Leescustomleather Report post Posted May 12, 2021 As a bladesmith I wanted to do my own Sheath's, after about a year I thought I was doing pretty good then I got a side gig making sheaths for a high-end knife maker of 35 years. Through their constructive criticism my leather work improved a great deal but I was continually frustrated with trying to burnish the edges of the sheet where multiple layers of leather came together , you could always see the glue lines. I tried many things and ( edge paints ) watched tons of YouTube videos but was never satisfied with the quality. So I started experimenting and have started to see some success. The process takes time and patience but that's okay if I end up with a high-quality product. Here is a photo of the result. This is two layers of 8 oz veg tan. You can still see the separation and spots but it's not obvious anymore I would really appreciate any tips anyone has to share, thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted May 12, 2021 you should be the one giving tips lol That is as close to perfect as a guy could get imo. How do you do it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sbrownn Report post Posted May 12, 2021 Very nice job on a "treated" leather edge. I prefer my edges be left to show the natural "end grain" color of the leather, but to each his own. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immiketoo Report post Posted May 12, 2021 Are you hammering your seams before edge finishing? Are you building oversized and cutting to final shape? Both of these will help you eliminate that line. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted May 12, 2021 On 5/12/2021 at 9:37 PM, immiketoo said: Are you hammering your seams before edge finishing? Are you building oversized and cutting to final shape? Both of these will help you eliminate that line. i stand corrected lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
battlemunky Report post Posted May 12, 2021 lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leescustomleather Report post Posted May 13, 2021 chuck123wapati Thank you I just tried many different ways, not applying glue all the way up to the outside edge so that it doesn't show after being sanded, Polishing and inspecting between sanding and repeat several times. But after what immiketoo posted it looks like there is still room for improvement Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immiketoo Report post Posted May 13, 2021 On 5/12/2021 at 10:26 PM, chuck123wapati said: i stand corrected lol. Lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike02130 Report post Posted May 13, 2021 How many layers of edge paint are you using and do you use heat to smooth it out? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leescustomleather Report post Posted May 16, 2021 I don't use Edge paint, on something like a sheath it has a tendency to wear away and then the exposed Edge looks bad. This small sample was done with fiebing's leather dye and Seiwa leather craft Tokonole, from the website Goods Japan. It is a burnishing agent and you can dye through it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites