Leather chisel roll

[Dave Zellers]

I'm looking for a reasonably priced ($30 ish) leather chisel roll as a gift for a close friend. I've looked through Amazon and found some possibilities, but nothing jumped out at me so I thought I'd ask here.

He is retiring and has a small garage shop and plans to spend time there building his skills and making things for himself and his sweetie. Over the years he has been good to me steering quality jobs my way and I want to show my appreciation with a few quality chisels and a nice place to keep them. A personalized monogram would be a big plus.

Nothing elaborate, maybe 7-8 pockets but it must have a flap that you close so they don't fall out. Chisel rolls that don't have a flap that holds them in place are lame.

I just thought folks here might know of a place that isn't showing up in my searches.

Thanks for reading. Any and all thoughts are welcome.

[Mike Henderson]

I'm not a big fan of most of the leather chisel rolls that I see. Most of them only have pockets "one way" so that when you roll them up, they're big on one side and small on the other.

I use cloth rolls that have pockets on both sides so the roll is balanced. With those rolls, you put the chisels in handle into the pocket, not cutting edge into the pocket. Those roll up balanced and are easy to carry. And the chisels do not fall out. I can show you pictures if you want.

Also, if you go leather, you need to make sure the leather was tanned the right way for tools. Otherwise, I've heard they can cause corrosion of the metal. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can address this issue.

Mike

[Stew Denton]

Dave,

I have a friend who does leather work. He is a skilled craftsman at it, even though only a hobby leather worker, and makes extremely nicely tooled leather products. I needed some leather and tools I didn't have, to make leather sheaths for my two draw knives, so asked him where to get the needed leather and tools.

He sent me to the Tandy leather outfit in Amarillo. While there, I saw guys setting in the store at a bench working on their projects. When I mentioned to the clerks who had sent me to the store, after mentioning which town I was from, naming only his very common first name, they immediately guessed his last name.

Although his work is hobby work, he is good enough that he does consignment work for folks, and gets paid for the work.

My point here, is that if you go to a local leather work supply place, they will likely know and can recommend a local craftsman who can make exactly what you want, and do a good job for you. If you find a source that makes the chisel rolls commercially they will likely be cheaper than an individual craftsman will want, but you never know.

Another source might be a saddle maker or a boot maker, we have folks here in the Texas panhandle that make their entire living doing that type of work. They might well have sewing machines for leather that can make your project quickly and more cheaply. People who can make a living making cowboy boots and working saddles in the Texas panhandle have to be extremely good a what they do to stay in business.

Hope you can find an off the shelf item, but if not, you can check out the options I list.

For what it's worth, I asked the clerk about a leather sheath rusting my draw knives, and the clerk advised me to buy vegetable tanned leather, and it won't rust steel she said. That is what I bought, and they had some odd chunks on sale, so I bought more than I needed for my current project.

Stew

[Christopher Charles]

Hello Dave,

That's a thoughtful gift that I'm sure your friend will enjoy. Having lived in NE for a spell, I'd be wary of a leather roll, having had several experiences with spontaneously molding leather and rusting tools.

I have a wood is good canvas roll for some carving tools which I like quite a lot and which is less prone to attracting rust.

By no means should you let this sway your decision and again, i'm sure your friend will be thrilled.

[john zulu]

I have a leather roll. It is not ideal for metal as it cause rust. I did place in plastic sheets to protect the chisels from the leather.

[Dave Zellers]

I use cloth rolls that have pockets on both sides so the roll is balanced.

If I let go of my flap obsession, there are many more possibilities available. I guess I should explore that.

Re the rust issue, I've never experienced that with my 2 rolls in the many years I've had them.

Lee Valley sells a pocket on both sides roll in my price range.

[george wilson]

i have knife scabbords made of vegetable tanned leather. The knives are ones I made,and are polished to a high brightness. They have been in the scabbards for many years without the slightest sign of rust. I don
t know what chrome tanned leather might do to your chisels.

[Derek Cohen]

Try Lee valley. I have a few of their leather rolls, and have used them for some years without concern.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lowell holmes]

I bought a leather chisel roll many many moons ago and after I replaced the string ties with leather shoe laces
it has served me well for 15 years or more. I would not want any other roll.