Beginning Leatherworking : leather supplies

Leatherworking requires some essential tools. Here's some information about each of the basic tools  we'll be using

CUTTING TOOLS

X-Acto Knife

  easy to use leather cutting tool, great for details but not as good for cutting very thick leather. Make sure you have a lot of extra blades

Cutting Wheel

 a good way to cut long straight lines in leather when used with a metal ruler and a cutting board, great for cutting straps

Round knife

 the iconic leatherworking tool because of it's versatility when cutting and it's ability to skive. This is a great tool to have, but it takes some time to develop a skill for it and it requires good amount of sharpening

Leather Shears 

 They must be sharp and great for cutting out small patterns in thin to medium leather

   ROUNDING OUT EDGES

Edge bevelers

 have a sharpened notch that is used for removing part of your edges, helping to round them out. Generally, they are only used on thicker leathers

Adjustable V-Gouge 

 carves variable depth grooves for creating clean folds in leather. A very important tool, make sure you get one of these

Rotary Punch 

 easily punches different sized holes in leather without having to use a hammer and a punching 

surface, but can't punch more than a few inches in from an edge

FOR PUNCHING STITCHING HOLES

Diamond chisels

 used to punch stitching holes all the way through the leather.. You may also need to use an awl as you're stitching to open up the holes

Awls 

 poking and scratching tools for creating small holes and marking leather. I mostly use them to punch sewing holes, or trace the outlines of patterns onto leather.

FOR PUNCHING RIVET HOLES

Punches

 come in a number of different sizes depending on what size hole you need. Most times, these holes are used for rivets or for the tongue of a belt buckle

FOR ATTACHING RIVETS AND OTHER HARDWARE

When using a one sided domed rivet, a domed setting rod is needed. If not used the rivets will end up looking smashed after the setting process

Rivets - simple two part metal fasteners used to join layers of leather together. Available in different sizes and finished. Some varieties can simply be set with a hammer, others require specialized setting tools

Snaps 

 Simple metal closures that are set into leather much like rivets. Snaps consist of 4 parts: the cap and the socket, and the post and the stud, and each pair it attached using a specialized setting tool

Snap Setter

tool used to set the halves of a snap together, usually two metal parts used with a mallet

FOR HOLDING LEATHER

While not completely necessary to stitch, it goes a long way in making it much easier. Leather is placed between the two wooden planks and then clamped into place. Once clamped, the horse holds the leather at a good height to stitch while you're sitting down