Why Your Belt Holes Never Look Quite Even: A Better Way to Punch Leather Straps

There is something slightly cruel about belt holes.

They look like the easiest part of the whole job. Measure the centre line, mark five points, take a punch, give it a few clean strikes. Done.

Except it often is not.

You can get every individual hole perfectly clean and still end up with a row that looks a little off. One sits half a millimetre left. Another gap feels slightly wider. Nothing is dramatically wrong, but once you notice it, you keep seeing it.

That is not really a punching problem.

It is a repeatability problem.

And it comes up far more often than you might think. Leatherworkers on Reddit regularly ask the same questions: what spacing should I use, what size punch should I use, and how do I keep the holes in a genuinely straight line? One recent first time belt maker asked all three in the same post. Reddit

That tells you something.

The difficult part is not making one hole.

It is making five holes that behave like one system.

One Hole Is Easy. Five Identical Holes Are Not.

A single belt hole only has a few jobs to do.

It needs to be the right size. It needs to sit in the right place. The punch needs to be reasonably vertical. The cut needs to be clean.

A row of holes has another layer of requirements.

Now your eye is judging:

whether the holes share the same centre line

whether the spacing is really consistent

whether the outer holes have wandered

whether the whole group sits properly within the strap

Humans are annoyingly good at spotting irregularity in repeated shapes. Four dots can be perfectly aligned and the fifth can be barely out, yet that is the one your eye finds immediately.

This is why clean leatherwork is often less about adding more detail and more about making repeated details genuinely repeat.

That sounds obvious. In practice, it is where a lot of the fuss lives.

So What Is the Standard Belt Hole Spacing?

If you search for a standard answer, 1 inch, or roughly 25mm, comes up again and again.

Cipriani Leather lists 25mm as the standard spacing between belt holes, and commercially available belt spacing templates often use 25.4mm, exactly one inch. Cipriani Leather

Leatherworkers commonly use five holes at around 1 inch spacing, although some prefer seven holes, sometimes with slightly tighter spacing. In one recent Reddit discussion, makers mentioned both 1 inch and 1 1/4 inch, depending on how the belt was being set up. Reddit

So yes, 25mm is a very sensible starting point.

But it is not a law.

A heavy 40mm belt, a narrow dress belt, a watch strap and a shoulder strap are not the same object. Their proportions are different. The amount of adjustment you want is different. Even the visual rhythm of the holes can be different.

That is why we tend to think of hole spacing as a design parameter, not just a standard dimension.

There is a standard because standards are useful.

There should also be room to ignore it when your pattern calls for something else.

The Real Problem Is Measuring the Same Thing Five Times

The traditional method works perfectly well.

Find the centre.

Mark the first hole.

Measure 25mm.

Mark again.

Repeat.

Then take a single punch and work through them one at a time.

For one belt, this is absolutely fine.

Wing dividers, rulers and simple templates are all perfectly good ways to keep the layout controlled. Leatherworkers often recommend locking a wing divider to the chosen spacing and simply walking it along the strap. Others use paper or acrylic templates to keep the centre line consistent. Reddit

The problem is not that these methods are bad.

The problem is that every separate positioning step gives you another opportunity to introduce a tiny variation.

Maybe the ruler turns slightly.

Maybe the centre mark is not quite where you thought.

Maybe the punch does not sit exactly over the awl mark.

Maybe your fifth strike is slightly less vertical than your first.

None of these mistakes needs to be large.

A millimetre is enough.

One Leathercraft discussion put it very plainly: being off by a millimetre on repeated holes can make the finished line look obviously wrong. Reddit

So from a workflow point of view, the real question is not:

How do I punch faster?

It is:

How many times do I need to make the same positioning decision?

That is a much more useful way to think about the tool.

A Template Helps You Mark the Holes. It Does Not Punch Them.

There are plenty of belt positioning templates on the market, and for many people they are exactly the right answer.

A typical stainless steel template might give you fixed 1 inch spacing and reference points for common belt layouts. Bavercraft

That is cheap, flexible and easy to understand.

For a beginner or someone making two belts a year, I would happily recommend one.

It solves the first problem:

Where should the holes go?

After that, though, you still remove the template, place the punch, line it up, strike, move to the next one and repeat.

