Clicker dies

I have always wanted to have a go with a clicker die but had mistakenly thought that I would need a heavy duty press. With time hanging heavy on my hands because of lockdown I thought I would buy a couple of small dies and have a go.

I bought one online and while I was waiting for it to arrive stuck together about 8 layers of scrap leathers with PVA to make a pad about an inch thick.

The die arrived and I tried it in my bench press but without success and so used a hammer and my scrap pad and gave it a few hefty wallops. That worked OK.

The die is mounted in a wooden block and has handy holes to poke through to release the leather.

This particular clicker die makes a figure of eight that when folded and linked together forms a strap or lightweight belt. 

Clickers were the highly skilled people in the shoe factories who cut out the pieces of leather using a metal pattern. As the blade of their knife touched the metal pattern it would click - giving them their name.

The left over leather was called a cobweb and would be weighed and the clicker who left the least waste would be the highest paid.

So now I have got a problem because I am hooked and I want more clicker dies.

This one even pricks out the stitching holes.

Let's hope my wife doesn't notice when she goes into my workshop!