Making a leather dabber for inking

Every year at the Il Bisonte Foundation, students of the specialization course create a leather dabber, an essential tool in the field of intaglio printmaking. This topic will cover its function and construction.

The introduction of this type of dabber is credited to artist and former professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Vairo Mongatti, who passed down this knowledge to her student Monica Franchini, now a professor at both the Florence Fine Art Academy and our School.

FUNCTION

The leather dabber is a very useful tool in the inking stage of intaglio printmaking. It serves to spread the ink evenly while simultaneously pressing it into the grooves of the plate.

It can also be used to apply soft ground, often preferred over the use of a roller.

While not essential for producing a good print, having one greatly expands the range of inking possibilities and can effectively replace a plastic spatula, which can sometimes accidentally scratch the plate.

CONSTRUCTION

- Leather circle ⌀ 25 cm

- Wooden handle

- Vegetable cardboard, 2 mm thick

- Cutter / Opus mallei and hammer

- Vinyl glue

- Cotton wool

- Fabric circle ⌀ 25 cm

- Acrylic thread

- String

- Copper or brass wire

- Pyrograph

- Shellac

- Screw eye hook

There are many types of dabbers that can be made, large, small, sturdy, delicate, and so on. The one described in this topic is of a size suitable for medium to small plates and is relatively easy to make, as it requires only easily obtainable materials.

First, you’ll need to source some tanned leather. It can often be found as industrial offcuts online or in local leather shops. The leather should have a smooth grain and a thickness between 1.5 and 2 mm.

Tanned leather has two surfaces with different finishes:

• Smooth surface: the most commonly used, as it can be cleaned of ink and therefore ensures greater durability of the dabber. However, it is not suitable for techniques that leave burrs or raised areas on the plate, such as drypoint, since these can scratch and permanently damage the leather.

• Hairy surface: the inner side of the leather. When used as the main surface, it is suitable for inking direct techniques such as mezzotint, as the nap holds more ink to be pushed into the grooves. It is not affected by burr scratches and thus compensates for the shortcomings of the smooth side, but on the other hand, it cannot be washed and requires more careful maintenance to keep the nap raised.

From the recovered leather, cut out a 25 cm diameter circle and keep it soaked in water during the construction of the dabber so that the leather softens and becomes more malleable.

The wooden handle can be purchased from hardware stores that supply tool parts or found online. Alternatively, it can be made by shaping a wooden rod with a grinder to give it an ergonomic form.

Use 2 mm thick vegetable cardboard to cut four circles with diameters of 5.5, 5, 3.5, and 3 cm. All the circles, except for the smallest one, should have a central hole matching the size of the wooden handle insert. They can be cut using a cutter or a opus mallei and hammer.

The first three cardboard discs are then fitted and glued together with vinyl glue onto the narrow end of the handle, along with the smallest one, which, having no central hole, acts as a cap. Once glued, this forms the base structure of the dabber.

Shape a ball of cotton wool and place it on the base of the handle, molding it to the desired shape of the dabber and wrapping it slightly around the edges of the cardboard discs. Once the correct shape is achieved, take a fabric circle cut to the same diameter as the leather one and wrap it tightly around the cotton, pulling the edges firmly toward the handle.

Tie it securely with acrylic thread to fix the form of the dabber. At this stage, the dabber should already have its final shape, which will now simply be covered with the leather circle.

Remove the leather from the water and wring it out to eliminate excess moisture and soften it further. Place it over the dabber with the chosen surface facing outward, then pull it tightly toward the handle, ensuring that any folds form only near the upper edge around the handle.

Once the surface is smooth and well-stretched, tie the leather firmly to the handle with a piece of string. Trim away the excess fabric and leather just above the string using a cutter, and let it dry for at least a day.

When the leather is completely dry, remove the string and replace it with a more refined material, such as copper or brass wire, for a cleaner, more elegant finish.

The handle can be customized using a pyrographer or darkened with a flame. Once the decorations are complete, coat it with shellac to make it waterproof and easier to clean. If you have a shelf or hook for hanging tools, you can screw a metal eyelet into the top of the handle to hang it conveniently.

When properly cared for, the dabber becomes a durable and reliable tool over time — as well as a beautiful, distinctive instrument perfectly suited to the craft of printmaking.