Another Burnishing Thread.

O

Omega Leather Works

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Jun 13, 2007
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I'd love to hear how you burnish your edges to a very high level of refinement.

(Ken, I'm talking to you!)

I made this quick belt sheath for my daughter.

q3jHLoz.jpg


For the edges, I did the usual beveling and sanding, but I took the sanding to 1000 grit, wet, in one direction. I tried gum trag and allowed it to dry then used the folder to burnish. I didn't get what I was after so I tried beeswax, a little heat then the folder. Still not glassy like I'd like.

RZZNXUB.jpg


I realize that there are probably as many methods as there are benders, but I'm very willing to put in the time and effort to learn. I'm good with regular finishing, but how do you get the super polished look on special pieces?

Thanks
 
After sanding to get the shape, a coat of gum trag and a wooden 'slicker' wheel. Then another coat of gum trag
and a LOT of patient rubbing with an old piece of canvas cut from a G.I. surplus store musette bag to finish.
This takes some time but puts on a reflective finish.


Stitchawl
 
Spit , sandpaper and time :)
I tried Gum and from what I can see it doesn't hurt , but there was no obvious improvement either
After I have get the sheath to its final shape on a sanding disk , I then start on with hand sanding , going up through the grades from 360 - 1200 one step at a time .
I use a steel ruler as a backer sanding block and wrap the paper around it .
Spit on your finger and moisten the edge until it changes colour , don't drench it .
Start sanding , the paper will start to clog up but don't change to a new piece until it is obviously doing nothing .
The clogged paper is actually burnishing at that point .
Always wet the leather not the paper.
Less is better than more when it comes to the spit . Reapply the spit every time you change paper .
To do a folder sheath probably takes me up to 2 hours to get it to where I'm happy .
In a commercial sense that probably isn't viable , and a customer can't see where the added cost comes from .
I learnt the spit and paper idea from researching about Mike Tea .
That is what he did , and I've yet to see any edges better than his .
The quality of your glueing and leather density has a huge influence on the final outcome .

Here is a Mike Tea edge

miket_zpsfed9ee8b.jpg



Here's one of mine

IMG_1070_zps85da3b33.jpg



Ken
 
Spit! I love it! Thanks for the pro tip. Your work looks impeccable. :)
 
here is a great link to burnishing by Bob Park I saved from leatherworker.. I kinda do it differently depending on the leather but it's a good reference.

PDF LINK
 
Actually, if you suffer from "dry mouth" a little saddle soap (paste type) and water will be a very good substitute.;)

Paul
 
Thanks for the links guys. I'm going to download those now. I frequent LW forums also, and I know Paul's also a member. :) I sometimes ask questions at both places to get a fuller sample of opinions and techniques.

As for spit, I hope that's not the secret sauce. I don't like the idea for customer work, but it ain't gonna hurt on my daughters sheath. ;)
 
sheathmaker said:
Actually, if you suffer from "dry mouth" a little saddle soap (paste type) and water will be a very good substitute.;)

Paul
Click to expand...

My spit seems a lot easier because it comes already mixed :)

That is good tip though and I will give it a try .
 
Those pdf's are the same Bob Park instructions. I've followed them before, but used beeswax in place of paraffin. I've got some paraffin now (didn't have it before) and I'll give it a try. Let ya know how it goes.

Btw, what's the difference between neat lac, saddle lac and Super Sheen?
 
Neat Lac and Saddle Lac are Laquer's

Super sheen is a nasty very shiny acrylic based "thing" not used all that often. Blech
 
Strigamort said:
Btw, what's the difference between neat lac, saddle lac and Super Sheen?
Click to expand...

Neat Lac is/was a proprietary brand name owned by Tandy. It is a lacquer finish and they quit selling it because of environmental issues. Had not been available in California long before they discontinued it. Wyo Sheen and Clear Lac are both the same thing, and both are available. I believe Springfield Leather carries the Clear Lac, and Wyo Sheen I believe is exclusive with Sheridan Leather.

Saddle Lac is essentially the same, but comes in an aerosol can and is VERY hard to control regarding getting too much on too quickly and making a mess.

I have never used Super Sheen ,but I think it would be used in the same situations as Tan Kote but I think it is acrylic based, and hence, compatible with acrylic dyes, and paints.

I use both Tan Kote first and then Wyo Sheen in all my finish processes.

Paul
 
Wait, so what is Tan-kote and what about Edge-kote? What's next, Kote-kote? :D

I agree Dwayne, acrylic Super Sheen isn't what I usually reach for. I do use it as a resist for antique though. I lay down the initial brown, then sheen, followed by antique, a wipe down, then one more coat of sheen. Works better for me than just using the antique on its own.
 
What follows is my VERY OWN PERSONAL opinion. Edge-Kote best and highest use is to line the bottom of a trash can using unopened bottles, and if you want a second opinion……………..I don't like it at all and will NEVER use it. Other than that it's okay.:barf:

Paul
 
So you're saying that you like it? :p

The last time I could almost *hear* the cringing from you through the keyword I believe I asked about leather paint. :D

Okay, so we'll leave the EK on the shelf then. :)
 
No throw it away buddy, far, far, far away. I wrote you out a whole long process on how I finish edges. I did a martingale and a holster today. The martingale alone was 350 linear inches of edge finishing. However the computer ate my description and so there you are standing on the abyss. Here just to confusekote ya more, I use Bag Kote as a finish.
 
I sand everything with an 80 grit belt then dye the edges and apply a liquid mixture of a few things and give it a light burnishing followed by a rubdown with beeswax and then a wax loaded canvas buffing wheel at 2500rpm. It gives a great smooth polished edge. If your after the 'I can use it as a shaving mirror' edge it takes a considerable amount of time above and beyond that and additional materials to achieve and something I would only consider doing on show quality safe queen pieces and charge accordingly. A good analogy would be a standard car paint job or a show quality custom paint job.

DSC_0032_zpse4acd761.jpg
 
Horsewright said:
No throw it away buddy, far, far, far away. I wrote you out a whole long process on how I finish edges. I did a martingale and a holster today. The martingale alone was 350 linear inches of edge finishing. However the computer ate my description and so there you are standing on the abyss. Here just to confusekote ya more, I use Bag Kote as a finish.
Click to expand...

I would barf if I had to do this to 35 inches let alone 10x that.

I HATE when I write something and lose it. But you know me, everything I write is like 10 pages long. :o

I never bought the Edge Kote. I honestly didn't know what any of the "kote"s were before today.

Skyler, your work is always fun to look at. I didn't want to drool in your thread, but I think your new inlays are pure genius. How do you turn your old hunting camos into gold? Use em for inlays! :p Seriously though. I wish I'd thought of it.

Alright I'm literally sitting here in the dark. Why? Well the sun went down while I sit here furiously rubbing the welt on my sheath. I even rigged up a wax coated piece of canvas over a sanding drum and had at it that way. Paraffin wax is a completely different animal from beeswax btw. Very stretchy and sticky. I like it.

Anyway, here's a horrible pic of where I'm at. I'd tell you how accurate it is, but I can't actually see it right now.

LhtNiYa.jpg


I realize that this is a different sheath. I didn't want to screw up my daughters. According to the pic it's coming along, especially since the edges were beat up pretty good on this one, but there's no way I'd do this for a regular sheath. I find it to be fairly silly. It's like the crazy sharpness I use to go after. More a novelty that took forever than anything else.
 
Strig, I use art paint brush and a thin layer of water, burnished with the handle of my edge beveler,
And this is what I normally get.

1GtJCd.jpg


Not sure how this rates with the experienced makers out there.
 
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