Review on 🧵 Bigteddy - Premium 1mm Hand Stitching Waxed Leather Thread for Leathercraft & Repair - 10 Colors, 50+ Yards Each by Shantel Griffin

I have been a full time leather trader for over 25 years. I bought a couple of these to use in my first beginner class because they are inexpensive and seem to contain most of the basic tools. After reviewing the content and using it in class, I feel I can give a fair review. In short: the quality sucks and it's missing some of the things you need to get started properly. *Possibly* a good option for a beginner who wants to try their hand at leatherworking but doesn't want to invest a lot to get started. I return unused kits because I think it's worth spending a little more for better starter tools and making your own starter kit. Full version: This set contains a variety of tools to get you started with leatherworking. . At first glance this seems like a great budget starter kit. Unfortunately, the quality just isn't there and a few essential things are missing. The tools work. You can punch holes, bevel edges, etc., but the quality of the tools is negligible and they don't work as well as the higher quality tools. For example, a groove leaves a groove with a jagged edge. The awl has a very thin tip and is more likely to break if used roughly. Even more revealingly, diamond-stitched chisels are crudely made and difficult to pierce and remove from even thinner leather. The tooth spacing is also narrower than I would prefer for most leather goods. A decent quality set of needles, but they look like they are for fabric upholstery, not leather. Also, there is only one machine per size/type and you need two for saddle stitching. It's these kinds of problems that make me want to spend some extra money and build your own starter kit with higher quality tools. If you absolutely can't or don't want to spend more you can make this set work, but if you plan on doing a significant amount of leatherwork over time I guarantee you'll need to update the contents of this set quickly Break and/ or poor performance.