different sizes at each end.

American race
This tool is pushed along the work to gouge out a groove, the depth of which is -felt- by the user and increased by repeated use.

Compass race - A compass with one pointed leg and on leg with a cutter at the end. Can be used to cut circular grooves or to draw a groove parallel to an edge. View Races at our online store.

Grooving tool

Designed to cut small grooves for hidden stitching. Has adjustable depth and is pushed along the work.

View Grooving tools at our online store.

Revolving Punches

A Revolving punch has six different sized round punches built into a rotating, spring-latched head. Select a punch by rotating the head until the desired size is facing the anvil. Place a piece of scrap leather between the work and the anvil to avoid blunting the sharp edge. Cheap craft punches are not suitable for prolonged leatherwork.
Our punches are strong items and superior to those usually found in hardware stores.

View Revolving punches at our online store.

Rubbing Stick - This hardwood tool supplements the Bone Folder in that it is specially contoured and shaped to facilitate edge burnishing and finishing.

Smasher - Made of wood, brass or aluminium, this tool has a large mushroom shaped head and is used by saddlers to smooth down stuffed areas of a saddle.

Stitching Clamps - Essential for serious hand stitching. They hold the work at an ideal height for bench work and leave your hands free for optimum use of tools. These will be high on your list of wants if you decide to continue with hand stitching. To get started use two pieces of wood clamped together around the work and held between your knees when seated.

Full-size Saddlers Clamps
Made of two pieces of shaped, laminated wood that act as a sprung vice. Must be used with a stool because they are about 1m high. They have provision for attaching a stirrup leather and iron to allow user to clamp work very securely.

Small Clamps
These are designed for use with a normal household chair. The clamp is a miniature version of the saddlers clamp.

View Stitching clamps at our online store.

Steel or Aluminium Rule - Very useful for safely guiding knives during cutting as well as for measuring. Try to get a thick one.

Stitch Marking Tool or Pricking Iron - These come in many shapes and sizes and are essential for serious stitching work.

Pricking Irons
These come in 15mm, 25mm & 40mm sizes that dictate how many teeth are available. Sizes refer to the number of teeth per INCH. The teeth are hand ground so as to imprint the work at an angle and at regular distances. This promotes correct insertion of the awl and thus proper laying of stitches.

View Pricking irons at our online store.

Pricking Wheels - These consist of a frame into which different wheels are mounted. Expensive but useful for long or curved stitch runs. Sizes refer to the number of teeth per INCH. Also available as a fixed wheel and frame.

Sharpening equipment - A Strop should be used frequently to hone edges and Oilstones should be used to reclaim blunt knives or bring new blades up to scratch. Information on sharpening of blades is available free upon request when ordering cutting tools or sharpening equipment. There is a Sharpening Tutorial on this site.

Strap Cutter or Plough Gauge - Adjustable tools that are pulled so as to cut parallel strips. Accurate cutting is simple as long as an initial straight edge has been prepared. If you are making a lot of belts these tools are essential.

Strap Cutter
An adjustable wooden tool that cuts parallel strips of leather from a piece of hide. Ideal for most craft users and cheaper than a plough gauge.

Plough Gauge - An adjustable metal tool that allows a special handled knife to be guided and pushed though a piece of leather so as to cut parallel strips. A foot, fence and roller ensure accurate cutting. View a Strap cutter at our online store.

Wad punches

Round punches but for making larger holes or cutting out washers.

View Wad punches at our online store.