Using the Mule Foot Stamp

The last leather stamp that I will tell you about using, at least in a little more detail, is the mule foot. The mule foot is the neat little stamp that looks like a “V” when stamped on the leather. I like this stamp a lot because of its versatility and because it adds a lot of character to the pattern if well stamped. I will not say that it is the easiest stamp to use because it does take practice to make it look as if it was planned instead of something that just happened.

The mule foot stamp is just like most of the others in that it comes in different sizes. Some of them will be a little wider and some may be more rounded than others. The stamp that you use will be entirely up to your own desires. The way I decide which mule foot stamp I am going to use depends upon the size of the flowers or leaves in the pattern. If I am stamping a pattern with large flowers and leaves, I will use a larger mule foot simply because I think it looks better. It is not necessary to buy more than one mule foot stamp because you can more than likely use the same stamp on other patterns as well.

The photos that I have included with this post are not from a pattern sample that I hurriedly hammered out to get another post done. I took photos of the front of a portfolio prototype that I made somewhere around the year 2000. You will see other stamps that were used to complete the tooled pattern but you will also see how I applied the mule foot to various parts of the design as well. This pattern also has many decorative cuts on it as the finishing touch for completing the pattern. I will address the way to make decorative cuts using the swivel knife in the next post.

The photo below is probably the largest photo that I have uploaded for viewing on this blog so far. I wanted to show the whole design first, so that you would be able to see how the pattern looks after the project is completely finished. I will include some close-up views of various sections of the pattern to demonstrate how the mule foot can be incorporated. One other thing, please notice that you do not need to have ever square inch of the design stamped for it to look good. The decorative cuts work better for this.

Twenty year old portfolio cover

I did use the mule foot stamp in many places on this pattern but not all of them that I could have. I decided that enough was enough. Some people may think that the stamp was overused on this pattern anyway but I think that it is a matter of taste. I wanted to accent the prominent places where the leaves met the stems and any other area that I felt it might look good. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the opinion of this beholder is that it looks reasonably good the way it was done.

The next photos are of the different sections of the design. I will call them out as they are displayed so that you will be able to get a better idea of what portion of the pattern is being represented. In addition, to keep the text of this post a little closer together I will be displaying the photos as they were taken, with the portfolio fold at the bottom. Most of these photos are wider than they are tall as well as being larger than those displayed on the previous posts.

The next photo is what would be the right upper corner of the cover as shown in the first photo of this post. I doubt very seriously that you will find any plants that look like this pattern but the idea of using this stamp is to add texture, character, and a little bit of filler for your pattern. I do not have any set number of impressions that I use in any one place or similar area. My desire is to make the number and spacing of each impression fit the area in which it is used. If you look closely at the area of the pattern stamped here, you can see that the impressions are larger closer to the joint and they begin to taper off a little with each succeeding impression. 

Right corner of the portfolio cover

If I did not say it before, it does take practice to get this technique down. The first stamp impression is made closest to the joint of the stems and it will set the tone for how you will want to proceed with the rest. To make the first impression with the mule foot I hold the stamp almost vertical. This puts more of the stamp’s pattern on the leather. It is important to make sure that the center of the “V” is lined up with the end of the line as well. With each impression after that, you will need to lean the top of the stamp in the direction you are intending to move. Be sure to tap the stamp a little lighter with each impression afterwards to give the “fading” effect.

Even after using the mule foot stamp for as long as I have I still have issues with it. Occasionally, I will not pay close enough attention to how I am holding the stamp and it might be turned a little to one side or the other. The point of the “V” may be perfectly centered but one side of all of those little “Vs” will be lined up, which spoils the spacing for the rest. The only place that you might enjoy this effect is if you are placing a series of impressions on a tight curve. What do you do if this happens to you when you are almost finished with a project? I say “Oh, shucky darn!” and proceed on to the next stage. Unless you tell people about the mistake, they probably would not notice it anyway. The reason I mention the possibility of this happening is because it has happened to me more than once and I want you to be aware.

The flower in the photo below is one of my favorites. It is called a Copper Rose and I think that it has the potential to look beautiful no matter how it has been stamped. In the center of the flower, I used a “flower center” stamp to get that design. What I want you to notice in the center area of the flower is not this particular stamp but the use of the mule foot at the end of each overlapping line where the petals begin. I adopted this use of the mule foot stamp over twenty years ago because I thought it made the flowers look more finished. You can agree with me or not.

Copper rose on the portfolio cover

 In the photo above, the mule foot was used in the same way on the lines for the joints of the leaves and stems. Another part of the pattern that the stamp was used in a similar fashion is on the flower stem. You can see if you look closely at how the stamp proceeds out from the flower that I got my alignment and spacing off by a little. This looks terrible to me but I did not toss this project because I already had a lot of time in it and most of the people viewing it would probably not see it unless they knew what they were looking for or at.

The following photo is basically a rehash of what has already been mentioned about the use of the stamp. However, if you look at the upper right hand corner of the photo you will notice that another error that is possible with the mule foot. I evidently got too involved in making sure that I followed the curve of the stem and tilted my stamp more to one side than the other. Notice that the left side of the “Vs” on most of the impressions is a little longer than the right.

Mid-section of the pattern on the portfolio cover

Something else to remember about placing succeeding impressions of the mule foot stamp is that there needs to be adequate spacing between the first few stamps. It is also important that you remember to tilt the stamp a little in the direction you are moving it to avoid over-stamping the previous ones made. What can happen if you do not do this is that because of the way the stamp is made it will cause the previous one to close up and not be as prominent. Using a piece of scrap leather, you should be able to imitate this problem and discover for yourself how to make mule foot stamp work the best for you.

The last photo in this post is a little more of the same stuff but with another pattern area, that shows how you can use this stamp to decorate it. In the center of the photo is a flower bud on which I used the stamp to represent “multiplicity” if you please. This time I sought to keep the impressions of the stamp the same size but I placed them side to side. The first stamp was placed at the top of the flower bud. In order for me to have this turn out in a decent manner, I have to turn the project so that the point of the bud is pointing at me. This allows me to place the succeeding impressions with the point of the stamp at the “top” of the “Vs” legs, for the lack of a better description. This technique is not “cut in stone” and it is up to the artist as to how he or she would like to see it done

Flower bud as stamped

Stay tuned for the next version of this blog in which I will discuss in more detail how to make decorative cuts to accent your stamped project. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Have fun!