X-Marks pin in leather

[A Hay]

With the recent discussion on another run of X-Marks the Spot Kilt Pins, I got to thinking about how difficult it would be to make a leather image. Probably not for a kilt pin, but maybe for the front flap of a sporran or a cap badge for a balmoral.

So with nothing better to do on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, I made up the outline. Here are two pictures, under slightly different lighting. The original pin is on the left, of course, and the leather version is on the right.





Inscribing the celtic knotwork on the wreath is beyond me at this point, so I left it off. For a sporran flap it probably would be about twice as large, so there may be a possibility there to put more detail into it.

Before attempting that sporran, however, I wanted to ask if there are any copyright issues with using the X-Marks Pin design for this type of purpose. Do I need to get a license? If so, from whom?

I going to try to get to a leather store this coming friday so I may have some more materials to work with next week.

Tom

[r. m. anderson]

I like this idea. It could be used for decoration on a spooran;
belt; hat emblem; or even a sleeve for the sgian dubh
Is it possible to put the xmarks pin in a hydraulic press of sorts
and stamp out the image onto the leather form?
The small fine scrolling design might not imprint to well.
But looking at your pix the bold xmarks features are well noted.
Then trim to fit and glue it to a pin/retaining device.
Possibly doing multiple impressions on a belt for an xmarks belt.
Or one could go really wild and have a laser burn the design into
the leather if such a thing is possible.

[Nick]

Very cool! If you used it for a balmoral, would you leave it square, or have a round outline?

I don't know if there would be copyright issues if you're just doing a one-off for yourself. The moment you sell it and make a profit off it, that's where the potential grey area ends.

At a Ren Faire/Art show I was at, there was a box-maker, with several kinds of boxes with designs wood-burned or carved into the wood. There was one that said "Not all who wander are lost," which was particularly nice. I wanted to get it, but I doubted that the person had permission to use the phrase, so I didn't out of respect for Professor Tolkien.

Cheers,
Nick