A multi hole spacing punch is trying to solve a slightly different problem.

Instead of:

measure
mark
reposition
punch
reposition
punch

the spacing is already built into the tool.

One placement controls several holes at once.

That does not automatically make it better. It simply changes the workflow.

And that distinction matters.

If You Only Make One Belt Occasionally, You Probably Do Not Need One

This is the bit that tends to disappear from product pages.

If you make one belt every six months, a dedicated spacing punch may be unnecessary.

A ruler, a divider and a sharp single punch can do excellent work.

A template can make that even easier.

The value of a dedicated spacing punch starts to become clearer when you are repeating the same pattern.

Maybe you are making:

ten belts in the same width

a small batch of watch straps

a series of bag straps

a product line with the same adjustment pattern every time

At that point, the measuring begins to feel more repetitive than skilful.

And that is usually when a jig or dedicated punch starts earning its space on the bench.

This idea comes up quite a lot in maker communities. One Reddit user was specifically looking for something like a pricking iron for belt holes because they wanted a straight, evenly spaced row rather than having to place every hole individually. Reddit

That is exactly the use case.

The Point of a Multi Hole Punch Is Not More Force. It Is Fewer Variables.

The CÍ Leather Belt Slot Spacing Punch was developed around a fairly simple thought:

if five holes are supposed to have the same spacing and sit on the same line, why ask the maker to recreate that relationship five separate times?

The tool fixes the spacing mechanically.

You still have to place the strap properly.

You still need to find the centre.

You still need a clean strike.

But once the tool is positioned, the relationship between the holes is no longer being improvised by hand.

That is the useful part.

The standard version uses 25mm spacing, and custom spacing is available for patterns that need something different. It is intended for belts, watch straps, shoulder straps, bag straps and other repeated strap work. CÍ OFFICIAL

That custom option matters more than it first appears.

A lot of spacing tools are built around one fixed standard. That is fine until your product is not standard.

Then you end up redesigning the pattern around the tool.

We prefer the opposite idea:

the tool should follow the pattern.

Why Custom Spacing Can Matter More Than People Expect

A 25mm spacing works beautifully on a lot of belts.

It can look completely wrong on a much smaller strap.

That is not because 25mm suddenly becomes incorrect.

It is because proportion has changed.

If you are working on a narrow watch strap, a compact bag strap or a product with a very specific adjustment range, even a few millimetres in spacing can change the feel of the finished piece.

This is where custom tools become interesting.

Not because everyone needs something custom.

Most people do not.

But if you have a fixed product line and already know your preferred spacing, a dedicated punch can remove one repetitive setup from every piece you make.

Small change.

Big difference after the fiftieth strap.

Then There Is the Less Exciting Question: What Is the Punch Made From?

This part sounds technical, but it is actually very practical.

A leather punch is a repeated impact tool.

Every time you use it, the cutting edge is asked to do the same rather unpleasant job:

take a strike

shear through leather

reach the cutting board

come back out

do it again

So the material needs two things that do not always naturally go together.

It needs hardness, because you want the cutting edge to stay sharp.

It also needs toughness, because an edge that is very hard but too brittle can chip.

The CÍ spacing punch uses DC53 cold work tool steel for the punch body. CÍ OFFICIAL

Daido Steel, the manufacturer behind DC53, describes it as an 8% chromium cold work tool steel developed for high hardness and toughness. Their technical material also shows DC53 positioned above conventional SKD11 type steel in toughness, while retaining the hardness required for die and punch applications. 大同特殊鋼

That makes sense for this kind of tool.

DC53 is not there because the name sounds impressive.

It is there because punches and dies are exactly the sort of repeated impact applications this family of tool steels was built around. Daido has even published piercing research using DC53 punches in industrial testing. 大同特殊鋼

That does not mean a DC53 leather punch is indestructible.

Nothing with a cutting edge is.

It does mean the material choice is based on the actual mechanical job rather than on appearance.

Sharpest Is Not Always Best

There is another little trap with leather tools.

The sharpest tool on day one is not automatically the best tool six months later.

A very thin edge can feel wonderful the first time you use it.

It can also be more vulnerable to rolling or chipping if the geometry is pushed too far.

