# Seeking Leather working advice



## Bumrumors (Jan 13, 2018)

So i finally made enough money to get a real leather working kit, the basic kits come at about 20 to 40 us dollars, not much to them. I have the basic idea of what id be making, tobaccoo pouches, wallets, some with an inlay, some with some old vintage stamps i favor. 
What are the basic tools i would need? 
I was looking at kits with just the stamps, cutting tools and hole punch etc, i know i dont need all the needles and extras at first. (Used to hand punch leather with a 2* steel nail)..
How much is the initial investnent on leather and tools? I was hoping 50 would cover it.

In all of stp i would think a few of you have had thier beginners advice to such a skill. All advice is if any is appreciated. 

Also i didnt know where to place this thread, i searched and there wasnt one on this paticular subject..


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## Tony Pro (Jan 14, 2018)

This isn't an answer to your question, but might be of interest to someone -- I've been making my own leather punches out of pieces of deer antler, and they work pretty well. They're not easy to make, but if you've got some small drill bits and a set of files (or a chainsaw file, God's greatest gift to penniless craftsmen) you can do it in 10 minutes.
Take a small prong of deer antler, and file a tiny bit off the tip, to create just enough of a flat space for a drill bit to find purchase.
You don't need a drill for this; I just use the drill bit between my fingers:
Using a drill bit of the same diameter as you want your punch to be (I used 1/16) bore a hole straight down into the tip. Doesn't need to be much; an 8th of an inch is enough.
Now the hard part: file around the outside of the tip, making it a nice taper, making the edge of the hole sharp enough to puncture leather. It's easy to mess up and chip or crack the edge. If this happens, file it all down and start again.
Of course antler isn't as sturdy as metal punches, but it is the hardest organic material.


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