Choosing The Best Leather Strap Cutter
Working with leather is a rewarding career for many people, and one thing you’ll need if this is either a job or a hobby is a good leather strap cutter. Finding the best leather strap cutter out there is easy because there are so many different types available, but it always starts with deciding exactly what you’ll be using it for and what your personal preferences are. In this article, we’ll tell you what you need to know so that you find the best leather strap cutter in the end.
Strap Cutter Overview
Strap cutters are handheld tools made out of wood and are there to cut straps, belt blanks, and many other types of leather strips. With these tools, you can cut customized straps easily and quickly, and they are easy to use even for people who have never before worked with leather.
That being said, if you’re working with very thin leather or very soft leather, you may have to practice a while to get good at using this tool. Strap cutters are ideal for chrome-tanned and vegetable-tanned leathers, enabling you to cut widths from 1 1/8 inches to 4 inches.
Most strap cutters come with an adjustable gauge that helps you work with leather of all different thicknesses. You have to make sure that you always have a very sharp blade in your strap cutter and never tighten the cutter too close to the leather. It needs to be fairly loose in order for the leather to move freely and get just the right cut. These are just a few of the tips you’ll learn as you gain more experience with your leather strap cutter.
Types of Strap Cutters
The most familiar type of leather strap cutter is a wooden one that is cross-shaped. It has the blade on the inside and works with all sizes of leather. Because of the way this strap cutter is designed, it is fairly user-friendly and easy to learn.
There are also two other types of strap cutters. The first is called a draw gauge and is usually made out of some type of metal. It is roughly 4 inches wide and has a small handle. The one thing that makes it so different is its exposed blade, which means that it can be a high-maintenance tool.
The other type of strap cutter is called a plough gauge, which is a European type of strap cutter. There is a handled blade that gets pushed into your leather, and there is a gauge on the left side of the cutter. Most are 5 to 8 inches wide, and they’re a little bigger than draw gauges but not as big as a typical leather strap cutter.
Best Strap Cutters
If you’d like to get right to the fun part, here are three of the best professional leather strap cutters on the market today:
- Tandy Leather Craftool Strap Cutter. Tandy is a reputable name when it comes to leather-making tools and accessories. This strap cutter may look familiar to you because a lot of people who work with leather have one in their collection. With this strap cutter, you get a versatile, high-quality cutter that you’ll soon consider your go-to tool when working with leather. It is also very reasonably priced at around $30
2. Co-Link Wooden Strip and Strap Cutter. If you’re on a budget, this is the leather strap cutter that you want because it is both high-quality and inexpensive at around $18. For this price, you get not only a well-built cutter but also five extra blades. It is lightweight at just under nine ounces and has a crossbar with measurements in both inches and centimeters. The firm plastic thumb screw helps offset the crossbar in case you need to make any adjustments in width.
3. Walfront Leather Cutting Tool. With this tool, you get a strap cutter with one fixed iron and another five blades that are easy to replace. It weighs around seven ounces and is quite small at 6.5 x 6.9 inches. While it is priced at just under $19,this is not a cheaply made tool but instead offers you a lot of value for the money you pay for it.
Best Leather Strap Cutter Conclusion
Leather strap cutters are a necessity for anyone who works with leather, whether it is your job or just a hobby. Leather strap cutters are usually cross-shaped devices and have a razor blade that cuts the straps. The most common type is a wooden cutter that is user-friendly and lightweight.
Choosing the right strap cutter isn’t difficult because most of them look and work just the same as the others, and all of them serve an important purpose. This article has given you some basics when it comes to leather strap cutters. Now, let’s look at a few things to look for when you’re shopping for one of your own.
Buying Guide For Leather Strap Cutters
When you start researching or shopping for leather strap cutters, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The brand name. Tandy is an excellent brand of leather accessories, but there are others as well. Make sure that you do a little research on the company that makes your leather strap cutter.
- Read unsolicited customer reviews. While no product will have 100% positive reviews, you can trust a product if the vast majority of the customers have given it positive reviews.
- Consider the size of the strap cutter. Most of the cutters are small and lightweight, and that’s what you want. Otherwise, doing the cutting might be cumbersome and too difficult.
- The durability of the item. If you can, place the strap cutter in your hand and take a good look at the overall quality of it. This way, you can count on getting a strap cutter built to last.
- Consider your budget. Most leather strap cutters are very inexpensive, so you won’t have to worry too much about your budget. It should be simple to find a strap cutter that you can afford.
- Make sure that you get a strap cutter that’s safe. This is another reason to stick with a reputable company; they’ll always make sure that your leather strap cutter is safe to use for everyone.
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