Leather Hole Punch Tool
Leather Hole Punch Tool
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What is the best mallet to purchase for leather tooling?
I want to make leather [garment] belts and want to stamp designs into them. I have seen wooden, buffalo hide and poly-plastic ones being sold. Which is the best? The plastic one is the least expensive but I would like to hear from leather craftspeople; what do you use? Is an awl better to use? I have seen both used on YouTube for different things. The awl was used for punching holes. The mallets were used for stamping. Do I need both? Also is there a standard size hole punch for snaps on belts or do I need a set of different sizes? I really don't want to purchase items I will barely use because the tools are very expensive.
The weight of the mallet is what does the work. You can tap lightly with a heavy mallet but there is a limit to how hard you can hit with a light mallet no matter how much swing you put into it. So avoid the wooden mallet unless it is a heavy woodcarver's mallet. The $5 wood model at Tandy is only 6 oz (in spite of the label proclaiming 8!) These are cheap so Cub Scout packs can afford to buy 10 of them so the kids don't have to take turns using only one real mallet. Poly, M $25 8 oz. better is the L for $30 and 10 oz. I have two or three of these and I use them frequently. They work just fine for light duty pounding. The rawhide is ridiculously expensive the M is $40 and 10 oz and the large is only 11 oz at $45. Mine are the older cow rawhide and a bit heaver, I use them constantly. I also have the 20oz maul that Tandy stopped selling last year, I think this one is a must for heavy pounding such as setting copper rivets and the large 3D stamps.
The round shaft of the scratch awl tears a hole, it is used mainly for marking and stabbing parts down onto the worktable through the edge of the leather that will be cut off during final assembly. (diamond shaped awl blades are used for hand sewing) A hole punch is the tool for cutting openings in the leather. Usually different snaps need a different size hole. If you are using the snaps labeled "belt snaps" you will need two sizes of punch. The two solid punches are $10 each so get the mini punch set for $15 and you'll be ahead. Then get a Small poundo board to punch into so the punch tips are not damaged.
Have fun