A bunch of technique questions, mainly about finishing edges

[blackmad]

Hey all,

I've been working with leather for a couple of months now and am finding a bunch of holes in my technique that I'd like to improve on.

 

Cutting

How do I cut a long straight line? / How do I keep my straight edge from shifting?

-- I know this sounds silly, but I'm struggling with it. I use a rotary cutter and a long straight edge with some surgical tape on the back to make it a bit grippier. Often the ruler will move as I'm cutting so the end is narrower than the start. I'm trying to keep pressure on it as I go. Is there some trick that would make this easier? A heavier straight edge?

 

Edging/Finishing/Bonding

How do I put on Edge Kote without it getting on top of the leather?

- I've tried daubers and also roller pens for edge finishing and I still end up getting the edge kote bleeding a bit onto the top of the leather. Which generally rubs off but I can still see where it's gotten into the grain and it drives me crazy.

Is there some minimum thickness/stiffness to leather required to burnish the edges?

- I love the look of a good rounded edge, but it seems like it only works when the leather is well above 3mm thick in total. And that it's stiff enough to stay stiff while rubbing it?

which leads me to ..

How to finish the edges of thinner leathers?

- I find myself often gluing/stitching a thinner leather (because they have interesting patterns/textures) to a thicker piece and then wanting to make sure there's a nice edge that won't separate. I've had trouble finding something that works here.

--> If the top leather is really thin, I can't get a clean cut with a leather edger (the material bunches/jumps too much) so there's nothing to burnish

--> If I bond the leather flesh-to-grain (so that the soft flesh side of the thicker leather is touching the skin) then it seems like the grain side in the middle prevents burnishing from working - it won't melt into the top piece. Do I need to split thick leathers before using them like this? 

 

Thanks all,

David

[battlemunky]

You sure shot for the moon on your questions Sir! These plague newbies and veterans alike; don't feel bad for the struggle!

Cutting: 

• thin leathers stretch a bit when you cut them and different tannages stretch even worse. A sharp knife or scissors are your friend here. You can get a strong plastic bar or metal bar and clamp your leather but I find that a bit unnecessary since being careful and slowing down will help immensely
• thick leathers stretch less but can still move on you, I use a snap blade so I have an inexpensive sharp blade each time
• cut of the leather matters too; bellies stretch quite a lot
• keep at it but try to slow down, use sharp sharp sharp blades and plan/know what you are expecting and try to see it coming
• also, drawing lines and staying on the line helps a bit but isn't foolproof, especially on thin leathers

Edges/burnishing:

• leather type is a huge driver on this
  • vegtan seems to burnish up pretty nice even at 2 oz even though it requires some clever approaches like laying flat and hitting each side independently and then hitting the edge
  • other than vegtan still eludes me here
• sanding is your friend, work through a few grits from low to high and it almost burnishes for you and when you do hit it with a burnisher it is almost zero effort
• edge paint
  • maybe that this is the fix for thin leather. I don't use edge paint since a nice burnished edge looks better most time IMO although I have seen some folks make edge work that you had a hard time looking at and seeing a difference between them
  • I've seen the edge paint roller at Tandy and its supposed to be ok. Heard of people using a pencil tip as a roller and also have seen a scratch awl being used.

 

I hope this helps. There are far more knowledgeable folks on these topics on here and hopefully they'll chime in shortly. Post some pics as well, we can glean a ton of info from pics and may be able to push past any issues specifically as well.

Good luck and keep at it!

Edited December 28, 2018 by battlemunky

[Sheilajeanne]

Just an FYI that may help: leathers OTHER than veg-tan won't burnish at all, or won't burnish well. Edge paint is your friend when using them.

[blackmad]

@battlemurky @sheilajeanna really helpful to know that only veg-tan will burnish. I've been backing some of my pieces with cheaper leather since it seems like such a waste of a good top finish to hide it.

Attached are a few photos of the pieces that inspired these questions. On the thin ones, even with edge kote or acrylic paint (and sewing at ~1/8") if I play with the edges, the two pieces separate (I suppose I could also have been better with glue). The one that I backed with a piece of chromeexcel did burnish okay!