Bargercompascuum Drawstring Pouch

[James B.]

Do you mean the dark stripes? For those you have to wet the leather with water and then stamp/incise/impress the decoration on the surface. With thin leather you have to take care not to use too much force or you will damage or cut through. I feel this technique works best when the leather is not soaking wet but about halfways dry.

I just wanted to add that what Martin says here is the exact advice a professional leather worker I know gave me. He said soak the leather for 1 minute then let it start to dry before you tool it. While tooling if it dries out too much use a damp sponge to slightly wet the area down again.

I started making one of these pouches last night and after reading the thread again I though I should comment on the tooling tips Martin gave.