How to Engrave Leather?
Looking to personalize leather like a pro? With the right tools—and a little creativity—engraving on leather can turn an everyday item into a meaningful gift or a stylish statement. Whether it’s a wallet, journal cover, keychain, or bag, a custom design adds a personal touch that stands out.
At Resparked, we’ve seen our community do amazing things with our engraving pen, and we’re here to help you take it even further. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics of leather engraving, share useful tips, and show you how to bring your ideas to life—one personalized piece at a time.
Leather is everywhere—wallets, belts, bags, boots—and it’s usually pretty plain. But with a bit of creativity and the right tools, you can turn any leather item into a personalized piece with custom text, borders, symbols, or artwork. Here’s how to do it at home, step by step.
1 - Start with Your Design on Paper
Before touching your leather piece, sketch your design on a regular sheet of paper using a ballpoint pen. This helps you visualize the final result and gives you a clear guide for the next steps. Stick to clean lines—these will transfer better—and keep the size proportional to your item.
2 - Transfer the Design Using Acetone
To copy your design onto the leather, place the sketch face-down on the leather surface. Then, soak a cotton ball in acetone and gently rub over the back of the paper. The ink from the pen will transfer onto the leather. Be patient and make sure to apply even pressure. When you lift the paper, your design should be faintly but clearly visible on the leather.
Pro tip: Test this method on a scrap piece of leather first to make sure your acetone doesn't discolor the surface.
3 - Choose the Right Bit for the Job
Not all engraving bits are created equal—especially when it comes to leather. The type of bit you choose can dramatically affect the style, depth, and precision of your design. Here's a quick guide to the most effective bits for leather engraving:
- Ball Tip Bits: These are the most beginner-friendly and versatile bits to start with. They allow for smooth control over depth and pressure, making them ideal for bold letters, flowing lines, and stylized patterns. What you can do: Medium to bold strokes.
- Square Tip Bits: Great for creating softer shading or adding fine detail. These bits offer control and consistency, but may require a bit more pressure or multiple passes to get the desired depth. What you can do: Thin to medium lines, subtle textures.
- Carbide Burr: If you’re after razor-sharp detail and crisp lines, this is your go-to. This bit is perfect for precision engraving and comes included with your Resparked Customizer. What you can do: Fine, sharp lines and detailed patterns.
Using the right bit not only improves the look of your design—it makes the engraving process smoother and more enjoyable. Don’t be afraid to experiment on scrap leather first to see what each bit can do!
4 - Set Up Your Engraving Pen
Grab your engraving tool—like the Resparked Customizer Engraving Pen—and choose a suitable bit for leather. A rounded or ballpoint bit is a great choice for beginners because it glides smoothly and is forgiving with curves and lines.
5 - Swap Out the Bit Like a Pro
If you’re new to bit-changing, here’s how to do it:
a) Use the hex key included with your tool to loosen the small Allen grub screw on the chuck.
b) Insert your chosen bit into the chuck.
c) Tighten the grub screw again, making sure the bit is secure.
d) Before engraving your final piece, test the tool on a scrap of leather to check the depth, speed, and feel.
6 - Time to Engrave
Now the real fun begins. Follow the lines of your transferred design with a steady hand. Let the tool do the work—don’t press too hard. Move slowly, especially around corners or curves, and take breaks if needed. You’ll get smoother lines and a cleaner result.
If your tool has adjustable speed, start low for fine details and turn it up slightly for bolder lines.
7 - Clean and Refine Your Work
Once you’ve finished engraving, wipe the leather gently with a damp cloth to remove dust and any residue. Use a fine-tip bit if you need to go back over any areas that didn't engrave fully. This final polish step makes your design pop and gives it a clean, finished look.
Techniques to personalize leather
Embossing Leather
Embossing means stamping a pattern on leather using a heavy steel plate or a rolling wheel. It can be done in color and does not require burning the material.
1. It is so simple to do. Use a sponge to moisten the leather, which will soften it and facilitate its handling. Be careful not to get it too wet as the more water the leather absorbs, the longer it takes to dry and our design may be distorted.
2. Fix the leather to a sturdy surface, you can use clamps to fasten it.
3. Place your first stamp on the cylinder tool and place the stamp side down on the leather surface. With a firm grip, use the mallet to strike the other end of the cylinder, pressing the seal into the leather. The more you hit, the greater the depth of the stamping.
Carving
For this leather carving technique, first the material will need to be rubbed down with water and allowed to saturate for several minutes.
After that, we will start to transfer the image to carve into the material with a stylus, a ceramic swivel knife to cut the lines into the material. Then chisels, scrapers, stamps, etc to get the design fully formed into the leather.
Also, you can use our electric engraving pen that will be very helpful than the ordinary tools used for carving, since it can engrave on any type of leather making a long-lasting design, and because of its easy-to-use shape and power. You will feel like drawing on paper but personalizing your material.
Just like with wood, leather can be carved with many different patterns, but only a specific kind of leather will be viable for carving because not every leather holds the carved shapes clearly after drying. That will be the full-grain vegetable-tanned leather.
Branding
This one is probably is one of the easiest leather engraving techniques.
Branding leather involves pressing a piece of hot metal against the surface of the hide to etch a pattern into it as a farmer would do with his cattle.
It will take a big amount of force to leave the mark on the leather. The result will be a burned area of the leather with a dark color and with a slightly sunken surface that is going to make the worked design stand out.
If you want to mark leather, it is essential to have the necessary tools before starting, the most important being the marking iron, gloves, and the way we will use to heat our iron stencil.
Pyrography
Electric heating is the most used form for those starting out in leather engraving. It requires an específic burning tool and stencils.
With methods such as pyrography and branding, caution must be taken as we run the risk of fire, although the risk is much lower given the much smaller size of the instruments used.
Laser Engraving
This method is exactly what it sounds like. The high-powered carbon dioxide laser is directed on a piece of leather, carefully burning a design into the material.
Similar to branding, laser engraving scorches the surface of the leather to make a pattern. There are many laser engraving tools that do this kind of job but they are too expensive, unless you want to start a business.
Perforation
While it is most often used for its functional purposes rather than design, leather piercing can create some fantastic designs. Usually, this is a technique that consists of drilling small holes in a piece of leather to improve its breathability.
Embroidery
This technique can be done either by hand with a strong needle or treated with a sewing machine. Soft leather is the best type for this technique. This method is also the most common one used in clothing manufacturing so you can quickly stitch a pattern into your jacket .
