Outsourcing Burnishing Work

[Mike1261]

Hi folks

I produce leather bracelets and the most time consuming part is the edge Burnishing. I go for a super smooth finish that takes me a long time with multiple sanding/tokenole passes until it's totally smooth with no leather picky parts, then finish the edge with resolene.

Because of the length of time I spend on it, my production volume is quite low and quite exhausting.

I'm wondering if there are leather working shops out there that I can send a batch of unfinished bracelets to and they ship it back burnished?

If so, any idea on cost?

Thanks! :-)

[Bob Blea]

A couple of questions:  What kind of leather (or leathers) are you using on these bracelets, and are you burnishing by hand or mechanically?

[Matt S]

I'm not aware of any burnishing services but I'm sure there's someone out there who'll do it. Can you maybe teach your friend/kid/neightbour/whatev to do it?

Motorised burnishers are handy. Depending on your leather and what you're using to burnish with burnishing by hand isn't hugely slow once you get the knack. I use diluted PVA and a bone folder and can burnish a belt in 10-20 minutes so long as I'm using good quality leather. I always use a motorised wheel for the wax though.