Greystone Report post Posted October 1, 2013 I've learned gator can be finishes as regular leather, but what about elephant or other exotic skins, easy to most difficult what special processes are needed or can they all be finished as leather when the are backed with ,,, veg-tan ,,, bridle ,,, or how do you guys finish difficult skin edges Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlHobbyist Report post Posted October 3, 2013 I'm pretty much a newcomer to leatherwork also, however this is a topic that interests me quite a bit. Here are the various suggestions I've seen, though I'm quite interested what someone with experience has to say. Edging methods and ideas for exotics: 1) Do nothing - It sort of looks like crap, but I've seen people doing this. 2) Hide the edge by sewing a piece of fabric over it. If done well, this is a pretty good method. If done poorly, it looks like crap. If you have a sewing machine it is pretty feasible. Hand sewing fabric over the edges seems like it would be a lot of work. 3) Braid - I have a feeling that in certain instances this might work, the rest of the time it would look amateurish. 4) Skive flesh sides of the edges and then glue the edges to a piece of veg tan that runs down the middle. Then burnish the veg tan as normal. This is the method I am experimenting with. My first piece (ostrich) ended up so, so doing this. Skiving the flesh side of the exotic is harder than it looks, I'm still looking for the right knife, though for right now I'm practicing with a skife (Osbourne 925). 5) I've read here somewhere that the big commercial houses have some sort of heat machine that will put edges on just about anything. Very little has been reported here, but no doubt the magical machine would cost an arm and leg. Also, the few reports here of the edges produced this way indicates they are of poor quality. I think 4 is the most valid way, if a way to skive the exotic can be perfected. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted October 3, 2013 couple of notes. #2 - I think what you're referring to here is a "Rolled Edge". If going this route, I would highly suggest a piece of lightweight leather instead of fabric. Whenever possible, keep your leather projects leather. Lambskin is an EXCELLENT choice for linings and rolled edges. With practice, it wouldn't be any different then normal hand stitching, but it's obviously a lot easier with a machine. You would stitch your lambskin onto the front of the piece at the edge, then roll it over the edge and stitch it again so that your stitches are directly under your roll on the front of the piece. Then trim it off and you have a really good looking professional edge. #3 - Doing an edge braid only looks amateurish if it's done in an amateur way. There are lots of people who are highly respected that braid their edges and it looks awesome. For me, one of the first things that make an edge braid look "amateur" is the length of the tooth - as in how far away from the edge your holes are, causing long lines of lace. Keep things relatively close to the edge, while still leaving enough meat on the leather to keep it strong and durable to prevent tear-outs. Also, be sure to use slits on items that won't be subjected to heavy abuse. Slits are usually better and cleaner looking on items like wallets and notebooks. Holes should be used on items where there will be abuse and the lacing is structural. When using slits, make the slit the same size as the lace, when using holes, it's a good idea to undersize the hole so that the lace fills the hole better - thereby leaving less daylight and a more professional appearance. Those magical machines are for production in which thousands of items are being pumped out each day. If you're making a hand-made product, keep a hand-made process. NOTHING beats the appearance of a good edge. Motorized slickers are fine, but I feel that turning the whole thing into a mechanical process destroys the nature of our work and the results are noticeable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spence Report post Posted October 4, 2013 Cyberthrasher - Do you have any pics of that #2 process? Tks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greystone Report post Posted October 4, 2013 (edited) all very helpful but I think part of my question was missed, What exotic skins can not be ,,ie: glued to a backing/ vegtan or bridle and finished with the normal burnishing process fraying, roughness, no smooth finish or can the all be burnished/finished like 2 pieces of leather and or what is necessary to make the more difficult skins finish well and what skins require special processes Edited October 4, 2013 by Greystone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlHobbyist Report post Posted October 4, 2013 Thanks Cyberthrasher for weighing in, you've given us some room for thought. #2 - I think what you're referring to here is a "Rolled Edge". .. This is what I was talking about. For those that are curious there are 2 big post about this on the boards. There is a sticky in How do I do that, and there is the post about wallets that cyberthrasher mentioned. No doubt there are others that I have missed so far.#3 - Doing an edge braid only looks amateurish if it's done in an amateur way. You're right I deserved a cuff on the ear for saying this. I need to research and think about this more. So many things to learn...Those magical machines are for production in which thousands of items are being pumped out each day. I just mentioned them for completeness, I agree with your observations about them completely..For the moment I'm going to focus on skiving the edges and putting a piece of veg tan in the middle, until I have this technique mastered... Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted October 4, 2013 all very helpful but I think part of my question was missed, What exotic skins can not be ,,ie: glued to a backing/ vegtan or bridle and finished with the normal burnishing process fraying, roughness, no smooth finish or can the all be burnished/finished like 2 pieces of leather and or what is necessary to make the more difficult skins finish well and what skins require special processes I haven't worked with a lot of the tougher exotic skins, but the key to a good edge is SMOOTHNESS - so sanding will likely be the key, utilizing progressively finer grits. Cyberthrasher - Do you have any pics of that #2 process? Tks Here's Kevin King's tutorial on how it's done. I don't have any pictures of pieces I've done. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9940 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
