Burnishing Holsters?

[Twosons]

I finished my 1st holster (in this thread). I was not happy with the burnishing that I did. What do you use for burnishing on your holsters?

[TrooperChuck]

First, I give the leather a light coat of neatsfoot oil. Then I use my finger to apply glycerine leather soap to the edges and rub it with a piece of canvas. Works good for me. Sometimes, if I'm feeling extra ambitious, I'll dye the edges before applying the oil and glycerine soap, but usually not.

[Lobo]

Any cylindrical piece of hardwood can be made into a good edge burnishing tool. I have used sewing thread spools and wooden dowels of various diameters for years.

On the thread spools, insert a machine screw of proper diameter through the hole, secure it with a nut at the top, and the exposed area of the machine screw can be chucked into a drill press or drill that can be held stationary.

Hardwood dowels up to 1/2" diameter can be chucked directly into my drill press.

I burnish edges while the holster is still damp from the forming process. Simply work the finished edges against the turning hardwood and it will polish beautifully, compressing the leather fibers to a nicely contoured and polished edges.

While your hardwood tool is turning a round file can be used to easily cut grooves of varying width and depth, suitable for working edges on a single-layer area, double-layer area, welted seams, etc.

When you dye the finished piece, some dyes (notably water-based) can cause the exposed leather edges to expand and display rough fibers again. Run it over the burnishing tool again and those disappear.