Members Isrummell Posted March 31, 2018 Members Report Posted March 31, 2018 I am just getting started with leather work I have made a couple holsters but never tried to burnish the edge. The scrap leather I got isn't dyed all the way through. Can I darken the un dyed part with burnishing or do I need to dye it somehow. I like darkening the veg tan leather I have used for other projects with vegetable oil. But I don't think that would darken it enough to match the top layer. Any help? Quote
Members Instinctive Posted March 31, 2018 Members Report Posted March 31, 2018 What type of leather are you using? You can only burnish veg tan leather. Typically if I am using a pre-dyed veg tan, I will dye the edges before burnishing unless I want the contrasting edge color. Natural veg tan will burnish to a caramel color (at least the stuff I use). Quote
Members Isrummell Posted March 31, 2018 Author Members Report Posted March 31, 2018 Actually I'm not sure what it is. If it isn't vegtan then how can I finish the edges Quote
Members Mattsbagger Posted March 31, 2018 Members Report Posted March 31, 2018 Edge paint. On 3/31/2018 at 11:07 AM, Isrummell said: Actually I'm not sure what it is. If it isn't vegtan then how can I finish the edges Expand Quote
Mark842 Posted March 31, 2018 Report Posted March 31, 2018 Put up a photo of your leather, lets see if we can tell what your working with Quote
Members Mattsbagger Posted April 1, 2018 Members Report Posted April 1, 2018 (edited) On 4/1/2018 at 12:18 PM, Isrummell said: Expand It's veg tan. Bevel and sand the edges. Then burnish with water. Then you can dye the edge with dye. Bob Park has a tutorial on edge burnishing in the How to section. http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/18101-finishing-edges/ Edited April 1, 2018 by Mattsbagger Quote
bermudahwin Posted April 1, 2018 Report Posted April 1, 2018 It's often a good idea to finish the edges as much as possible, in the way Mattsbagger says, before stitching, so you can do the whole piece, without the stiches stopping you. Quote
Members Isrummell Posted April 1, 2018 Author Members Report Posted April 1, 2018 Why water instead of Gum Tragacanth? Quote
Members Isrummell Posted April 1, 2018 Author Members Report Posted April 1, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 12:34 PM, hwinbermuda said: It's often a good idea to finish the edges as much as possible, in the way Mattsbagger says, before stitching, so you can do the whole piece, without the stiches stopping you. Expand This was my first try at a ccw holster. I am getting better at actually making things and want to learn to finish the edges Quote
bermudahwin Posted April 1, 2018 Report Posted April 1, 2018 (edited) I've always used water, and dye, for 30 plus years, only found gum tragacanth since I joined here, have some in the workshop to try. If the veg tan is tight grained and you've used a sharp edger, you'd get a shiny edge. Edited April 1, 2018 by hwinbermuda Quote
Members Mattsbagger Posted April 1, 2018 Members Report Posted April 1, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 12:35 PM, Isrummell said: Why water instead of Gum Tragacanth? Expand Gum Trag with work but you can't dye through it. I will also use saddle soap sometimes. You can dye through it. Quote
bikermutt07 Posted April 1, 2018 Report Posted April 1, 2018 Don Gonzales just made a burnishing video. I really like his videos. I think a lot of problems and confusion arise in burnishing due to leather quality. Cheaply tanned leather is kind of tough to burnish. High quality tannage will burnish easier. Quote
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