With a repeated impact punch, the better target is usually a balance:

clean cutting

stable edge geometry

good toughness

reasonable long term edge life

That is the thinking behind this punch as well. The product is intentionally treated as a working tool rather than a decorative object. It is made in small batches, and the emphasis is on repeatable cutting and durability rather than polishing every surface until it looks like jewellery. CÍ OFFICIAL

I actually think that distinction matters.

Some workshop tools are lovely objects.

Others earn their place because you stop thinking about them once you start working.

The second category is often more useful.

The Detachable Head Is Not a Glamorous Feature. That Is Probably Why It Is Useful.

The punch uses a detachable head and stainless steel handle. CÍ OFFICIAL

It is not the sort of feature that looks dramatic in a product photo.

Long term, though, modular construction is sensible.

It makes maintenance easier.

It separates the working head from the handle.

It means one part does not necessarily have to dictate the lifespan of the whole tool.

That is a recurring theme with good bench tools.

The details you appreciate most after two years are rarely the ones that looked exciting on the first day.

Your Cutting Board Can Destroy a Good Punch Faster Than Bad Steel Can

This is probably one of the most useful things to say in an article about punches.

Do not hit a sharpened punch directly onto:

metal

stone

marble

glass

or a hard wooden surface

The CÍ punch is designed to be used with a medium to hard cutting board. CÍ OFFICIAL

The logic is simple.

Once the edge passes through the leather, whatever sits underneath becomes the next material it meets.

If that material is harder than the edge was designed to strike, you are slowly damaging the tool every time you use it.

People spend a surprising amount of time comparing steels and sharpening angles, then use a good punch on the wrong surface.

A £20 cutting board can sometimes do more for punch life than another hour of reading steel specifications.

Round, Oval or Teardrop? There Is No Universal Answer There Either.

Spacing is not the only thing makers disagree about.

Hole shape gets debated too.

Some leatherworkers are perfectly happy using round holes for belts and have done so for years. Others prefer oval or teardrop holes because the buckle tongue sits flatter and the hole can wear more naturally in use. Reddit

Again, this is a useful reminder that there is no one perfect belt specification.

The right answer depends on:

the buckle tongue

the leather thickness

the temper of the leather

the overall style

how the belt is expected to wear

A good habit is still the least glamorous one:

test it on scrap first.

That advice comes up constantly in experienced leatherworking discussions, and for good reason. Reddit

One quick test tells you more than a theoretical “standard” ever will.

What Actually Matters Is Not the Standard. It Is Repeatability.

This is probably the bigger idea behind the whole subject.

Leatherworkers argue about 19mm, 25mm, 30mm.

Five holes or seven.

Round or oval.

None of that is necessarily a problem.

What matters much more in a product line is that you know what your standard is.

If your pattern says 25mm, make it 25mm every time.

If you deliberately use 22mm, that is fine too.

Consistency builds a visual language.

It is one of the quiet differences between a one off handmade piece and a workshop that has developed its own way of working.

The goal is not to make every maker use the same standard.

The goal is to stop accidentally changing your own.

A Simple Way to Choose the Right Setup

You do not need the most specialised tool for every job.

For a first belt, I would still choose a ruler or divider and a single punch.

For occasional belt making, a positioning template is inexpensive and flexible.

If you regularly change patterns, an adjustable guide is useful.

If you keep making the same strap layout in small batches, a multi hole spacing punch starts to make sense.

And if you have already settled on your own specific spacing, then a custom spacing punch becomes much more interesting.

That is a much healthier way to shop for tools than asking:

Which punch is best?

The better question is:

Which part of my current workflow is actually annoying me?

Where the CÍ Belt Slot Spacing Punch Fits

The CÍ Leather Belt Slot Spacing Punch is for the maker who already knows they are going to repeat the same layout.

Its main features are deliberately practical:

DC53 cold work tool steel body

stainless steel handle

detachable head and handle

25mm standard spacing

custom spacing available

small batch, made to order production

one year warranty for damage under normal, correct use CÍ OFFICIAL

It is not the cheapest way to make five holes.

It is not supposed to be.

It is meant to make repeated strap work steadier, cleaner and less fussy.

If you only make one belt, that may not matter much.

If you make twenty, it probably starts to.

A Note on Reviews and Trust

This particular punch is still a relatively new product, so it does not yet have a large body of product specific reviews on the page.

