How Do I Finish The Flesh Side?

[Sceaden]

A lot of good ideas here, thanks! Quick question, what do you all do for nicely skived backs with no fuzz on a wallet? Do you seal them or leave them raw?

[bikermutt07]

21 hours ago, Sceaden said:

A lot of good ideas here, thanks! Quick question, what do you all do for nicely skived backs with no fuzz on a wallet? Do you seal them or leave them raw?

I have been having good luck with tokonole. You can get it here in the states from Rocky Mountain Leather. Slicks up nice with a glass slicker. Smells a little like Elmer's glue.

[AZNightwolf]

Lot's of good Knowledge up in here. Thanks for sharing

[nrk]

On 1/9/2016 at 5:41 PM, alancolyer said:

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster.

I've read alot about finishing edges on my leather projects, and I've gotten results I'm mostly happy with.

However, on some projects, like archery bracers, I have a large area of flesh-side on the bottom which contacts the wearer's skin.

Depending on the peice of leather this is sometimes OK, other times a problem. I normally use veg-tan tooling leather, varying quality / types. The flesh side can be anything from almost smooth to furrier than your cat.

I've found that if I dye the flesh side, particularly if I use oil based dye (like Fiebing's oil dye) it becomes almost crusty and can feel like sandpaper.

I was wondering how others deal with this?

Here's some things I've tried in the past:

1. Dye with oil-dye, then coat with leather conditioner (beeswax with other stuff) and burnish, this seems to remove the sandpaper feel but can feel a little waxy afterwards

2. Line the flesh-side with suede - I like this, but it does require more leather and much more time for the glueing and stitching

3. Sand or lightly skive, dye with water-based dye, and burnish with gum trag - never gets totally smooth, will be undone with use

The answer may be "buy better leather" but I would be interested to know if there's a good way to come up with a reasonably smooth coloured finish on the flesh side.

Any help appreciated.

looking back to me experience, I would agree and recommend #2 - lining. But not with a suede - try some thin and maybe strong leather.
Typically, I'd use kangaroo leather on the projects that require strength and long run term. Yes, it does require additional time to stitch, glue etc, but worst the money and the result.

Other methods, like tan kote, dying etc. - they have some simile moments - will not last long for a simple reason - flesh side absorbs water and other liquids fast.

All mentioned above is a moment of contact with wearer's skin.
Other projects depends on goals..

Edited April 14, 2017 by nrk
misword

[Daniellynn]

 

Dwight,

Is there a picture of this finish on your website?

 

[Daniellynn]

I use shoe polish, can use, black , clear or brown, burnish first then polish as you would a shoe or per instructions on can , works great i use a horse hair brush for the final polish,

[QueenMommy]

On 1/11/2016 at 2:28 PM, alancolyer said:

just reporting back, I tried the wax & neatsfoot mix and it worked perfectly. rubbed it on, used a heatgun to melt it in, then burnished for a great finish. worked well on even very fuzzy leather, and feels smooth enough, even has a nice shine.

thanks for the knowledge Dwight

Will a hair dryer work if I don't have a heat gun?

[Boriqua]

31 minutes ago, QueenMommy said:

Will a hair dryer work if I don't have a heat gun?

I use a hair dryer and it works fine. I have a hair dryer just for this kind of stuff and what I did was make a funnel out of some light cardboard and taped it to the end of the hair dryer to concentrate the heat a bit more and works like a charm

[Bobbie]

On 3/15/2016 at 8:10 PM, Harry Marinakis said:

belt sander (220 grit) until smooth

Hi Harry, I'm planning on getting a belt sander to smooth the raw side of my veg tan too.  Could you recommend a brand/model.

Thanks much.

Bobbie

[Harry Marinakis]

On 12/24/2023 at 7:03 PM, Bobbie said:

Hi Harry, I'm planning on getting a belt sander to smooth the raw side of my veg tan too.  Could you recommend a brand/model.

Thanks much.

Bobbie

Cheap 4x36 belt sander. They don't last long, plan on replacing it every 5 years.