Cutting leather with a sharp knife is usually fun but sometimes cutting small shapes, even though they are basic shapes like a rectangle with rounded corners can be challenging and time-consuming. That’s when a basic leather punch can be really useful. These shapes are usually sold in sets and you can combine one or more basic shapes to create a more complex shape. Leather Stitching Punch These will be cheaper and need to be replaced more often. According to research by Katea Luaibi Hamid, Nader Majed Moustafa, and Amer Fadhel Noori published in the Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Development, the carbon content of steel affects its durability. Sharpness

Sometimes the punching tools can get worn and harder to pass through the leather. In that case you can use some sharpen them to help rgain their edge and make it easier to cut through the leather.Start with the same setup as a drive punch (work surface, hard surface, cutting mat/board, leather). Select a punch diameter and ensure it is securely screwed into the base. Holding the tool perpendicular to the workpiece, place the cutting end on the leather and push straight down into the leather using your hand like you would with an awl.

If you don’t have proper tools to punch holes in your belt, you can often ask for it to be at shoe repair shops, cobblers, or menswear shops. they often have the basic tools necessary, and prices are generally reasonable. Leather Shaped Hole Punches How do you punch a hole in leather without a punch? Another quality stitching punch is Wuta. They are not as popular or expensive as KS Blade or Sinabroks but they have sharp tools and they provide good value for the money. 4. China-Produced Versions Leather punching is the process of using appropriate tools to create holes and shapes in the leather. A die punch is a punch that screws into a post for use as a drive punch or a hand-operated machine for punching. Some companies sell die punches that can be used with both a post and a machine; others can be used with one or the other. Plier punches are typically screwed into place but are not necessarily called die punches. Stitching Punch Leather stitching punches are quite popular and often essential to make some leather products. Leather stitching punches are all commonly used for the same purpose: mark/pierce the stitch line to enable you to handstitch leather in a consistent way. Oblong Leather Punches

One of the most common reasons is to punch the leather to make it ready for hand stitching. Unlike fabrics, leather is a very strong material and the needles used for hand stitching leather have dull tips (to protect the leather from getting scratched and also to protect the leathercrafters’ fingers). That makes it challenging to penetrate the leather with common stitching needles. Thus, we need to create stitching holes in the leather to make it ready for hand stitching. The self-centering machine and jig times are raw because they do not require any extra setup other than sliding leather into the jig/machine. The drive punch jig is made of plywood with holes drilled in it and a cutting board base for easy punching and is just as wide as the belt is. This allows it to act as both a template and makes it self-centering.

The highest quality punches/pliers are made of drop forged high carbon steel. These will last a lifetime. Lower quality doesn’t necessarily mean bad, but they will typically just say “steel” or sometimes not even that. Another reason we pre-punch leather for stitching is that it is much easier to get a consistent stitching line with punching tools. Consistent stitching can help make the finished piece look much better. Drill punches have a hex shaft instead of a striking end and are meant to be used with either a hand drill or drill press. They require the same setup as a drive punch (work surface, hard surface, cutting mat, leather). Secure the punch in the drill, then press downward through the leather while very gently squeezing the trigger or running the press at a low RPM. Japanese Screw Punch Buttonhole, also known as keyhole or tailed, punches produce a round hole with a small slit off to one side. These are used with button studs or ball head rivets that slide into the hole and then slip into the slit to keep the flap closed. Oval/Square/Teardrop Punching the leather is not always about the functionality but sometimes it is for the looks. In some projects, you may need to add a little bit of fun to your leather product and you can use decorative leather punches to punch different shapes such as hearts, stars or some other shape depending on your project.Although you can use regular hole punches to create holes in a watch strap, sometimes special watches may require you to punch different shapes like square holes into your watch strap. In that case, you will need specific punches made for the occasion. Also, you need to be more careful about creating clean holes without any frays to have the premium look.

Since each project requires different sizes of punches, these tools are usually sold in sets. 1 to 5 mm hollow punch set is a very popular leather punch set. Also, there are many sets that include punches for various shapes such as squares, rectangles, or irregular shapes. Leather Punch Shapes The time to punch six holes was determined by finding a video of each process and counting the seconds it took from start to finish. For a more uniform time, the hole locating was measured at 18 seconds using the drive punch video and used as a standard addition to the drive, screw, drill, and hand press times because each would require that as a step in the process. Seven seconds was added to the rotary and self-centering guide times for the same reason. This table is for illustration purposes only. The price column represents the total one would pay to punch holes. For “pliers,” that means just the price of the pliers without replacement tubes or anvils. For “drive” and “screw” it’s the price of the tool plus additional items needed to use that tool, and so on.A drive punch is a round steel bar with a punch on one end and a striking surface on the other. The punch end has a cutout on the side for easy removal of the punched leather. They typically come in round, oblong (rounded rectangle), and square varieties. Prepare the Surface: Place a PVC mat or some scrap leather underneath the piece of the leather we are punching to protect the tip of punching tools. A Japanese screw punch has a mechanical action, most commonly made out of bronze, that rotates the punch 90 degrees as the handle is pushed down into the work surface. The punch head is interchangeable and comes with a set of small-diameter punches, making it comparable to the rotary punch. Let’s have a look at these use cases in detail, the different types of punches, and when we can benefit from using them. I learned this is one of the most fun parts of leather crafting 🙂 Lacing is similar to hand stitching but instead of a thread, you use leather strips. Since leather strips are much heavier than threads, the holes for lacing should be much bigger than regular stitching holes. That is the main difference between lacing and leather stitching in terms of punching holes.