Edge Finishing Horween Chromexcel

[Widget]

Hi everyone, need some advice. I'm going to try to do a journal cover out of Horween Chromexcel. I don't know how to finish the edges with this material, and I'm doubtful (just based on the feel of the leather) that the traditional bevel, soap, burnish, dye, burnish again will work. Or does it? Any advice is much appreciated.

Widget

[mrtreat32]

Hi everyone, need some advice. I'm going to try to do a journal cover out of Horween Chromexcel. I don't know how to finish the edges with this material, and I'm doubtful (just based on the feel of the leather) that the traditional bevel, soap, burnish, dye, burnish again will work. Or does it? Any advice is much appreciated.

Widget

I had read traditional methods doesnt work well on chromexcel but after working with horween leathers for the past month or so I find that they burnish pretty good.

On the other hand I have other types of chrome tanned leather that I cant burnish much at all.

[rawr66]

I don't think there's much you can do to finish chrome tanned leather. You might be able to skive the the edges and do rolled edges if you have the patience.

[Nuttish]

In my experience, the grain is far too supple to be able to bevel with my tools. Perhaps an exceptionally sharp edger won't skip and dig into the grain.

After working with it for the last 10 months or so, I've discovered that it does burnish, it just takes some doing. Doing it by hand is a real drag. A grooved burnishing tool or a drill press or buffer/polisher is essential in my opinion.

Why would you dye it?

Edited August 9, 2014 by Nuttish

[DavidL]

heat from a soldering iron is the only way to burnish chrome tan. Horween is vegetable and chrome tan so it could be burnished by hand.

[Avgvstvs]

Hi there,

I have played a bit with chromexcel and, like others, have found out that it's pretty hard to finish the edges as the leather is really soft and doesn't seem to compact properly in order to burnish.

I couldn't find anyone vouching for any particular method except edge turning, which is not so easily done and cannot always be a solution depending of what you're making.

I was at the point of leaving edges rough when I started playing around with the products I had laying around the house. Turns out the best results I had was with 'sole and heel edge dressing', a shoe care product - the one I used is made by Allen Edmonds and is clear ($5.50 for 4 oz bottle).

It is a water based product and I suspect it is acrylic reinforced. It's fluid and it soaks right in the leather edge. It can be relatively easily removed from the grain side of the chromexcel. Once dry it hardens the edge slighlty, gives it a glow and it won't crack or peel however you might twist the edge.

I bevel the edge, wet it and sand it, then I dampen it again and add spirit dye (if needed).

I put two to three coats of edge dressing, sanding before and between coats(220 grit).

It might not look like it but it is time consuming and tedious (sanding takes time)

Doing this I manage to get more than decent edges. Plus they seem to last a lot more than regular painted edges (the product doen't stay 'on top' of the edge, it's sunken in, so it seems to be quite abrasion resistant. The first item I made with this was a simple moleskine pocket notebook cover - didn't dye the edges, didn't sand them either so they were rough - this thing has been in my jean front pocket everyday for nearly two months and the edges look the same as the day I finished them.

I don't think it's the be-all-end-all finishig product/technique for chromexcel edges but it works for me and it sure helped me finish nice edges on multiple items so far.

Here are pictures of the edge of the moleskine cover ; edges aren't nice but pictures show the edge dressing still shiny after two months of abuse ( i work in a lumber yard/ hardware store so my pockets see their load of cement, saw dust, soil and all the good stuff.

Also added pictures of a piece of scrap that shows how nice this can look when edges are sanded and dyed (the pictures from my ipod don't do it justice).

Hope this helps.

[Widget]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Nuttish, wasn't saying I was dying the edges of the Horween, just saying that was my "normal" edge finishing method. Avgvstvs, thanks so much for sharing your process. Seems like this is the way to go, and your edges look great. Thanks!

-Widget

[Nuttish]

...

I bevel the edge, wet it and sand it, then I dampen it again and add spirit dye (if needed).

I put two to three coats of edge dressing, sanding before and between coats(220 grit).

...

Your edges look fabulous!

What are you using to bevel them? I cannot find the appropriate tool for the job.

Augustus. your edges look fabulous. What are you using to bevel them? I can't find the appropriate tool.

[Avgvstvs]

Hi Nuttish.

I bevel the edges with a craptool edge beveler I got in a beginner's kit from Tandy. The thing isn't sharp - I never sharpened it and you know 'sharp' is hardly a word one could use to describe those tools.

To minimize the drag when beveling chromexcel, put as little pressure as possible on the tool, it should make a significant difference. Also, I noticed that the angle at which you hold the beveler has a great impact on the level of drag you get while beveling.

Another thing to note is, if your chromexcel is of 'second' quality, the 'loose grained' parts will tend to drag significantly more as the grain is detached from the flesh part in some areas.

I hope this helps.

Word to the wise: as I stated earlier, this method is atrociously tedious; it takes me about 2-3x more time to finish edges that way vs finishing straight veg tanned leather edges.

PS: Widget (or anyone else)

If you decide to try this method, I would greatly appreciate to get feedback from you as I probably haven't nailed the most efficient way to go about it and I suppose I could learn a great deal from other's experiences with the techique/ product.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Avgvstvs

[Nuttish]

I edge CXL by sanding, rubbing saddle soap in with my fingers, burnishing with a mesquite tool on my drill press, rubbing saddle soap in with my fingers, burnishing with a mesquite tool on my drill press, etc. Anything more doesn't seem to do much, since the leather is so soft that any further finishing will eventually become sort of hazy.

Are your edges as durable as you'd like?

Are you sure that's not Dublin or Essex?

[Avgvstvs]

Hi nuttish,

I can't speak based on long-term experience as I'm just a beginner at leatherwork. The edges seem to hold on the (crude) item I made for myself.

I made several items for family and friends using the sole and edge dressing to finish the edges but more time will be needed before I can be absolutely positive about the durability of those edges.

The edges of the scrap piece with finished edges I posted earlier have been rubbed vigorously against jeans for about a minute (I did that to test the result before using the product on a finished item).

The finish created on the edges is not as close to burnishing edges as it is to painting them (but it's more like a stain+varnish type of thing rather than paint).

The product soaks in the leather and hardens it. This allows you to have more control over the sanding you do and when you put on the final coat(s) it bonds with the hardened edge. I suspect that the fact that the liquid hardens in the leather helps those edges to be more durable than regular painted edges (I own several articles with painted edges and the finish cracked and rubbed off them all quite fast after normal use).

As for the leather I got, I'm pretty sure it's chromexcel; it's what I paid for (from Maverick) and it smells, feels and looks like chromexcel. I have never played with either essex or dublin but from what I gather, it shouldn't be so easy to confuse chromexcel for dublin or essex as I have read in a post from Nick Horween that essex is essentially cowhide tanned with the same extracts as shell cordovan and dublin is basically a waxed essex.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Avgvstvs