Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Craftsmanship => Accoutrements => Topic started by: Spotted Bull on March 17, 2010, 04:06:14 AM
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What exactly is meant by "burnishing" the edges of the leather?
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I believe it means to sand the edges smooth, then take a piece of antlerfor example, and rub the edge with the smooth side of the antler till it is smooth. I guess it sort of packs the grain of the leather back into itself. I'm sure Beav will have a better explanation.
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David, Now you have to remember this is the blind leading the blind. <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /> Burnishing is a method of finishing the edge of tooling leather.
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So basically to give it a nice rounded finished look...COOL!
Gotta give that a try...my edges usually look pretty poor so I sew inside out...keeps them hidden that way!
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Yep... I'm sure someone like CB can do it much better than I can. I'm still very much in the learning stage.
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Don't cheat yourself Bud! Your stuff is great!!
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I use a piece of old denim cloth to burnish with.
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What do you guys use to cut so dang straight, especially curves? I use a roller cutter and a metal L square but curves just kill me getting them smoothly cut!
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David, on some of the tighter curves you can us a hole punch. I wish I had some of the bigger punches but just can't justify the cost at this time.
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Hope this is OK but for some of the best info on leatherworking I HIGHLY recommend
1) Burnishing smooths and polishes the leather - it can be done on both the edges as well as the face, the latter is something not commonly done today but was common on period leather
2) Rounding the edges is best done with an edging tool, there are several types and sizes dependent on usage and thickness of the leather. These are used first before burnishing - they "trim" the sharp corners off. JWP makes several types - here's the most common - these are high quality tools and worth the price but Tandy, CS Osborne, and others sell less expensive models
3) Edge burnishing can be done by hand or machine. There are several types of mechanized tools that can be used for edge burnishing - some are just chucked into a drill while others are dedicated tools with their own power source. Various types of such machinery were at times used "in period" - the use of machines is not a modern thing at all.
4) Using Gum Tragacanth, a natural vegetable glue, is a big aid for edge burnishing as it "glues" the fibers together.
Along with using punches of various sizes I use a clicker knife for tight curves - you can see one here - they take various types of blades:
For the tighter curves I use the curved blade and hold the leather in hand (if of adequate stiffness) and cut sort of like peeling an apple - if that makes sense???
You can then cleanup the edges of any knife marks if need be by using a Dremel or drill with a sanding drum or by wrapping a dowel or metal rod of the right diameter with sandpaper 100-150 grit works good -
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Great info Mr Burrows, much appreciative.
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Great links Chuck, posting links to an imformative web site that pertains to the discussion at hand is not only OK , but appreciated!
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Roaring Bull don't mean to hijack your topic but CB, I have an x-acto knife blade that is shaped like that clicker blade, would it work?
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Roaring Bull don't mean to hijack your topic but CB, I have an x-acto knife blade that is shaped like that clicker blade, would it work?
No highjack at all...we need info...and I was thinking that too
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The clicker blades are thicker and stiffer than X-Acto blades - IMO try it if it works...........
Great links Chuck, posting links to an imformative web site that pertains to the discussion at hand is not only OK , but appreciated!
My feelings exactly, but some sites don't see things that way.......
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The clicker blades are thicker and stiffer than X-Acto blades - IMO try it if it works...........
Great links Chuck, posting links to an imformative web site that pertains to the discussion at hand is not only OK , but appreciated!
My feelings exactly, but some sites don't see things that way.......
Not here my friend, we're all in this together!