when to burnish

[troop]

i have a question about burnishing the edges on my holsters. when is the ideal time to burnish? is it before wetting/molding or before? i have tried to burnish before hand and upon soaking the leather it puffs up and the burninshing seems to dissapear, causing me to have to burnish again. on the other hand if i burnish after molding it is increasingly difficult to burnish on the curved areas, more particularly around the molded trigger guard.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

tony

[ArcherBen]

Burnishing edges is my 2nd to last step. My last step is applying whatever final topcoat I have decided to use on any particular item. I use an edge burnisher chucked into a drill press so working around the molding isn't really a big deal for me. If you're burnishing by hand I can see how that could get tricky. You might want to consider burnishing with a dowel chucked into a dremel tool as a cheap alternative to hand burnishing (If that is indeed what you are doing now).

[troop]

Burnishing edges is my 2nd to last step. My last step is applying whatever final topcoat I have decided to use on any particular item. I use an edge burnisher chucked into a drill press so working around the molding isn't really a big deal for me. If you're burnishing by hand I can see how that could get tricky. You might want to consider burnishing with a dowel chucked into a dremel tool as a cheap alternative to hand burnishing (If that is indeed what you are doing now).

i am doing it by hand now with that cheap white burnishing disk from tandy. it's just not small enough to get into those tight spots. i am gonna get a friend to make me some small dowels for my dremel. that should help all the way around. thanks for the response.

tony

[Shorts]

I burnish also right before topcoat....(dye, burnish, topcoat). I use a well worn wooden dowel.

[Mongo]

Troop,

You can use a small felt "wheel" that they sell for the dremel for tight areas. Keep the edge damp and turn the dremel speed down.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Mongo

[Dwight]

i have a question about burnishing the edges on my holsters. when is the ideal time to burnish? is it before wetting/molding or before? i have tried to burnish before hand and upon soaking the leather it puffs up and the burninshing seems to dissapear, causing me to have to burnish again. on the other hand if i burnish after molding it is increasingly difficult to burnish on the curved areas, more particularly around the molded trigger guard.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

tony

Troop, . . . go to the first pinned topic in this forum, . . . it has "cornfused" on it's title.

Go to post # 8, . . . that is mine, . . . there are the pictures of a couple of Dremel tool type burnishers that work perfectly for my holster work.

You need to burnish the mouth of the holster and the muzzle end also, before you sew it together.

After you cement the edges, . . . sand them smooth, . . . bevel, . . . burnish, . . . and sew. It'll give you a very professional looking job. I often then go back and re-burnish, . . . as sometimes the pressure of the sewing machine will "unburnish" some of the edge for some reason.

Anyway, . . . a friend put me onto the Dremel, . . . I love it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[troop]

Troop, . . . go to the first pinned topic in this forum, . . . it has "cornfused" on it's title.

Go to post # 8, . . . that is mine, . . . there are the pictures of a couple of Dremel tool type burnishers that work perfectly for my holster work.

You need to burnish the mouth of the holster and the muzzle end also, before you sew it together.

After you cement the edges, . . . sand them smooth, . . . bevel, . . . burnish, . . . and sew. It'll give you a very professional looking job. I often then go back and re-burnish, . . . as sometimes the pressure of the sewing machine will "unburnish" some of the edge for some reason.

Anyway, . . . a friend put me onto the Dremel, . . . I love it.

May God bless,

Dwight

thanks Dwight. those burnishers are exactly what i am looking for.

[woolfe]

This is not a simple question to answer for me. I burnish twice and at different times depending on whether I am using vinagaroon or dye. From my experience leather is much easier to burnish before or just after dye is applied. So I will dye and burnish my edges prior to dip dying. I also dip dye before I glue and stitch the two halves together.

If I'm making a black holster, I dye the edes, then I burnish the areas of the holster that will be single layers of leather before I stitch them together. Then I glue/stitch, dye the edges, and burnish the rest of it.

After all the edeges are burnished I wet mold/bone and then apply vinagaroon/neutralizing solution.

After all that I come back and apply beeswax for a final burnishing. This proccess is quick and produces a nice professional edge. Also, I only use water and beeswax.

Edited July 4, 2009 by woolfe