Update - Leather Weights and Tracing Patterns

Okay, I’m back with a new post but I am using my old computer and trying to get along with it. It is snail slow and very particular about the things I do with it. When I try to adjust the photos it can get a little cantankerous and freeze up. I will hopefully be back in full swing with my laptop within a few days.

This post started out a week ago to show the steps in creating a hand-tooled leather project. I did not cut out leather to make a specific item; I cut out a small piece of leather to show the process that I go through from start to finish when tooling the leather. I used every stamp that I described in the post about the basic stamps that you might want if you are just starting out.

I tried to get photos of the steps from the beginning to the end but it did not happen exactly as I planned. My intentions were to have a photo of how each stamp was placed as I did them. I am not sure if I forgot to photograph them or if the camera forgot to put them in memory. I would imagine that the memory that failed was mine. I hope that the manner in which I am presenting the next few posts will give you a fairly good idea of how I tool/stamp leather. Remember, just because I do it this way does not mean that it is the best or the only way to do it. You will have to experiment to find what works best for you.

The photo below shows a comparison between weights of leather. The leather on the upper side is 9-10 ounce and the piece on the bottom is 3-4 ounce. 9-10 ounce leather can be used for a number of projects such as belts, holsters, and many other items which require leather with more strength. The 3-4 ounce leather can be used for wallets, small purses, and items that will not be very heavy. I would not use 3-4 ounce to make a hand-tooled holster to carry large caliber revolver because I am afraid that it would stretch out too much, especially where it is carved. I would opt for 5-6 or 6-7 ounce leather at the minimum.

 

9-10 ounce 3-4 ounce comparison

It may be a little difficult to get a good distinction of the real difference in thickness of the two leathers shown above, but the one on the bottom is less than half the thickness of the upper one. The instructions will be using the 3-4 ounce leather for the tooling project. By the way, I have a tendency to use the words “tooling” and “stamping” synonymously. I do not think that I would make a big fuss about the words; they have the same effect no matter what you say.

One of the first things that I like to decide before I start a project is what pattern that I will be putting on the leather. I like to have it all ready to go before I even begin to think about starting. You might find it important to decide if you want to go borderless or if you want to have the carving stop at a carved border. No matter what you do, you will need to know the size of the pattern in relation to the size of the area to be tooled. If you purchase a kit for a wallet or a small purse there will generally be a tracing and tooling pattern included in the kit.

My advice is that no matter what you do; copy the pattern onto some tracing paper so that you will have a bit of translucency in the paper. This will help you line up the pattern in accordance with the borders or edges of your project. I like to weight my tracing paper down on the pattern to be traced. This will minimize the movement between the two pieces of paper and will assure that you have the pattern in the right position before it is transferred to the leather. You will notice that the lines are pretty easy to see on this tracing pattern. That is because I did something that has been counter intuitive to what I normally do. I used a black marker to highlight the lines on the pattern so they would be more visible for the photo. I will not use a water-based marker to trace a pattern because the ink will bleed through onto the leather. It does not look a bit good when the edges of a leaf or flower have red or blue ink on them. I used a permanent, indelible ink marker to enhance the lines. Otherwise, I use pencil only for tracing a pattern.

Project tracing pattern on tracing paper

Another thing that I like to do is place packaging tape over the top of the pattern on the tracing paper. This will insure that you do not force your ballpoint stylus or other item through the paper. The paper, no matter which kind you use, will generally absorb a little of the moisture that is in the leather and will stretch out as well as tear very easily. The photo below shows the same tracing pattern with 2-inch packaging tape placed on the surface. The second photo shows the tape and dispenser that I use. You can find a fairly inexpensive roll of packaging tape with a dispenser at any place the sells office supplies. Fancy is not the key word for getting this part of the project done.

Tracing pattern with packaging tape - already on the leather.

Packaging tape roll on dispenser

In the next post I will discuss some more ideas for preparing your project before beginning the tooling.

Have fun!