Tandy Starter Kits - I Get It Now

For years I never got into leather because I thought I needed a sewing machine to stitch it - not true. I had no idea what kind of tools I needed. I had no idea how to dye the leather. There were so many things I didn't know I just never got started. Then one day I starting doing Youtube searches and I found the Tandy leather video how-to videos. That opened the door.


The first place I went when I decided I was really going to get into leather craft was Tandy. The company is so old I was amazed it was still around. It's also on the web. I started looking at starter kits. The affordable ones seemed sparse and the high end ones seemed too expensive. They also had a lot of leather projects in those kits I didn't want.

Here is what I have found - I have spent just as much as I would have purchasing a kit by buying things here and there. I may have saved money by just buying a starter kit. And those projects? I don't need to learn to make a key ring, I needed to learn how to tool, how to stitch, how to edge and how to dye. That's the point of the various projects. They are they to give you experience. So in the end I do think they are a good way to go.

The Bare Minimum

The Basic 7 Tool set will get you going. There are things you have to have like a swivel knife. You have to have a camouflage stamp, a veiner, a beveler, a seeder, a background tool and a sylus. When I bought my 35 tools off ebay some of the basics were missing. With this small set you can floral carve. Of course you will need leather, a mallet, then dye...then more!







Pretty Dang Good

The Deluxe Leather Craft Kit has almost everything you need to finish a project and $79 is not a bad deal. I would have done well starting here. You get a base mallet, sponges for wetting the leather, basic stamps, a swivel knife and dye. It took me 3 trips to Tandy before I realized I needed dye.

The Deluxe!

Now we are talking. Are you really serious about doing this? Are you really committed? The $599 price tag is high but you are really getting some workable tools here. I guarantee I have spent more than this and don't have many of the things shown. Sewing tools, burnishing, a strap cutter, lace punches, hole punches, dye, stamps, a better mallet and even a piece of granite, plus the projects. If you are serious then trust me, just spend that money here. You will do it any way and probably not have as much to show for it.







Until next time!