The pricking iron as the name implies is used to prick leather mainly for stitching. It’s used to create guide markings for awl piercings and stitching. It’s a really useful tool, especially when starting out in leatherwork since you would have to do a lot of hand stitching. But, what are the best pricking irons for leather?
There are several pricking irons for leather out there but upon thorough research, here are the best pricking irons that are going to tremendously help your leather work:
- WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron (Best Professional Pricking Iron Set)
- Yang Yao Leather Craftool Prong (Best Cheap Pricking Iron Set)
- VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool (Best Beginner Pricking Iron Set)
In addition to the above list, I have added details on each of the pricking irons to help you make an informed choice. Keep reading to find out more about which specific type of pricking iron will suit your needs and level.
For more information about the leather pricking iron, you can check out a previous article I dedicated to pricking irons. I explained everything you need to know about pricking irons, how to sharpen it, and how to use them. You’d really want to check it out!
1. WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron (Best Professional Irons)
The House of Wuta Leather has over the years being a great hub for everything leather – producing some really amazing high-quality tools. One of such tools is the WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron.
While the leatherwork industry booms in China and most parts around the world, it suffers greatly from low quality tools. Wuta leather is a Chinese leather tools manufacturer who set out to make high-quality tools for the industry and for crafters like you and I at affordable prices.
The WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron is nicely branded with an original design. It’s a really well made and well thought out pricking iron looking at the kind of details and finishing given to it. It’s well-grounded and sharpened to the tip with every inch of it polished. This tool can punch through up to 11 ounces of leather.
Unlike the many pricking irons out there, the WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron has an ergonomically designed shoulder you can rest your fingers on as you use them. It’s one of the best evenly spaced out prongs. This will give you the most accurate markings for your stitches.
What gives this tool it’s superior design is how it’s cut. It’s cut with a special thin wire called the EDM which basically dissolves metals as it touches it metal construction contrary to the common laser cutting used for most pricking irons. The EDM is the secret to Wuta leather being able to achieve very fine details on every inch of their tool.
Material:
The material used for this pricking iron by Wuta is the DC53 cold-work die steel. If you’re familiar with metals, the DC53 steels are very:
- Resistant to wear
- Contains loads of chromium that makes it Rust-resistant
- Shock absorbent
The DC53 steel is one of the premium steels you would always want for your tools to be made from and it’s a great thing Wuta uses it for their pricking irons and other tools. The DC53 is really hard to polish but Wuta leather has been able to do a great job on it considering the level of polish it was able to achieve on it.
Types:
Wuta leather has two models available, that is the Obverse and reverse prongs.
You can use the reverse direction to make hand stitches similar to the sewing machine stitches; that is stitches that are from the button left to the top right while the obverse is the opposite standard hand stitches.
With its prong pitch, you can make various sizes of stitches depending on which ones you go for. The sizes of stitches you can make include:
- 2.7mm Stitches
- 3.0mm Stitches
- 3.38mm Stitches
- 3.85mm Stitches
Generally in leatherwork, you will apply the smaller space stitches like the 2.7mm and the 3.0mm to smaller leather goods like wallets and larger stitch spaces like the 3.38 and 3.85 to the much bigger leather goods you make such as bags.
What I must add here is that the smaller spaced 2.7mm and 3.0mm can be quite challenging compared to the larger spaced ones.
Dimensions:
The Wuta New French Style Pricking Irons are I n 4 models, but currently there only 2 models available, which is the 2 prongs and 8 prongs. The 2 and 8 prongs are pretty much standard sets for all sorts of leatherwork and stitching. Not having to create additional pricking irons in this set is also a strategy by Wuta to enable them maintain high-quality cutting down its production cost while retaining a very affordable price for its cherished customers.
- The overall length of their pricking irons are 116mm
- Handle width of 13mm and handle thickness 8.2mm
- The prong length is 9.8mm with a 0.2mm prong lip thickness.
Final Thoughts: Wuta New French Style Pricking Iron
Concluding on the WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron, I will say it’s a really great pricking tool and a definite must-have. So if you’re out there shopping for high-quality premium pricking irons but don’t want to pay premium price, then the WUTA New French Style Pricking Iron is your best bet.
I compared it’s current prices across several online platforms and found a great offering on Amazon. Check it out over here and you’re going to save some cash. You will also find some great customer reviews this tool has received in the last couple of weeks here.
