Creasing belts - Wet creasing VS Heat creasing?

[LzCraft]

This is the final piece of information I'm looking for, before I start my next project.

I'm simply looking for the method that will give the most crisp looking and longest lasting crease. For this project I'll be tooling heavy 10-11 oz. veg tan leather for belt making.

The method I'm currently using is pretty traditional. I work the crease into cased leather with creasers and modeling tools. But I've heard people say they get better results with heat creasing. I've never used this method personally, is the leather supposed to be dry for heat creasing?

While I'm happy with the way my current method looks I don't know how long it lasts.

[TomE]

Yes, a heated creasing iron will quickly cool on cased leather, not to mention scorching the leather on initial contact. The crease should be warm enough to move smoothly but not so hot that it burns the grain. The heat serves to burnish the crease line. Start with light pressure to establish your line then press more firmly to finish. I usually go over crease lines twice during a project, first after burnishing the edge and again before applying conditioner at the end of the project.  When I am blocking loops I re-crease the damp leather without heat.