Fonts And Leather Work

[UKRay]

This is a really interesting question, mainly because my arthritis means I find carving letters very difficult (and painful) so I don't have the inclination to carve.

I dislike stamped lettering because with commercially produced letter stamps the kerning is so poor (the gaps between the letters) but find myself forced to use stamps to make a saleable job. I suspect my problem is mostly because I'm trying to produce a low cost commercial product.

In addition, the standard Tandy Leather Factory letter stamps all have the same problem with the Letter I being too wide in comparison with the rest of the set and I can't find an answer other than grinding off the edges of the I stamp to reduce the width.

I'm now using some very old sets of letter stamps (which I seem to remember hand filing to size around thirty years odd ago) that include a rustic style that looks like it is made up from logs, an Old English style that is mostly curlicues and flourishes plus a set of standard Tandy plain, squared sided stamps that I like best.

None of them are a truly satisfactory solution...

Ray

[Ferg]

This is a really interesting question, mainly because my arthritis means I find carving letters very difficult (and painful) so I don't have the inclination to carve.

I dislike stamped lettering because with commercially produced letter stamps the kerning is so poor (the gaps between the letters) but find myself forced to use stamps to make a saleable job. I suspect my problem is mostly because I'm trying to produce a low cost commercial product.

In addition, the standard Tandy Leather Factory letter stamps all have the same problem with the Letter I being too wide in comparison with the rest of the set and I can't find an answer other than grinding off the edges of the I stamp to reduce the width.

I'm now using some very old sets of letter stamps (which I seem to remember hand filing to size around thirty years odd ago) that include a rustic style that looks like it is made up from logs, an Old English style that is mostly curlicues and flourishes plus a set of standard Tandy plain, squared sided stamps that I like best.

None of them are a truly satisfactory solution...

Ray

Ray,

I very well may not have old "Arther" as bad as you but it is creeping into my fingers and hands whether I like it or not. One of my reasons for getting into the leather again was to see if it would limber-up the joints a little. Oh yes, they hurt. Some times I have to stop and rub my fingers to just get my mind off the pain. I definitely do believe the tooling and swivel knife work is helping, it is tough, everything worthwhile is, part of the time.

ferg

[UKRay]

T'is one of the joys of becoming an old codger, Ferg!

I find soaking my hands in very hot water before starting work helps a bit... there is probably more than a touch of wishful thinking about this though. I started playing the guitar when old Arthur started his nonsense, and I have to agree, moving the fingers keeps 'em going. Sadly I'm still a lousy guitar player!

I find the single finger pressure required when carving most difficult. I have quite recently started losing the strength in my fingers so even tooling is becoming harder - and my tools fly all over the workshop on bad days! LOL

Ray

[FatSmitty]

Ray, I use a plastic rule taped down for a straight line to keep everything lined up and then a wing divider to set my spacing when using letter stamps, that way I don't have to set the stamps side by side and I can get whatever spacing I need between my letters. It takes a little longer to stamp having to place each one seperately. This works well when having to use the same letter multiple times in a stamping. Hope this helps.

Nevada

[FatSmitty]

As to the original post, I too use what ever font I feel matches the piece. It's easy using fonts, you type up what to need to carve in the size that you want and print it out, and you have a ready made pattern. I agree with Kevin, the inverted style looks really nice. When I'm just doing a couple of initials, I will sometimes just freehand it out with pencil and paper. Using a different font, instead of standard stamps, really gives a piece a custom and professional look over all.

[JesseJean]

I like tattoo style fonts like Shore Leave BB and SkinArt.

Here's a personalized dog collar I made using Shore Leave.

[King's X]

Thanks for all who have commented. Hopefully, this thread will be found by others who just need some direction when it comes to fonts and carving!