Wallet Pocket Edges

[jdm0515]

I have been making a fair number of wallets lately, and I have always just tried to burnish the top edges of my pockets with water and beeswax. This tends to look OK, but I have been wondering if skiving and doing a rolled edge may be a better option.

I currently don't have any kind of skiving tools, however I have read Al Stohlman's Leatherwork Tools, so I have some basic idea of what to do, but I've never actually tried it.

Most of the leather i've been working with is in the 2/3oz range, so its still burnishable, I just think a rolled edge may look a little neater.

Figured I would post here to see if anyone has any input or advice before I rush out and spend money on stuff I don't need.

[Tugadude]

The rolled edge may look neater, and will probably wear better. I imagine stuffing cards into the pockets will eventually create wear on the top edges if they are simply burnished. All of the wallets I've made so far are burnished-only and seem to wear well. I generally add a crease to add some definition. I think it adds to the look. Skiving doesn't require you to buy expensive tools. So the investment is minimal. Are you planning to stitch the turned edges or hope that glue alone will hold?

[jdm0515]

I prefer the look of an unstitched rolled edge, but I don't know how the durability would be compared to just burnished. It's details like this that i'm a bit unsure about. I've only been doing this for less than a year, and the longest i've used one of my own wallets for is three months, so I don't really have a lot of solid information about long-term durability.

I still would like to learn how to do a rolled edge anyways I think, even if it's not necessarily better, but i've spent the last few days comparing the options for skiving knives. This is where i'm not sure whether to spurge on a good head knife or french knife, or just go with something like a safety skiver, but then have to deal with replacing blades.

[Ferg]

Some folks have good luck with the safety skiver, I hate the darn thing. I use a round knife that is kept very sharp when I want to skive thin leather. I have the French also.

Rolled edges are beautiful and "Sassy Classy" but they would make your wallets more expensive because of the time involved.

I think the burnished edge is the way to go, along with the crease. If you do not incorporate a flowing curve to the top edge of your pockets, try it. With the crease they look very nice and add little to the cost.

ferg

[jdm0515]

I went ahead and got the safety skiver, I figured it was a cheap way to try this. i'm starting to get the hang of it, however, i'm not sure how to get the desired "feather edge" for rolled edges. Is it meant to be used parallel to the edge in one long cut, or a bunch of small cuts from the fold point to the edge?

[Tugadude]

You are in luck, Tandy has a video showing the proper technique. Go to Youtube.com and search for Safety Beveler. You will see that you want to skive parallel to the long edge. You could go perpendicular, but it is very difficult to keep the thickness of the cuts consistent.