Making A Laser Engraved And Hand-Stitched Vintage Style Leather Hotel Key

I really love those little plastic hotel key tags and thought it would be fun to re-create the design on leather. I mocked up a design in Adobe Illustrator following what seems to be the standard for these key tags. I then used my laser cutter to deeply engrave the design on some natural tooling leather and also cut it out. I wanted to give the key tag some depth so I cut another thin piece of leather that was roughly the same dimensions but taken in 1/4" from the edge all around. Sandwiched in between the 2 outside pieces gives the final product a nice touch.
I went over the surfaces with some antique paste which is designed to fill in the text areas that were laser engraved previously. I let it sit on the surface a little longer than normal so it would stain.
I hand-stitched the key tag then went around the edge adding an indentation to offset the stitching. It worked OK but wouldve been better if I had a fileteuse. I dyed the edges black and burnished. After popping in the eyelet I went over the whole thing with some resolene. I dont normally use this stuff but I wanted to give it a slightly shiny coating that looks like its been hanging in an old hotel gift shop for a little while. Probably shouldve done that step before putting the eyelet on but oh well. Overall a fun little project. I dont currently have the pattern up for this one at the moment.
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[@jackblack8252]

Wow, that has to be the best filming of a leather tutorial I have ever seen. The heating of the gauge tool to make a better edge - GENIUS. As ever thank you for sharing your craft . A true artisan of leatherwork.

[@JasonSikora1943]

Justin, I like the black dye instead of using edge coat. After waxing and burnishing it, it looks just like edge coat without the fear of it flaking off over time. Great tutorial and I look forward to more!

[@slihrih1340]

OMG that table looked too nice to be cutting leather on 😱

[@sabrinataljaard]

This is beautiful. I love your use of dye for the edges, it looks so good. Thank you for sharing!

[@xunilpenguin]

I liked the way it turned out! adding the stitching was a nice touch that you could have skipped and wouldn't have been missed, but since you added it, stitches just make it pop. :)

[@StephenBoyd21]

a great project and a wonderful result. It is really good to see a craftsman at work.

[@mikesfarmmikesfarm3977]

really high quality worksmanship

[@SingTodayi]

My eyes are bleeding from the ammount of imperfectionism in this video.....

[@DwreckChev09]

Had no idea you were a one man shop, will be buying more designs from you! When I learned I was spending almost 70% of my product creation time creating the designs I started purchasing them instead. Your designs are simply some of my favorite and most used. Keep it up! Would love to get some more designs for purses and clutches, I can't buy enough designs right now. Handcrafted and e-retail are becoming hotter than ever!

[@WickedWood]

First time watching leather crafting. Very interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@jffqnn]

Beautiful Work as Always!! I'm Definitely inspired by Your Craftsmanship!!!

[@CraigH999]

Nice project! I'm surprised to see you cutting leather directly on the wooden table top. That must really dull your blades quickly. A sharp blade is a safe blade! All the best to you - I wish you success with your channel.

[@rg926]

Love the project so much that I thought I'd try some leather. I've had my laser for over a year but have been busy cutting acrylic and wood. After seeing this! Wow. So I've made several of these already, learned to saddle stitch and bought some entry level tools and dyes...........I can't really tell the thickness of your leather, but I'm curious about your GROMMET?? Can't seem to find a grommet that's small enough with a longer barrel to go through two pieces of leather there on the end. I've tried thinning it down with a skiving knife on that end and cutting the center piece off at that end........any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@lalabelt]

Thank you for great work and idea!!!!

[@trenttreffery3443]

I like how you hide everything behind your hands.

[@mcoreyzftl]

Beautiful !!!!! so many tips too, thank you

[@Anarchy-Is-Liberty]

Wow, beautiful work, very nice!!

[@guybuddy1]

That was awesome!!

[@MAKESUPPLYLEATHER]

Thanks for watching!

[@kevinblumberg4767]

Love this design so much! Would love to try making something like this! Do you think this would be good for a beginner with a laser ?

[@carmenb1059]

Beautiful!

[@cameronyoung2004]

Thanks for the leather lesson!

[@LeatherHeadReviews]

Hey there, what liquid did you use to clean off the leather laser dust after burning the design?

[@salihyazc4186]

cevabını bulabildiniz mi?

[@ibrahimterzizade4503]

He is using neatsfoot oil to clean laser dust. I've seen that in his another video.

[@terieffo8]

Too good to use as a key ring.

[@avleathercraft648]

Nice idea. I might try to make one :) What did you use to get rid of the sooth and smell of burned leather?

[@marshallborges9606]

....wow

[@missk2876]

Did you just use water to wipe off the smoke from the burn? I also laser, but have had problems removing that 'over burn' staining after.

[@peteredwards2371]

One of the biggest problems I see using a laser to etch leather.

[@christianfilloux]

What are you wiping them down with after they're engraved?

[@stormyeffects4795]

+1 appreciation

[@3187rakkasan]

Pretty nice end item..... More time/work than I'd want to invest but very nice.

[@RBourn9]

Very nicely done video. I'm just curious though, why did you cut the insert piece by hand with a razor knife when you have a laser available? Am I missing something?

[@indigoglass6638]

Not all lasers are strong enough to cut leather but mist have enough power to engrave it.

