Burnishing Lined Edges

[LouraLeather]

Hey guys,

I've been making a few passport and card holders and for my last one I decided to line it with some Tandy Premium Mission Grain Pigskin Lining Leather, I glued it to the main piece and then trimmed the excess, I assembled and stitched everything and then burnished the edges, I usually get a smooth and clean edge but this time, with the lining, it looks like it's cracked, as you can see from the pictures I've attached.

I'm not that familiar with pigskin, I'm guessing this particular piece is not of the greatest quality and that may be the reason why I can't burnish it very well, I'm from Portugal and before I bought this piece from Tandy I bought a piece from a local shop, it was really cheap but seeing as I had never bought pigskin before, I thought I was getting a deal (I'll attach a couple of photos later), when I got home I took a good look at it and it was kind of flimsy and had a greyish color to it, I also tried dying it just to see the results and it didn't turn up very nice, I wanted to know your opinions and if it's just the quality of the pigskin or if I should be using another technique!

Thank you very much,

Lourenço

[Grumpy Coyote]

Did you sand the edge flush before burnishing? I usually get this when my layers are uneven. A quick sand to level them out before burnishing usually avoids it.

[DoubleC]

Also did you edge the pigskin too? I would have edged the veg tanned on it's front, and also the pigskin on it's front that will round both edges. Cheryl

Edited September 22, 2014 by DoubleC

[Itch]

The way it looks now ,I would take a block of bees wax rub the edges with it and then burnish..

[LouraLeather]

Did you sand the edge flush before burnishing? I usually get this when my layers are uneven. A quick sand to level them out before burnishing usually avoids it.

I did, but maybe I didn't sand it enough, I'll try it again on a piece of scrap!

Cheers

[LouraLeather]

The way it looks now ,I would take a block of bees wax rub the edges with it and then burnish..

I burnished first with water and then with gum trag, I'll have to go get some beeswax and have a go at it, thanks!

Cheers

[DavidL]

I think you need to make a tighter bond with the pieces so they act like a single piece - contact cement and slick/compress pieces together. Maybe a rougher grit sandpaper? I would sand it aggressively till its level and only then add saddle soap and burnish.

[thekid77]

Hey guys,

I've been making a few passport and card holders and for my last one I decided to line it with some Tandy Premium Mission Grain Pigskin Lining Leather, I glued it to the main piece and then trimmed the excess, I assembled and stitched everything and then burnished the edges, I usually get a smooth and clean edge but this time, with the lining, it looks like it's cracked, as you can see from the pictures I've attached.

I'm not that familiar with pigskin, I'm guessing this particular piece is not of the greatest quality and that may be the reason why I can't burnish it very well, I'm from Portugal and before I bought this piece from Tandy I bought a piece from a local shop, it was really cheap but seeing as I had never bought pigskin before, I thought I was getting a deal (I'll attach a couple of photos later), when I got home I took a good look at it and it was kind of flimsy and had a greyish color to it, I also tried dying it just to see the results and it didn't turn up very nice, I wanted to know your opinions and if it's just the quality of the pigskin or if I should be using another technique!

Thank you very much,

Lourenço

I agree with the others, looks like the edges might not be exactly flush with each other, so try sanding them flush....one way I can tell if the edges are even with each other is if you take the project out into the sunlight, if one side of the edge is higher (uneven), the light will cast a shadow as you turn the edge back and forth in the light....you will clearly be able to see if they are dead flush or not (you'll see what looks like a little valley in between the edges).....this is what works for me, hope it can help you

Edited September 25, 2014 by thekid77

[whipstitchwallets]

it's not too late to simply sand it again

[tossik]

This will make your like easier with sanding!

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-H6070-5-Inch-Sander-30-Inch/dp/B0007D2YAO/ref=pd_sim_hi_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F30Q8FC79CZCHX3KGG4

[MorningStarL]

Thanks, guys. The edge on the knife sheath I just finished are wide -- 3 - 4 layers of 9 - 10 ounce vegtan and a liner of 2 ounce in the top of the sheath too. When I finished sewing at midnght I put it on the belt sander to even the edges like ou told Laurenco, coarse grit, then used a 400-grit drum on the Dremel; burnished with water and my trusty piece of caribou antler til things got shiny; two coats of dye. That's drying now and I'll finish in the morning. Looks better than I expected.