Haleyf

cyberthrasher - nice work. I will use that of an example for what my edges SHOULD look like. As for my sample pics... I think i photoshoped that one a little and that is a part of what your seeing. Also that was my very first ever finished edge. I am going to take more time on beveling from now on. Good stuff thanks! I am not only learning leathercraft but also html and web design lol. That is a super rough draft of what I want but hey I am just getting started. Big Otep fan btw. needles - THANKYOU!! billymac - Wow great edge in less than a minute. I will definitely be refering back to this. I ordered a wooden burnisher for my drill press with 6 different grooves that seems to be taking forever to arrive. I can see more now the legistics behind the corners vs the center of leather edges. I am going to look into buying pre-dyed leather as soon as I expand into concho only collars. Because I am such a novice and am having to get all my mistakes out of the way and learn I am averaging like -$2 per hour at the moment. lol. But I am a pretty smart cookie and have faith that I will figure this out Thanks everyone! I am going to practice a little more with all your advice and report back!

Mike - Thank you! I have looked at bob parks method and that's why I use the quik slik or the saddle soap. It does work way better than the other things I have tried. Can't quite figure out how to attach the canvas to a mechanical burnisher though. Also I said 20 inch piece of leather in around an hour(without counting dry times). Not 20 minutes. I have quite a bit of experience working with my mom on leather straps. We never finished the edges or used anything but antique stains though and just sprayed at the end with a acrylic wood finish. Here is what she does www.saintbernardkeg.com This is a project I am launching to make some money to stay at home with my new baby and it is quite a different process to make a product that will remain comfortable, fasionable and durable around a dog's neck all the time here is a rough draft of a website I made for what I do (www.cowtowncollars.com - HONEST opinions for my first collars are welcome! Good advise about the latigo leather! I am going to look into it. Thanks! Cyberthrasher - Great info! I feel much better about sand paper now! That explains a lot. I will check out the forum post. BTW I saw your facebook and I really like your work! Before my little one came I used to do band and venue management and got my degree in music management. I will try to through some hooks out for you!

Also.. Forgot to mention that in order to make this worth my time I need to finish a 20 inch strap in about an hour but make it as good a quality as possible.. How long does it take you all to do a strap edge?

cybertrasher - You bring me to a ton of other questions I have. SUPER NEWBIE ALERT! Iv'e been using lexol conditioner. I guess because I read somewhere that some type of conditioner is important. It does seem to make the leather more pliable to hammer in the hardware. Does neatsfoot oil count as a conditioner? I use the saddle soap to finish the edges which I was also told to apply after the finish... "your edge should be pretty dang smooth and already formed to the proper shape.I sand my edges until they are soft. Only takes about a minute to a minute and a half but they remain the same shape. Are you saying that I should bevel the edges first and then it will make them round? And I guess the term smooth confuses me because when you sand leather it makes it soft and fluffy. When I think smooth I think slick.. I also don't know what a 50 grit 400 grit wet/dry means. I will go ahead and live up the stereotype that I am a girl and don't know S*&% about tools. I just have this sanding wheel my dad bought me on his drill press that goes up and down in speeds marked with a plus or minus sign. lol Do you dye the edges at all with the rest of your product before burnishing or just leave them bare and do it after burnishing? Then.. how do I apply the beeswax? I did that once over a whole collar by just rubbing it on and then trying to buff it off, but it left residue. do you melt it? Also I use leather sheen because of it's water resistant qualities for a product that is made to last outdoors. I watched this youtube video about finishes to come to this conclusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyTg_hfpNUM&noredirect=1 What would you consider a permanent finish? And should I use it with the conditioner and the leather sheen or is that unnecessary? See SUPER NEWBIE ALERT!!