2. Yang Yao Leather Craftool Prong (Best Budget Pick)
The Yang Yao brand is in the Gifts niche but also have in their arsenal a variety of leatherwork tools and their Yang Yao Latest Model Prong is on my radar for quality pricking irons. It’s the budget pick for this article. This tool comes in a set of 4 pieces of pricking irons with a highly polished black surface.
The Yang Yao latest model prong has a fine polish treatment that makes it very sharp and can be used to make stitch markings easily and effortlessly. It has a non-slip handle that gives the user a much firmer grip. It’s a tool you will love for it’s cool price. It’s under 15$ for a set containing 4 pricking irons.
Material:
The Yang Yao latest model prong is made from durable high-quality steel that makes it strong and easy to use.
Types:
The Yang Yao prong comes with 4 pricking irons as mentioned earlier with each having a single prong, 2prongs, 4prongs, and 6prongs respectively. There are various functions the prongs could serve as individual tools and as a collective unit.
For the single prong, you will mostly use it for making stitch markings, guides, or holes at the corners of the leather item you’re making where the multiple edged prongs cannot get to.
The 2 prong pricking iron is designed to be used for pricking smaller projects like key holders, card holders, etc, and leatherwork projects with a lot of curves. It can also be used in combination with the single punch.
The 4 and 6 prong pricking iron are mainly used for similar activities. It’s both used to get the most accurate straight stitch lines in the quickest way. It’s one of the most widely used pricking iron tools.
Dimensions:
The prong width for this tool is about 2mm with a prong pitch of 5mm and an overall tool length of about 10cm.
Final Thoughts: Yang Yao Leather Craftool Prong
The key take away from this tool is the availability of a variety of quality pricking irons which is geared towards beginners with its reasonably affordable price.
The variety of quality pricking irons Yang Yao offers and the low price gives the user a fairly easy stitching experience. You can check it’s current price over here on Amazon since they’re always changing. Also, while on the subject, you can also check out some of the great reviews the product has.
So if you’re interested in getting a quality pricking iron, that has a lot more different options in terms of prongs at a really low price, then the Yang Yao Leather Craftool Prong is your best bet.
3. VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool (Best All-Round)
The VStoy brand is in the general goods niche and from my research on quality tool brands found their pricking iron: The VStoy Pro-line piercing tool. It has a sharp rhombus tooth which makes pricking and punching quick and effortless.
Material:
The VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool is made using white steel and is very durable and will serve you well with a lot of your leatherwork projects.
The white steel used makes this tool durable and sharp and it’s design renders it tough in structure. This pricking iron is coated with rust preventive oils before it’s shipped and must be cleaned thoroughly before it’s used.
Types:
The VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool comes in a set of 3 pieces of pricking irons with each having 2 prongs, 5 prongs, and 10 prongs respectively. It’s has a neatly polished and smooth handle that makes it very comfortable to hold.
It can be used to prick diamond-shaped stitch markings and holes on leather which makes for great leatherwork stitching.
Dimensions:
The prong pitch for VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool is about 3.38mm and a total tool length of 10cm.
Final Thoughts: VStoy Pro-Line Piercing Tool
This is beginner friendly leatherwork pricking iron tool set as it presents the user with the basic pricking variations a beginner will need for various aspects of a leatherwork project.
This is contrary to some other high-end brands having only 1 or 2 prongs sets leaving the user to either buy additional ones or simply relying on their expertise to be able to make do with the same 1 or 2 pricking irons in which case only leatherwork professionals could figure out.
Also, with the manufacturer ensuring a standard 3.38mm prong pitch, it gives enough room for a beginner to make larger spaced stitches that will make hand stitching less challenging.
If you’re interest in the VStoy Pro-Line Piercing tool, you can check it out over here on Amazon. Here’s also a link to customer reviews on this tool.
Conclusion
Having to use the right tool for the right job makes a difference and will always be noticed in the kind of work you produce. The pricking iron has been around for a really long time when there wasn’t a lot of fancy sewing machines for leather. A good sewing machines costs a lot and weighs heavily on beginners and some professional leatherworkers alike.
The pricking iron is a simple tool you can employ together with a handful of others like the awl, thread, stitching pony, etc to make a really great hand stitching for your work. This article researched on the best pricking irons you can get today to make your leather hand stitching truly awesome and Fun!