Members Red Cent Posted May 18, 2016 Members Report Posted May 18, 2016 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. Quote https://www.facebook.com/redcentcustomleather?ref=bookmarks http://www.redcentcustomleather.com/
Members bob21804 Posted May 18, 2016 Author Members Report Posted May 18, 2016 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. Quote
Contributing Member TwinOaks Posted May 19, 2016 Contributing Member Report Posted May 19, 2016 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". Quote Mike DeLoach Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem) "Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade." "Teach what you know......Learn what you don't." LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.
Members bob21804 Posted May 20, 2016 Author Members Report Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) 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 Quote
Members BrownDog52469 Posted May 27, 2016 Members Report Posted May 27, 2016 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. Quote
Members bob21804 Posted May 27, 2016 Author Members Report Posted May 27, 2016 Thanks, BrownDog. That method is pretty much what I imagined would work well. I have a small double boiler around here somewhere. I still haven't had the chance to try it, but maybe this weekend. I also imagine the beeswax sort of filling in, building up a bit, and smoothing over any less-than-perfect edges - such as small/minor gaps between layers of leather, that may still be visible even after a good amount of sanding. Do you find this to be the case? I've only been doing leatherwork on a hobby/part-time basis for about 5 months and haven't yet been able to achieve the beautiful, near perfect edges I've seen some more experienced people do. Bob Quote
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