Letter Stamps

[leatherapprentice]

I've been working with some letter stamps (initials on wallets, etc) but I can't seem to get the spacing between the letters to look the same. Are there any tricks that can help get more even spaced looking lettering.

Thanks in advance folks.

[tashabear]

I've been working with some letter stamps (initials on wallets, etc) but I can't seem to get the spacing between the letters to look the same. Are there any tricks that can help get more even spaced looking lettering.

Thanks in advance folks.

Leave the one stamp in place and line up the next one touching it.

[Dags3777]

I've been working with some letter stamps (initials on wallets, etc) but I can't seem to get the spacing between the letters to look the same. Are there any tricks that can help get more even spaced looking lettering.

Thanks in advance folks.

I put down a centre line, then disect it, with the size of the letter you are using, ie 1/2". Then use 1/2 of the letter size as spacing, ie 1/4". Then repeat. Darryl

[leatherapprentice]

Leave the one stamp in place and line up the next one touching it.

I tried that yesterday with the initials "WKT" and the WK came out good but the T is right out to lunch. I've got the vertical spacing in hand, its more the horizontal spacing that is giving me the problem.

[Brandon]

I tried that yesterday with the initials "WKT" and the WK came out good but the T is right out to lunch. I've got the vertical spacing in hand, its more the horizontal spacing that is giving me the problem.

Just a shot in the dark. Check on the edges of the stamps say the right of "K" and the left of "T", you may have to file those "extras" out should there be any.

[hidepounder]

Letter stamps are great tools a certainly fill a need.........but unless your handcuffed and are absolutely required to use letter stamps, try finding a font you like on the computer, print out the letters in the persons name, etc., etc., and trace them onto your leather, then cut and bevel them! Nothing says "custom" or "professional" better than hand tooled letters!

[CitizenKate]

Second that, Bob. The letters can be kerned more naturally so they don't look like they were pressed out of a cookie cutter. And there is so much more greater variety of fonts and sizes to choose from. It's well worth the effort to hand carve your letters.

Kate

[leatherapprentice]

Second that, Bob. The letters can be kerned more naturally so they don't look like they were pressed out of a cookie cutter. And there is so much more greater variety of fonts and sizes to choose from. It's well worth the effort to hand carve your letters.

Kate

I agree completely but my knife skills aren't good enough for that yet (I'm practicing though)

[pete]

It does take practice, but at LEAST try to do some beveling around the stamps. I've had to stamp a few times and with good, careful beveling and smooth matting you almost couldn't tell

pete

[stelmackr]

The problem with individual leather stamps in not only the vertical alignment, but the kerning (horizontal positioning) of certain letters next to each other. If you use those Tandy Leather Factory stamps and position one stamp to the next, then it is just like typing a Microsoft letter in courier font, a non-proportional type. See this example:

RawHide Gazette

Whereas, using a proportional font, like Times New Roman you get a result like this:

RawHide Gazette

You can see that certain letters are "kerned", or moved closer to other letters.

This kerning taken care of with the individual letters relative width and a kerning pairing indicated indicated in the font software.

So, for me, I have chosen to experiment with letterpress lead type and perform the kerning with the letters. For example the lowercase "i" is extremely narrow, whereas the "m" is the largest with. Please see http://www.pslac.org/public/02_feb03.pdf for an example of letterpress type pressed (embossed) into leather. I use a bookpress, but a plain old wood vice would do the job.

By using letterpress type I get professionally spaced text on leather. When I don't have the size or font I want, then I trace the letters printed out from a computer on the project and tool them.

Bob Stelmack