Strap cutters....oh my!

B

brewbear

Joined
Nov 14, 2019
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406
Hello everyone, I find myself in need of advice. I am so enamored with leather work (I'm very new) that I got it in my head to make myself a buffalo leather belt. I read and re-read Horsewright Horsewright 's tutorial at least six or seven times and followed his kind advice on which leathers to use (they're in the mail, slowly moving towards destination). Of course, I could just order a belt blank and call it good but to me the satisfaction comes from doing it all, from start to finish. Could you guys recommend a strap cutter that could serve? I will be cutting 8-9 oz leather and my poor rotary cutter will not make it easily. Thank you
 
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O.B.
 
Thats the one I have, another brand name. It looks like there are some improvements made since I got mine back in the 90's :D
 
I absolutely agree with OB on this strap cutter. Whoever invented it should be sitting on the beach, in Cancun sipping margaritas. For life. These things work. I've had two other very high end draw knives or plough gauges (different folks call em different). One was like $360 12 years ago. Last one was $100 and change and we sent it back. They suck. Get this above.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
With three recommendations from three excellent artists of the craft, my only other question would be if there is a particular brand I shoud look for.
 
brewbear said:
With three recommendations from three excellent artists of the craft, my only other question would be if there is a particular brand I shoud look for.
Click to expand...

Got mine from Weaver but it’s the Craftool too. Bout wore mine out gonna get another soon.​
 
Mine is an old Tandy as well. Years ago I bought what I thought would be an improved version made from aluminum and promptly slashed a finger because the blade stuck up past the clamps on the thinner aluminum arms.
 
Ouch! I remember those metal strap cutters, my main worry was grabbing it during the winter.

Here is my cutter, from Tandy as well, guess Craftool took em over? I use those Schick Injector blades in mine and they do stick out a bit but are cheaper.
402hpXa.jpg
 
I can't tell you I know how it feels to get a cut from a strap cutter but I know how it feels to get your finger caught in a router blade at 20000 rpm and it can't be much better. I will be very careful with these sharp toys (famous words).
Thank you all for the advice.
 
Take it from the guy that work with razor blades, X-Actos, and Mat (utility) knives for 42 years.
You don't feel razor cuts.


At first.

:D
 
Ebbtide said:
Take it from the guy that work with razor blades, X-Actos, and Mat (utility) knives for 42 years.
You don't feel razor cuts.


At first.

:D
Click to expand...
You're right! I work with scalpels a lot, you don't feel it right away, you just notice the blood dripping:confused:
 
Yup!
Last one I did with a utility knife (and we'd snap off the blade as soon as they started to drag a little), I felt cold steel on my finger, looked at the part in my finger and thought "Shouldn't that be bleeding?" And then a half second later, it did. Off to the company nurse for butterflies and the giant sympathy bandage :D
 
In my run-in with the router blade I totaled nine stitches, broken finger and 2 months of disability - I work with a microscope and I couldn't use the controls on it so they sent me home (with pay ). It drove me nuts because I couldn't do anything, I'd try and end up banging the finger (index on right hand), start bleeding....
 
Oh man.... We'd use the knife and a steel straight edge to cut boards and fomecore. Knife gets up in the straight edge and it's like hitting a patch of ice. Speeds up and you lose control. We had a guy split his finger from the nail down. He's jumping around yelling OW OOOOOWWWW!!! and waving the hand around while spraying blood everywhere. The off white cabinets and white walls.... well it looked like a crime scene!

My dad had a woodworking shop in the basement. He was trained in the old country and knew his stuff.
Them power tools still make me n-n-nervous. And they allow me to make my mistakes quicker :)
 
Sometimes I forget not to have my thumb hanging over the edge of my cutting ruler. Last time my nail prevented something worse from happening, but still hurts like heck.

Never hurt myself on any of my power tools. Maybe it's because I pay way more attention to them due to the damage they can do as I summer timed in cabinet making companies and worked in a woodworking retail tool store.

Still can figure out how a customer lost two middle fingers, but kept the outside ones.

DON
 
FWIW, middle finger and thumb are placed at the back of the straight edge touching both the ruler and the cutting surface. That wedges the ruler in place and keeps it from moving better than just pushing down on it. Index finger goes next to middle finger and provides downward force.
If you are not used to doing this stuff do not use aluminum rulers.
The knife can cut into the edge and get up on top of the ruler right quick. Once the knife is up on top of the ruler you just driving on ice with no control...
In college I did just that and left the tip of my index finger on my project. A little piece. But still something you don't want to find later on.
Same goes for plastic triangles.

Back to strap cutters. I think I need one :)
 
Had a buddy cutting fringe on a pair of leggings. We use a straight edge and a roller knife for that.

I3RQyfR.jpg


He got carried away and rolled the knife up and over the straight edge and squared off his thumb. He now uses a piece of aluminum that has about a 3/8's inch lip on it. I still use the square like Miss Emma is above but like I showed her and how she is doing it in this pic, I keep my hand way out of the way.
 
They make various straight edges with a vertical wall to protect your fingers. Like 2/3s of an I beam. Handy when you're really rushing.
 
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