Question On Burnishing A Belt

[wlg190861]

I have been trying figure out how to get a good burnished edge on a belt.

Let me explain : I am wanting to make a belt with two 6/7 oz pieces of herman oak sewed together I am setting spot on the front strap an then gluing an sewing on the back strap so you don't see the prongs. The problem there is I cant get a good burnished edge being that I had to dye the front strap before setting spots. How can I get a good burnised edge. Or how can I do it differently ?

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I can get a good burnish on raw leather but after dyeing I can't . HELP!!!

Thank you

Dan

[JoeSnuffie]

I just had a fun time burnishing a belt made from a drum dyed Herman Oak strap. It doesn't really take water and even when it does, it doesn't burnish well. I mixed some Elmers School Glue, the white stuff, at about 1/3 with 2/3 water. I painted it onto the beveled edge then rubbed it in really good with my finger. When it's getting close to try and it's really tacky, I rubbed the edges with my burnishing stick and it seemed to work beautifully. The key seemed to be to wait until it was almost dry. When I get home this evening I'll hit it with something to waterproof it, probably mop and glow then some beeswax.

This might not be the best way but it really worked well for me with leather that just didn't want to soak anything in.

[wlg190861]

I'll be going to town Saturday, so I will get some elmers glue an give it a try. Can you post a pic of your finished edge ?

Dan

[JoeSnuffie]

I'll post some pics this evening and link to them here. I'll also tell you for sure if it really works like I think it should but I beat, twisted, picked at and pulled a test piece and it didn't fail.

[chiefjason]

Liquid saddle soap does well for me. Dauber it on and burnish.

[Hillbilly tim]

Liquid saddle soap does well for me. Dauber it on and burnish.

+1

It works well for me on most all "good" leathers, regardless if I burnish by machine or hand. Some cheap leather I've had trouble with and cant get an edge any way I try.

[r lenna]

Have you tried sanding and then saddle soap? or best yet read this http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101

[JoeSnuffie]

Here's a pic of the glue results. I ended up sanding it down a little and hitting it with a burnishing wheel afterwards. Before the glue, sanding was nearly impossible because the fibers are so soft and waxy. The glue stiffened them up and made them sand just like untreated veg tan. The picture shows the effects of a canvas covered burnishing wheel on the dry leather. No water or wax added. I'll try beeswax or saddle soap when I get home for a nice shine.

[Red Cent]

Trial and error. I used to sand and sand. Now I take a square edge and do a neat bevel. At this point I take dauber and barely wet the edge. Too much water and you will deform the straight edge. It doesn't matter how many layers of leather as long as you have a burnisher with a groove that is only slightly rounded so that the width of the leather will almost touch or touch on the flat edge of the leather. I have a hand made burnisher that has 3 grooves. The first fits a width of 8-9 + 3-4. The next 8-9 ounce single layer and the next 3-4 ounce single layer. I burnish the leather to a rounded edge to the edge of the bevel. I oil, then dye, then burnish again (after they dry) with 50-50 beeswax paraffin. The I apply an acrylic then coat everything with M&P. Buff with an old T shirt and this gives me a good edge. After the first burnish, I may touch up an area or two with 400 sandpaper. I no longer use the pure paraffin or the glycerin, the liquid saddle soap or saddle soap.