doublehbar Report post Posted Monday at 11:49 PM Hi! I am fairly new to the forum and leatherwork in general. I did the genius thing of buying a basketweave set as my first stamping tools thinking it would be easiest to learn. Yes, I now know better. lol Good news is that I have been practicing quite a bit which is in turn giving me lots of casing practice as well. My problem seems to be that I am sometimes getting what I would call a shadow mark. I assuming that I am somehow allowing the stamp to bounce while striking, so it creates a very faint impression near the impression I purposely made. I have been concentrating and trying to catch what exactly it is that I am doing when this happen and am having no luck in catching myself in the act. Does anyone have tips on how to get away from doing this? My fear is that I will end up doing it on a real piece that I am making and have to scrap a project. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted Tuesday at 12:06 AM I am no stamper bit here are a few things. Have a solid striking surface. Granite, quartz and the like. You may want to switch to a heavier mallet. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doublehbar Report post Posted Tuesday at 12:24 AM Thanks for your reply! I do have a solid surface, but I am not sure if my mallet would be considered heavy or not. Its a large head size poly mallet from Tandy. Not sure what the weight is on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattsbagger Report post Posted Tuesday at 12:28 AM If you are talking about the yellow one. I find it to light for me. I use a 2lbs maul. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted Tuesday at 12:38 AM The 'shadow' or 'ghost' is caused by the tool bouncing. Its all in how you hold the tool. Grip it fairly tight and hold it tight against the leather, pushing it down slightly. A loose grip or not holding it really tight against the leather allows it to bounce, and your reaction is to then increase your grip and push it against the leather, making the ghost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doublehbar Report post Posted Tuesday at 12:56 AM Thanks Matt! I will raid hubby's toolbox and see if there is anything I can borrow for a maul to see if that helps. Thank you Fred! I will place more focus on my grip the next time and see if that is my culprit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YinTx Report post Posted Tuesday at 03:22 AM A light tap to set the stamp followed by the heavy hit to get the impression can help sometimes also. YinTx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chiefjason Report post Posted Tuesday at 06:35 PM I use a dead blow mallet so the mallet does not bounce too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted Tuesday at 06:44 PM (edited) 11 ounce garland rawhide mallet Edited Tuesday at 06:44 PM by JLSleather Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Furthark Report post Posted Tuesday at 07:23 PM I just had this problem on a belt I was tooling and, boy, did it tick me off. I'm a newbie but this is what I observed: I had the worse problem when I hit the hardest. When I backed off and didn't hit quite so hard, I didn't have a problem. As someone said above, I started doing two taps instead of one and that seemed to work. The tool in question is a Tandy veiner. I just got a couple Barry King stamps for my birthday and I notice the checkering is far more distinct than the Tandy's; e.g. the tool I was using is slipperier and harder to hold when I was hitting hard. This time I wet the surface and didn't fully case the leather. I wonder if the inside of the leather being harder also contributed to the bounce back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites