Leather is one of the greatest materials to use for laser engraving and cutting. Raw leather and premade products are affordable and incredibly durable, and they maintain a perception of being high value, especially when they’re personalized by engravement. If you’ve been wondering whether you can use a laser cutter to cut and engrave leather, here’s what you’ll need to know and the leather supplies you’ll want to have.
Types of Leather
The results and final product of your engraving will naturally depend on the kind of leather you use and how the laser reacts to it. There are four primary types of leather that you’ll typically be working with:
- Bonded leather: The lowest quality of leather, this type is made up of leftovers from various hides
- Corrected grain leather: Leather that has been sanded and buffed to remove imperfections like scars
- Top grain leather: Second highest quality leather
- Full grain leather: The highest quality leather available
There are many subcategories of leather, such as pigmented leather, that fall under these four main categories. This means you’ll never be limited in your choices, but you should understand what main category your leather falls under to anticipate how the laser will affect your leather.
Engraving Leather With Lasers
Let’s now talk about how you can use laser cutters to cut and engrave leather. For engraving or etching, your results will be a debossed effect that produces a unique contrast depending on the type of leather you use. Some contrasts will look more noticeable or clean than others. For example, lighter-colored leather will produce a more significant color contrast, whereas darker leather will be far more subtle.
Products Made With Laser Cutting
For inspiration or guidance when cutting leather, some common products made using this method include:
- Coasters
- Bookmarks
- Journals
- Headbands
- Wallets
- And so much more!
Because leather is so abundant and works so well with laser cutting, the creations you can make are versatile and plentiful. Anything you need or can imagine can be created with the use of laser cutting on leather materials.
