Twisted 66 Report post Posted February 26, 2015 Ive seen tons of burnishing tools some online for $1 from china and ebay, others made of coco somethin or other for considerably more(sorry cant remember the name of the wood right now)..some made of pine from arts and craft stores others plastic from leather shops....so many varieties..is there a real difference? Is one better than the other? Are there types to stear clear of?? What are your thoughts and views? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted February 26, 2015 My first was made of some very expensive, thick, felt, . . . was supposed to be "the best". It worked. Tried a plastic burnishing tool from Tandy, . . . cheap. It worked. Made some out of hardwood dowels. They work . . . Personally, . . . I think it is more the person doing the work than the tool, . . . but I am partial to my home made wooden ones: pine, ash, maple, . . . whatever is available when I need it. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tramps Leatherworking Report post Posted February 26, 2015 I have used plastic pill bottles, wooden dowels, felt wheel on a dremel, etc... For quite sometime, I have just used a piece of canvas --- when my arthritis is giving me fits, which is quite often, I will use the dremel or drill press and be very careful not to over burnish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted February 26, 2015 Denim or canvas is my favorite. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thor Report post Posted February 26, 2015 ... be very careful not to over burnish. What do you exactly mean by that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busterradar Report post Posted February 26, 2015 The key is to find something you like to use and is comfortable to use. Whatever you use make sure it doesn't have and knicks in it otherwise it will mark up your leather. I also have a pointed antler that I use for small places. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 26, 2015 What do you exactly mean by that? Thor, overburnishing is when you get too much friction on your leather and you scorch the leather surface. It's probably only a risk if you are using a mechanical method for burnishing an edge. It would probably be hard to do if you were burnishing by hand. The 'coco' wood is Cocobolo and I have a burnisher for my drill press made from it and it works really well. I've also made a very small burnisher for tight areas out of a small pine dowel. It works really well too. I think it is a matter of what you like best, but I find using a burnisher mounted in my drill press as much easier than trying to burnish by hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokarsky Report post Posted February 26, 2015 If you're looking for a quick cheap fix, I did this the other day: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=61956 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thor Report post Posted February 26, 2015 Thor, overburnishing is when you get too much friction on your leather and you scorch the leather surface. It's probably only a risk if you are using a mechanical method for burnishing an edge. It would probably be hard to do if you were burnishing by hand. Thank you Bob. I thought that's what he's been referring to but wasn't certain. I'm using my bonefold quite often and just made me two out of chestnut for my dremel, but would like to get a few deer bones to play with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexitbe Report post Posted February 26, 2015 I imagine, the only poor material to burnish with would be metal. Since it is thermally conductive, it will drain the heat away from the leather surface and this is where you want it. Ofcourse, i suppose you could just turn up the speed of rotation to cause more friction... I think wood or any other dielectric ie non-conductor, would be better with lower speed of rotation... Alex Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tramps Leatherworking Report post Posted February 26, 2015 Thank you Bob. I thought that's what he's been referring to but wasn't certain. I'm using my bonefold quite often and just made me two out of chestnut for my dremel, but would like to get a few deer bones to play with. Thor, Bob is right, over burnishing can cause the edge to become rough... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wlg190861 Report post Posted March 8, 2015 what works great for me with veg-tan tooling leather is. bevel the edge ( both sides ). dampen the edge, rub with saddle soap an hand burnish with a pair of your blue jeans, apply wax and hand burnish a little more. This gives me a wonderful looking edge. The only time I use a motorized wooden burnisher is when working with latigo or harness leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chiefjason Report post Posted March 8, 2015 I've bought a couple of these and they are great. I have the "hole master" for my drill press and the hand burnisher for burnishing and forming holsters. Great stuff, fast shipping too. http://proedgeburnishers.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
