Stamping leather with stamping tools. You will need a very hard surface (so that the impact from the stamp is not absorbed the surface. The leather needs to be compressed and a hard surface will make the blows from the mallet more effective and a hard surface will result in less noise.
You will need a wooden, large plastic, or raw hide mallet. Tandy has them, but are very expensive...look around, you may find one cheaper someplace else.
The leather must be dampened. I dunk into a plastic container, some whip with a large saturated sponge. Once wet, the leather will begin to dry and has a short working life. You will likely need to wet the leather again or several times before your pattern is finished, depending on how fast you work. Do not soak the leather. Too wet of leather and it will become mushy and not hold a good imprint. To dry and it will resist being imprinted.
The photo shows stamping using a half-sun burst stamp for a border for the basket-weave pattern I will apply later, inside the border.
