I Finally Bought Proper Letters

Why I bought it

I've bought a new toy for the workshop. Well, a tool. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.

It's a brass type set for foil stamping leather. Proper letters, set in a rail, pressed into the leather with heat and a strip of gold or silver foil. The result is a crisp name or set of initials that sits right in the surface of the leather.

People ask for personalisation all the time. At the markets, over email, at my front door. A name on a wallet. Initials on a keyring. A date on a belt for an anniversary. I wanted a way to do that properly, so it looks like it was always meant to be there.

What turned up

The set comes from Outpost Workshop, a small maker in Liverpool. Michael makes each set to order, so there was a wait. Worth it.

It arrived in a walnut box. I'll admit I spent longer looking at the box than I'd like to say.

Inside there's a full upper and lowercase alphabet, numbers 0 to 9, and a handful of symbols including a heart, an ampersand and a few bits of punctuation. The letters slot into a 100mm brass rail and get locked in place with small securing blocks and an Allen key. Spacer blocks let you adjust the gaps between words.

The font is Playfair Display at 18pt. That works out at about 3.4mm tall for lowercase and 4.5mm for capitals. Small enough for a card holder or a keyring. Big enough to read on a bag.

The rail fits a hot foil machine, which is how I'll be using it most. There's also a hammering handle in the box for when I want a plain blind stamp with no foil.

I had a question after it arrived and Michael got back to me quickly. Always nice when the person who made the thing is the person who answers.

What it means for you

In short, I can now put your words on your leather goods.

Each letter is set by hand. One at a time, into the rail, checked, then checked again, because a typo pressed into leather doesn't come out. The type is brass, so the impression is sharp and even, and it'll last me years.

Full-grain veg-tan takes foil beautifully. Gold on a dark brown wallet is a classic for a reason. Silver on black is smart. A blind stamp with no foil darkens and ages along with the leather, which I think is the best of the lot. You may disagree. That's fine.

Some ideas that would suit it:

• Initials on a wallet or card holder
• A name on a dog collar or lead
• A date on an anniversary gift
• A short message inside a belt or bag strap

There's a practical limit. The rail is 100mm wide and the letters are small, so think a name or a short phrase rather than a paragraph.

Get in touch

If you'd like something personalised, ask. Catch me at Daisy's Milkshed Farmers Market, where I'm there every month, or drop me a message at lwleatherworking@gmail.com or 07817174336.

Tell me what you want it to say. I'll tell you if it fits.