Leathercraft Tools

• Leather crafting is an ancient art in which many techniques have not changed. leather drying image by Deborah Benbrook from Fotolia.com

  Leather crafting comes in many forms. Some crafters specialize in stamping, which involves putting an image onto the material, and others cut their images with a blade. If you deal with leather, you'll need a few staples of the supply closet. This craft requires patience and technique built only through experience.

Stamps

• Leather stamps are made of metal and used to imprint permanent images or letters into a piece of leather. Most leather workers are collectors of these stamps. They can be found in every letter and number, symbol and common pattern plus a range of images. Stamping leather is tan colored, thick leather used specifically for stamping images. You'll find that buying large pieces of this type of leather will save money in the long run.

Mallet

• A mallet is used to hit the stamp into the leather after it has been treated with water. A mallet is like a hammer with two blunt ends larger in surface area than a hammer. If you are a whittler, you can make your own mallet from pine wood or any other type of wood you have. Otherwise, you can purchase mallets at craft stores, hardware stores and hobby shops.

Leather Hole Punch

• A hole punch is useful for projects like lacing or simply for design purposes. The hole punch must be leather grade because it has to pierce the thick hide. Leather hole punches come with a wheel of various size punches. One is placed against the leather and then hit with a mallet until it pierces through. Use scrap wood beneath the punch. According to Amtgard in Austin, putting another piece of scrap leather behind the leather you wish to pierce will help make the hole more uniform. Tools are available through craft and hobby stores that allow you to punch more than one hole at a time.

Lacing

• Leather lacing is especially time saving. Rather than cutting strip after strip at the risk of uneven cuts or breaks, buying leather lace is sometimes more desirable. The lacing is sold in spools of every color and thickness for any project you want to accomplish. If you are punching holes, correspond the size of the punch with the size of the lacing so you don't end up unable to string the lacing through a hole that is too small.

Swivel Knife

• A swivel knife is similar to a scalpel except that the blade is connected to a swivel device that leaves it free to turn. These knives are directed with the slightest of movements, and some practice is required before you obtain control. Your finger rests in a yolk to give you more leverage over the instrument, and the fourth finger is usually used against the blade to control the swivel. Very intricate cutouts and edgings are accomplished with these knives.