The First Thing Need - If you want to learn to tool leather.

Maybe you are like me, you have always wanted to learn to tool leather. Maybe you have always wanted to make western holsters, belts, knife sheaths. Maybe you like anything with floral carving. I'm that person. I wasn't sure where to start. The starter kits at Tandy just seemed to expensive. I didn't want to make a key chain or carve a rounder. I wanted to make belts and holsters!

Then I read that the old tools were better. That the custom high dollar tools were better than the Chinese made Tandy tools of today. It was a lot to take in. My big question was did I want to have 10 high end stamps or have 30 cheaper ones. The consensus from folks I spoke with was that as a beginner it would be better to have more tools and I probably wouldn't notice the difference.

I went with a set of tools from ebay that were made in the 1960's. I got 37 pieces including a swivel knife for around $85. That's an awesome deal. The problem was some very basic tools were missing but I was so green I had no idea what I needed.

START HERE

So if you are just starting out and own nothing then I suggest you buy this one thing first:
Tech-Tips Book by Al Stohlman

Currently Al Stohlman is my leather hero. He also happens to carve in the style I like the best. Don't buy any tools yet. You can purchase this book in paperback or in a digital format. Read the whole thing. Then read it again. Then save it to refer to...over and over and over.

If I had this prior to buying tools I would have known what I needed and where to use it. Read up and check back!