Has anyone tried the edge glider?

[SUP]

I saw the edge glider on Etsy. It seems a good product, prima facie but it appear to be rather  small. Also rather expensive.

it is supposed to work for most edge finishing.

Has anyone tried it? 

 

[SUP]

Just noticed that the prototypes are selling on Etsy for about a tenth of the price, in case anyone wants to try it. Nearly sold out though.

[fredk]

wotsitdo?

[Beehive]

21 minutes ago, fredk said:

wotsitdo?

 

+1. Same here. What is it? I've never heard of an, "Edge Glider". Looking it up and all I get is lazy boy chairs and those exercise machine you always see people throwing away. 

[Dwight]

Here you are guys . . . google "etsy edge glider"

 

May God bless,

Dwight

[SUP]

 

16 minutes ago, Beehive said:

all I get is lazy boy chairs and those exercise machine you always see people throwing away. 

LOL. I came across it by chance.

It burnishes edges. You keep your leather flat on a surface and run the glider against the edges to burnish.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1807397541/the-edge-glider-tabletop-leather?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=edge+glider&ref=sc_gallery-1-2&frs=1&sca=1&sts=1&search_preloaded_img=1&plkey=1191c7b762f34dafc7052fc501f9ebbce7ae325f%3A1807397541

The URL below is for the prototypes, in case anyone wants to purchase one.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1859316067/edge-glider-prototypes?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=edge+glider&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&frs=1&cns=1&sts=1&content_source=9755d8b3a776149bd74b0a078e36c3a52a48ec53%3A1859316067&search_preloaded_img=1&organic_search_click=1

 

Thanks @Dwight. I was trying to get video to show it here. It seems very tiny to me. 

[fredk]

So my old piece of beech should now be replaced with an expensive wotsit

 

For that's how I usually use Ol' Faithful # 22

[SUP]

@fredk Your old piece of beech looks more comfortable to use. This thing is barely an inch or two across. Tiny! 

[SUP]

I gave in and bought a prototype. I received it yesterday. It is small but very light and surprisingly easy to work with. Not yet used it on chrome tanned leather but will, sometime this week. I will update this post after that. 

[kgg]

4 hours ago, SUP said:

I gave in and bought a prototype. I received it yesterday. It is small but very light and surprisingly easy to work with. Not yet used it on chrome tanned leather but will, sometime this week. I will update this post after that. 

My experience is that you can not burnish chrome tan. I use a soldering iron after lubing the edge.

kgg

[Beehive]

Here's what Horween looks like burnished. Tokonole and wax. It just won't get as shiny as veg tanned. 

 

[Beehive]

Here's more Horween caviler, 3-4oz lining a billet. Burnished together. Waiting to be stitched.

It can be done.

 

 

[SUP]

Chrome tanned leather cannot be burnished like Veg tanned leather, to a gorgeous, homogenous shine but it can be burnished to a point where it does not look like  a raw, unfinished edge. 

[Beehive]

12 minutes ago, SUP said:

Chrome tanned leather cannot be burnished like Veg tanned leather, to a gorgeous, homogenous shine but it can be burnished to a point where it does not look like  a raw, unfinished edge. 

 

True and I agree. I treat the edge as if I'm painting it. But using Tokonole instead. Apply, buff, apply, buff. Until the chrome has absorbed enough edge compound to, 'look' burnished. We're talking at least 5-8 coats. Working it in and up. Same as edge paint with the last coating being white wax. 

I've experimented melting beeswax into the edges also. But I suggest Tokonole first. 

[SUP]

Yes, I do the same.  I use plain Tokonole. Sometimes I dilute it a little so that the original color of the leather is visible. 

Edited February 3 by SUP

[SUP]

I used the edge glider on some thin chrome tanned leather and it is easy to work with. It is difficult to actually see the result on such thin leather but it looks more finished than the part still to be done. The edge glider is surprisingly easy to work with and the small size actually helps. A larger tool would have been unwieldy to use on thin leather. For anyone using thin leather frequently, this might be something to consider. In fact, I see that you get the same edge for thicker leathers as well. You can select which you need. So it is not just for thin leathers.

