I usually buy my leather/hand punches from McMaster Carr, they are expensive but made of good quality steel and properly heat-treated. I've never had one go dull on me and have used them a lot.
The cheap sets that you get from HF or from the hardware vendors at the swap meets are simply low carbon steel. An attempt at heat-treating has been made in some cases but the case isn’t enough to keep the base metal from rounding over. I've picked up sets from both sources and find they go dull or out of shape after a few uses.
And yes Don, I do back them up with maple blocks every time I use them and when I cut a fiber, rubber, felt washer or gasket it’s almost always in my small bench press where I can control the punch much better than slamming it a few times with a sledge hammer on the garage floor.
The old adage, "Ya get what ya pay for" applies here but if your only gonna use them a few times, then go for the cheap sets.
Denny Graham
Sanwich, IL
