Not burnishing belt edges!

[Dominicff]

Hey. I'm about to make a lots of belt and I found burnishing edges a pain in the xxx. Just wondering if in the long term it will get ugly. I will apply beeswax on the edges but not beveling nor sanding and burnish the edges. 

 

Hand burnish is painful on my hands(from old injury it's hard for me to have a good grip)  and when using a dremel it burns the leather and its not even, it is also time consuming. 

 

What's your opinion? 

[ByNelson]

It's not a step I would skip.... makes a big difference in the final look and feel.... I found that if you follow the edge guide on this forum, it's not so hard to get a ok edge. 

[Tpc]

I would also not skip this stage. You could try a drill to burnish, you could set the spindle speed slower so as not to burn. 

[Halitech]

if you are burning when using a dremel, you have it turning too fast. Honestly, if you aren't burnishing, there is no point in applying beeswax to the edges. If burnishing is that hard on you, consider using edge paints like these

https://www.tandyleather.ca/en/product/eco-flo-edgeflex-8-5-fl-oz-250ml

http://springfieldleather.com/Edge-Kote-Black-4oz

[gmace99]

 

[Matt S]

Burnishing the edges of strap-goods makes a huge difference to the quality of your product. Not worth skipping, IMHO.

[Dwight]

Personally, . . . there is very little that goes out of my shop not being burnished, . . . and belts are never allowed out that way.

I use my Dremel at about 1600 rpm or so (it has a scale on the back telling me how fast I'm going), . . . 

AND I use a discarded HVAC fan motor, . . . I put a home-made burnishing tool on it. 

I also have arthritis in the 72 year old hands, . . . but they can muster through this 5 minutes to make the belt look like a craftsman did it, . . .

It looks like the pics  below.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Dominicff]

Thanks for all your reply I will burnish it now!  Thanks! 

[Dominicff]

15 hours ago, gmace99 said:

 

Anybody tried it? 

[Mattsbagger]

The guy that posted the video is the maker of it. It seems pretty common in English saddle making from what I've read.