Tag: YouTube

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All in the details.

stamping, basket, basket stamp, detail, tools, leather, belt, gunbelt, border, half flower, Hermann Oak, premium, leather, process, leathercraft, leather work, trade, craft, craftsman
You can click on the photo for a larger view in a new tab. This is stamping, as opposed to embossing. Each segment of the pattern is “set” as deeply as possible into the leather using a stamping tool and a maul.

“It’s all in the details,” is a pretty common statement, but it’s critical to making leather products one piece at a time. I thought I’d show a photo of a gun belt being hand-stamped with a basket stamp and half-flower border. This is the cleanest, longest-lasting way of putting a design on the leather.

There is another way I know of to do this. It is by embossing or pressing a design into damp leather using a press or a roller/wheel with an embossing machine. This is the mass-produced, inexpensive way of doing it. It also results in a fairly shallow imprint that is subject to fading away over time. It can be done quickly, whereas hand-stamping takes more setup, and much more time.

Embossing can be done in seconds. Stamping can take hours.

An embossing machine for straps or belts.

Here’s a video from Tandy Leather and George Hurst showing you some of how it’s done.

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Don Gonzales and DG Saddlery

Every Monday morning, or as close to it as possible (after the coffee’s done) Don Gonzales of Don Gonzales Saddlery over in Moulton, Texas, shoots a short video of what he’s got going on in his shop. He’s been doing it for a few months now on his YouTube channel, and it’s gotten to be a regular “must watch” around here. Fact is, it’s a goldmine for those of us that spend a lot of time fooling with and fighting with leather in our own shops. It’s a nice break, and an opportunity to see how the other half lives.

He also offers a lot of tips, tricks and tutorials on both his website and his YouTube Channel. The website is HERE, and his YouTube Channel is HERE.

The real “gold,” in my view, is in the form of tutorial videos on his YouTube Channel. An added plus is that he’s got a video for each of the pattern packs that he offers on his website, and the videos are free.

If you’re looking for leatherworking resources, this is one I’d highly recommend.