cutting our leather

[Bitterwheat]

Does anyone use sissors to cut out there holsters or belts. i am having one hell of a time useing a knife

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I sometimes use scissors to cut a little outside my pattern line around tighter curves. That makes it easier to cut with a knife because the trimming will move easily out of the way. It also helps to have good, sharp knives. I strop mine with jeweler's rouge frequently. If the knife starts to drag a little, I strop it. A couple strokes will clean the oils off the blade and it'll cut smoothly. Sometimes I get several feet between strops, other times less than that. It depends on the leather and how much of a curve you are cutting. The knife should also be sharp enough to shave with.

[Ozark Tracker]

Marshall,  what steps do you go through sharpening you knife.  I use a flat diamond stone and get the cutting edge, then hit it a few licks on some leather to knock of the little roll on the blade.  is their a better way?

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[jiminy criquet]

Yes.  A good pair of shears and an exacto knife.

[Ozark Tracker]

Yeah your right,  but I want to sharpen my knife too.  I don't think it'd be too handy skninning a deer or squirrel with an exacto knife.  I've got several case knives and you can get a really good edge on them, but I just wondered if there was a better way.

[Kid Cavalier]

It is essential to have a razor sharp blade or you will get tired cutting, or the blade will not cut where you want it to.
If you are having a hard time sharpening your tools, purchase a carpet knife with replacable blades.  These start as razor sharp.  I then polish the cutting surface that will come in contact with the leather.  (A permanently mounted buffing wheel with polishing compound on hand makes this a quick operation.)  It doesn't take long and you get great results.  The blade makes no sound as it glides through the leather.

I polish the edge of every cutting tool I use.  (It is amazing the difference in effort required over an unpolished edge.)

I have learned to sharpen everthing from kitchen knives to chisels.  It is as much a skill as carving.  The only way I got there was by practicing and ruining several knives over the years.

I have the Lansky sharpening system for restoring damaged edges.  It is a great tool for novice sharpeners as it keeps the correct angle enforced.

If you can't shave with it, it isn't sharp.
Happy sharpening,
Kid

[Uncle Chan]

Well, you'll all probably laugh at this, but I use a scroll saw with an extra fine blade.  I run it on it's lowest speed.  I can stack a couple few pieces of leather together and cut out a few at a time.  I've tried knives, razors, scissors, etc and nothing has worked better than the 16" Delta Scroll Saw for me.  Truthfully, I can't imagine using anything else for big jobs.  For the smaller jobs, with the lighter leathers, an exacto knife and scissors has always worked for me.

U.C.

[Slowhand Bob]

NOTE:  Marshall,this is not a working site but if you need to delete it anyway, please just cut the link and I will try to figure how to do the thumbnails again.


These are my favorites at the bottom of the page: http://hometown.aol.com/twomacleather/page4.html and no sharpening is requiired.  The carpet knife is razor sharp and does up to moderate curves very well, while the old box opener stands in as my most used overall knife.  Acouple of things about the box openers, they can be had in several configurations(good) and their universal popularity has brought in a ton of manufacturers and quality of the knives and blades vary greatly.  Poor quality knives will close or retract on you(possibly dangerous) and poor quality blades are dull(definitely dangerous).  The little X-acto will reach into the tightest spots or curves to remove a tiny bit of excess und does micro skiving like a surgical tool.  The weirdest tool that works like a champ is the glass scraper, a professional sive knife if thewre ever was one.  It neatly takes down the end of those main seam fillers or makes very controlled tapered angle skives along edges.  As the blades dull I simply drop them into the slotted lid of a coffe can and pop a new blade in within seconds.  One day I will address whether or not to sharpen the zillion plus blades in the coffee can!!!  

[Singing Bear]

For long straight or curved cuts I use an Olfa roller cutter over a 1/8" thick sheet of PVC sheeting.  The roller blades are pricey, but if used with a good self sealing backing like the PVC sheeting, the edge will hold for quite awhile.  For the inside corner and fine detail cuts I use either an Exacto knife or a plain old box knife.  Btw, the PVC sheeting works well with any blade and makes a nifty workbench top that's easy to clean. 

[Doc Neeley]

I've used a pair of leather scissors for years. Got em at Tandys 20 years ago.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Marshall,  what steps do you go through sharpening you knife.  I use a flat diamond stone and get the cutting edge, then hit it a few licks on some leather to knock of the little roll on the blade.  is their a better way?

That's just about the same as I do. I use a fine arkansas stone and finish with jeweler's rouge on the flesh side of a piece of belt leather (the same piece I use to strop it).

I also have some round punches in the 1/2" to 1" range that I use for tight curves first, then I cut out from the punched hole.

[Bitterwheat]

Thanks for all the answers. I have learn quite a bit form you guys so far, And hope tp learn more. Believe me my knives are sharp. I was a meat cutter for 30 years.And that is a must in that business. you only cut yourself with a dule knife

[Slowhand Bob]

Thats a great hint on the punches Marshall, but how do you sharpen them thar punches pard?  Do you do it strictly by hand or do you mechanically spin them against an abrasive?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thats a great hint on the punches Marshall, but how do you sharpen them thar punches pard?  Do you do it strictly by hand or do you mechanically spin them against an abrasive?

I do 'em on a stone much like you would a chisel, except rotating the punch at the same time. Fortunately, if they get a bit dull, they still cut OK as long as the cutting surface underneath is not irregular from too much previous punch work. I never tried spinning them mechanically, but that isn't a bad idea. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the idea.

[Bitterwheat]

I chuck mine up in the drillpress and put it on a slow speed and take a stone to them. besure and keep the right angle on them

[Oregon Bill]

Nobody uses an honest-to-gosh heading knife?

[Kid Cavalier]

For trim work and cutting geometric shapes, I use a Danny Marlin head knife.  Other tools serve different purposes better.

[Rascal Ralph]

For many years as a shoer/blacksmith, when putting leather pads on shoes, I used my jigsaw upside down in a vice, with a razor sharp saw(toothless) blade in it, to trim the pads. I still do, to cut holsters etc. Moving the leather, feeding it into the blade.  I can cut a sharp curve, and keep a 90 degree edge on the leather.Just make sure you don't slice off a piece of finger.    RHR.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

For many years as a shoer/blacksmith, when putting leather pads on shoes, I used my jigsaw upside down in a vice, with a razor sharp saw(toothless) blade in it, to trim the pads. I still do, to cut holsters etc. Moving the leather, feeding it into the blade.  I can cut a sharp curve, and keep a 90 degree edge on the leather.Just make sure you don't slice off a piece of finger.    RHR.

Now this is a good idea. I'll have to try this. And keep all my fingers, too.