Which Edge Finishing Method For Shoulder Strap?

[zeroflight]

I'm almost at the end of the planning stages for kind of backpack/messenger bag with shoulder straps. The straps will be layered around a CC foam strip. Though I haven't decided on the final layer variations, I'll probably end up with 2-4 layers and a final thickness of around 1/8" - 1/4" thickness along the edge.

Among the finishing methods, which do you suggest? I've debated on thong lacing, basic saddle soap burnishing, burning and probably some other bad ideas but can't really decide what direction to take.

Sturdiness is my primary concern with comfort a close second and appearance in third. If it makes a difference, I'm planning on doing all of the stitching on the rest of the bag with (probably) saddle-stitched artificial sinew. If you have a different suggestion on the type of stitch though, I'm all ears.

You can see the bag I'm using as a base design at http://leatherworker...891#entry317335

[prc77ro]

For the shoulder straps, in my opinion, I wouldn't lace them for comfort reasons, I would guess that once you finish lacing them they would be sorta stiff and would have the potential to rub in the armpit area. It also depends on the look your going for, do you want a refined high end look or are you going for the rugged, used, unfinished look( like a Banana Republic look). I use two different types of finishes on my edges if I want something more than just the burnishing. I'll use Fiebing's burnishing ink in black or medium brown, for this you really just need to have a decent edge, paint it on then either use a burnishing cloth by hand or a cotton buffing wheel to bring it to a mirror finish. The other edge finish I just started using is Fiebing's Edge Kote, Dura Edge. This stuff is awsome, you can paint it on burnished edges if you want or if your cut edges are pretty much perfect when you cut them you can just brush it on. It states on the bottle its flexible, won't crack or peel or rub off once it's dry. It does give a really good finish even if you only sand the edges. As far as the sinew, I have never used it, I have used Nyltex and am not really crazy about it. It's thick doesn't seem to lay as nice as waxed linen. The waxed linen is what I prefer, if I need it thinner i can pull a strand or two out, can't do that with the Nyltex. I know you can do the same with the sinew's so you dont have large stitches on an otherwise small project, keep that in mind. If you really want to be sure and have some scrap around try making an example so you can get an idea of what it will look like. Hope that may help some.

Edited August 27, 2013 by prc77ro

[Dwight]

I would suggest you simply stitch it up both sides (I'd do machine stitching as there is a LOT of sewing there) and burnish the edges just like it was a belt. That is how I did a rig for a friend of mine. He loved it, . . . still uses it in competition shooting. It had suspenders, a duty belt, pouches & sheathes, . . . all sewn and burnished where there were two layers or more.

Non burnished edges look raggedy, unprofessional, . . . and as though they were imported by Walmart from west of Honolulu.

May God bless,

Dwight

[zeroflight]

Great advice here, thanks.

I'm not going for a truly professional look. It's for my personal use and I intend it to pick up character (read as lots of road-wear) along the way so less than perfect edges are ok. The first one may I put together may not have the long-term durability I want so I'll probably end up making another

I'd love to do my stitching by machine but the one I have can't really handle leather anymore. It's slowly on its way out & has started to give me trouble just on some of the fabrics like cordura but not enough to replace yet. So it's LOTS of hand stitching for me! Oh well, at least I have plenty of time to kill at one of my jobs. Besides, then I have bragging rights about making the entire thing by hand and hope everybody ooh's & ahh's rather than smacking me upside the head, lol.

Sounds like my plan is to go ahead and give at least a basic burnishing for sure. I'll mock up some scraps and see just how far I want to take it. There's a Tandy store nearby so I'll also pick up some Edge Kote and try it on some those edges & see how it works out. Who knows, maybe I can get them to machine stitch the lining, leaving just the seams to me.