How to Emboss Leather: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Beautiful Designs

Customisation is a promising way to make your leather products your own. As a leather retailer, Obi Pelle has seen countless customers who are searching for something more personalised to complement their personalities. They wonder how to emboss leather, but we take care of it as professionals. You don’t have to worry about the process; just tell us what you are looking for, and we make it happen.

Embossing leather means that you can add something valuable to the product. People emboss names, dates, icons, logos, and numerous other things. The options are infinite for leather accessories for men. In this blog, we have a step-by-step guide to help you understand “how to emboss leather?”

What is Embossing?

Embossing and stamping leather are the same thing. It enables you to press a stencil hard enough on the leather goods to leave a mark on it. It counts as an art because it makes leather products unique. When you order a customised leather with embossment, the artisans use negative stencils to make sure that the embossment on the bag has a positive mark.

There’s no limit to the things you can emboss on your leather products, and you can choose pretty much any product you like. Whether it’s a leather wallet, handbag, jacket, or purse, embossment is possible. 

Here’s how to emboss leather in steps.

Step 1: Case the Leather

The casing of the leather makes it softer, ensuring that the material is ready for embossment. Some manufacturers spray water on the surface, while others dunk the leather in warm water. You can choose any technique you like because both of these work the same way. They penetrate leather for at least 30 seconds up to a minute.

If you try to emboss leather without casing it first, it will simply not work as good. Casing softens the grains, making it easier to stamp them and shape it more accurately. Without casing, the embossment won’t be as crisp. 

Once you are done soaking the leather, leave it to dry and then start embossing. If you don’t have spray water, you can also use a wet towel or sponge and rub it on the leather.

Case 2: Press the Leather

The second step to get your desired embossment on the leather product is pressing. Once your leather is dried up, you can start pressing your stencil. There are two ways to do this, one with hands and one with a machine. You can choose any method of your choice.

In the manual process, you put your stencil on the leather and press it with your hands hard enough to leave a mark. You can also use a hammer to push the stencil in. On the other hand, if you use a pressing machine, you will be using a device to press the stencil in leather. Make sure that the stencil is at the top of your leather and not beneath it. 

If you ask us, we will say that using a pressing machine is a safer option. There are no chances of getting hurt, and the pressure will also be equivalent from all sides. If you choose the manual way, you can’t use 20-30 stencils for embossing because your thumb will give up and might end up sore.

Are Leather Stencils Expensive?

It depends on the type of embossment you are hoping to get. If you want something simple and common, like your name or some date, you can get stencils quite easily for those, and they will be inexpensive. However, if you are looking for something more specific and unique, like a brand name, logo, or anything, you will have to create your own stencils, and for that, you should be prepared to spend money.

To get a personalised stencil, you will need to share your design with the engineer, and they will create metal for you specifically. The reason why this is more expensive is because no other person will use the same design, and you are getting them made from scratch. It is easier to get designs that are already on their computer, but if you choose to stand out more, be ready to loosen your pockets.

How to Colour Emboss Leather?

Another thing you can do to bring uniqueness to your leather goods is colour embossing. When you get leather embossed, it doesn’t naturally come with colours. The embossment will be of the same colour as your leather. There are a few ways to colour emboss your leather products. You can buy foil stamping kits, but a better way to do this is by painting. 

You simply need to purchase paint, and a brush from the market and hand paint the embossment. These paints are water-based, and you can also buy a paint applicator if you want to make it even easier. Paint applicators are bottles that have a pointy tip; you fill them with the paint and then apply it to the embossment. This makes the process much easier, and you don’t have to press the bottle because the pain naturally slides from it. Once you are done, make sure to wash the tip of the applicator to prevent it from dryness. 

Other Ways to Make Leather Unique

Embossing is not the only thing you can do to make your leather products stand out. There are plenty of other things that can be done, and here’s a list of them.

Carving

Just like wood, you can also carve designs on leather. This process requires a lot more skills because hand-carving is not an easy thing. The artisans have to first draw the image and then carve it with metal pieces. This is a time-consuming process and can be more expensive than you think, but it is worth it if you want something precious as your leather accessories for men. The more effort it requires, the better it will bring.

Pyrography

For this method, you burn the leather using eclectic heat to draw marks on the leather. This technique is done manually, and a lot of skills are required to pull this off. Drawing letters on the leather with burning is not an easy job, and unlike embossing, you don’t get ready-made stencils for this.

Laser-Engraving

Laser-engraving also requires you to burn the leather, but this time with the help of a laser machine. It is not manual and uses high-power carbon dioxide lasers to burn the material. All leathers are not suitable for this method, so make sure you do your research before using it on your leather product.

Embossing of Leather: Should You Do It?

As a leather retailer, Obi Pelle comes across numerous customers who are looking for customised leather products. It is a good thing to be unique, and we recommend you emboss leather products however you like. Since there are many ways to engrave things on leather goods, it is better to find the most suitable method for your leather accessories for men. With this guide, we have tried to answer all your questions regarding leather embossing and other types of engravings. We hope that you found this blog helpful and made up your mind.