Reifelholz - Wooden leather creaser

A Reifelholz is a specialized all wood tool used in the leather trade to crease the edges of the work for decoration. This technique is much like the fine groove we (as woodworkers) might run down the edge of our table legs or aprons to visually lighten or draw attention. Take a look at your leather items and see if it has been used. It exists mostly on custom or high end work.

I made this item for my friend Kai who is a master leather worker. It is simply a length of a Boxwood branch with four grooves cut on the ends and then slightly curved. When I say simply though, he did ask me for spacings and widths down to a tenth of a millimeter. These guys are as fussy as us sometimes, I think I had to use 4 different metal saw blades.

Boxwood is the ideal material for these as it is very strong, may be worked into very slender profiles and burnishes rather than breaking down. I counted about 70 growth rings in this 1 1/4” branch.
It has been left with the bark on for a good grip and with no finish. Over time it will develop a patina much like on the one it replaces.

Watch the video to see him show it, fashion a belt end and crease it.
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1 1/4” x 7 1/2”
About 2 hrs.
Build on LJ’s.
gene

-- gene@toronto.ontario.canada : dovetail free since '53, critiques always welcome.