Finishing Edges with Hot Beeswax

[bob21804]

I've read a few references to using hot beeswax for finishing edges but haven't been about to find a tutorial or any details. Can anyone help?

Bob

[Halitech]

never heard of using hot beeswax. Be interesting to see what info comes out about it

[Dwight]

If you have an electric motor driven burnisher, . . . beeswax can do some super edges on holsters and belts.  

Now, . . . we're not talking that junk that is sold in hobby shops and is some kind of beeswax / petroleum mixture, . . . or any of that stuf.

We're talking the real stuff, . . . put a bit of water on the edge of that belt, . . . hit it on the burnisher, . . . turn it light tan by pressure, . . . that warms it up a bit, . . . then rub the wax on the belt edge just so you can see littlt globules of wax here and there on the edge of the belt, . . . then go back to the burnisher.  

Whew, . . . should be shining like a silver dollar now.

Least ways that's how I do it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Halitech]

ok, that's basically what I do now but I was thinking maybe he was talking about heating the wax first before doing anything with it.

[bob21804]

43 minutes ago, Halitech said:

ok, that's basically what I do now but I was thinking maybe he was talking about heating the wax first before doing anything with it.

 

1 hour ago, Dwight said:

If you have an electric motor driven burnisher, . . . beeswax can do some super edges on holsters and belts.  

Now, . . . we're not talking that junk that is sold in hobby shops and is some kind of beeswax / petroleum mixture, . . . or any of that stuf.

We're talking the real stuff, . . . put a bit of water on the edge of that belt, . . . hit it on the burnisher, . . . turn it light tan by pressure, . . . that warms it up a bit, . . . then rub the wax on the belt edge just so you can see littlt globules of wax here and there on the edge of the belt, . . . then go back to the burnisher.  

Whew, . . . should be shining like a silver dollar now.

Least ways that's how I do it.

May God bless,

Dwight

 

43 minutes ago, Halitech said:

ok, that's basically what I do now but I was thinking maybe he was talking about heating the wax first before doing anything with it.

Dwight, thanks for sharing your process. I do have some pure beeswax and I recently picked up a mini bench grinder with a polishing wheel, thinking I might be able to use it for edges. I also have a larger polishing wheel that I've used for other things, such as shining up metalwork. I don't have an electric burnisher designed for leatherwork, and I really don't know the difference, but i'll start looking at those as I have time. Can you (or anybody) tell me the difference?

Daryl, If I remember right, I think I saw a YouTube video a while ago, where the guy did used  melted/liquefied beeswax (I believe mixed with paraffin) to finish edges. I really don't remember the details, and have no idea if this is a good method or not. Maybe other experienced leatherworkers will shed some more light. And of course, a bit of experimentation can't be a bad thing.

Bob

Edited May 12, 2016 by bob21804

[wlg190861]

Here is a burnisher for leather

[bob21804]

1 hour ago, wlg190861 said:

Here is a burnisher for leather

Thanks! I was already aware of that type. In fact I have a buddy making me one in exchange for a small leather case. We're thinking about making it with a piece of Bakelite. I thought there was also another, motorized type, with a type of cloth wheel. Am I totally off base with that?? And do you think Bakelite would be a good material for one similar to the one you pictured?

[JMWendt]

So I've used beeswax . . . used it exclusively for years before I used a burnishing wheel.  Still use it with the wheel, not as often.  I was just using a canvas sheet to burnish for many years.

Pure beeswax works fine.  You should burnish, wax, then burnish again.

Heating the edges with a heat gun after you've applied the wax soaks the wax back into the leather and removes the burnish, so don't do that.  Pre-heating the wax a bit before rubbing is effective, however.

Do any dyeing or coloration you want PRIOR to the beeswax or you won't get good absorption of the dye into the edge.  The wax blocks dyes.

[Mongo]

A mix of 50/50 beeswax and paraffin with a power burnisher has worked well for me.  I use wool felt washers that have been stacked together on a bolt for burnishing.

[chapelstone]

Can you post a picture of the wool felt washers on the bolt. Can it be rigged up on something to fit a drimmel? 

[Mongo]

I'm at my full time job right now so I can't send a picture.

I took 5-7 1 1/2" wool felt washers that I bought on Amazon and put them on a threaded bolt with steel washer on both ends.  I tightened a nut behind the washer at the back end of the bolt and I had a nice couple of inches to burnish with. I don't know why you couldn't make a smaller version that would work on a Dremel.  I use a small felt wheel that comes with my Dremel attachments to burnish small areas.

