geargarcon

Hi All - My apologies if this information is already on here, but I was unable to find it through numerous searches. I bought some cheap veg tan leather and made my first wallet a while back. I've been carrying the prototype for the last week to see how it carries/wears and have found that my burnished edges are cracking (the 3 layers of leather are separating) and fraying a bit after only a couple of weeks. I just used water and several iterations with a hand burnisher and fine grit sand paper initially which I followed by a couple iterations with paraffin and the hand burnisher. My stitching is maybe 3mm from the edge. While I have found the pdf which explains how to hand burnish, I haven't found an explanation as to why my edges are cracking (layers separating slightly). Will using gum trag or glycerin soap instead of water change the characteristics of the leather and help them hold together more? Is the paraffin too hard causing each layer to stand up on its own and not move with the others? Do I need to use beeswax? Will edge kote help keep things together? I also cant seem to find any explanation of what physically differs between the function of glycerin soap vs gum trag vs water other than the explanation that they all reduce friction slightly and that gum trag may prevent dye from penetrating. Can anyone shed any light on what physical differences these products impose on the leather? Thanks in advance. gg

Not sure where to put this, but I wanted to share with the good folks here - Harbor Freight has a 1/2 ton arbor press on clearance for $24.97. The only catch is that it is on in store purchases only. Seems to be about half the price of what I can find anywhere else. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-ton-arbor-press-3551.html

Looks great! Stitching is top notch and I prefer the handwritten one as well. what kind of stamp do you use and where did you get it from?

Just a little update... I took the advice of using a little talc powder. I added a little to each pocket on the wallet. I then worked each pocket with a bone folder to spread it around. Finally, I used a crevasse attachment on a small vacuum to remove any excess powder... and voila! No more sticking cards! thanks for the help trouble shooting this one. You helped salvage my first leather project!

This is what I was afraid of... will try the powder tip. Thank you all!

Hi all - I just completed my very first leather project and need some help. I made a wallet using cheap 3pz veg tanned leather I bought off of eBay. Everything went well but now that I am carrying it I'm finding that my cards are sticking in the card slots. I've opened them up with a bone folder so it's not that they are too tight. This sticking happens after I sit on the wallet for a bit. It's as if the unfinished backside of the leather grabs a hold of the cards when pressure is applied. Why is this happening? How do I prevent it in the future? Thank you!