$10 VS $150 Stitching Irons 

Bob, that is great to hear! Thanks for the feedback. I highly recommend Nigel Armitage for hand sewing, I got lots of my basic techniques from his workshops. Back when attending workshops was an option. Starting off the edge helps to keep everything in line. Also sliding the leather off of the chisel helps to retain the hole shape and doesn't stress the leather.

Hi Anthony, it's a pulling block. They are great to hold the leather down while pulling the stitching chisel out. It helps to stop over stressing the leather and deforming the holes. Remember to slide the leather off of the chisel, don's twist turn or pull it.

If you are quick enough and your needles and thread is thin enough too. The holes do start to close up, but the large spacing and large hole size are what makes the black set perfect for beginners.

That makes sense. Just seems like when comparing the black range to the pro range, the black is at 1/2 density, but with wider holes, but just enough that maybe you can make close-holes if you're careful. The holes closing up would be an added concern

The holes closing up are what makes using a diamond stitching chisel preferable over other types of holes. We what that extra "grab". For example lacing chisel - large flat blades leaving holes big enough for multiple passes of lace. These holes will not secure thread, but are great for lace. A hole punch removes material entirely. Which leaves too much space for sewing thread to move around, potentially damaging your leather. You want the leather to close back around the thread as it holds it in place, if you have movement across a seem it can be catastrophic or even worse, it could look ugly :) Stitching can rub away at your material, the thread can become loose and then hazardous to the user of the product, this is especially important for PPE (such as saddles and horse tack). The black basic stitching chisels have larger spacing between teeth and the teeth themselves are quite wide, the diamonds still close up and hold your thread. It is recommended to have a selection of needles sizes and thread sizes. Having the right thickness of thread to compliment the size of your holes creates a great looking finished stitch.

Yes, thank you for that. Also, some of the folks at Tandy recommend dipping/scoring the chisels in bees wax to start and every few punches after to make retrieving the chisel easy. I have yet to try that, but from seeing it, it did look a lot more effortless from the leather; though, you're adding a little more time/effort in using the wax. I'm thinking of giving it a try the next time I stitch.@@HandmadeByAlex

@@leathercritic3151 yeah that can also help. If you are getting the painted ones, buff/sand the paint off the teeth. Try to keep your chisels sharp (stropped) and it will help with the retrieval out of the leather - a pulling block is essential in my opinion,.

There are still some great tools and materials to be found (I was quite impressed with these pricking irons ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wHP-nM2YAAs.html for the low price) but I have to agree that it is edging towards the more costly of hobbies... and it wasn't that cheap to begin with.

Hi, The KS Blade "Pricking Irons" are that only in name, not traditional function. As stated on their own website they are designed to go through leather not just mark the surface (..."allows to pierce straight through thick leather with little effort."). I have looked at some pricking irons on another video and compared the two different types ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wHP-nM2YAAs.html If the teeth are the same width from top to bottom they are made to go all the way through, if they have an angle to them they are made to prick and mark the surface for traditional Awl usage.

They probably cost $0.5 (or less) to manufacture, so no wonder they are shipped with those ridges

These are water cut and are the cheapest ones to manufacture. You have the highest quality irons out there that are machined via EDM and are incredibly well made. The ks are CBC machines and assembled and you can replace the teeth if they break.