Burnishing or Slicking Edges? What do we call it?

[bruce johnson]

First off this is kind of tongue in cheek, but I think about some of the guys gone-on. I learned a lot from them and some pretty good stories and history. One that sticks with me is whenever edges and treatments came up. Some of them were pretty hard boiled and others were "whatever".

   While it isn't as contentious as discussing religion, politics, or the best pickup, whatever we call edge working could bring up some pretty heady discussions with some of the viejos. It is interesting be on the sidelines of some of these discussions. The one camp said that burnishing was bonding the fibers to smooth them. Slicking was simply laying the fibers down without bonding. The other camp just called it all slicking or burnishing to goad the others into a fight. 
     The strict say -

Burnishing is usually done with heat with pressure to bond the fibers. Your leather needs the right moisture level much like casing and then apply some sort of pressure with heat to bond the fibers. Friction through either speed, pressure, and roughness of whatever you are rubbing with provides the heat. The other option would be using a burnishing iron. The fibers bond to each other and seal the edge.  Most all will accept the hardwax edge done with rubbing or an iron to be called burnishing.   

Slicking - Simply laying down fibers but they don't bond to each other. We all know that you can't burnish most chrome tans well. We can make a smooth edge with pressure and some treatment and those strict interpreters call that slicking. This where apply soap, dressings, soft waxes comes to be called slicking by the hard liners - it is laying down and smoothing fibers but they don't bond to each other. Looks nice and smooth but doesn't last as long. It starts discussions when you say "I burnish the edges of my latigos". The strict ones will tell you that is not burnishing and for even saying such a statement you will now be tending fire for eternity instead of playing harp. 

Where are we at in the middle ground - no man's land? Is it slicking or it is burnishing? What about the old trick that used diluted white glue? That is bonding the leather and providing some heat from rubbing but is the glue cheating? There was the "Goodie Mix" that was a varied recipe of acrylic finish and Atom Wax. Bond and seal there and works well on chrome tans. Gum tragacanth, Tokonole, the commercial mixes? In the end - call it burnishing, call it slicking, call it what you want. I will be in services at the Blessed House of the Leather Edge Smoothers.