[@RBourn9]

@@indigoglass6638 I figured there had to be a logical reason. Again, good video and thanks for the reply.

[@Viper2132]

I couldn't tell you why. It would've taken the same amount of time either way, so maybe he just did it by hand real quick. But it doesn't have anything to do with the lasers power, that's for sure. He cut the other pieces out with the laser and that leather was even thicker

[@valak8492]

Perfect!

[@Bubblestheghost]

This is amazing. I’m not a huge leather fan, but I feel my next craft venture sneaking up. If I only I had a laser cutter. 😭😭

[@martincox7354]

A beautiful filmed clip of a well made object. A couple of points though. If that is room 215, then making the other 214 fobs is going to keep you very busy. Secondly, now you’ve made such a lovely looking fob, do you really think that people will post it back to the hotel rather than keeping it?

[@Colin-Parker]

May I ask what setting you engraved this project at and what is the wattage of your laser? I would appreciate knowing.

[@brettboatman7267]

Is it possible to laser engrave leather and then wet mold and the engraving hold up after the wet mold?

[@denvermason2467]

Badass 👍

[@SuperBigal1974]

Great idea! You Planing on having this template up to Download? Do you remember which font you used for the Design? Keep it up & stay safe!

[@DanielGarcia-sf9fj]

did you use anything special to clean off the soot/scorch marks after the laser engraving?

[@SuperBigal1974]

Very cool idea! What is the name of the Font you used ? Great Gift idea for the Family... always fun & inspirational to watch your Upload. Cheers Mate!

[@tostadajones3496]

I have a question. What is the name of the item that is used at 11:12 mark? I cannot find that type of open ring snap. Thanks for your help.

[@leojames7331]

Hi, great job on this, it looks fantastic. I'm interested in making key chains. What model laser are you suing please, there's so many out there it's hard to know which to look at. Thanks

[@Viper2132]

He's using a Boss LS1630. He made a video about it. Same laser I've got, which is actually how I found this channel 😂

[@elijahhirsh805]

How long did the engraving take on the CO2?

[@litahsr.8226]

Now that's professional now you need 214 to go lol

[@Andrew-wb9kg]

would like to know what is the grommet diameter for this keyring.

[@chloehallam177]

Awesome video. What settings do you use on your laser, I can't seem to get it quite right :-(

[@gunsforum]

Each skin has its own laser settings for power and duration of exposure. need to do some test engravings!

[@asepkurniawan4066]

Is the leather used genuine or synthetic?

[@Viper2132]

Genuine leather

[@SanchezOKelly]

Do you have a recommendation for where to get laser safe leather?

[@MAKESUPPLYLEATHER]

I think most leather is laser safe as long as its 100% not fake or vegan leather since its just plastic. The safest options are veg tan leathers you can get at a variety of places like Tandy Leather.

[@CupcakeCottage]

What is the brand and model of the laser engraver you like to use?

[@djairduarte1319]

🏆

[@benjaminbilgehan]

what is the name and model of the laser engraving machine?

[@mihail_sergeev]

What kind of leather did you use? Vegetable or chrome tanned? How thick is it?

[@Viper2132]

Veg tanned. Chrome tanned should never ever go into a laser since it releases toxic fumes when cut with high heat. It looks to be 4-5 oz leather.

[@fvidal007]

Which leather did you

[@flemmingrasmussen6728]

what is the thread you are using, size?

[@marthaosborne4763]

I keep hearing that only vegetable tanned leather can be used in a laser. I really want to use my laser with leather...what's your opinion?

[@rickgarza2731]

i've used different leathers with my laser, seem to work fine

[@mikecahill3186]

Chrome tanned leather works ok, don't use a "split" the top of the grain is actually a plastic film sprayed on and then put through a textured roller to make it look like a full skin leather some of it will work but some can react badly and give off really bad fumes, shrivel up, or burn

[@xwingrox]

How did you set the grommet?

[@stormyeffects4795]

Sailor Sapporo You set the pieces in line with each other over the little “anvil” (small, usually cupped piece of metal) and then use the metal stick (also usually cupped) to press the grommet pieces together. This force is usually applied via a hammer. The cupping of the metal helps the tool not deform the softer material used to created the grommet. The type of hammer is usually a rubber mallet or a “dead blow hammer” which is usually plastic filled with sand or metal bearings. The soft outside of the hammer is softer than the metal of the tools therefore when you hit the two together it does not damage your tool. It may however damage your hammer if you hit it really hard. A small tap does just fine in my experience though.

[@adaml2436]

do you respect wood?

[@tp5401]

This needs dubstep music playing in the background

[@mikecahill3186]

You must be working for 20c per hour, really nice job, but not realistic, if you are laser engraving the words and design, cut out the pieces and the holes with the laser as well

[@MAKESUPPLYLEATHER]

Would use a sewing machine if I needed to sell them

[@mikecahill3186]

it is a stunning keyfob

[@RobKies76]

Clearly you have a Mic enabled as I can hear the background noises. It would help to actually talk and explain what you're doing - especially for a tutorial video. I get that you might be shy, but if you're going to put yourself out there and create a video - do it right. You have some good techniques - unfortunately the video was boring since it offered no engagement.