Stamping on treated leather

[Antonia]

Hi, I'm a newbie here although I have visited this forum for a long time. Can anyone help me? I have just had a custom maker's stamp made and although I get a good impression on natural untreated veg tan, I can't make the stamp work on my treated brown veg tan leather. I am using a rubber mallet to hit the stamp and I have tried heating it with a specially adapted soldering iron but it still isn't working for me. I wondered if I should buy an arbor press, but I don't want to invest in one if it is going to be a waste of money, as all I want to do with it is to make a good impression with my custom stamp. 

I haven't yet tried dyeing my natural veg tan to a darker colour, and I am wondering if my maker's stamp will still show up as clearly after dyeing. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Wulfing]

I had the same issue. I dont own a press. I also want to avoid hammering as I live in an apartment. I put my brass makers mark on a flat piece of wood with my granite work top under the leather. Then I use 3 sturdy G clamps. I got the idea from a comment on this forum. It does work. If you make the already dyed or pre dyed leather damp, that also helps but dont forget to let it dry and finish it with resolene or something after to seal it. 

Whilst this is working ive ordered an arbour press from Ebay for £36 which is so cheap.

Im a beginner though so Look up Ian Atkinson on youtube - he has a long detailed video on using makers marks and other embossing stamps. 

[Antonia]

Hi Wulfing,, many thanks for your reply, so very helpful and I will investigate your suggestions. I know of Ian Atkinson, he is my hero! I have bought some of his patterns and I have watched his video on hot stamping but he used an arbor press, so that's why I am considering getting one. I will try your suggestion of G clamps first though, so much cheaper. Thanks again.

[Northmount]

Rubber mallets do not work for striking stamps.  Also, case your leather, else it won't make much of an impression.  The larger the stamp, the more force/impact is required to make an impression.  Makers mark stamps are large enough that they tend to bounce when you are pounding on them, and make shadow impressions.  Use of a deadblow hammer helps to avoid the shadow impressions.  If you need to strike again, carefully re-seat the stamp in the first impression to avoid shadow impressions.

Overall dye will tend to hide your mark.  An antique will help it stand out.

A hot enough stamp and all you have to do is press it against the leather to burn in its impression.  Depending on the size of the stamp, it may take several minutes to heat up hot enough to burn into the leather.

Tom

[Antonia]

Hi Tom, thanks for your reply, I will look at getting a deadblow hammer. I love leatherwork but at the moment I am still at the experimental stage, trying to see what works and what doesn't. Trouble is, I am spending a fortune on my hobby as I always seem to need 'just one more thing!'

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

2 hours ago, Antonia said:

Trouble is, I am spending a fortune on my hobby as I always seem to need 'just one more thing!'

  Get used to that if you stay in this craft.  Been doing this for 40 years, 25 of that as a business, and it never does end.  The only difference between now and in the beginning, is that now I know it DOESN'T end.  Have fun and good luck!

[fredk]

Also; when hitting with a hammer/mallet, don't just rely on the straight down impression. Tip the stamp to the top, hit again, tip to right, hit, tip to left, hit, tip to bottom and hit again. Takes care to do it so the stamp doesn't move and give you a 'ghost' image.

Strike - North pole, then North, East, West and South.

[Leerwerker]

10 hours ago, Antonia said:

 I can't make the stamp work on my treated brown veg tan leather. I am using a rubber mallet to hit the stamp and I have tried heating it with a specially adapted soldering iron but it still isn't working for me. 

I haven't yet tried dyeing my natural veg tan to a darker colour, and I am wondering if my maker's stamp will still show up as clearly after dyeing.

Antonia,

You cannot stamp on treated leather - unfortunately it is that simple.Any impressions you get will be temporary.

Here is my short explanation:  First the veg tan leather comes to you you dry from the tannery - you make it damp and this makes the fibers of the leather stick to each other as you stamp on the surface - you let it dry and the impressions are still there - now you add a conditioner or sealer and the impressions become permanent and the smooth parts of the leather cannot be stamped any more, because you cannot get the leather fibers sticky any more.

It applies to all the steps in leatherwork, but especially to colouring and finishes:  test every step on the cut off pieces of leather!

So, dampen the untreated veg tan, stamp your maker stamp, let it dry, dye the piece of leather, put on a conditioner / finish and see what it looks like.  

Variations for a more visible maker logo might be to cut them out of the undyed leather and sew them onto your project or consider the old type of block dyeing that the hipies did in the 60's and 70's.  (You can see my blog post on this topic to get a better idea:  http://www.johan-potgieter.com/ll/?p=117)

[JerseyFirefighter]

I may be the sole objector to all of the other suggestions that treated or untreated wet/dry leather can hold a stamp. Most of my early work was a mix of natural veg tanned both wet and dry. It is most obvious that wet veg tan will make a DEEPER impression, however I have stamped numerous types of stamps ranging from makers stamps, to craftool alphabets, to 3d image stamps. 

For natural veg tan, wetting it is most ideal. I had stamped for a year using a 16oz dual headed poly mallet from harbor freight. You will notice a MUCH lighter impression in dried veg tan. Now finished leather is a different animal, but not much different than stamping dry veg tan. There will be an impression, it may fade over time with use, however it will still be noticeable. Aside from wet vs dry leather, what is more crucial in my opinion as to what is more important than the hammer type is having a solid striking surface. If wont make a difference what hammer you are using if you are working on a springy/spongy surface. Try seeing the difference between your work surface and a concrete floor. 

Also, I would caution about angling your stamp handle as you strike. I have deformed a number of stamp sockets using this method, and have learned if I am using veg tan, I wet it... I switched to an arbor press and will take the control and even impression over hand striking any day. Some stamps I use do not lend me the convenience of arbor pressing, so I channel my best steady hand with a dead blow hammer.

Leather work is truly resource consuming. While I understand that investing more money into tools for a hobby is quite restrictive, think of all the happy gun enthusiasts that dump tons of dough on ammo that "most" can never recoup the costs that delivered peace and happiness for the day. 

[Matt S]

It is possible to make a permanent impression on treated leather but in my experience the stamp needs heating above 60 degrees Celsius. Ian Atkinson has a good video in the subject.