Members TanDan Posted January 28, 2020 Members Report Posted January 28, 2020 Hi all, I'm based in the UK, most of our local gum tragacanth is only really available in a powdered or crystal form normally used in baking. I have been playing around with mixing some up for edge burnishing. 1Tsp of crushed gum trag crystals to 200ml of luke warm water, makes a nice mix. Similar to the consistency of wallpaper paste. Time will tell how long it will keep for, I fear that it may go bad quite quickly as I don't think the gum trag crystals are sterile. Do other people do this? or should I stop being a skinflint and pay out for the Fiebings one from the US or possibly the synthetic one from Craft in Japan. Quote
Members zuludog Posted January 28, 2020 Members Report Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) I'd say that if you're thinking of changing from the powder (which I've never used) I'd go straight to TOKONOLE and not bother with made up gum trag. I've used both Tandy Eco-Flo gum tragacanth and Tokonole , which is made by Seiwa, and the Tokonole is much better Surf the Net and you might find a seller on Ebay or Amazon or something, but I got mine from www.goodsjapan.com. I seem to remember that it was about £11 including shipping for a 120ml pot, and about 2 weeks delivery; but don't hold me to it. Polish & burnish the edge with sandpaper, then water and a slicker/burnisher, then apply the Tokonole and burnish again; a little goes a long way. Search YouTube for Tokonole, there are several videos. Also if you watch videos of people making leather items you sometimes see them using it One more thing about Tokonole. In the immortal words of Ian Atkinson "it looks like spunk" Edited January 28, 2020 by zuludog Quote
Mark842 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Posted January 28, 2020 I have to agree with Zuludog. I used Gum Trag a few times a long time ago and moved on to better products. Tokonole is far superior as well as many other products. I've gotten better slicked edges using straight water and beeswax than with Gum Trag. Quote
Members TanDan Posted January 29, 2020 Author Members Report Posted January 29, 2020 Nice one, thanks for the quick replies. lol, I almost said the same but felt I had to behave myself as i'm new to the forum so went for wallpaper paste Ah yeah, I meant to mention Tokonole. Great to hear you both think highly of it, I will get some ordered in next few days. I have been quite curious about goodsjapan.com it look like they have some great stuff available. Can you recommend any other good tools or finishes only available from japan? That I could add to the same order. Zuludog, what sort of grit sandpaper do you normally use for the first stage of your edge finishing? Mark842, was that with the furniture polish in a tin or the one of those bees wax bars? Thanks for the help! Quote
Members kirbytorres Posted January 29, 2020 Members Report Posted January 29, 2020 1 hour ago, TanDan said: Hi all, I'm based in the UK, most of our local gum tragacanth is only really available in a powdered or crystal form normally used in baking. I have been playing around with mixing some up for edge burnishing. 1Tsp of crushed gum trag crystals to 200ml of luke warm water, makes a nice mix. Similar to the consistency of wallpaper paste. Time will tell how long it will keep for, I fear that it may go bad quite quickly as I don't think the gum trag crystals are sterile. Do other people do this? or should I stop being a skinflint and pay out for the Fiebings one from the US or possibly the synthetic one from Craft in Japan. Here, where I live, its more known as Tylose or CMC. Just like you, this is more locally available than Tokonole or fiebings. I haven't used it yet, but at less than half a dollar for a small 50g bag, its a no brainer for me. I'll post results once I use it. Quote
Mark842 Posted January 29, 2020 Report Posted January 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, TanDan said: Mark842, was that with the furniture polish in a tin or the one of those bees wax bars? My actual favorite is to start with water and then use Neat-lac. I have my own private stock of Neat Lac that I will not sell any of because it can't be found anymore that I know of. Depending on the project and how much weather it will see I might use beeswax. I have used Barry King's Wyo Slick also and it works great. Tokonole is the only Japanese product I have used and while I think it's far superior to Gum Trag I think it is also far inferior to Wyo Slick and Neat Lac.. Quote
Members zuludog Posted January 29, 2020 Members Report Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) TAN DAN The grit depends to some extent on the thickness and type of leather. For thick veg tan try starting with 80 to 100 grit. for thinner leather try 100 to 120. Then go finer, say about 180 or 220 grit. Besides abrasive fabric or paper you can also use those foam sanding blocks with different grades on each surface. Don't use wet&dry paper as intended for car bodywork as they can leave dark marks behind Goods Japan - I acquired most of the tools I needed before I knew about Goods Japan, but got some Seiwa European stitching chisels from them which were an improvement on Tandy Craftool . See YouTube, Nigel Armitage has several reviews of pricking irons/stitching chisels I use a Japanese style leather knife for straight cuts and skiving; see YT for what it looks like and how it's used. They are easy to sharpen and you soon get used to the offset blade; but only you can decide if you want one. I made my own, but there are several on the Goods Japan website Their prices include shipping, but you will be charged for VAT/import duty at 20% I know this is a bit tedious, but why don't you have a look through the Tools and Getting Started sections, or anywhere else for that matter to see what you want, then browse through Goods Japan's website and get a shopping list together; then post the list on this forum and see what comments and opinions turn up? Edited January 29, 2020 by zuludog Quote
Members chiefjason Posted January 29, 2020 Members Report Posted January 29, 2020 I recently switched to Tokonole. Could not be happier. Works great at laying down any loose grain on the flesh side too. Burnishes about as well by hand as with a powered burnisher. Quote
Members chrisash Posted January 29, 2020 Members Report Posted January 29, 2020 11 hours ago, TanDan said: Hi all, I'm based in the UK, most of our local gum tragacanth is only really available in a powdered or crystal form normally used in baking. I have been playing around with mixing some up for edge burnishing. 1Tsp of crushed gum trag crystals to 200ml of luke warm water, makes a nice mix. Similar to the consistency of wallpaper paste. Time will tell how long it will keep for, I fear that it may go bad quite quickly as I don't think the gum trag crystals are sterile. Do other people do this? or should I stop being a skinflint and pay out for the Fiebings one from the US or possibly the synthetic one from Craft in Japan. Hi You may find these UK stores of use if your new to leatherwork https://www.identityleathercraft.com/index.php/ https://www.artisanleather.co.uk/ http://www.leprevo.co.uk/ https://www.abbeyengland.com/ All offer first class service but Leprevo site you have to phone up as not a e-commerce site Quote Mi omputer is ot ood at speeling , it's not me
Contributing Member fredk Posted January 29, 2020 Contributing Member Report Posted January 29, 2020 6 minutes ago, chrisash said: All offer first class service but Leprevo site you have to phone up as not a e-commerce site What do you mean Chris? I've been placing my orders with Le Prevo on-line for about 8 years and they answer my emails pretty speedily. Only rarely do I need to phone them or them me Quote Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.