Hot Foil Stamping Leather with No Tools

I wanted to hot foil stamp some suspenders for a friend's wedding coming up, but I didn't have a fancy hot foil stamping machine.

I improvised!

[sixtonshark]

Thanks for going into so much detail about this, I keep coming back to it whenever I look into doing foil stamping without an expensive press. The boiling water idea is brilliant.

[brandigarnier]

Hi! I found your video during a search for "hot foil stamp how to", because the foil I bought did not come with instructions. And I wanted all the info I could get before doing it on a project. Seems self explanatory to a degree, but I wasn't sure of heat temp, pressure etc. have custom brass stamps for my leather business and have found an easy way to heat them to a pretty perfect temp for heat stamping with a press. So I decided to try my letter stamps that way too and it works great! It's an electric MUG WARMER! Lol! No kidding. Basically it's just a small little hot plate but the temp probably doesn't reach over 200 degrees, so it's a great inexpensive way to achieve results. I learned by trial and error on scrap leather. Rubbing alcohol worked pretty good too for edge clean up, and I learned a firm quick press is best, not a long press like a brass stamp without foil. So, gosh I wrote a lot, apologies, but I just wanted to share with you what worked for me and to say thank you for giving additional helpful info! Happy leathering!

[SheerStitchery]

Love this! I like how you explained the temperature it needs to be, this is the first tutorial that explains this. Thanks!

[Mrsnunyabiznezz]

THANK YOU!! My daughter is getting her boyfriend a leather wrist band that is like 2 inches wide and it is laced up on the sides. It has nothing in the middle and we have been racking our brains for 3 days to figure out a way to put something in the middle, like a band he likes or a song title. It's black leather, like this so just embossing wasn't going to work. Came across this and NOW we can do this. I think you did a hell of a job. Thank you for saving me and my 16 yr old thanks you too!

[mjulia]

This video is so awesome!! Imperfections and handcrafted items go hand in hand, and it’s what makes them unique and beautiful. Very helpful video, thank you!!

[patriciaingraldi]

Thank you. That was very helpful especially you working out all the issues you came upon. Great job!!

[heylady]

You are a brave man 😂 but over all it turned out really good I’m impressed .❤️

[Ladyfyre-graphics]

This looks really great, it adds to the sentimental value too as you put so much effort and time into it :-)

[AffordBindEquipment]

you can plug the soldering iron into a light dimmer and you can then control the temp way down to what you need.

[BornAgain]

Hey buddy I just recently got into leather work bud rebinding Bibles and man I went to hobby lobby and got those “foil sheets” and I guess they need adhesive; it was still a MESS haha and this has been the first video I’ve seen that went into this without need a commercial machine so to speak haha but God bless man and keep on keepin on lol take care

[TheLeathersmithShop]

I started off with a wood burner and the optional letter stamps. The more expensive ones have temperature control, but if you already have one without a temp control, you can go to home depot and get a light switch dimmer for like $5. Just plug your burner into the switch, plug the switch into the outlet, then adjust the switch until you get the right temp. Use pliers to switch out the letters and they heat up in less than 30 seconds, so no waiting.

[barattolo]

What happens if the stamp is too hot? I'm thinking if I could dip the stamp in boiling water, and maybe heat it up briefly with a torch? How precise needs the temperature to be?

[goprojay]

Nice work. Do you think this could work on a baseball glove? Thoughts? Thanks!

[jimathey]

OLD LEATHER SMITH here, it's called DE GLAZER REMOVES ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WITH COATINGS, GOD'S BLESSINGS ✝️⚾🙃

[mikecalhoun]

Soldering irons are generally about 500 to 600 degrees F. Solder melts at about 400 to 450 degrees as a general rule. This is a very general temperatures. Very nice video.

[Ghryst]

what type of foil are you using?
i spent $25 on some cricut iron-on foil, and it turns out to be rubbery film of thermo-adhesive, i dare not even try it

[ncable]

which u think is better...hot stamp or glue and foil leaf?

[sarahandrea]

Sooo glad I found this, as I am in the same situation: can't afford to get a professional machine. However, I am a bit confused (maybe as a non-native English speaker). Sometimes you seem to say that you heated up the leather. But you only heated up the metal stamps, right? And if so, in the beginning, you are successfully stamping, but without gloves. hmmm...
Do you put the entire metal part into a toaster, or is it a mini oven/toaster? Thanks for the clarification!! :-)

[clairemeacham]

Thank you for making/sharing this video. I learned several things! : )

[deinyum]

Hi! Great video!! What’s the brand for the stamps? Do they come with the stick you are using to press the stamps down? Thank you in advance!!