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I have been using Fenice for a long time, and the durability have been good on some leathers, other not so good. On dense chrome tanned leathers very durable, but I've had peeling edges at folds on wallets where I used vegetable tanned cow leather. I will evaluate some brands with and without primer other with just edge paint (Where it's less common to use a primer) I will also experiment with different heat, different edge finish to start with. (And of course if the producer have a SOP available, I will test that method as close as I can) And then "stress test" the pieces when fully cured (bending, stretching, scratching, trying to peel of the paint and such) So what brands will I evaluate? Uniters: With and without EP-sealer, I have tried Uniters before, but I think the products I have got frozen during shipping, because I did order it in the winter, and from my tests the adhesion is very good, but hard folding results in small micro cracks, and this is a problem that I haven't heard anyone else have. Stahl C427: Heatable edge paint that is used without primer, I might also test their edge paint PH54 with the primer PH53 Fenice: With their primer AR6250 Vernis 600: This is the test I did today, four coats of paint separated with heat and sanding and finished with beeswax polishing, the difference between the two pieces are the edge I start with, one is sanded with P180, the other up to P400 before the first coat of paint.

I think I did a tutorial like this a couple of years ago, but I've learned a lot since then. There are no correct way to paint edges, but there are some DON'TS. What you shouldn't do 1. Burnish edges with Tokonole or similar agents before painting. You can dry burnish before paint but you have to sand before applying paint. 2. Make too large bevels on really tight folds (Your paint will stretch until it cracks) 3. Paint a new layer on a surface that's not flat (Except the first layer) TOOLS/MATERIALS 1. Edge paint: This is Fenice, good alternatives are Uniters, Giardini, Stahl, Vernis 600, Beraud CT. Especially Uniters seems very popular, but I stay with Fenice since I'm used to this paint, and I get good results. 2. Edge beveler: This is a Kyoshin Elle size 0. 3. Creaser: This is a Fileteuse from Regad, and a FN2 iron for creasing, and S05H for heating/smoothing edges, and melting paraffin. A Fileteuse is a big investment and manual alternatives (Heat over alcohol lamp) like Wuta works really good for both creasing and smoothing edges. If you don't have anything of this, you can skip this step and use friction with a heavy cloth after the first layer of paint. 4. Paraffin wax: You can use either paraffin or beeswax. 5. Sandpaper 400: This is wet and dry from Mirka. (Glued to a piece of rubber mat) 6. Sandpaper 800: This is wet and dry from Mirka. (You can go to a higher grit if you want) 7. Burnishing cloth: (Clean) 8. Burnishing cloth: (Paraffin/Beeswax) 9. Awl: For applying edge paint. Some use edge rollers or brushes, but this is my preferred method. (10. Crepe Rubber optional:) For cleaning the edge transition if needed. STEPS FOR PAINTING EDGES 1. Cut edges flush and or sand them. 2. Bevel the edges (optional) 3. Paint first layer. Paint a relatively thin layer of paint. 4. Crease the edge on both sides. If you have a large contrast between leather color and edge paint, it's important you didn't use to much paint in the last step. 5. Smooth edges This promotes adhesion of paint and also removes the line between layers of leather. I use a high temperature here (7 on Regad) If you use the iron Wax spatula from Regad use a lower temperature because your tool could break. 6. Dry burnish Lay you leather flat on your desk and burnish edges with a clean cloth (Not used with wax) Do this with both Chrome/combination tanned and vegetable tanned. 7. Sand the edge Use 400 grit. Don't stop sanding until your edge is good, if you sand through a lot (especially in folds) I would recommend heating the next layer of paint also. 8. Paint edge A thicker layer this time. 9. Proceed with painting and sanding edges until you are happy with your edge. There is no need to heat/smooth with Fileteuse/heated creaser apart from after the first layer of paint. When your edge is perfect, sand it with 800 grit (or go higher if you want) 10. Rub paraffin on your edge and melt it with Fileteuse or heated creaser. (I use temp 3 on my Regad, you don't want to melt your edge paint here) 11. Burnish your edge with a have cloth. 12. Edge is finished, now you can have a beer or a coffee and show your edge in this thread. (Sorry for the photo, I'm no photographer and struggle to get a nice photo of the edge. (Edit. Sorry Uk friends. Of course Tea is okay too :))

I have 9 bottles of Tandy-Fenice leather edge paint for sale - ideally to a fellow leatherworker in Europe, as I am located in Brussels, Belgium. The 9 colors I have are: Navy Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Neutral (clearcoat, basically), White, Black, Dark Brown, and Light Brown. I bought these just a couple of months ago in October and November from Rickert Werkzeuge where they sell for €29.95 each. In this photo album, you'll see the paints themselves, and I am also including the two projects I completed with these paints - a phone case with orange edges and a black stingray handbag. Other than a tablespoon of the yellow and red and about 20% of the black, the rest of the paints were not used any more than on a sample piece. I am selling them because I am moving back to the US (didn't know that when I bought them all!), and filling my suitcase with these 9 bottles of leather edge paint isn't really an option! I'm not expecting to get back what I paid for them (which is/was ~€300), so if you're interested, just make an offer and let me know your location to calculate the shipping costs! Thank you! - RF