Pards - what is a good size for a drill bit to make stitch holes?
Skeeter --if that stuff is your work? then it follows you are trickin with these boys here and you know all of this what I write below.
# we use a diamond awl for stitch holes for several reasons
1) it displaces the leather rather than remove it (leather closes back around the stitch someone said)
2) a longish hole not a round one better accomodates the two lines of thread
# we punch the stitch holes with the awl at an angle to the forward progress
1) so there is no tendency for the leather to tear between he stitches
# we hand sew with two needles at the once (the needles are passed through the awl hole at the same time)
1)so that we never tear or disturb one line of stitching with the point of the opposing needle
hand sewed is at least three times as strong as machine stitched with the same size thread
why? because hand has two complete separate stitch lines through the leather where machine has the threads pulling on each other and any movement no matter how minute has the thread chafing on itself
Did ya know ---that thread branded "machine twist" is twisted opposite direction than most use for hand sewing - used to be able to buy either - machine twist will work for hand stitching but its tangly - a continual problem that does not happen with hand prepared tread - also you cant get the tapered end on it properly and so are forced to use bigger needles and thus punch bigger awl holes.