new leather Logo...

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KNIFE MAKER
I've been working on leather finishing and log ideas for a month...slow progress. It always seems that way with leather to me...it's more subjective than scientific. I finally came up with a stamp for my leather stuff. The large one(key chain size) is for large sheaths and the small one is for the little cowboy knife I make. Colors are just tests also...though I really like the green one.DSC01481.JPG
 
Yes...I machine a mirror image. the small letters are .030wide which is about where the leather starts fighting me on detail. I'm using a hydraulic jack to press the leather.
 
Here's a logo I just did for my friend that made the sheaths for the 2 knives I did for a raffle.His initials are MK.
He was hand doing this logo with a old reshaped screwdriver. It looked real clean but he wanted something that was more consistent. This matches the quality of his leatherwork a bit more.

I did a yellow/orange dye after pressing then brushed in some iridescent gold powder let it dry then put some Weaver brand "tuff kote" on top to hold the powder down. he really Liked it...I'll deliver the stamp this week.DSC01474.JPG
 
I do a logo on the sheath for the two Africa Hunting knives for the forum and while it is done in a hand applied press I still get a decent impression although I have to say that there is a little bit of springback after a few hours and then a marginal un-crisping of the edges when the sheaths are hot waxed.
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Thanks guys...I'm not planning on doing these for profit as I am sketchy on how to make them work...lol. I did a bunch of CAD work that took me longer than I would be able to charge anyone. As Von Gruff stated...the leather doesn't really like this...lol. So making something that "stays put" is trickier than it would seem.

So far my big stamp is holding but my little one seems to be "relaxing" a bit...I will still have to play more with the small design...iteration on leather design seems to be the norm for me...not sure if it's my lack of leather experience or what... It took me a week of pressing, re-machining, re-pressing, etc, etc. to get my herringbone design done for just one side of one style of sheath for one model of knife...LOL!

I know that as I gain knowledge this stuff may get easier but right now I am accomplishing stuff by perseverance and trial and error....but not cost effective unless I'm planning to make hundreds of the same design(I am...).

Here's the final panel for the sandwich sheath....I did this end of Jan. and it seems that the pressing designs are slowly getting easier....still have not sold a knife yet...lol.

I have two Fadal 3016 box-way machines with Hi-Torque spindles.




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That looks realy good for an impressed basket weave. I started to wet the face of the leather before I pressed the stamp in and that did make a difference in how well it "held" in the leather.
 
That looks realy good for an impressed basket weave. I started to wet the face of the leather before I pressed the stamp in and that did make a difference in how well it "held" in the leather.
Here's what I found so far...a hydraulic jack works well for pressing. Wet leather is best. keep the pressure on till the "juice" is done running (15-30 seconds) Dry asap (food dehydrator works well on low temp) and then add a top coat to lock in place....I run the leather under water for about 20 seconds when wetting...I wet BOTH sides.
 
Here's what I found so far...a hydraulic jack works well for pressing. Wet leather is best. keep the pressure on till the "juice" is done running (15-30 seconds) Dry asap (food dehydrator works well on low temp) and then add a top coat to lock in place....I run the leather under water for about 20 seconds when wetting...I wet BOTH sides.
I will make a slight cup shape in the face of the leather and set water in that for about the 20-30 seconds and like you I also wet the back. This is the hand press I made and with the stamp being within 2 in of the hinge point and the handle being 20 in long I can put all my weight on that handle to get more than suficient pressure.
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I will make a slight cup shape in the face of the leather and set water in that for about the 20-30 seconds and like you I also wet the back. This is the hand press I made and with the stamp being within 2 in of the hinge point and the handle being 20 in long I can put all my weight on that handle to get more than suficient pressure.
theSzv6l.jpg
That's a good design...I had tried one experiment with a small arbor press...You most likely have better leverage there. I have some health issues with hand and joint strength which make me head towards power assist sooner than later...lol. Nicely done.
 
Guys....a small piece of brass, a dremel and what von gruff built will get you in the game real cheap...Just remember to make it a mirror...lol. Also...with hand made you can texture into the grooves and the leather will pick it up. Obviously a free-form design will work better than trying for perfect circles or straights that a CNC an achieve...but that can also be an advantage for the hand made look. The friend I made the MK logo for did a very nice hand made logo freehand on every sheath.

Wear a respirator...brass in loaded with lead...
 
If you want a cheap stamp then for under US$40 this Co in Thailand is where we got the Africa Hunting stamp and I couldn't be more pleased with it and the price is unbeatable. They have other options with a removable stem for hammer impressions but it isn't worth the extra $20 as that is the stamp I have and never use the hammer stem as it is not satisfactory in leaving a deep enough impression. For the money I dont think this can be beat.
1. "Economy Stamp" (Can only be used with a presser/heat press machine)
1 brass logo stamp without screw hole at the back (6 mm. thickness /2 mm. logo depth)

logo size not exceed 5 cm2 price is USD29
logo size not exceed 10 cm2 price is USD39

http://hexnhit.wixsite.com/hexnhit
 
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