I sound like I am advertising this but I am not.😄 I have nothing to do with this product.

Edited Thursday at 11:48 AM by SUP

[AEBL]

It looks like a  very nice tool. Is there something special about what it is made of - or can I just use a chainsaw file and a block of scrap hardwood to make one?

[Ferg]

 

28 minutes ago, AEBL said:

It looks like a  very nice tool. Is there something special about what it is made of - or can I just use a chainsaw file and a block of scrap hardwood to make one?

That's funny. I needed your response to that post after a not too great past week!

[fredk]

42 minutes ago, AEBL said:

. . . Is there something special about what it is made of - or can I just use a chainsaw file and a block of scrap hardwood to make one?

As far as I can see; nothing really special about the material. Any hardwood, brass, plastic or nylon type material would do. Anything that can be filed real smooth.

The pre-made ones are really for folk who have no d.i.y ability and those who like to buy nicely made gadgets

[SUP]

54 minutes ago, fredk said:

The pre-made ones are really for folk who have no d.i.y ability and those who like to buy nicely made gadgets

Very true. 😄 Also don't have the interest in making things that can be bought easily. Judicious use of whatever time I have remaining in this world. 

54 minutes ago, fredk said:

Any hardwood, brass, plastic or nylon type material would do. Anything that can be filed real smooth.

That is true too. 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:03 PM by SUP

[SUP]

1 hour ago, AEBL said:

It looks like a  very nice tool. Is there something special about what it is made of - or can I just use a chainsaw file and a block of scrap hardwood to make one?

It is well made and mine is light. I have no idea how the other woods are. But you should be able to make it if you have the tools and wood, and one that is comfortable for you to use. I have smaller hands so this is comfortable to use. I have no idea how people with larger hands will find it.

If anyone with larger hands has tried this, maybe you could put in a word about how comfortable it is to use? 

 

[AEBL]

The "nice tool" factor I get. Some things I use just make me smile when I pick them up. I'm still learning the art of burnishing, so I imagine that today I could make just as bad-looking of an edge with an expensive tool as I could with a cheap one . I'm going to keep trying though, and there's a leatherworker near me who makes glass-like edges. I'm going to see if I can trade him a six-pack for some in-person training.

[SUP]

2 hours ago, AEBL said:

leatherworker near me who makes glass-like edges. I'm going to see if I can trade him a six-pack for some in-person training.

Oh wow! Could you share the information? My edges, no matter what I use, are rarely glass-like; nearly glass-like but not perfect as I would like them to be.  🥹 I plan to go old school and work with an old piece of canvas again. Maybe that will work. On the thicker leather, of course. 

[AEBL]

@SUP, from what he told me, he uses his knife belt grinder (2x72) and works through the grit progression on the edges "up to like 1000 grit." Then he uses Tokenole, and then burnishes it. He may also use a buffer wheel on the grinder after burnishing. I had been using 60 grit paper on a wooden block (because it was handy) and then I tried 120 and then 220 after I heard what he had been doing. The edge did look nicer after I burnished it, so from my perspective, finer grit did indeed make the edge smoother, but it was far from what I would have liked to have seen. I was using Gum Tragacanth on veg tan, I don't see why that shouldn't have been similar to Tokenole on veg tan (but I'm new at all of this).

Edited yesterday at 03:16 AM by AEBL

[SUP]

So increasingly finer sandpaper to smoothen and then burnish with Tokonole. Ah! Should have used my common sense about it. I've been smoothening with 400 grit and then burnishing. So it was evidently not smooth enough before burnishing, to give that shine. If I remember correctly, this was mentioned elsewhere earlier but I had forgotten.

I've not used gum Trag but many who have used it say that they prefer Tokonole. I like it.

Incidentally, I'm new at leatherwork too - just about 2 years. So I'm learning all the time as well.