I want to know the order of operation in leather strap work. I am trying to start a business selling custom dog collars. I want them to be quality and I seem to run into some kind of problem with every step I take. Here is the method I have adapted to so far: (I will note some of the other problems to see if I can get some extra advice.) 1. Cut and skive the leather with super skiver- (can't really find the trick to making this an easy task) 2. Sand the edges and the raw side of leather (for comfort) with a sanding wheel on a drill press 3. Bevel the edges 4.. Punch holes, wet and stamp 5.. Dye with the color of choice - Fiebings oil based Cordovan dye, Fiebings acrylic antique medium brown stain or a zelikovits water based pigment pink dye (pink seems to have streaks where the color doesn't take no matter how many coats I add and rubs off easily) 6. Let dry for an hour or so then color the letters with sharpie for the stained collars, metallic markers or paint markers for the dyed collars(paint markers are difficult to make even and not globby and metalic markers seem to wear off a little) 7. Spray with leather sheen 8. Let dry for an hour or so then burnish the edges with glycerin and saddle soap or Quik Slick on a nylon slicker attached to the drill press. (I am not sure how long this is supposed to take but it seems like forever and I still never get glass smooth edges) - ordered a wooden burnisher made for a drill press so hopefully it will help. My other problem is that sometimes the edges seem to crack in certain spots mostly around the buckle within just a few days. I use quality herman oak leather. 9. touch up the edges with the same dye 10. condition with lexol conditioner. 11. add hardware Ok... so where I get mixed reviews is at what time to apply the finishes and the conditioner. I am so confused that I kind of change it up every time I make one so I don't know if the order of operation is contributing to any of my problems or not. OR if the order of operations needs to change depending on what base of dye and marker I am using. I have been told to condition right after you stamp and before you dye and let it sit over night. I have been told you always put any oils conditioners or saddle soap very last because other products wont penetrate. I have also been told it's super important to use the leather sheen finish before you finish the edges and within two hours of dying But if a water resistant finish is applied won't it seal the leather from absorbing any other products - like conditioners, edge burnishing products and touch up dye?? I feel like if I understood the chemistry behind all of these products I would have a rule of thumb So confused. Any advice would be excellent! Quote MultiQuote Edit

I'm sorry. There is some good advice in this feed. I should have been more specific about my question. I want to know the order of operation in leather strap work. I am trying to start a business selling custom dog collars. I want them to be quality and I seem to run into some kind of problem with every step I take. Here is the method I have adapted to so far: (I will note some of the other problems to see if I can get some extra advice.) 1. Cut and skive the leather with super skiver- (can't really find the trick to making this an easy task) 2. Sand the edges and the raw side of leather (for comfort) with a sanding wheel on a drill press 3. Bevel the edges 4.. Punch holes, wet and stamp 5.. Dye with the color of choice - Fiebings oil based Cordovan dye, Fiebings acrylic antique medium brown stain or a zelikovits water based pigment pink dye (pink seems to have streaks where the color doesn't take no matter how many coats I add and rubs off easily) 6. Let dry for an hour or so then color the letters with sharpie for the stained collars, metallic markers or paint markers for the dyed collars(paint markers are difficult to make even and not globby and metalic markers seem to wear off a little) 7. Spray with leather sheen 8. Let dry for an hour or so then burnish the edges with glycerin and saddle soap or Quik Slick on a nylon slicker attached to the drill press. (I am not sure how long this is supposed to take but it seems like forever and I still never get glass smooth edges) - ordered a wooden burnisher made for a drill press so hopefully it will help. My other problem is that sometimes the edges seem to crack in certain spots mostly around the buckle within just a few days. I use quality herman oak leather. 9. touch up the edges with the same dye 10. condition with lexol conditioner. 11. add hardware Ok... so where I get mixed reviews is at what time to apply the finishes and the conditioner. I am so confused that I kind of change it up every time I make one so I don't know if the order of operation is contributing to any of my problems or not. OR if the order of operations needs to change depending on what base of dye and marker I am using. I have been told to condition right after you stamp and before you dye and let it sit over night. I have been told you always put any oils conditioners or saddle soap very last because other products wont penetrate. I have also been told it's super important to use the leather sheen finish before you finish the edges and within two hours of dying But if a water resistant finish is applied won't it seal the leather from absorbing any other products - like conditioners, edge burnishing products and touch up dye?? I feel like if I understood the chemistry behind all of these products I would have a rule of thumb So confused. Any advice would be excellent!

Did you ever find a good answer to this question? I have been told so many things!