Embossing/stamping of leather

Leather items are already beautiful as they are, but you can also personalize them by adding extra details. One way to add something extra's to your leather items is by embossing or tooling them. The embossing and stamping of leather (also known as engraving) are similar leatherworking techniques, but with stamping you can create a more detailed result. The embossing and stamping of leather require some skill, so it is advisable to first practice on leather scraps or old leather items. It should also be noted that these techniques may not work on all leather articles, as the finish of the leather can affect the tool's impact.

Embossing is a technique where you use an embossing pen to press a design into the leather. It is primarily used to create line drawings without additional textures or shadow effects. This makes embossing a relatively simple way to personalize your leather items. Make sure you work on a hard surface, the less resilience it has, the better.

-leather item

-water

-sponge

-tracing paper or other thin paper

-pencil

-Embossing pen

Step 1:

Draw your planned design with a pencil on the paper or trace it from the example. Make sure the paper is not too thick, otherwise, it will be difficult to get a good impression on the leather later.

Step 2:

Wet a sponge with water and wring out the excess water. Use the sponge to moisten the leather. The leather only needs to be moist, not soaked. Wait until the leather starts to dry again. Wet leather is darker than dry leather, so once you start seeing lighter spots, you know the leather is drying.

Step 3:

Place the paper with the design on the leather. You can use some tape to prevent the paper from sliding.

Step 4:

Trace the design with the embossing pen. After the first line is traced, lift the paper to check how deep the impression is. If it is too shallow, trace again and use more pressure. Regularly check how the design is progressing on the leather. If you want a neat and even line drawing on the leather, you need to apply even pressure on the embossing pen.

Remove the paper once you are done tracing the design and satisfied with the depth of the relief. After removing the paper, you can always go over the design again to make the relief a bit deeper.

With the previously explained embossing technique, you can create a simple line drawing design. With stamping, you can further shape that design by adding more details, textures, and shadow effects. Make sure you work on a hard surface, the less resilience it has, the better.

The first step of the process is embossing the design, so this is a continuation of the previous explanation.

-a variety of leather stamps

-rubber mallet or other hammer (no metal hammer)

- swivel knife

Step 1:

The first step in stamping a design on leather is embossing the line drawings of the design. A step-by-step instruction for this can be found earlier in this article.

Step 2:

Once you have embossed the outline on the leather, it is time to cut out the line drawings. Use a swivel knife to follow the relief lines. For a neat result, it is important to maintain even pressure on the knife.

Step 3:

To add more depth and detail to the design, you need to use different leather stamps.

There are leather stamps with a smooth head to create depth and shadow effects. These smooth stamps come in various types and sizes. Smaller heads can be used to emphasize certain corners and points along the line drawings, while larger heads can create a shadow effect on, for example, a petal or leaf.

Another type of leather stamps are those with a pattern on the head. These stamps should be used to create textures and patterns, which can function both as a shadow effect and simply as additional details.

To ensure you get a good imprint from the leather stamps, you must tap the back of the stamp with a hammer. With stamps that have a round head, you can slowly drag the stamp over the leather while tapping the back of the stamp to create a smooth shadow effect.