Burnishing Edges Without Making Them Look Dirty...

[Highlands858]

Seems like every time I burnish the edges of my work they get all stained and dirtied up a different color than just raw leather before I use edge kote on them. That's all good as long as I'm using black edge kote, but what if I want to burnish my edges and clear coat them as raw leather?

I don't know if it's the glue seeping out from between the layers of leather, or excess dye from somewhere, or if my belt sander or burnishing tools are just getting dirtier with time. Anyone else run into this problem?

[RavenAus]

How do you mean by dirty? They usually darken when you burnish, if there's other colours appearing though, you should have a look at your burnisher, maybe swap the sander belt?

[humperdingle]

What colour is it going? Dark grey or black could be caused by tiny flecks of iron-based material?

[billybopp]

I've had the same problem on occasion. Since I don't have a sander, that's not the problem in my case. It seems that a small amount of dye ends up on the burnishing tools, which can then transfer off onto a lighter colored piece (I'm sure it happens from light to dark as well, but just isn't noticeable). I have since started cleaning my burnishers with a little alcohol on a paper towel or rage and some vigorous rubbing before switching to a different colored piece. The lighter the color, the more work needed to clean up the burnisher. Needless to say, white is a real bitch and takes a LOT of cleaning. I am considering getting several hand burnishers and color coding them for use on similar colors to avoid some of the cleaning chore.

Hope that helps

Bill

[Red Cent]

Highlands858, the burnishing part usually involves a tad of friction. Simply rubbing a smooth side piece of veg tan with your forefinger will produce discoloration. Rubbing a just barely damp raw edge with a handle of a butter knife will give you a somewhat clear glass look but you will still incur a little discoloration. Comes with the craft.

If you have glue seeping out, the obvious answer is cut back on the glue. Roll your piece with something. I use a rolling pin and a one handed roller. The other answer is let it dry totally after compression.

Actually I really like the different browns showing through a glass surface produced by burnishing. I made my burnishing tool especially to give me a slight burnished look on the edge or another groove burnishes the round edge including the bevel marks (if any after sanding) and another groove will burnish about 1/8" on both sides of a sandwich of 8/9 and 5/6 ounce leather.

Don't be disappointed. It is a natural look. The other fellows have made some very good points.

I use a rectangular foam pad impregnated with silicone particles. Last forever. When I sand a dyed piece of leather, I use a scrap to sand to rid the foam of color before I do my real sanding.

[Highlands858]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

[srtolly]

I'm new to the forum but have had this problem on my holsters. I started keeping my glue at least an eighth of an inch from the edge. After all glued and dry (important to have the glue dry) I do all my beveling and sanding. Then all the stitching and forming. After all that I do a final sanding and moisten the edges and burnish with white canvas. I have found that denim or colored canvas can discolor the edges. The finish is decided on how smooth your sanding job is. I hope this is helpful to someone.

God bless, Scott