Best Wax Thread and Leather Needles
The saddle stitch is the oldest leather joining technique still in use. Unlike a machine lock stitch -- which fails completely if one thread is cut -- the saddle stitch uses two needles and one thread passing through each hole in opposite directions. If one side breaks, the other holds. Every piece of hand-stitched leather you see in a quality saddle shop or cobbler is done this way. These are the threads and needles for doing it right.
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How to Choose
Waxed linen is the traditional material -- it was used by cobblers and saddlers before synthetic alternatives existed, and it remains the best choice for leather that will see hard use. Waxed polyester is slightly stronger and more resistant to rot, but does not lock into the leather fiber the way linen does. Thread weight is expressed by the number of strands in the ply: 4-cord is heavy, for belts and straps; 2-cord is light, for wallets and small goods. Blunt harness needles with a curved tip are used for most saddle stitching.
Tandy Leather Waxed Linen Thread
A 4-cord waxed linen thread pre-loaded with beeswax. Available in natural, brown, and black. This is the standard saddler's thread -- thick enough for belts and heavy straps, waxed enough to pull through leather without snagging, strong enough that the stitch will outlast the leather around it. One spool covers a substantial project.
Waxed linen locks into the leather fiber as it sets. A properly tensioned saddle stitch in linen is stronger than the leather itself.
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Osborne Harness Needles Assorted
C.S. Osborne has been making leather tools in Newark, New Jersey since 1826. Their harness needles are the industry standard: blunt tip that pushes through a pre-awled hole without tearing the leather, eye large enough for heavy thread. The assorted pack covers sizes 000 through 3, which handles everything from heavy belt work to fine wallet stitching.
The right needle for leather is blunt, not sharp. A sharp needle tears fibers; a blunt one separates them.
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