How Much Wear Should A Properly Burnished Edge Show?

[thekid77]

Hi friends, just wondering how much wear should a properly burnished edge show with heavy use?

Should it stay as slick and smooth as when it was first burnished, or should you see little fuzzies coming up here and there??

I typically hand-sand edges smooth with 150, 220, then 400....then I dye, slick w denim, apply saddle soap, slick, gum trag, slick...

I do see little fuzzies coming up here and there after a month of wear...but some parts stay smooth....im wondering if this is just a matter of sanding more??

Thanks for your insight ))

[Pennypower]

I wanna know too!

[Cyberthrasher]

It would depend on the use of the item. Take a belt for example - even if you get it perfect, it's going to start fuzzing out if it's worn every day because it's constantly being pulled through the belt loops. It should last a lot longer than a month though. On the other end, I have a bracelet that I've been wearing every day for well over a year and it's not fuzzing up at all because the edges don't ever come into contact with stuff on a regular basis. And it gets ABUSED. I've already replaced the snap on it once because it started rusting away from sweat!!! But, the edges are perfect

One thing that would help is to use a clear coat on the edges, Clear-Lac (or any of the other Lac products) or Resolene or something like that. Basically anything that will seal the fibers down before you wax it. Also, your 150 grit may be causing more fuzzies than anything. I usually start with either 200 or 220 with a touch of water and then move straight to 400. You really want to just shape it and remove any of the fuzzies that are already there without pulling up any more. 150 is course enough that it can actually shred the edge of the leather and just make more work.

ALL that said though, some portions of the hide are just naturally fuzzier than the others - especially in the belly. I did a quick dog collar for my "puppy" and had the edge relatively smooth. But, I pulled the strap from a piece of belly I had sitting there and it was really fuzzy to begin with. It's looking pretty ratty right now about a month later (it was "fairly" smooth when I did it). The main reason though is that I didn't spend a whole lot of time doing a perfect job. It was seriously just a 2 hour job because he didn't have a fitting collar at the time. If I were to make one for a customer, I would have never even used that piece of leather, let alone sent it out with the edges in the state they were.

[thekid77]

I wanna know too!

haha thanks Penny!!!

It would depend on the use of the item. Take a belt for example - even if you get it perfect, it's going to start fuzzing out if it's worn every day because it's constantly being pulled through the belt loops. It should last a lot longer than a month though. On the other end, I have a bracelet that I've been wearing every day for well over a year and it's not fuzzing up at all because the edges don't ever come into contact with stuff on a regular basis. And it gets ABUSED. I've already replaced the snap on it once because it started rusting away from sweat!!! But, the edges are perfect

One thing that would help is to use a clear coat on the edges, Clear-Lac (or any of the other Lac products) or Resolene or something like that. Basically anything that will seal the fibers down before you wax it. Also, your 150 grit may be causing more fuzzies than anything. I usually start with either 200 or 220 with a touch of water and then move straight to 400. You really want to just shape it and remove any of the fuzzies that are already there without pulling up any more. 150 is course enough that it can actually shred the edge of the leather and just make more work.

ALL that said though, some portions of the hide are just naturally fuzzier than the others - especially in the belly. I did a quick dog collar for my "puppy" and had the edge relatively smooth. But, I pulled the strap from a piece of belly I had sitting there and it was really fuzzy to begin with. It's looking pretty ratty right now about a month later (it was "fairly" smooth when I did it). The main reason though is that I didn't spend a whole lot of time doing a perfect job. It was seriously just a 2 hour job because he didn't have a fitting collar at the time. If I were to make one for a customer, I would have never even used that piece of leather, let alone sent it out with the edges in the state they were.

Great information Cyber, thank you for taking time to share your knowledge!!!

[heath]

All I do is edge, wet, rub down with saddlesoap, then rub with canvas. When it Has dried I used a mix of shalac(?) and dye. I have a belt I made 8 years ago that I wear everyday that is still in good shape.

[billymac814]

I don't think the edge should start to get fuzzy at all. On my belt my edges are still smooth and it has been worn daily for about 4 years. I think if you're using just saddle soap and not sealing it good enough the soap in it loses its holding power so to speak and the fibers don't stay down. I'd follow it up with some wax and then seal it with resolene. I did a post on how I do my edges not too long ago, you could probably search it out easy enough. I used to over do and over think all the steps to do my edging and I found I could eliminate a lot of them and still get the same results, if not better.