Decorative Leather Tooling

Leather carving, floral carving, stamping, saddle stamping, tooling, or floral tooling, are all titles given to the process of decorating leather. This can be confusing, the confusion resulting from the two main processes used in the work. These are: the cutting, or carving, of the main lines of the ornament into the surface layer of the leather, followed by the compression with stamping tools of the areas around the carving to create the illusion of depth and a separation of the foreground and background of the design. This differs from wood carving, or metal engraving, in that no material is actually removed during the process. Leather tooling is actually more of an embossing process using individual stamping tools driven by a mallet to compress the leather, bringing form and life to the work. Following here is an abbreviated tour of the process that I use in my tooling. Gordon Andrus

All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

1. Layout for a saddle gullet liner made with stylus and tap offs.

First the design is laid out on the leather. This is primarily accomplished directly on the leather itself using a metal stylus. Right here at the beginning is where the design is either made or broken. In laying out a design the artist must understand certain rules that govern the way a layout flows from one area of the design space to another. Scale and flow, relationships between positive and negative space, (foreground and background), and how the various elements of the design, the vines, leaves and flowers relate to each other, are just a few of the concerns of the artist in laying out the design. Some parts of the design can be prepared beforehand as tap offs. A tap off is a kind of template usually made of leather by the artisan. By placing it onto the leather and tapping on it with a hammer, flowers, leaves, or other elements may be repeated throughout the layout. Often drawings are done before hand on paper to explore new design ideas. This allows for increased expansion of stylistic expression, as ideas may be combined, accepted or rejected, developing without jeop2. Various flower and leaf tap offs. ardizing the current work in hand.
All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

Following the layout a special knife, the swivel knife, is used to incise the design into the leathers surface. Care is taken to create fair curves and to fade out certain of the lines in the down stream direction of the designs flow. This is very important in the creation of an illusion of motion in the work. Mastery of the swivel knife is the key to successful tooling. Consistently good knife manipulation will enable the following tools to be used with no muss and fuss, the final result of which is a cleanly executed design that is very pleasing to the eye.
3. Using the swivel knife.

4. A simple layout completely cut using the knife shown here.

5. Completed beveling.

After the swivel knife a variety of stamping tools are used. A tool known as the beveller is perhaps the most important of these. It is used to follow, or chase, each of the lines made with the swivel knife. This is where the design gets its depth and where the elements in the foreground are separated from those further back in 6. A beveller in use. the design. Beveling the wrong side of a line can ruin a project.
All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

Beyond beveling, the background tool is used to define the negative space around and in between the various elements of the design. It usually imparts a stippled or pebbled effect, creating a generalized texture to the background areas.

7. The background stamp in use.

Various other tools are used to give texture and shading to the work, creating an impression of lush growth and detail. These are shown here with illustrations of the marks that they make and the effect that they have on the work.

8. Thumb Print 9. Leaf Liner

All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

10. Veining Tool

11. Mule Foot

12. Finnish Cuts, made with the swivel knife.

The finished design

All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.

Decorative Leather Tooling

All work herein was rendered by Gordon Andrus, owner and proprietor of Sage Creek Stock Saddle Co.