My First Shot at Making Wood Patterned Leather with a Laser

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Hey All

So tonight I finished my first attempt at making wood patterned leather with a laser engraver. 

I used a GanGou laser I purchased on Amazon. It is fairly cheap, but with some fiddling, I now have it engraving like a champ. 

Here is a link to the machine:

https://www.amazon.ca/engraving-machine-Engraver-Off-line-engraver/dp/B07QQ2N7C8

I simply burned a 5.5" square section with the pattern, and cut my leather from there.  This section gave me enough to make 2 sheaths for knives I recently made  

I burned the wood grain a bit deep, (about 0.75mm), to give it a little more depth and texture. 

I've also used it to burn my Custom Knife makers mark on my sheaths, and it has turned out beautifully.  Overall, I'm very happy with this little machine. 

Edited January 18, 2020 by NewfoundlandLaw

[chrisash]

Great idea, but to me it looks more like map contours as lacking detail for wood, but there is definitely a lot of scope for using lasers with leather

Can you get grey tones as well as black, and what did you use to get rid of the burnt dust others mention

[Tugadude]

I love the knife handle, one of he prettiest I've seen.  The rivets are very unique, never seen them before.  I find the little details on them attractive.

Not a big fan of the idea of making leather look like wood, but you did a decent job.  I'd go for narrower lines if you can and space them tighter.

I agree with the comment about map contours.  You're on the right path, keep going!

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Thanks for the tip on the snap, never thought of that. 
 

I use a toothbrush to wipe the ash out of the engraving lines. As long as the leather is dry, it cleans up nicely. I've also noticed that if you adjust the laser duration and power just right, you get very little ash. 
 

I have 4 other wood designs and I'm working on one of my own. It will take a lot of trial and error, but I'm determined to get this right. 

 

PS: Thanks for noticing the mosaic pins.  I like to set my work apart by using unique materials and paying unending attention to detail.  Probably why I'm loving leather work (and this forum), so much.  
 

Thanks Everyone!

[Constabulary]

oooouh - that is cool!

[wizard of tragacanth]

I love to see efforts like this. I guess we kinda think alike.

A couple of months ago, I got this wild idea of making a P365 magazine carrier that looked like tree bark. 

It didn't come out looking like tree bark but I think I learned something from it and could do much better next time if I wanted to pursue it.

Good effort! And that's a beautiful knife!

nick

Edited January 18, 2020 by wizard of tragacanth

[KennethM]

Looks interesting,I'm very interested in getting a Lazer to do some engraving. What are the cons and pros of this machine?

[Bert03241]

to do efficient and fast work you really want a co2 laser of at least 40 watts 60 or 80 would be much better.

[LatigoAmigo]

54 minutes ago, Bert03241 said:

to do efficient and fast work you really want a co2 laser of at least 40 watts 60 or 80 would be much better.

Unless of course you could afford a diode laser. CO2 Laser--$3,500; Diode Laser--$35,000.

[Lfrog]

On 1/29/2021 at 4:30 AM, LatigoAmigo said:

Unless of course you could afford a diode laser. CO2 Laser--$3,500; Diode Laser--$35,000.

Or high end production CO2 laser $30,000+

[toxo]

You should be able to take a blowtorch to some interesting piece of wood to enhance the grain, take a pic and turn it into a vector and feed it into your engraver.