oblong punch

[harpman]

I messed around and ordered this oblong punch..http://www.leatherunltd.com/hardware/tools/tools.html.and Then....duh, I noticed it might not be  tool steel, Are these dropped forge punches anygood ?
Ron

[knucklehead]

thats the ones that i use. they work great.

you will need to sharpen them from time to time.

When using the punches i will place a very heavy piece of thick leather under the leather that i want the hole in.
I just place em ontop of my marble slab and hammer away.
the thick leather backing will give just enough to allow the tool to do its job without rounding the edges of the tool once it has punched though the leather.

[harpman]

Thanks for the tip, I have some 10 ounce I can use for a backing.

[Irish Dave]

I never use my drive punches on anything but an end-grain block of wood. In my experience I have found with this method, good ones will last years w/o sharpening and even cheap ones will hold up better than they should.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I'll second the end-grain. That's what I normally use but I do have to admit that I have a poly-something-or-other cutting mat about 6" square that works nicely for small things.

I also have a few punches of that type. They're good punches.

[Springfield Slim]

I use an old poly cutting board, hasn't dulled my punch yet after hundreds of uses.

[rickk]

The most common cutting mats go by the name of "Poundo-board". They come in all sorts of sizes from small to really big. They last a long, long time, and support the leather better than another piece of leather, which makes for a cleaner and easier cut.

The edge on those tools come anywhere from sharp to sort of dull, so don't be surprised to have to sharpen it when it is brand new. 320 grit sandpaper works well for sharpening it.

Unless the punch is really huge, if it takes more than one wack of the hammer to make a hole it probably needs to be sharpened. Once sharpened, they stay sharp for a fair amount of time. A touchup with sandpaper now and then of it isn't doing what it used to will keep it working.

Never use a metal hammer. Rawhide or plastic is the way to go. I prefer a 2# weighted all plastic hammer myself.

[Travis Morgan]

When using the end grain of a block of wood, don't use the same block too many times. It'll scar up your leather.