Knowing how to cut leather is an essential part of leatherworking. Cutting leather is super easy with the right tools. It can seem pretty daunting if you’re trying to go at it with a pair of scissors.
In this instructable I’ll show you how to cut both thick and thin leathers, and give some tips on how to get the best cut to cutting leather like a pro.
Learning how to cut leather isn’t especially challenging, cuts should be perfect since they significantly affect of your leather. The most minor slip of ruler can mess with and make your stitching lines no longer as straight as they should be.
While learning how to cut leather correctly can be a challenge, with a little bit of patience, both experienced leather workers and amateurs alike can master the art of cutting leather.
Leather Cutting Tools
Before you begin to cut leather, it’s important to make sure that you have all the tools that you will need handy. Tools for leather cutting play a major role in the process of leather crafting.
Leather Cutting Tools
There are a few essential leather cutting tools: a utility knife, a rotary cutter, and a hobby or craft knife. And there are a few other common types of tools used for leather cutting as heavy-duty scissors, head knives, swivel knives, hole punches, skiving knives, and V-gouge knives.
While you can use scissors to cut leather, it’s not ideal. On thin leather you might not get a nice straight cut because you cut line can move a little every time you move the scissors to take another snip. On thick leather, you might not be able to cut it at all. And even if you do, you’ll have to use more force than normal, which can cause jagged and squished edges.
Your leather cutting knife should be sharp and not dull avoid leaving unsightly and uneven jagged edges. If your leather cutting knife gets dull, it’s important to sharpen it as frequently as possible for the best possible cut.
Cutting Leather: Preparation
Regard of what you are crafting with your leather, you should layout and mark your leather before you begin to cut it.
For example, if you are creating a wallet with multiple pieces, you scope out the leather grain side to find a clean, smooth area without any significant imperfections. Once you’ve found this area, flip the leather over and copy the pattern on the flesh side with a pen. This will be the area that you will cut from.
Cutting Leather Preparation
Cutting Leather Preparation
However, if you’d prefer not to mark up the leather using a pen, you can instead cut the pattern out of thin cardboard or plastic and use those edges to guide you while cutting.
If your pattern includes curves, planning out your cut is even more important.
That it’s easier to cut on the grain side, but you can absolutely cut from the flesh side – you just have to be patient and take it slow since it’s a rougher cutting area.
Read more: https://ciceroleather.com/how-to-cut-leather/
In this instructable I’ll show you how to cut both thick and thin leathers, and give some tips on how to get the best cut to cutting leather like a pro.
Learning how to cut leather isn’t especially challenging, cuts should be perfect since they significantly affect of your leather. The most minor slip of ruler can mess with and make your stitching lines no longer as straight as they should be.
While learning how to cut leather correctly can be a challenge, with a little bit of patience, both experienced leather workers and amateurs alike can master the art of cutting leather.
Leather Cutting Tools
Before you begin to cut leather, it’s important to make sure that you have all the tools that you will need handy. Tools for leather cutting play a major role in the process of leather crafting.
Leather Cutting Tools
There are a few essential leather cutting tools: a utility knife, a rotary cutter, and a hobby or craft knife. And there are a few other common types of tools used for leather cutting as heavy-duty scissors, head knives, swivel knives, hole punches, skiving knives, and V-gouge knives.
- Self healing cutting mat
Hobby knife with a sharp blade
Rotary cutter
Heavy ruler
Leather for cutting
While you can use scissors to cut leather, it’s not ideal. On thin leather you might not get a nice straight cut because you cut line can move a little every time you move the scissors to take another snip. On thick leather, you might not be able to cut it at all. And even if you do, you’ll have to use more force than normal, which can cause jagged and squished edges.
Your leather cutting knife should be sharp and not dull avoid leaving unsightly and uneven jagged edges. If your leather cutting knife gets dull, it’s important to sharpen it as frequently as possible for the best possible cut.
Cutting Leather: Preparation
Regard of what you are crafting with your leather, you should layout and mark your leather before you begin to cut it.
For example, if you are creating a wallet with multiple pieces, you scope out the leather grain side to find a clean, smooth area without any significant imperfections. Once you’ve found this area, flip the leather over and copy the pattern on the flesh side with a pen. This will be the area that you will cut from.
Cutting Leather Preparation
Cutting Leather Preparation
However, if you’d prefer not to mark up the leather using a pen, you can instead cut the pattern out of thin cardboard or plastic and use those edges to guide you while cutting.
If your pattern includes curves, planning out your cut is even more important.
That it’s easier to cut on the grain side, but you can absolutely cut from the flesh side – you just have to be patient and take it slow since it’s a rougher cutting area.
Read more: https://ciceroleather.com/how-to-cut-leather/