My power burnisher is a table top drill press set on its side.  It runs at a nice slow speed and works perfectly.  I use Fiebing's Glycerine Bar Soap on a similar set-up to wet burnish to cut any friction.  I also do all holster welts on the same machine.  I just pull the burnishing "bolt" out and replace it with a sanding drum. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by Mongo

[wlg190861]

19 hours ago, bob21804 said:

Thanks! I was already aware of that type. In fact I have a buddy making me one in exchange for a small leather case. We're thinking about making it with a piece of Bakelite. I thought there was also another, motorized type, with a type of cloth wheel. Am I totally off base with that?? And do you think Bakelite would be a good material for one similar to the one you pictured?

I'm not sure as I am pretty new  to leather work myself

[bob21804]

1 hour ago, Mongo said:

I'm at my full time job right now so I can't send a picture.

I took 5-7 1 1/2" wool felt washers that I bought on Amazon and put them on a threaded bolt with steel washer on both ends.  I tightened a nut behind the washer at the back end of the bolt and I had a nice couple of inches to burnish with. I don't know why you couldn't make a smaller version that would work on a Dremel.  I use a small felt wheel that comes with my Dremel attachments to burnish small areas.

My power burnisher is a table top drill press set on its side.  It runs at a nice slow speed and works perfectly.  I use Fiebing's Glycerine Bar Soap on a similar set-up to wet burnish to cut any friction.  I also do all holster welts on the same machine.  I just pull the burnishing "bolt" out and replace it with a sanding drum. 

Thanks! Your last 2 posts have been ringing bells for me. Did you make a YouTube Video showing this setup or see a similar setup on Youtube? I definitely recall seeing something like this before, and it's giving me ideas. At my day job, I'm able to get a hold of various size felt cylinder shaped disks - some over an inch in diameter by about 1 1/2" thick. I brought some smaller ones home in the past to try using them as applicators for dying edges, but I never thought about using them to burnish.  I'll definitely be experimenting to see what I can put together.

[eglideride]

Youtube- Richard Black tutorial...I haven't tried it. On my list though.

[bob21804]

1 minute ago, eglideride said:

Youtube- Richard Black tutorial...I haven't tried it. On my list though.

Ahhh, thanks. I knew I saw it somewhere, but wasn't able to find it recently when I looked. I'll definitely revisit it. Working on a couple wallets ATM.

[YinTx]

For a minute there, I thought you were wanting to know about this technique:

 

 

YinTx

[bob21804]

1 hour ago, YinTx said:

For a minute there, I thought you were wanting to know about this technique:

 

 

YinTx

I have seen that one too... as well as one using the felt washers on a bolt setup. It seems there are several similar ways to skin a cat.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Anyone know where to get those edge irons used in the above video, or are they something you have to make or have made?

[gigi]

Anyone knows this technique in the next video at minute 1:42 ?  Is he using wax and a burnisher? Thanks!

 

Edited May 16, 2016 by gigi

[klaykrusher]

On 5/13/2016 at 5:21 PM, eglideride said:

Youtube- Richard Black tutorial...I haven't tried it. On my list though.

Any one know what happened to 'ol Richard?  He hasn't created any new vids for a long time.  I enjoyed his creations and down-to-earth style.

[Red Cent]

I also use a cake of beeswax/parifin (50/50) to rub the edges of a belt or holster. Then I use a home made burnisher on a grinder. After burnishing, you need to polish edge with a piece of old towel or something to reduce the coating to what is necessary. Makes for a great looking edge.

 

 

 

[bob21804]

Ahh, Red Cent, that's right... that is your burnisher. I recently printed that picture to show a buddy who was making a wooden burnishing tool for me, in exchange for a leather flashlight case. Here's what we came up with... when I get a chance,  I'll probably cut it shorter and fix it to a small bench grinder, similar to your setup. For now, I'll try using it by hand. I also plan to put together a felt disk burnishing tool soon, like mentioned above. I have the material - just need more hours in a day.

[TwinOaks]

A note on the felt washers:  You'll need to compress the felt a bit between two washers to keep it from spreading when you apply pressure to the edges.  One of our members, "Immiketoo" has a series of video tutorials on his site, "Learnleather.com".  

[bob21804]

I have some of these - made of fairly dense felt, but I think they would still need to be sandwiched between a couple washers. They are about 1 1/8" x 1 1/8". I haven't had a chance yet, but I'll put a hole through one somehow and fix it up as an edge burnisher. Of course I could even double them up (or more) if the need arises. I also have some smaller ones that I've used for applying dye and trag to edges but they really work no better or worse that any other applicators that could be used.

Edited May 20, 2016 by bob21804

[BrownDog52469]

I have used bees wax to finish the edges of stacked leather knife sheaths.  It looks very nice.  I heat a pot of water on a hot plate.  I place a block of bees wax in a smaller pot and insert the small pot in the larger one holding the hot water to melt the wax.  Once the wax is liquid I apply it to the edge using natural bristle brush.  Once the wax is on the leather edge I use a heat gun to keep it soft to move it around to get even coverage.  After it hardens buff it with a canvas buffing wheel to a high polish.