Help with burnishing

[Isrummell]

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?

[Instinctive]

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).

[Isrummell]

Actually I'm not sure what it is. If it isn't vegtan then how can I finish the edges

[Mattsbagger]

Edge paint.

20 minutes ago, Isrummell said:

Actually I'm not sure what it is. If it isn't vegtan then how can I finish the edges

 

[Mark842]

Put up a photo of your leather, lets see if we can tell what your working with

[Isrummell]

[Mattsbagger]

4 minutes ago, Isrummell said:

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

[bermudahwin]

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.

[Isrummell]

Why water instead of Gum Tragacanth?

[Isrummell]

5 minutes ago, 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.

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

 

[bermudahwin]

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

[Mattsbagger]

55 minutes ago, Isrummell said:

Why water instead of Gum Tragacanth?

Gum Trag with work but you can't dye through it. I will also use saddle soap sometimes. You can dye through it.

[bikermutt07]

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.