Whilst working on a leather sheath for a knife I was making, I thought that the border stamps that came with my basic leathercraft kit were looking pretty stale. So I set out to make something custom that makes my leatherwork truly unique!

Tools Required

The tools required are basic and common to most workshops:

Hacksaw
Vise
Files
Needle file set
Hammer
Punch
Drill & Bits
Sandpaper
Permanent marker (fine tip)

You will also need some kind of steel rod, preferably stainless, say 10mm or 3/8" in diameter. I happened to find some stainless rod from discarded crib at the dump.

Step 1: Cut the Rod Into Pieces

I made the stamps 100mm (4") long and cleaned the ends with a file and a little sand paper.

Step 2: Get Out Your Files

Grab a fine tip marker and be creative. Regular files and needle files can shape a variety of details in the ends of the stamps. These are my lightning bolt and leaf stamps and how they look on lightly whetted leather.