Drill punches have a hex shaft instead of a striking end and are meant to be used with either a hand drill or drill press. They require the same setup as a drive punch (work surface, hard surface, cutting mat, leather). Secure the punch in the drill, then press downward through the leather while very gently squeezing the trigger or running the press at a low RPM. Japanese Screw Punch Another reason we pre-punch leather for stitching is that it is much easier to get a consistent stitching line with punching tools. A revolving punch is a set of pliers with multiple sizes of smaller punches on one jaw with an anvil, or flat surface, on the other. The punch side is a revolving wheel that can be turned to select the desired hole size. Once the punch size is selected, the leather is placed in the pliers’ jaws, and the pliers are squeezed close until the punch blade pushes through to meet the anvil.

Stitching punches have different spacing options that make the stitching finer or wider based on the selection. Most commonly used spacing options are: 2.7 / 3.0 / 3.38 / 3.85 / 4.0 / 5.0mm for stitching punches. Stitching punches usually have 1mm round tips but they may have up to 2mm depending on the thread size that will be used for stitching. This table is for illustration purposes only. The price column represents the total one would pay to punch holes. For “pliers,” that means just the price of the pliers without replacement tubes or anvils. For “drive” and “screw” it’s the price of the tool plus additional items needed to use that tool, and so on. A leather belt hole punch is a T-shaped drive punch with multiple punch heads spaced evenly in a line across the top of the “T.” These are used just like a regular drive punch but they create four holes at once and are used to punch the holes in the billet end of a belt, as the name implies. These tools are similar to stitching punches but round dent punches create a smaller round impression in the leather surface without removing any material.Hand stitching leather requires us to pre-punch the leather before the stitching process. The needles used in hand stitching leather have dull tips. This protects the leather from scratching and is safer for the leathercrafter. Also leather is a strong material and even the sharper needles can’t penetrate the leather too easily. Punching the leather is not always about the functionality but sometimes it is for the looks. In some projects, you may need to add a little bit of fun to your leather product and you can use decorative leather punches to punch different shapes such as hearts, stars or some other shape depending on your project. These three shapes can be used decoratively and as alternative shapes for belt or strap holes. They are only found as drive punches. Diamond/Crescent/Concho/etc.

One of the most common reasons is to punch the leather to make it ready for hand stitching. Unlike fabrics, leather is a very strong material and the needles used for hand stitching leather have dull tips (to protect the leather from getting scratched and also to protect the leathercrafters’ fingers). That makes it challenging to penetrate the leather with common stitching needles. Thus, we need to create stitching holes in the leather to make it ready for hand stitching. Leather stitching punches are quite popular and often essential to make some leather products. Leather stitching punches are all commonly used for the same purpose: mark/pierce the stitch line to enable you to handstitch leather in a consistent way. Oblong Leather Punches A die punch is a punch that screws into a post for use as a drive punch or a hand-operated machine for punching. Some companies sell die punches that can be used with both a post and a machine; others can be used with one or the other. Plier punches are typically screwed into place but are not necessarily called die punches. Stitching Punch Sometimes the punching tools can get worn and harder to pass through the leather. In that case you can use some sharpen them to help rgain their edge and make it easier to cut through the leather.The time to punch six holes was determined by finding a video of each process and counting the seconds it took from start to finish. For a more uniform time, the hole locating was measured at 18 seconds using the drive punch video and used as a standard addition to the drive, screw, drill, and hand press times because each would require that as a step in the process. Seven seconds was added to the rotary and self-centering guide times for the same reason. Buttonhole, also known as keyhole or tailed, punches produce a round hole with a small slit off to one side. These are used with button studs or ball head rivets that slide into the hole and then slip into the slit to keep the flap closed. Oval/Square/Teardrop

They come in a small range of small diameters and are best used for rivets, screws, grommets, or belt holes. Multiple sets of pliers are needed to cover the full range of possible punch diameters. Quality pliers will last long, and the punches are replaceable and interchangeable. Korean company Sinabroks is a pricey but premium alternative for leathercrafters. Unlike KS Blade they only provide stitching punches. The brass handle of their punches is popular. 3. WutaKorean company KS Blade produces one of the best stitching punches. They are a bit expensive but the built quality and popularity of the punches justify the price. They also have a good selection of hole punches and strap punches. 2. Sinabroks Although you can use regular hole punches to create holes in a watch strap, sometimes special watches may require you to punch different shapes like square holes into your watch strap. In that case, you will need specific punches made for the occasion. Also, you need to be more careful about creating clean holes without any frays to have the premium look. The self-centering machine and jig times are raw because they do not require any extra setup other than sliding leather into the jig/machine. The drive punch jig is made of plywood with holes drilled in it and a cutting board base for easy punching and is just as wide as the belt is. This allows it to act as both a template and makes it self-centering. A squeeze punch is a set of pliers with a single punch on one side and a flat surface on the other. Slide the leather into the jaws, locate where the hole needs to be, and squeeze until the cutting edge meets the flat surface. The depth of the jaws limits where the pliers can be used to place a hole (1–2” from the edge). Let’s have a look at these use cases in detail, the different types of punches, and when we can benefit from using them. I learned this is one of the most fun parts of leather crafting 🙂