Makers Mark

[ABC3]

At what point do your guys/gals apply your "makers mark" ? I purchased one from Brenda & rec'd it today. Tried it out on several belts & I must say her work is great but to get a crisp & clear imprint you have to really wack it one. When is the best time to stamp it for a nice clear imprint?

[badger]

I case the piece thoroughly, then wait until it's almost dry to the touch. Dry enough that that it only feels damp against your lips or cheek.

I give it one good whack.

The next day, when the piece is dry you can position the stamp again in the first impression, gently finding the right position, and them give it another whack. This tends to make a clean, sharp, deeply impressed, but shiny and compressed mark.

But, I have a hard time getting a clean single impression first time. These days I have the stamp made up as a 3/8ths thick delrin plate and use the press to make the impression.

Badger

[HARVEY]

Whenever I do a project, I oversize it so I can do "experimenting" on the outsize portion. Maybe just an inch or two around the actual project. This allows me to test anything on the same leather -- colors, impressions, dampness -- as the actual project. Same would allow for your maker's stamp. Just allow some extra weather, and try an impression alongside the real project.

Harvey

Los Angeles

Uh, slight typo on my part there . . . make the extra LEATHER (not weather).

[King's X]

I have two stamps, one from Brenda and another from a source found here. Both operate the same for me. I found it best to wet my leather and as soon as I see the moisture disappear, I position my stamp and give it a good whack with my Stohlman 3lb maul. It usually give me a good imprint (98%). If I need to give it another whack it will come later when my leather turn almost back to its natural color, but still cool. This time I will whack it with my 18oz BK maul, but this doesn't happen often.

It is my belief from my messing around to get the best impression that the letter has to be moist or very moist when you attempt this. If you try (and I have) to make an impression with either my stamps when the leather is at the stage to bevel or background; I usually get a back impression and sometimes a double impression with a slight move. Muy (very) bad. And, sometimes, it has to be rocked to get a really crisp impression. I have studied a lot of impressions on work that I found here before I made a stamp and I found them to be good, but not as crisp as most describe what they want to achieve or expect? My impressions have been very good and there have been very few occasions when I have had to hit it twice.

Just my observations.

[DCKNIVES]

I use the same one I use for my knives. I modified a small arbor press to hold mine,works great.Dave

[dbarleather]

At what point do your guys/gals apply your "makers mark" ?

Tom,

I have made it a general rule to mark my leather prior to any tooling. For two reasons.....first, I can tool around my mark. Secondly, there is nothing worse than tooling hours on a project and finishing it with a bad stamp imprint.

When is the best time to stamp it for a nice clear imprint?

As Badger mentioned....case your leather and let it dry to the touch. Too wet and the imprint will look "mushy". There are several ways to strike your stamp. On smaller stamps (1-1.5") I use a mallet. Just one solid strike. Hold the stamp firmly to the leather and DO NOT allow it to jump. This will result in a nice clear imprint. It's a good idea to practice with your stamp on scrap leather. ALSO, make sure you are using a piece of granite, marble, or solid tooling surface to strike your leather on.

Good luck,

Daryl

[Milli]

Whenever I do a project, I oversize it so I can do "experimenting" on the outsize portion. Maybe just an inch or two around the actual project. This allows me to test anything on the same leather -- colors, impressions, dampness -- as the actual project. Same would allow for your maker's stamp. Just allow some extra weather, and try an impression alongside the real project.

Harvey

Los Angeles

Uh, slight typo on my part there . . . make the extra LEATHER (not weather).

Harvey,

That is such a good idea. It's one of those that seen so obvious, but you don't think about until somebody tells you.

Milli

[ABC3]

On holsters I can dampen but not on belts. I'll just have to get a bigger mallet.

[dbarleather]

On holsters I can dampen but not on belts. I'll just have to get a bigger mallet.

Tom,

Why can't you dampen a belt?

In my opinion, a bigger mallet is not the fix. This acetyl/delrin composite stuff will leave a nice crisp impression (if made properly), but its not going to produce a nice impression on a dry piece of leather.

[ABC3]

dbarleather,

Are you suggesting I wet the entire belt & if so @ what point. I've found that water will discolor & the leather will not take the dye, sealer or finish coat the same way.

Am I doing something wrong?