Burnishing vs edge painting

[tibee]

Hello,

 

So here is my dilemma.

 

I love burnishing, the rounded look of it, the feel and process, but I have noticed the fibers get loose fairly quickly ( especially a burnished edge of a bag strap ) and then its just ugly.

My process is:  edging , fieblings paint, gum trag, dremel burnisher, resolene, bees wax, dremel burnisher... in that order

 

The second option is edge painting. It does take more time but I am getting smooth results with fenice edge paint but I'm afraid that using edge paint on a bridle leather strap will eventually make the paint crack since veg tanned stretches quite a bit. Cracked edge paint is even uglier than a half fuzzy burnished edge.

 

so my questions are:

Will edge paint hold on a veg tanned leather strap that will probably experience some stretch and alot of contact.

Is my burnishing technique wrong that it makes edges go fuzzy after some weeks of use.

And on a somewhat unrelated topic, I'm using W&C black bridle leather with pasted flesh side for the straps. The flesh side ( which is directly against the shoulder)  frays... the fibers get loose and since its not struck through, its beige fibers that pop up and its pretty ugly. I was thinking that maybe getting non pasted flesh side Black bridle could solve that but it could also be that the one skin I have been using for these straps was a bit dry as i bought it in Toronto during winter, from a place that doesn't have humidity control, and who knows how long it stayed there.

 

THANKS!

 

 

 

 

[Red Bear Haraldsson]

Go here, it is where we send everyone for doing edges:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/18101-finishing-edges/

 

[MonicaJacobson]

I've had the same trouble with burnishing. I've moved entirely to edge paint and I figure even if the paint peels (which it shows no indication of doing), it'd still be far better than the leaky, staining, very quickly fibrous edges I was getting with burnishing. I made myself a purse last month with Dublin (which is straight veg tanned), and I edge painted it so I could see for myself how long edge paint lasts. So far, so good, but it's only been a month.
 

I think you'd have to worry less about the stretching if you stitch the strap. I usually do that anyway to avoid the whole stretching issue entirely. A belt that isn't stitched becomes deformed almost immediately.  

Edited November 10, 2016 by MonicaJacobson

[Boriqua]

as a final over a burnished edge I always paint on a pass or two of supersheen. I like the look of the burnished edge and its process marks far better than paint. My edges on items my super tough on gear tester has have been holding up well. I dont use the beeswax.

Alex

[tibee]

Thanks for the quick responses

Just to clarify. No matter how well i burnish using hidepounders technique, or add super sheen, it well always get fuzzy eventually right ??

If so I might end up stitching 2 straps flesh to flesh , stitch and edge paint... ALOT more work but I feel bad selling a bag that gets fuzzy edges after a few weeks.

Thank you

Tib

[Red Bear Haraldsson]

It /may/ is the best I can say. I've seen belts used everyday for years that never did. I've had straps that have turned fuzzy inside a month (most likely /my/ fault there!).

From all that I have gathered, it all comes down to attention to detail and elbow grease. And the flesh side of the straps can be burnished as well...

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS541US598&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=burnish flesh leather strap

We also tell people to use google for the searching here, their search engine is much better, just put in what you want and add site:leatherworker.net to the search. You should come up with a goodly amount of pages from here.

[Boriqua]

To kind of piggy back off of what red bear said ... you get out what you put in so if you start out with a fairly smooth edge before you burnish there is less to get fuzzy. Seems like you already made up your mind but I sand my edges down to a worn piece of 220 grit sand paper. Some guys here go further than that. Cant get to fuzzy if it doesnt start fuzzy. I start with 60 grit, go to 125 then to 220 and then to a 220 that started as 220 on a wheel but hasnt been changed in a while so its no where near 220 any more. Then I start the burnishing process. Point is .. my edge already looks like a sanded piece of wood before I start rubbing.

Sometimes its just loose crappy leather and you can sand to death and its still loose crappy leather. I have started just being sure I take the pieces I need from the right part of the hide. I have a piece now that is way to loose to make firm holsters. Its 8/9 but is just not appropriate for a holster but it will make great motorcycle accessories where forming isnt an issue so I will use it there. So if that strap is important make sure to pick it from a good solid spot on the hide.

[MonicaJacobson]

+1 -- my failure at good burnishing is probably exactly what Boriqua says. Good quality leather, the right part of the hide, and OCD sanding likely make all the difference. I've only bought Hermann Oak once, but it's definitely superior to any of the other veg tanned I had previously bought. I moved away from veg tanned to pre-died and finished partial veg tanned and chrome tanned, so edge paint became more necessary.