Working with leather is an old craft involving braiding, stamping, carving and tanning of the hide. These procedures are done by hand and require time and dedication. Leather stamping is the art of pressing designs onto leather using a leather press or pressure from a hand mallet and metal stamps. However, companies such as Tandy Leather Factory sell ready made stamps of various shapes.
Basic Geometric Shapes
Stamping basic geometric shapes on leather creates varied patterns, depending on the order of the shapes. However, when working with geometric-shaped stamps, it is advisable to prepare a grid using a geometric tool grid to help with the layout, then create the patterns by placing the stamps in assigned sections or at the intersections. This stamp design is best when dealing with larger pieces of leather such as seat covers, belts, saddles or bags.
Letter-Shaped Stamps
Letter-shaped stamps are common on custom-made leather objects such as book covers, watch bands and briefcases to imprint an initial or spell a name. These stamps are made on request and are mostly used for personalized gifts such as name tags and saddles with the recipients name or initial, and family heirlooms that have the family name.
Organic-Shaped Design
Organic shapes include flowers, animals, trees and insects. Professionals drill the shape of choice onto a piece of steel and cut it out with a hacksaw, creating a stamp. Organic-shaped stamp designs are common in mass production of leather objects, for example a company may brand its merchandise with certain organic-shaped logos. This helps recover money used in creation of the stamp designs.
Face Stamp Designs
Face design shapes are more expensive to make because they require more time and detailing, and because they cannot be used in mass production. They are imprinted on large leather surfaces and ideal for leather art or personalized gifts, for example, imprinting a loved one's face on a large framed leather piece. These designs require an artist to sketch the facial lines that are drilled and cut on the stamp's surface.
Tags: because they, leather objects, mass production, personalized gifts, Stamp Designs
