How To Stamp/tool And Leave Leather Raw?

[KelseyR89]

I love the look of leather products that are left raw - no dyes, antiques, just raw beauty I've been using antiques and like them a lot, but want to offer raw as an option. It seems like when I stamp something into my leather, and then put the sealant on without any dyes or antiques that the sealant almost like raises the indented portion to where it's not as noticeable and indented. Any suggestions on why this is happening and what I can do to prevent it from happening?

Thank you!

[Chief31794]

Pictures would make it easier to diagnose. However, there is no reason why natural leather with a finish wouldn't hold stamped impressions unless they were either done incorrectly (leather not cased properly befor stamping) or the leather isn't vegetable tanned. If you use Veg Tan and case it properly, then apply a finish, the impressions should last forever with normal wear.

Chief

[KelseyR89]

Pictures would make it easier to diagnose. However, there is no reason why natural leather with a finish wouldn't hold stamped impressions unless they were either done incorrectly (leather not cased properly befor stamping) or the leather isn't vegetable tanned. If you use Veg Tan and case it properly, then apply a finish, the impressions should last forever with normal wear.

Chief

Hey Chief!

Here's a picture for you. It actually looks a little better in the photo than it does in real life... haha I just feel like the lettering is not near as crisp and sharp as when I stamp then dye things. It's 3-4 oz veg tanned leather from Tandy and I don't have any problems when I use it for stamping and dying so I'm not sure what the deal is. Maybe I'm using too much water (like you suggested - not casing properly). I will try spraying with water and then letting it dry a bit longer before stamping. I use the Atomic Beeswax sealant, not sure if that matters. From the picture can you see what I may have done wrong?

While I've got you, would you mind giving your input on something else? I've only used gel antiques up to this point and I've loved them, but they only have tan/brown colors and I want to start using really vibrant colors like run, green, etc. When I stamped my name into leather and used Eco Flo Professional Waterstain (red color) and it just didn't stick in the lettering at all. When I put the sealant on the dye that was in the lettering wiped right out with it so the lettering didn't stand out at all. Do you know of any vibrantly colored gel antiques or any other dyes that are colorful and work with stamping letters?

Thanks so much for your help!

[mlapaglia]

Your leather isnt cased enough or too much when you stamp it. Wet or spray the top and let it return to the natural color of the leather. If this happens in the first two minutes you did not start with enough water. One of the best ways is to wet it with a wet sponge and then bag it and set it in the fridge over night for the water to seep into all the leather. Then take it out and when it returns to normal color start stamping.

As for antiquing in vibrant colors I use acrylic paints and a brush. a pain in the but for large projects but for something like a name its not hard at all. Fibings and Anglus both make acrylic paint for leather. As far as I can tell any acrylic paint should work just fine. If you use Resolene as a resist you can use the paint like a gel but you have to be super careful when you wipe the top.

Just my 2 cents

Michael

[dirtclod]

I got some that cheap Tandy leather in some stuff i bought a couple of years ago and i couldn't do anything with it as far as stamping no matter how well it was cased. Dye was the only thing that worked pretty good on it.

[Chief31794]

Sorry,

I've been on the road all day with no access. Ditto what Michael and Dirtclod replied above. This leather looks like it wasn't cased properly and it appears to be, no disrespect what-so-ever, pretty cheap leather. This shouldn't happen with Hermann Oak or Wicket and Craig, however, that being said, even Tandy leather should hold a stamp if it's cased properly, it make take some extraordinary efforts to get it cased, I would try getting it very wet then letting it dry back til it's almost natural color, it should be natural color but "Cool" when you touch it to your cheek, then it's at the point you want to stamp it. Normally you can do that by wetting the grain side, waiting till it dries to natural color and then stamping. If you're carving you would want to case it as in Hidepounder (Bob Parks) tutorial pinned in the "How do I Do That" forum. That requires wetting, putting in a plastic bag and then storing it in a cool place (refrigerator works) overnight to let the weather get damp to the core. It would still need to be back to normal color before stamping. Hope that helps,

Chief

[KelseyR89]

Thank you all so much! That really helped me out. I definitely wasn't getting the leather wet enough. I tried it again and got much better results, but still need to practice I think It's hard to tell in the picture but I think I was hitting a little too hard on the one on the left, the letters looked a little smashed and mushy, but overall much better than my original attempt!

Thanks again - I really appreciate all your input! I'll definitely check out the acrylic paints because I want to have fun colors