Hints on treating raw edges

[Gregory B. Moody]

I think you are correct. I grew up hand slicking belt edges... but that is a special case for that weight leather... you can hold one end and cup your hand with the rough cloth in the other and pull hard and fast... but with smaller items which you hand can not reach both sides of ...or both sides are not being slicked... that is a problem... you can hold some items on the edge of a table and keep them straight while applying the necessary pressure and speed... but at some point you will realize that you are working way too hard and not getting the perfect edge that a simple wooden slicking wheel mounted on an old washing machine motor will give you...

But as well as that worked on the main part of belt edges I was always aware that at the tip where it went to a point there was no way the simple slicking with a cloth can do the job right.. you can't compress your hand in an even fashion down to nothing ... so if you are going to have to use a slicker at any place on the project you might as well use it all over it...

For some things it is really hard to beat a nice laced edge.... no matter how much fun you have hand stitching...

I have used denim , burlap and cheesecloth at different times... the later probably the best combination of coarseness and conformity for ease of holding... we are talking several folds obviously...

On belts it is just easy to go one direction... and if you use a knife edge to make your long fibers hang out I have always felt that it then needed to be slicked in that same direction....

Greg

"I mainly do smaller things like purses, folders, wallets and briefcases. From the sound of it, it doesnt sound like this would be applicable. I could be wrong.

What kind of cloth do you use?"

[joel_in_bhm]

Where do you get your wood slickers?

(Sorry, I only use tandy as a source right now. Its the only local vendor)

Thanks for all the advice.

I am going to try some of these different things....

[Gregory B. Moody]

A motor powered plastic slicker will do a good job...

but in order to have more size options... which means different width slots in the round edger it is easier to deal with what is the traditional material ... a wood which has natural oils in it... I don't know that that really makes any difference... but it is fun to feel Rosewood and those types of wood...

This is probably one of those times you need to contact a local wood worker to make what you need.... be sure they don't make the cuts too deep as that will put marks onto the top face of your project...

Or, with a little work you can drill a piece of wood and mount it onto the electric motor and then sand/cut it down to what you want... a lathe effect in which you leave the lathe power attached permanently...

I suggest at least a 1750 rpm one third horse motor ( easy to find in old washing machine ) ... Greg

Where do you get your wood slickers?

(Sorry, I only use tandy as a source right now. Its the only local vendor)

Thanks for all the advice.

I am going to try some of these different things....

[bruce johnson]

Joel,

I have not had the good luck with the plastic slickers that Greg has had. They and the wooden counterpart they sell are only available in one size. I have melted a few or had them deform. might be a difference in the plastic from different time periods. One thing you will find when someone refer you to Tandy for tools. The tools sold today often bear little to no resemblance in materials or design to other eras. I am not saying they are bad, just different. Some are better and some aren't. Your Black and Decker drill is nothing like your Dad's from the 60s. Same with some leather tools. No offense intended to anyone.

I have used wood spindle slickers from Weaver and Norm Lynds. The Weaver one has a thin spindle tip and three slots. The spindle is good for slicking inside slots. It has a wooden spindle at the top to chuck into a drill press. Eventually it wears from the jaws of the chuck and gets out of true or breaks. I have another I got from Norm Lynds in WA. Norm made it with 8 or 9 slots in it to my specs. It has a metal spindle and will not wear out. I can do everything from 3 layers of skirting to 2 oz leather. I prefer Norms obviously. I am not sure if he is a member of this forum or not. Easier for me and a more efficient use of my time to buy tools rather than make them.

I do everything from shirtpocket business card holders to saddles, so I have different slicking needs for different projects. That is why I use so many different things on my edges to set them up for slicking or burnishing.

Bruce Johnson

[CitizenKate]

The maker of Bee Natural leather finish also suggests using it for slicking. I tried it, and it worked quite well. Now that's all I use for slicking, since I keep it on hand for finishing anyway. I've used both a heavy cotton cloth or a hand-held plastic slicking wheel - they seem to work equally well for me. I got very poor results with the plastic slicking wheel mounted on a variable-speed drill. Just ended up with a lot of friction burns on the leather.

[Johanna]

Hi, Kate, good to see you!

I am glad I am not the only person who has had trouble with friction burns with Dremel tools and other drills. I hand slick everything, too. At our house, when a pair of jeans (heavy cotton cloth) wears out, they go to the shop to be edging rags.

Pretty please, post some of your work in "Show Off!" I'd love to see what you've been up to lately!

Johanna

[ClayB]

Hi, Kate, good to see you!

I am glad I am not the only person who has had trouble with friction burns with Dremel tools and other drills. I hand slick everything, too. At our house, when a pair of jeans (heavy cotton cloth) wears out, they go to the shop to be edging rags.

Pretty please, post some of your work in "Show Off!" I'd love to see what you've been up to lately!

Johanna

Hi Kate, I am glad to see you here too! Been forever since I have talked to you. I tried to put my plastic slicker on a drill once and ended up melting the plastic slicker. I have tried the wooden one from Weaver, and a porcelain electric fence insulator mounted on a drill. I didn't like either of those all that well. When I started learning to make saddles, my teacher told me to rub the edges with a bar of saddle soap and then rub with canvas. For me, that works pretty good. So many different ways to do the same thing.

Clay

[CitizenKate]

Pretty please, post some of your work in "Show Off!" I'd love to see what you've been up to lately!

Hi Johanna... I've been working on some new ideas (after a round of wholesale orders, I'm ready to do something different), so I'm hoping to have something interesting to post fairly soon.

[abn]

Joel, I do a lot of small projects like wallets, and get decent edging results from the following technique.

After glueing the two edges together, use a sharp knife to shave down any parts of the edge that aren't even. Then round the edge corners on both sides using a Tandy #2 Beveler. Moisten the edge with water and go over it lightly with 400-grit extra-fine sandpaper. Then, apply a coat of Gum Tragacanth (or Fiebing's EdgeKote) and slick using a Sharpie pen. Repeat this last step one more time for a nice, smooth edge.

Not sure I'd really want to do this on a long edge like a belt or saddle, but it works for me for the small stuff.

-Alex