4 piece Diamond Leather Stitching punch set

Stitching chisels for making leather sheaths and other leather products. 

This is a set of 4 chisels with 1, 2, 4 and 6 teeth, the most commonly used ones.

Used to make holes for stitching together veg tanned leather for knife sheaths and other leather projects.

Each hole is punched as a diamond shape and will grip the thread closer and leave a smaller hole than a round awl often does.

This helps create an even, attractive stitching line.

Each hole is about 1.8 mm apart, a good fit for our ergonomic overstitching wheel #6. In the US this size is called "5/64" as there is 5/64" or 2 mm between the teeth.

These are what we use for knife sheaths at Nordic Edge, they have the right spacing distance and ensure the holes close up again around the thread unlike a round awl. 

How to use:

• cut the leather to your final shape to get a clean outside edge to mark against
• use a stitching groover to cut out a groove the stitches will sit in, this embeds them into the leather and looks nicer. For instance 4 mm from the outside edge for a sheath.
• Place your work piece on another two layers of scrap leather, then onto something solid like a granite work surface plate or if using a wooden table, place it over a table leg.
• Dip the stitching chisel into leather conditioner, carnauba wax or something else that will help lubricate the teeth so they are released from the leather more easily
• The straighter the line, the more "teeth" on the chisel you can use. Place the chisel into the groove cut from the stitching groover and punch hard once or twice with a soft mallet, not a metal hammer.
• Lift the leather work piece up, making sure the teeth of the chisel has gone through.
• Place your fingers around the chisel, close in and rock the chisel back and forth with the other hand. This releases the chisel without distorting the leather.
• Place the tooth from the chisel into the last hole from the first hit, to ensure the spacing is correct for the next holes. Hit it again to create holes, have a quick look underneath a few times until you get a feel for how hard to hit.
• Every two or three punches, dip the tip of the teeth in the leather conditioner again (awesome tip by Shane Partridge of Blacks Blades)
• When you hit a curved line, go to the 4 teeth or 2 teeth chisels.
• Take your time, think of not only chisel placement but also angle of the handle. This is the angle the holes will go into the leather on, try to keep it 90 degrees to the leather.
• Don't punch two or three layers of leather in one go, it does not work. When punching the first layer, this will leave good marks in the second layer that you now can punch through, after having removed the first layer. (Some makers still punch through the front and the welt layers at the same time, this is easier if dipping the stitching chisel in leather balm so it does not get stuck as hard)
• When having more than one layer on top of each other and punching through to mark the second layer, place needles in a few holes as you work to keep the two layers aligned. If the top layer moves...the bottom layer holes will not match all the way around.