Finishing Edges On Natural Veg Tan.

[billybopp]

A question and an idea:

Q: To those that use beeswax, do you soften it somehow before using it to burnish, or just rub it along the edge. Some of the beeswax that I have is pretty hard stuff. It works OK on thread, but precious little seems to transfer to the edge when I try to use it for burnishing. Should I perhaps heat it a little, or would it be better to melt some with oil so that sets up a little softer?

Idea: I've been contemplating using a longish, thinish piece of wood with a U groove routed into it and a piece of canvas glued there. Something like a shaped sanding block. It seems that might help avoid the "dips" in the edge that sometimes occur with a round burnisher. I might even go so far as to channel all four sides to use with different dye colors to help avoid, for lack of a better phrase, "cross-contamination of color". It could also be possible to make different channel sizes and shapes if one had different size router bits, or whatever tools used. It might work as well with some sandpaper glued in for the initial sanding and shaping.

Thoughts??

Bill

[whipstitchwallets]

A question and an idea:

Q: To those that use beeswax, do you soften it somehow before using it to burnish, or just rub it along the edge. Some of the beeswax that I have is pretty hard stuff. It works OK on thread, but precious little seems to transfer to the edge when I try to use it for burnishing. Should I perhaps heat it a little, or would it be better to melt some with oil so that sets up a little softer?

When I used straight beeswax I heated it up with a heat gun (a blow dryer would work). It worked ok, but that is why i started mixing in the paraffin and coconut oil. The result glides right on. This is important to me as I work almost exclusively with 2-3 oz leather

[impulse]

I have tried a new approach to edge burnishing which is so quick and simple. Why buy expensive heating equipment when a canvas clad DIY burnisher creates ideal heat for melting in wax?

I make my own leather dressing from beeswax, neatsfoot oil (50/50) and a dash of eucalyptus oil to inhibit mould. This makes the beeswax workable and leaves a waterproof surface with a good shine.

After bevelling and sanding the edges, I stain if desired, apply the beeswax mix and then use the canvas burnisher. I do not use water or gum trag as these cool the edges. That's it! The beeswax penetrates the edges and hardens with the heat, leaving a smooth, shiny finish.

Lois

[Red Cent]

If the edges of the leather is flattening then you are using the wrong groove. I made my burnishing tools out of dowel rod and bolts and nuts. They have different widths and/or depths in the grooves to take care of the different thickness of leather. I always start with the grove that forms the edges inward and may not touch the top of the edge. After burnishing (btw, mine is a converted grinder), the burnished edges should be more hard than the top. After some more burnishing, I will change to a wider groove that touches the whole rounded edge.

Depending on the leather, you may have to sand at least once more. I dye almost all my edges after the water is evaporated. The dye contains agents that will dry out the leather quickly and provide better burnishing. And I may sand again after I dye. Again, a stiff, dry piece of leather will burnish a lot easier than a soft, supple, rather spongy piece of leather.

[thekid77]

Hi all,

I am having issues getting a nice clean burnish on natural (un-dyed) veg tan.

This is my process:

I sand with 80 grit to make edges even and square if necessary.

Sand edges with medium and then fine.

Trim the edges with a tandy edge beveler.

Wet the edges with small wool dauber as neatly as I can.

Burnish with a wooden hand burnisher (picture below, I wonder if the burnisher I am using isn't the best).

Then I add beeswax to the edge, and burnish again with the same wooden burnisher.

My problem is, I am not getting a very clean edge. After I put water on the edge and do the first burnish, water leaks or is pushed onto the face of the leather, away from the edge, either by the burnishing, or just by the water itself. It makes the face look messy and the edge not like like a straight edge.

This would be easy to hide if I were to dye the leather before my final burnish, but it looks really messy on natural leather, and honestly, I would like to just have a solid method that looks good regardless if I dye or not. I have read hidepounders tutorial on finishing edges, but I don't really want to use the paste or paraffin, I am trying to keep it to beeswax/water, or any other natural product.

Thanks!

with regard to wetting the edges, rather than using a dauber, which tends to hold lots of liquid, you could try using a Q-tip dipped in water and roll it over the edge to dampen it...this works for me, and the Q-tip seems to provide lots of control in terms of the amount of water applied and where exactly the water is applied (so you don't wind up getting any excess water onto the grain/flesh of the leather where you don't want it...just an idea, hope it helps

ps if I'm burnishing thinner leather, I'll touch the Q-tip onto a paper towel briefly just so I don't over-apply the water

[zaynexpetty]

I have tried a new approach to edge burnishing which is so quick and simple. Why buy expensive heating equipment when a canvas clad DIY burnisher creates ideal heat for melting in wax?

I make my own leather dressing from beeswax, neatsfoot oil (50/50) and a dash of eucalyptus oil to inhibit mould. This makes the beeswax workable and leaves a waterproof surface with a good shine.

After bevelling and sanding the edges, I stain if desired, apply the beeswax mix and then use the canvas burnisher. I do not use water or gum trag as these cool the edges. That's it! The beeswax penetrates the edges and hardens with the heat, leaving a smooth, shiny finish.

Lois

Ooooo, I like the use of eucalyptus in your mixture! I am a big fan of essential oils and had been wondering in what ways I might integrate some into my leather working. Do you think that substituting Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Neatsfoot in your mixture would do a similar job?

Thanks!

[zaynexpetty]

with regard to wetting the edges, rather than using a dauber, which tends to hold lots of liquid, you could try using a Q-tip dipped in water and roll it over the edge to dampen it...this works for me, and the Q-tip seems to provide lots of control in terms of the amount of water applied and where exactly the water is applied (so you don't wind up getting any excess water onto the grain/flesh of the leather where you don't want it...just an idea, hope it helps

ps if I'm burnishing thinner leather, I'll touch the Q-tip onto a paper towel briefly just so I don't over-apply the water

I had it in my mind to not use q-tips any more because I had tried using them to apply gum trag to the edges with messy results in the past, I never thought to use them with water. Great suggestion! I also will keep the advice for burnishing thinner leather in mind.

Thanks!