We would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.

CÍ as a store, though, currently shows more than 500 verified reviews from makers worldwide, with an overall rating of 4.91/5 on the site. CÍ OFFICIAL

That matters to us because specialist tools are different from disposable accessories.

The buying decision does not really end at checkout.

There are questions about:

tool compatibility

custom sizes

machine voltage

replacement parts

delivery

maintenance

and sometimes simply how a tool is meant to be used

A good tool supplier needs to be available for that part too.

Why CÍ Is Built More Like a Tool Store Than a Single Brand Catalogue

CÍ is a Germany based leathercraft tool store with a mix of products developed through our own production network and tools selected from independent specialist makers and design brands.

We do not think every good tool needs our name engraved on it.

Some products are worth developing ourselves because we can see a specific problem worth solving.

Others already exist in excellent form elsewhere, and our job is simply to find the right ones, understand them properly and make them easier for makers around the world to access.

The store now covers most of the everyday leatherworking workflow, including:

hot foil stamping machines

brass type and custom stamps

pricking irons

stitching ponies

skiving machines

leather knives

cutting dies

belt tools

edge finishing tools

hardware

shoemaking tools

and workshop accessories

CÍ currently offers free worldwide shipping on orders over $50, and the site notes that orders may ship from Germany or China depending on stock and fulfilment availability. CÍ OFFICIAL

For us, the useful part of being a broader tool shop is not simply having more products.

It is being able to understand how those tools fit together on an actual bench.

Because most leatherworkers do not need another catalogue.

They need fewer annoying problems.

Final Thought: The Holes Are Tiny. The Workflow Problem Is Not.

There is something funny about spending this much time talking about a row of five small holes.

But once you pull the problem apart, those holes contain quite a lot:

measurement

alignment

spacing

repeatability

tool steel

edge geometry

pattern design

and production workflow

So the real question is not:

Do I need a five hole punch?

It is:

How many parts of my work am I measuring again simply because I have always measured them again?

If you only make the occasional belt, keep the ruler. It works.

If the same spacing keeps showing up on your bench week after week, it may be worth letting the tool remember it for you.

Less measuring.

Less repositioning.

Fewer small opportunities to get it slightly wrong.

Then you can get back to the leather.

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References

Bavercraft (2026) LeatherCraft Belt Punch Hole Spacing Template with Arc Fillet Design Ruler Set US. Available at: Bavercraft. Accessed 4 September 2026. Bavercraft

CÍ OFFICIAL (2026a) CÍ Leather Belt Slot Spacing Punch | DC53 Tool Steel Strap Punch. Available at: CÍ OFFICIAL. Accessed 4 September 2026. CÍ OFFICIAL

CÍ OFFICIAL (2026b) CÍ Craft Tools | Premium Leathercraft Tools & Custom Solutions. Available at: CÍ OFFICIAL. Accessed 4 September 2026. CÍ OFFICIAL

CÍ OFFICIAL (2026c) Adjustable Desktop Shoe Lasting Machine. Available at: CÍ OFFICIAL. Accessed 4 September 2026. CÍ OFFICIAL

Cipriani Leather (2026) Measure Belt Specs & Find a Replacement Strap. Available at: Cipriani Leather. Accessed 4 September 2026. Cipriani Leather

Daido Steel Co., Ltd. (2026a) DC53 Cold Work Tool Steel. Available at: Daido Steel. Accessed 4 September 2026. 大同特殊鋼

Daido Steel Co., Ltd. (2026b) DC53 Properties. Available at: Daido Steel. Accessed 4 September 2026. 大同特殊鋼

Daido Steel Co., Ltd. (2020) Evaluation of Piercing Performance Using DC53 Punches, Denki-Seiko, 85, pp. 47-51. 大同特殊鋼

Reddit (2022) ‘Wishful thinking: a version of a pricking tool for making a straight line of belt holes’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2022) ‘How do I punch holes in a straight line?’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2023) ‘Even Steven?’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2023) ‘Do I need oblong holes for a belt?’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2026a) ‘Belt making questions’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2026b) ‘I’m pretty new here and making my 1st belt’, r/Leathercraft. Reddit

Reddit (2026c) ‘Belt holes?’, r/Leathercraft.