steveb leatherworks: the blather

Black kind of sucks for the leather crafter. Dying a piece black kind of guarantees that alot of the detail put into a piece gets lost. Not the first time I’ve said this. So if I produce a piece in black, i try and “texture it up”, with a dramatic stamping pattern – while trying to keep it simple to the eye. Alot of the quality of a stamped image lies in preparing the leather correctly to accept the impression (wetting agents, lotions, potions and rituals), using a great tool, that is the right scale/size for the piece with a clear sharp “cut” to it and a good mallet/maul -wielded with the knowledge of how to swing it. Laying out the design is a whole black art that looks much easier than it is.

This basket weave pattern for this belt looks clear and crisp, the pattern that runs along the edge pulls it all together. My basket weave stamps are from Elko, NV, handmade and, as with most anything worth  a damn.. expensive. Comparing the impression of this basket weave stamps impression to a store brought, Tandy stamp is laughable – these are so much deeper, crisper and dramatic – keeping my basket weave work from looking like a cheap embossed  Sam Browne ranger gun belt rig for a Mountie. Take a look at the Fin wallet from 4 years ago. That was a state of the art stamp for the day. My newer stamps are much sharper and will punch through leather pretty easily, so care is required… but they also look the shit!

For this belt, the white stitching gives it that little bit of zing, bling…what have you. Nice black belt for those special times your wearing jeans and hobnobbing at the polo match with the VanDickel-Dyke’s …know what I am saying?