how to achieve round edges

[TheTrooper]

Hello fellowers,

could anyone of you could be so nice and explain me how to achieve round edges. When I bevel the edges normally I get something like an 45° angle, but how to get them round ??

Regards,

Marcel

[JohnD]

I'm not an expert, but I think the size of the edge beveler makes a difference. If you use a small enough edge beveler, just enough to take the corners off and then use a rounded profile burnisher you should end up with the desired result. Someone who knows more about this will probably post more info soon enough. Hope this helps though.

good luck,

John

[JustWakinUp]

i use a small edger then burnish with the round nylon edge slicker. I like the results and it give a decent round edge

[TheTrooper]

THX a lot guys. Why I had this idea not by myself ?!? All the needed tools I have a home

I´ll try it and post about the results. Maybe I´ve to get a smaller edger, but I´ll try the one (I´m just starting ) I have at first.

Cheers,

Marcel

[bruce johnson]

Marcel,

The easiest way to get round edges is to use round bottom edgers. They cut in a round profile to start with. The readily available ones cut a flat profile, like the TLF and common edgers from CS Osborne. They cut a flat cut much like mini french edgers. The old time makers made round bottom edgers - Gomph and others. Today there are a few tool makers making them. Most all of the Bisonette pattern edgers will cut in a round profile. Three makers that make round bottom edgers are Ron from Ron's Tools (www.ronstools.com) and Jeremiah Watt (www.ranch2arena.com) has two styles - the Vizzard edgers and round edgers. Bob Douglas makes round bottom edgers too. All are good tools in my hands.

[Romey]

Marcel,

All are good tools in my hands.

Ahhhh thats my problem!

[Don101]

Yes Bruce you beet me to it i was using to start with a tandy edger and no matter how long i would polish i wouldnt be round, then i got the osbourne round edge beveler and ive not looked back since, Don

[esantoro]

I've been using the tandy edgers, the rounded ones and the flat cutting ones. the flat cutters work nicely when joining a bag face edge with a gusset edge . together the result is a nicely rounded burnished edge. IO'm trying to use the tandy edgers to get better at sharpening them.

I'd like to try the osbourne rounded edgers but am unsure which ones those are. hidecrafters has two types of osborne edgers: the best quality edger, and the common edger.

Ed

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

I like the open front round bottom edger. I am not sure if HC carries them, but would suspect they are dealing with the Osborne line. Nothing against Osbornes, because I have and use some. They are a good general line and across the board make good tools. There are individual tool makers that may make a particular tool better than Osborne though. Like has been said, Osborne sells you the makings of a tool. You have to finish the sharpening yourself. For the quality of work you are doing, I think you could justify getting and using better edgers that are more user friendly.

My personal favorites are the open front round edgers. Rons tools sells nice ones and so does Jeremiah Watt. I have had both and other than price, I have very little difference between them. Jeremiah's #1 size is the smallest he now makes and should work for most of your needs. With no toes in front, they will do a slot too, and the blade is "sweepy" enough I like the control. A cinch to sharpen and strop, you are not working down in a slot like other edgers, and they cut a round profile to start with. I have Jeremiah's vizzard pattern edgers also. His and Ron's tools edgers both came ready to go to work.

My wife likes bisonette edgers and played with Bob Douglas' edgers at a show. With the design, you can't cut too deep. They are like edgers with training wheels. Bob has the angle and bend at the tip of the shank figured out. His are the real thing. Because of the design, you can cut on the push or pull stroke. Sharpening bisonettes is a little trickier. You have to make sure you aren't whacking against the opposing edge when you strop. Just something to watch out for. We have Bob's smallest size and the #4 for heavy work. I expect we will fill in sizes next time we see him. You can probably bank that anything from Bob is ready to use straight off too.

Jeremiah's website is www.ranch2arena.com. Ron's is www.ronstools.com. You can buy Bob's tools directly from him (Sheridan, WY) or through Sheridan Leather Outfitters. I have found all of these guys to be easy to deal with directly and helpful advice. Barry King is making hand tools also. I have not played with his, although I should have. If you decide to go with Osbornes, shop around. As a "for instance" - one major leathercraft seller lists the Osborne round knife for $99, Siegels regular price is about half that, and I think it is still on sale for $35 now. Just because the big catalog craft suppliers sell some cheap things cheaply, doesn't mean everything in their catalog is priced in the same manner.

[esantoro]

I love the tools on Ron's website and that he includes a thin rod for sharpening, but I keep thinking that for the price I could buy 10 tandy edgers and experiment with grinding off the toes.

I have realized that rounding the edges is extremely important on my bags, so maybe I'll just take the plunge.

Thanks,

ed

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

I was there brother!! Tandy used to have a local store. A few years post closure, I could buy sets of tools at every 5th yard sale. The Saturday freebie classifieds usually had them too. I got some nice older tools, but a lot of duplicates. I tried to modify about everything they made. I tried to modify the edgers to look like the good tools I saw pictures of. Some worked sort of OK. I hit a goldmine at one yard sale. There was a set of tools. The usual 40 craftools, Maul Master (version #1), plastic mallets, v-gouge, Jerry's stripper, that one size of french edger everybody must have bought, a huge edger marked "Ron's" (horn edger) and 3 Ron's round bottom edgers. I couldn't get the $20 out fast enough - no dickering there.

Once I used the Ron's edgers, I realized a few things. When you start with cheap tools, realize they are made with cheap metal normally. They will not hold the edge. The temper may be gone from what you did, or it may never have been there. The shanks are too short and sometimes too narrow to make them the right size and angle to work right. I had a box of modified tools that probably cost me $40, and together they weren't worth one of the good tools. They were even too short to make into ProPetals at that point. I had several hours of time involved with modifying them. It is not like grinding off a little here and there to change a pear shader or making a meander stamp from a bolt.

I since sold the Ron's edgers to a guy who was going home and wanted them badly. I replaced them with Jeremiah's round bottoms after I went through the frustration of a few Osborne edgers for old time's sake. There was very little difference between Ron's and Jeremiah's in my hands. Bob's are good too. The thing with buying tools from these guys is that they are all users of these tools too. They know how the old good ones were made. They have either kept that, or modified them slightly to suit them. I let them be the toolmakers now, and I am the customer.

[Jordan]

It is amazing the difference between an adequate tool and one that is designed and made to a higher standard. Of course the price is reflective of this and as they say, buy the best you can afford. You may spend more for that quality tool but your work will refect it. A person would go through a bunch of lesser tools for the price of a great one that will last a long long time. When I got started I shopped ebay for a month or two until I got tired of being out bid at the last second for a price that was more than retail in many cases, I have bought everything through tandy for convienience mainly, but I made a promise to myself that as I get better I will buy better. Just a bit of rambling and about 0.000002 of my $0.02 Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and receives his blessings. Jordan

[troyn]

I know what you guys mean, I do have a few of the better tools and drool over tons I wish I could have.

An example would be these edgers, Yep I got the tandy one and I wanted a smaller one, so I have the osborne #1 I think, for lighter weight leathers, I found that 45 degree angle took alot of leather off on that tandy tool. So I've been cheating a bit to get rounded edges, until I can get the better tool. I'll edge with what I got now, then I'll sand and contour my edge using various grits of sandpaper..seems like a cheap work around for now.

Troy