The Leather roller is the kind of leatherwork tool you will realize you need in an “ah! let me check online if there’s a tool that could flatten my stuff better” moment.
I did this research on everything you might want to know about the leather roller tool, wrote a quick guide, and reviewed some of the best ones out there – in anticipation you’re going to need this tool eventually.
The best leather roller tool in no particular order are:
- Rongon Leather Roller Press – (Best Large Size Leather Roller Tool)
- TIHOOD Leather Roller – (Best Small Size Leather Roller Tool)
- WUTA Edge Roller – (Best Quality Leather Roller Tool)
- Walfront Leather Roller – (Best Medium Size Leather Roller Tool)
Before we head over to the details on each of the highlighted leather roller tools, let’s first take a look at what’s a leather roller tool is?
What is a Leather Roller Tool?
The leather roller is a handheld tool which has a relatively heavy roller head often metal and a wooden handle used to flatten glued leather surfaces, creases, folds, etc. It’s commonly used in leather gluing situations to ensure air bubbles, air pockets, or gaps are not created between glued layers.
Generally, leather roller tools are hefty, but they also come in a variety of weights you could pick from. They are made heavy to help press the items you’re working on. The leather roller tools also comes in different widths, lengths, and sizes to suit your needs.
Usually, you will apply the smaller leather roller tools when you’re glueing, folding, or creasing flaps, straps, or just the thin edges of the leather articles, while the much larger rollers are for flattening broader surfaces.
So whether you’re folding a seam, crease, lining, or joining leather with permanent or temporal leather glue, the leather roller tool will come very handy.
Buying Guide For Leather Roller Tool
Buying a leather roller tool shouldn’t be difficult as there are only 3 basic things to consider to get the very best fit for your work.
The Weight
The weight of the leather roller is really important to how effective the tool will work for you. The heavier the roller, the better and less effort or pressure you will have to apply when using it.
Another aspect of weight I should mention is that you should figure out the amount of weight on the leather roller tool you will be able and comfortable to handle.
So you must therefore strike a balance between what weight you’re comfortable with and while retaining enough weight on the roller tool so that it will be able to press your leather well.
Width
The width of the leather roller tools vary. Generally, you’re going to have small, medium, and large roller widths. The leather rollers with smaller roller widths will be great for straps, strips, appliqué works, etc. So if your work has a lot to do with these then you would want to consider the small width rollers.
On the other hand, if you make larger leatherwork projects and do a lot of broad surface gluing, the leather roller with a larger roller width will be an awesome way to go. You can also go for a fairly medium width roller if you want a size that’s not too big or small.
Length of Handle
When working with a leather roller tool you would want a solid grip due to the weights these tools come with. So for you to comfortably use your leather roller tool, you must ensure the length and width of the handle suits what you’d be comfortable with.
The handle should be long enough if you have big hands and not too bulky if you have smaller hands.
Leather Roller Tools – Reviews
Here are my researched recommendations for leather roller tools in no particular order:
4. Rongon Leather Roller Press – (Best Large Size Leather Roller)
The Rongon Edge Roller has a high quality wear resistant carbon steel roller head with a wooden handle. It’s roller head has a 1.5inches cylinder diameter and it comes in a variety of width sizes ranging between 1 inch and 4 inches. The weight will generally depend on the width size you choose.
However, the longest width which is 4 inches weighs about 30 ounces.
The most special thing about the Rongon Edge Roller it’s head is heat treated with its surface electroplated and made very smooth so no matter the amount of pressure you apply with it on your leather it won’t leave any marks or damage the leather surface.
If you’re interested in the Rongon Leather Roller Press, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
3. TIHOOD Leather Roller – (Best Small Size Leather Roller)
The TIHOOD Leather Roller is my best small size leather roller pick. Because of its small size, it’s suitable for leather edge creasing and leather glue laminations for belts, straps, wallets, key rings, and fobs.
This roller is made of a pure metal head and a wooden handle. The wheel has a width of about 1.2 inches, 1.3inches head diameter, weighs around 9.5 ounces, and comes with a 3.7 inches handle.
If you want a super lightweight leather roller tool, this is going to be ideal. You’re going to have no stress or fatigue working with this tool. If you convey your tools box quite often, you’re really going to appreciate this tool.
If you’re interested in the TIHOOD Leather Roller, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
2. WUTA Edge Roller – (Best Quality)
If you by now don’t know the Wuta brand, it’s a leather work tools brand that produces some of the most high quality tools at a fairly low price. So this is a very safe gamble you’re never going to regret! You can never go wrong with Wuta.
The WUTA Edge Roller made with High carbon steel with an electroplating treatment so it doesn’t accidentally leave any creases on your work. It’s handle is wooden.
The width of the roller itself is around 2.4 inches -which offers a lot of room for broad and bigger surface application. It also has a 1.37 head diameter and an overall head weight close to 20 ounces.
If you’re interested in getting the WUTA Roller, you can check it out over here on Amazon for details on prices and shipping since these tools are produced in China.
1. Walfront Leather Roller – (Best Medium Size Leather Roller)
The Walfront brand is also one of the most respected brands known for its quality leather tools supply. Their leather roller width is a 2.3 inches high carbon Steel made roller with a wooden handle.
The carbon steel roller head is electroplated and heat treated to make it highly wear-resistant. The handle is made from good quality wood, with an anti-skid ergonomic designed for maximum comfort and grip. The overall length of this tool is around 6inches and overall weight is around 20 ounce.
All in all, this tool will be very versatile and comfortable to work with. You will be able to work on both heavy-duty, large size, lightweight, small leather articles with ease and very fast.
