Custom leatherwork

[m. wohlwend]

Hope this gives you an idea of the type of leather work I do! This is custom pants for a Tom Brown Track. This is a "quickdraw" style sheath....

 

[NoahL]

Nicely done, Mark! It definitely looks hefty and durable! If I may make a suggestion, though? Have you played around with burnishing the edges?

 

[m. wohlwend]

Nicely done, Mark! It definitely looks hefty and durable! If I may make a suggestion, though? Have you played around with burnishing the edges?

I am using a saddle maker's beveler on the sides and I dont like it. It cuts too much away and leaves the edges fuzzy. I've been trying to burn them on the belt sander with 320 grit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Any suggestions? How do you burnish your edges?

 

[NoahL]

I am using a saddle maker's beveler on the sides and I dont like it. It cuts too much away and leaves the edges fuzzy. I've been trying to burn them on the belt sander with 320 grit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Any suggestions? How do you burnish your edges?

You may want to try a smaller beveler if you don't like how much it's taking off. As for the fuzziness, this is what I do:

Sand the edges even with a fairly course grit (I use 80 grit because I do it by hand, but you can probably go with a higher grit on the sander), then run your beveler along the edge, then hand-sand with a fine grit (I use Fine Sanding Sponges from HF) so that it has a soft feel. It won't be smooth yet. Stick your finger under the kitchen faucet and run it along the edge so that it gets damp, then take a scrap of old jeans, pull it tight against your hand and rub vigorously along the edge of the leather. Keep rubbing until it feels like it's sticking and rub a little longer, then check it out. The edge should have turned a darker brown and be nice and smooth

You can also get hardwood and plastic tools to do this--even ones to mount to a drill press--but I find that canvas scraps work better for me