How To Get A Deep Impression Embossing

[leathervan]

Some of the pictures of embossing that I see have really deep impressions. My thoughts are they may be done with an embossing machine and not by hand(either a hammer or arbor press or something of that sort). I use something thats like an arbor press and I get shallow impressions. Maybe its the stamping tool that doesn't have deep impressions to begin with. I got my stamps at tandy. Maybe what I need is a link that has stamping tools with deep impressions.

[King's X]

Lets start with these questions..................How do you prepare your leather before embossing? What type of stamps are you using?

[leathervan]

Lets start with these questions..................How do you prepare your leather before embossing? What type of stamps are you using?

I prepare my leather by spraying water lightly on it. Thats all. The stamps that I use are from Tandy. I don't know how to explain any more about them except they are 1/2" square.

[King's X]

Okay, I always suggest this to everyone new to this craft or not. I would take a couple of pieces of scrap leather from the same bundle. Thoroughly wet all pieces and allow them to set aside for a bit. What you want to do is allow the leather to absorb the moisture and almost return to the natural color. Testing your leather to make sure that it cased properly, you can place the grain side up to your cheek. You want the leather to feel cool against your cheek. Continue reading before you start stamping okay!

Next, you want to use a good and stable working surface. Be careful using a dining table or center island.......trust me.....make sure it is stable. Next you want to use a stamping block such as granite. Next you want to be able to identify the particular stamps you are using for any job because for me it will determine the choice of striking object (maul). For instance, my normal carving & stamping tools, I will use my 14 or 18oz maul for these tools. For my letter font stamps, I usually use my 24oz maul for striking these stamps. For me, the 24oz will also work for most of the 3D Tandy stamps (the ones with objects, animals, etc), but I may deploy the big daddy, my 3lb maul. I don't use this maul much except for my delrin maker's stamp.

Select your stamp and get a nice firm hold on the stamp after you determine where you want to place the embossing. Make sure to keep a constant downward pressure once you identified your spot and especially when you strike the top of the stamp stem. This should ensure that your stamp does not leave the mark and jump causing a double stamp or halo stamp.

Now, if you use anything lighter than 7oz leather, you will need some form of back to prevent the leather from stretching when you emboss it. I have been lucky enough not to place a backing on anything larger than 7oz, but buyer beware.

So, back to my basic advice. Prepare 3-4 small pieces as described in paragraph #1 about the size of a business card or half the size and thoroughly wet them until the leather will no longer absorb the water and set them aside. Piece #1, I want you to strike a stamp on it after waiting 5 minutes. Do the same for the following pieces after waiting the prescribed times. Piece #2 (10 minutes), piece #3 (15 minutes) and finally piece #4 (20 minutes). This should provide you with some basic stamping knowledge for the leather that you are using. Remember to always test your leather against your cheek for coolness.

I know I went into much detail, but with further information I figured that I would just dive in and let you know what I do for my stamping process especially when I bring in a new hide to my bench. Also, remember that there is better, best, okay and not so good leather out there from many vendors. Depending on your reason for leathercraft will surely have an impact on quality of your leather. I have some of the best leather on the market, but I do not use it often. I have a lot of Tandy stuff that I have bought while on sale that I use most often. What I described above have been lessons learned from the different leathers that I use in my hobby.

I hope this helps.

Okay,